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century decorative style. The best known of its 6 halls is the Smetana rum m ».------ -----& logueSpring Mi&r

Festival and balls are held. The Na prikope Street, now a pedestrian precinct, takes us to the bottom of Wenceslas Sq»_3r. the hcart of the New Town and present-day Prague. It is a 750 m long boulevard lined with banks, department storę. boutiques, shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas. The uppper end of the square is closed by tj* Nco-Rcnaissance building of the National Museum from the end of the 19th century which contains historical and natury history collections. In the upper part of the sąuare stands the St. Wenceslas Memoriał, the bronze eąuestrian statuę of Prince Wenceslas by J. V. Myslbek, a favourite meeting place of tourists. From the bottom of the Sąuare we can go aiong Nńrodni Street to the river VItava. On its bank the most beautiful Neo-Renaissance building, the NationalTheatre,is situated. Along the river we come to Vy5ehrad, once the seat of Czech Princes. Now only a few remains of thecastlehave becn prcserved on the rock. The oldest construction on Vy§ehrad and in the whole of Prague is the Rotunda of St Martin, built in the I Ith century. The Vyśehrad site also contains the Slavm Cemetery, the burial place of famous personalities of our cultural and political life.

Apart from the sights mentioned above Prague boasts many morę important institutions, and charmingplacts, houses, and museums. Among them Charles University, the oldest university in Central and Eastem Europę,theHonst of Artists (Rudolfinum), the second most outstanding Neo-Renaissance building in Prague which once hostedthe Parliament, and St. Agnes Convent which now houses exhibitions of the National Gallery, are worth seeing.

On the outskirts of Prague Troja, a newly reconstructed Baroąue chateau is worth visiting and in the eiwircą Zbraslay Monastery whose church is a burial place of some of the Premyslid kings. The monastery has been changedinto a gallery in which a collection of sculptures of the National Gallery is installed.

But Prague is not only a historical city, it bustles with everyday life. New residential areas have been built oothe outskirts. It is an important road, raił, air (RuzynS Airport) and river transport junction.

Prague also has a dense network of local transport which includes trams, buses and the newly built underground (1974), called the metro.

There are many industries in Prague too. The most important kinds of industry are the engineering (ĆKD Wods, Tesla, Motorlet etc.), food industry (meat-processing, dairies, breweries - Smichov Staropramen, confectionery*Orion, bakeries and mills), textile, Chemical, printing and film (Barrandov) industries.

Questions on the text:

I. Where is Prague situated? How many inhabitants has 11. What forms the heart of the New Town? How it?    describe it?

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