Global Study Group

Prague

Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Its official name is hlavní město Praha, meaning the Capital City of Prague.
Situated on the River Vltava in central Bohemia, Prague has been the political, cultural, and economic center of the Czech state for over 1100 years. The city proper is home to nearly 1.2 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 1.9 million.

Prague is widely considered to be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe and belongs to the most visited cities on the continent[3]. Since 1992, the historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. Nicknames for Prague have included "the mother of cities" (Praga mater urbium, or "Praha matka měst" in Czech)", "city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city".

Economy
The GDP per capita of Prague is more than double that of the Czech Republic as a whole, with a per-capita GDP (PPP) of 33,784 (purchasing power standard) in 2004, which is at 157.1% of the European Union average. This number is ranking Prague between 12 richest EU regions [5]. However, the price level is still significantly lower than in comparable cities.
The city is becoming a site of European headquarters of many international companies.
Since the late 1990s, Prague has become a popular filming location for international productions and Hollywood motion pictures. A combination of architecture, low costs and the existing motion picture infrastructure have proved attractive to international film production companies.