Prague Or Czech Republic Part 2

Population
According to the 2011 census, about 14% of the inhabitants were foreigners, it is the highest proportion in the country.Development of the Prague population since 1378:

Climate
The city of Prague lies between oceanic climate and humid continental climate (Köppen Cfb). The winters are relatively cold with average temperatures at about freezing point, and with very little sunshine. Snow cover can be common between mid-November to late March although snow accumulations of more than 20 cm (8 in) are infrequent. There are also a few periods of mild temperatures in winter. Summers usually bring plenty of sunshine and the average high temperature of 24 °C (75 °F). Nights can be quite cool even in summer, though. Precipitation in Prague is rather low (it is less rainy than Rome and Paris) as the shadow of the Ore Mountains and the Czech Central Highlands takes effect. The driest season is usually winter while the summers can bring quite heavy rain especially in form of violent storms and showers. Temperature inversions are relatively common between mid-October and mid-March bringing often cloudy, cold days in comparison with mountains or highlands and can be often connected with air pollution. Prague is also a windy city with common sustained western winds and an average wind speed of 16 kph (10 mph) that often help break temperature inversions in cold months.

Culture
The city is traditionally one of the cultural centres of Europe, hosting many cultural events.

Some of the significant cultural institutions include the National Theatre (Národní Divadlo) and the Estates Theatre (Stavovské or Tylovo or Nosticovo divadlo), where the premières of Mozart's Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito were held. Other major cultural institutions are the Rudolfinum which is home to the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and the Municipal House which is home to the Prague Symphony Orchestra. The Prague State Opera (Státní opera) performs at the Smetana Theatre.

The city has many world-class museums, including the National Museum (Národní muzeum), the Museum of the Capital City of Prague, the Jewish Museum in Prague, the Alfons Mucha Museum, the African-Prague Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, the Náprstek Museum (Náprstkovo Muzeum), the Josef Sudek Gallery, the National Library and the National Gallery, which manages the largest collection of art in the Czech Republic.

There are hundreds of concert halls, galleries, cinemas and music clubs in the city. It hosts music festivals including the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Prague Autumn International Music Festival, the Prague International Organ Festival and the Prague International Jazz Festival. Film festivals include the Febiofest, the One World Film Festival and Echoes of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The city also hosts the Prague Writers' Festival, the Prague Folklore Days, Prague Advent Choral Meeting the Summer Shakespeare Festival,the Prague Fringe Festival, the World Roma Festival, as well as the hundreds of Vernissages and fashion shows.

Many films have been made at Barrandov Studios and at Prague Studios. Hollywood films set in Prague include Mission Impossible, xXx, Blade II, Alien vs. Predator, Doom, Chronicles of Narnia, Hellboy, Red Tails, Children of Dune and Van Helsing. Other Czech films shot in Prague include Empties, EuroTrip, Amadeus and The Fifth Horseman is Fear. Also, the romantic music video "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS, "Diamonds from Sierra Leone" by Kanye West was shot in the city, and features shots of the Charles Bridge and the Astronomical Clock, among other famous landmarks. Rihanna's "Don't Stop the Music" video was filmed at Prague's Radost FX Club. The city was also the setting for the film Dungeons and Dragons in 2000. The music video "Silver and Cold" by AFI, an American rock band, was also filmed in Prague. Many Indian films have also been filmed in the city including Yuvraaj, Drona and Rockstar.

Forbes Traveler magazine listed Prague Zoo among the world's best zoos.

With the growth of low-cost airlines in Europe, Prague has become a popular weekend city destination allowing tourists to visit its many museums and cultural sites as well as try its famous Czech beers and hearty cuisine.

The city has many buildings by renowned architects, including Adolf Loos (Villa Müller), Frank O. Gehry (Dancing House) and Jean Nouvel (Golden Angel).

Recent major events held in Prague:

• International Monetary Fund and World Bank Summit 2000
• NATO Summit 2002
• International Olympic Committee Session 2004
• IAU General Assembly 2006 (Definition of planet)
• EU & USA Summit 2009
• Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2009
• USA & Russia Summit 2010 (signing of the New START treaty)

Cuisine
In 2008 the Allegro restaurant received the first Michelin star in the whole of the post-Communist part of Central Europe. It retained its star until 2011. As of 2012 there are two Michelin-starred restaurants in Prague (Alcron and La Degustation Bohême Bourgeoise).

In Malá Strana, Staré Město, Žižkov and Nusle there are hundreds of restaurants, bars and pubs, especially with Czech beer. Prague also hosts the Czech Beer Festival (Český pivní festival), which is the biggest beer festival in the Czech Republic, held for 17 days every year in May. At the festival, more than 70 brands of Czech beer can be tasted.

Prague is home to many breweries including:

• Pivovary Staropramen (Praha 5)
• První novoměstský restaurační pivovar (Praha 1)
• Pivovar U Fleků (Praha 1)
• Klášterní pivovar Strahov (Praha 1)
• Pivovar Pražský most u Valšů (Praha 1)
• Pivovarský Hotel U Medvídků (Praha 1)
• Pivovarský dům (Praha 2)
• Jihoměstský pivovar (Praha 4)
• Sousedský pivovar U Bansethů (Praha 4)
• Vyukový a výzkumný pivovar – Suchdolský Jeník (Praha 6)
• Pivovar U Bulovky (Praha 8)

Economy
Prague's economy accounts for 25% of the Czech Republic's GDP[53] making it the highest performing regional economy of the country. According to the Eurostat, as of 2007, its GDP per capita in purchasing power standard is 42,800 €. Prague ranked the 5th best-performing European NUTS two-level region at 172 percent of the EU-27 average.

The city is the site of the European headquarters of many international companies.
Since 1990, the city's economic structure has shifted from industrial to service-oriented. Industry is present in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, printing, food processing, manufacture of transport equipment, computer technology and electrical engineering. In the service sector, most significant are financial and commercial services, trade, restaurants, hospitality and public administration. Services account for around 80 percent of employment. There are 800,000 employees in Prague, including 120,000 commuters. The number of (legally registered) foreign residents in Prague has been increasing in spite of the country's economic downturn. As of March 2010, 148,035 foreign workers were reported to be living in the city making up about 18 percent of the workforce, up from 131,132 in 2008. Approximately one-fifth of all investment in the Czech Republic takes place in the city.

Almost one-half of the national income from tourism is spent in Prague. The city offers approximately 73,000 beds in accommodation facilities, most of which were built after 1990, including almost 51,000 beds in hotels and boarding houses.

From the late 1990s to late 2000s, the city was a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood, Bollywood motion pictures. A combination of architecture, low costs and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proven attractive to international film production companies.

The modern economy of Prague is largely service and export-based and, in a 2010 survey, the city was named the best city in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) for business.

In 2005, Prague was deemed among the three best cities in Central and Eastern Europe according to The Economist's livability rankings.The city was named as a top-tier nexus city for innovation across multiple sectors of the global innovation economy, placing 29th globally out of 289 cities, ahead of Brussels and Helsinki for innovation in 2010 in 2thinknow annual analysts Innovation Cities Index.The street Na příkopě in New Town is the most expensive in whole Central Europe.

In the Eurostat research, Prague ranked fifth among Europe's 271 regions in terms of gross domestic product per inhabitant, achieving 172 percent of the EU average. It ranked just above Paris and well above the Czech Republic as a whole, which achieved 80 percent of the EU average.

Prague is also the site of some of the most important offices and institutions of the Czech Republic.

• President of the Czech Republic
• The Government and both houses of Parliament
• Ministries and other national offices (Industrial Property Office, Czech Statistical Office, National Security Authority etc.)
• Czech National Bank
• Czech Television and other major broadcasters
• Radio Free Europe – Radio Liberty
• Galileo global navigation project
• Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic

Education
Twelve universities, and a number of colleges and schools are located in the city, including:

Public universities

• Charles University founded in 1348, the oldest university in Central Europe
• Czech Technical University (ČVUT) founded in 1707
• Institute of Chemical Technology (VŠCHT) founded in 1920
• University of Economics (VŠE) founded in 1953
• Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (ČZU) founded in 1906/1952

Public arts academies

• Academy of Fine Arts (AVU) founded in 1800
• Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design (VŠUP) founded in 1885
• Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) founded in 1945

Private schools

• University of New York in Prague (UNYP) founded in 1998
• International School of Prague (ISP) founded in 1948
• Anglo-American University (AAU) founded in 1990
• University of Northern Virginia in Prague (UNVA) founded in 1998
• Architectural Institute in Prague (ARCHIP) founded in 2010
• The University of Finance and Administration (VSFS) founded in 1999
• Metropolitan University Prague (MUP) founded in 2001
• Prague College founded in 2004

International institutions

• New York University
• Instituto Camões
• Goethe-Institut
• Instituto Cervantes
• British Council
• Alliance Française

Science, research and hi-tech centres

The region city of Prague is an important centre of research. It is the seat of 39 out of 54 institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences, including the largest ones, the Institute of Physics, the Institute of Microbiology and the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry. It is also a seat of 10 public research institutes, four business incubators and large hospitals performing research and development activities such as the Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine in Prague or the Motol University Hospital. Universities seated in Prague (see section Colleges and Universities) also represent important centres of science and research activities.

As of 2008, there were 13,000 researchers (out of 30,000 in the Czech Republic, counted in full-time equivalent), representing 3% share of Prague's economically active population. Gross expenditure on research and development accounted for 901.3 million € (41.5% of country's total).

Some well-known multinational companies have established research and development facilities in Prague, among them Siemens, Honeywell and Sun Microsystems.

In 2010, Prague was selected to host administration of the EU satellite navigation system Galileo. For civilian purposes it should be launched at the turn of 2014 and 2015, full completion is expected by 2019.

Transport
Public transportation

The public transport infrastructure consists of an intensely used integrated transport system of Prague Metro (its length is 59 km (37 mi) with 57 stations in total), Prague tram system, buses, the Petřín funicular to Petřín Hill, and six ferries: PID, Pražská integrovaná doprava (Prague integrated transport system). Prague has one of the highest rates of public transport usage in the world[citation needed] with 1.2 billion passenger journeys per annum. In Prague there are also three cable cars. The first is the on Petrin Hill and the other is on the hill Mrázovka and the third is at the zoo in Troja.

The Metro has three major lines extending throughout the city; in June 2010, construction began to extend the green line further into the northwest corner of Prague and eventually to the airport.A fourth Metro line is planned, although a date for construction to begin has not yet been specified.In operation there are currently two kinds of units: "81-71M" which is modernized variant of the Soviet 81-71 and from 1998 new "M1" trains manufactured by consortium consisting of ČKD Praha, ADtranz and Siemens. The original Soviet vehicles "Ečs" were excluded in 1997, but one museum-set is monthly in operation at line C, another vehicle is also placed in public transport museum in depot Střešovice. Per capita usage of the Prague metro is the highest in the world.[citation needed] According to its builder, the escalator at Náměstí Míru station is the longest escalator in Europe.

Prague tram system now operates various types of trams: still popular classic Tatra T3, newer Tatra KT8D5, T6A5, Škoda 14 T designed by Porsche, newest Škoda 15 T and nostalgic tram number 91. Although Melbourne, Australia has the longest total tram system length in the world, Prague's tram network is one of the largest in the world by other measures. The Prague tram rolling stock consists of over 900 individual cars, of those around 700 are the T3 class, which are typically operated coupled together in pairs. The system carries more than 356 million passengers annually, the third highest tram patronage in the world after St Petersburg and Budapest. On a per capita basis, Prague has the second highest tram patronage after Zürich.

All services have a common ticketing system, and are run by the Prague Public Transport Company (Dopravní podnik hl. m. Prahy, a. s.) and several other companies. Recently, the Regional Organiser of Prague Integrated Transport (ROPID) has franchised operation of ferries on the Vltava river, which are also a part of the public transport system with common fares. Taxi services operate from regulated taxi stands, and from independent taxi drivers who make pick-ups on the street.

Roads

The main flow of traffic leads through the centre of the city and through inner and outer ring roads (only partially in operation).

Inner Ring Road (The City Ring "MO"): Once completed it will surround the wider central part of the city. The longest city tunnel in Europe with a proposed length of 5.5 kilometres (3.4 mi) and five interchanges is now being built to relieve congestion in the north-western part of Prague. Called Tunel Blanka and to be part of the City Ring Road, it is estimated that it will now cost – after several increases – 38 billion CZK. Construction started in 2007 and the tunnel is scheduled to be completed in 2013/2014. This tunnel complex will complete major part of the inner ring road. The entire City Ring is estimated to be finished after 2020.

Outer Ring Road (The Prague Ring "R1"): This ring road will connect all major motorways and speedways that meet each other in Prague region and provide faster transit without a necessity to drive through the city. So far 39 kilometres or 24 miles, out of total planned 83 kilometres or 52 miles, is in operation. Full completion is estimated around 2017.[65] Most recently, the southern part of this road (with a length of more than 20 kilometres or 12 miles) was opened on 22 September 2010.

Rail

The city forms the hub of the Czech railway system, with services to all parts of the Czech Republic and abroad. The railway system links Prague with major European cities, including Munich (Germany); Berlin (Germany); Vienna (Austria); Warsaw (Poland); Budapest (Hungary); Copenhagen (Denmark); Zürich (Switzerland); Moscow (Russia) and Amsterdam (the Netherlands) (all of which can be reached without transfers). Travel times range between 4.5 hours to Berlin and approximately 8 hours to Warsaw.

Prague's main international railway station is Hlavní nádraží (formerly called Wilsonovo nádraží).Rail services are also available from the main stations Praha – Masarykovo nádraží, Praha-Holešovice and Praha-Smíchov, in addition to selected suburban stations.

Air

Prague is served by Václav Havel Airport, the biggest airport in the Czech Republic. It is the hub of the flag carrier, Czech Airlines, as well as of the low-cost airlines SmartWings and Wizz Air operating throughout Europe. Other airports in Prague include the city's original airport in the north-eastern district of Kbely, which is serviced by the Czech Air Force, also internationally. The runway (9–27) at Kbely is 2 km (1 mi) long. The airport also houses the Prague Aviation Museum. The nearby Letňany airport is mainly used for private aviation and aeroclub aviation. Another airport in the proximity is Aero Vodochody aircraft factory to the north, used for testing purposes, as well as for aeroclub aviation. There are a few aeroclubs around Prague, such as the Točná airfield.

Sport

Prague is the site of many sports events, national stadiums and teams.

• Sparta Prague (Czech First League) – football club
• Slavia Prague (Czech First League) – football club
• Dukla Prague (Czech First League) – football club
• Bohemians 1905 (Czech First League) – football club
• Viktoria Žižkov (Czech 2. Liga) – football club
• HC Slavia Praha (Champions Hockey League) – ice hockey club
• HC Sparta Praha (Czech Extraliga) – ice hockey club
• HC Lev Prague (KHL) Kontinental Hockey League Club
• O2 Arena – NHL 2008 and 2010 Opening Game, 2004 Men's World Ice Hockey Championships and Euroleague Final Four
• Strahov Stadium – the second-largest stadium in the world
• Prague International Marathon
• Prague Open – Tennis Tournament held by the I. Czech Lawn Tennis Club
• Sparta Prague Open – Tennis Tournament held in Prague 7
• Josef Odložil Memorial – Athletics meeting
• Mystic SK8 Cup – World Cup of Skateboarding venue takes place at the Štvanice skatepark
• World Ultimate Club Championships 2010

International relations

The city of Prague also maintains its own EU delegation in Brussels called Prague House.

The annual conference Forum 2000, which was founded by former Czech President Václav Havel, Japanese philanthropist Yōhei Sasakawa, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Elie Wiesel in 1996, is held in Prague. Its main objective is "to identify the key issues facing civilization and to explore ways to prevent the escalation of conflicts that have religion, culture or ethnicity as their primary components", and also intends to promote democracy in non-democratic countries and to support civil society. Conferences have attracted a number of prominent thinkers, Nobel laureates, former and acting politicians, business leaders and other individuals like: Frederik Willem de Klerk, Bill Clinton, Nicholas Winton, Oscar Arias Sánchez, Dalai Lama, Hans Küng, Shimon Peres and Madeleine Albright.