PRAG UNTERKUNFT

Celtic tribes around 4000 BC. Slavs came into the picture around the turn of the millennium, and by the 600 AD had settled opposite sides of a particularly appealing stretch... of the Vltava River. They successfully defended the land now known as Bohemia for generations, but by the 9th century it had been conquered by the Great Moravian Empire... The short-lived empire introduced the locals to Christianity, but it was 'Good King Wenceslas' of Christmas-carol fame (he was actually a duke) who made it the state religion of Bohemia in the 940s. He remains the patron saint of the Czech Republic. It was under the rule of Charles IV (ruled 1346-78) that Prague truly came into its own, becoming one of the continent's largest and most prosperous cities, acquiring its fine Gothic face and landmark buildings like Charles University, Charles Bridge and St Vitus Cathedral.