EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN CITY

The return of more settled conditions in central Europe was marked by renewed economic growth, and Prague's population grew from 40,000 in 1705 to more than 80,000 by 1771. In 1784 the Old Town, the New Town, the Mala Strana, and the Hradcany complex were administratively united into one city. The merchants and the mostly German, Spanish, and Italian nobility who were active in and around Prague in this period had an enormous effect on both architecture and cultural life. Outstanding architects created magnificent palaces and gardens, and churches in the Prague version of the Baroque style sprang up throughout the city. The onset of the Industrial Revolution had major effects in Prague. The first suburb (Karlin) was established in 1817, and in the next 20 years many factories sprang up, often in association with the coal mines and ironworks at Kladno and Kraluv Dvur, not far away. The population exceeded 100,000 by 1837, and expansion continued after the city received its first railway eight years later. The rise of a working class and of strong nationalistic sentiments had a profound effect on the city; students, artisans, and workers took to the barricades against the ruling Austrians when revolution flared briefly in 1848. Within 20 years Czechs had won a majority on the City Council, and Czech cultural life was experiencing a renascence centred on Prague. The Neoclassical building of the National Museum and the National Theatre are only two examples of the building that took place in this period. By the 1890s the first electric streetcars (trams) were running in the city, urban services were being reorganised, and a replica of the Eiffel Tower overlooked the city from Petrin Hill. >>