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it is the Municipal House, in the 14th and 15th centuries the Royai ^oiuv,----- __

century decorative style. The best known of its 6 halls is the Smetana Hall in which concerts of the Prague Spring Festival and balls are held. The Na pffkop£ Street, now a pedestrian precinct, takes us to the bottom of WenceslasSo^ the heart of the New Town and present-day Prague. It is a 750 m long boulevard lined with banks, departmem^¹ boutiąues, shops, hotels, restaurants, cafes, theatres and cinemas. The uppper end of the sąuare is closed W Neo-Renaissance building of the National Museum from the end of the 19th century which contains historical and nahJi histoiy collections. In the upper part of the square stands the St. Wenceslas Memoriał, the bronze eąuestrian statuę^ Prince Wenceslas by J. V. Myslbek, a favourite meeting place of tourists. From the bottom of the Sąuare we can go aw Ni rodni Street to the river Vltava. On its bank the most beautiful Neo-Renaissance building, the National Theatre i situated. Along the river we come to Vy3ehrad, once the seat of Czech Princes. Now only a few remains of the castlehavt been preserved on the rock. The oldest construction on Vy§ehrad and in the whole of Prague is the Rotunda ofSt Mirta built in the 1 lth century. The Vyśehrad site also contains the Slavin Cemetery, the burial place of famous persona!^ of our cultural and political life.

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

On the outskirts of Prague Troja, a newly reconstructed Baroąue chateau is worth visiting and in the erwirons, Zbraslav Monastery whose church is a burial place of some of the Premyslid kings. The monastery has beenchangedinto 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 octbt 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 Wotfe, Tesla, Motorlet etc.), food industry (meat-processing, dairies, breweries - Smichov Staropramen, confectionery-Owm, bakeries and mills), textile, Chemical, printing and film (Barrandov) industries.

Questions on the text:

1

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