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129-722: The dynasty's origin dates back to the 9th century, when the Přemyslids ruled a tiny territory around Prague , populated by a tribe of the Western Slavs . Their name comes from the mythical ancestor figure of Přemysl the Ploughman . Gradually they expanded, conquering much of the region of Bohemia , located in the Bohemian basin where it was not threatened by the expansion of the Frankish Empire . The first historically-documented Přemyslid duke

258-518: A Habsburg territory , i.e., only by males and their consorts, appanages being commonly distributed to Cadets . These "junior" archdukes did not thereby become independent hereditary rulers, since all territories remained vested in the Austrian crown. Occasionally a territory might be combined with a separate gubernatorial mandate ruled by an archducal cadet. From the 16th century onward, archduke and its female form, archduchess , came to be used by all

387-550: A "threshold" to the castle. Another derivation of the name Praha is suggested from na prazě , the original term for the shale hillside rock upon which the original castle was built. At that time, the castle was surrounded by forests, covering the nine hills of the future city – the Old Town on the opposite side of the river, as well as the Lesser Town beneath the existing castle, appeared only later. The English spelling of

516-407: A bid for the 2016 Summer Olympics , but failed to make the candidate city shortlist . In June 2009, as the result of financial pressures from the global recession , Prague's officials chose to cancel the city's planned bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics . On 21 December 2023, a mass shooting took place at Charles University in central Prague. In total, 15 people were killed and 25 injured. It

645-686: A democratic way. The other Warsaw Pact member countries, except Romania and Albania , were led by the Soviet Union to repress these reforms through the invasion of Czechoslovakia and the capital, Prague, on 21 August 1968. The invasion, chiefly by infantry and tanks, effectively suppressed any further attempts at reform. The military occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Red Army would end only in 1991. Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc committed suicide by self-immolation in January and February 1969 to protest against

774-551: A fortress built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland by Radbot of Klettgau , who named his fortress Habsburg. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the fortress name as his own, adding "Count of Habsburg" to his title. In 1273, Count Radbot's seventh-generation descendant, Rudolph of Habsburg , was elected King of the Romans . Taking advantage of the extinction of the Babenbergs and of his victory over Ottokar II of Bohemia at

903-591: A large vein of silver at Kutná Hora . He introduced the silver Prague groschen , which was an important unit of currency in Europe for centuries, and planned to build the first university in Central Europe. The power and wealth of the Kingdom of Bohemia gave rise to great respect, but also to the hostility of other European royal families. The dynasty began to collapse following the untimely death of Wenceslaus II (1305), and

1032-560: A leading role in the family and positioned himself as the judge over the family's internal conflicts, often making use of the privilegium maius . He was able to restore the unity of the house's Austrian lands, since the Albertinian line was now extinct. Territorial integrity was also strengthened by the extinction of the Tyrolean branch of the Leopoldian line. Frederick's aim was to make Austria

1161-470: A legendary etymology connects the name of the city with princess Libuše , prophetess and a wife of the mythical founder of the Přemyslid dynasty . She is said to have ordered the city "to be built where a man hews a threshold of his house". The Czech práh might thus be understood to refer to rapids or fords in the river, the edge of which could have acted as a means of fording the river – thus providing

1290-632: A massive increase in the city's overall population caused by the influx of Czechs from the rest of Bohemia and Moravia and the increasing prestige and importance of the Czech language as part of the Czech National Revival. World War I ended with the defeat of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the creation of Czechoslovakia. Prague was chosen as its capital and Prague Castle as the seat of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk . At this time Prague

1419-473: A month later, Frederick the Great was defeated and forced to retreat from Bohemia. The economy of Prague continued to improve during the 18th century. The population increased to 80,000 inhabitants by 1771. Many rich merchants and nobles enhanced the city with a host of palaces, churches and gardens full of art and music, creating a Baroque city renowned throughout the world to this day. In 1784, under Joseph II ,

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1548-649: A united country stretching from the Rhine to the Mur and Leitha . Externally, one of Frederick's main achievements was the Siege of Neuss (1474–75), in which he coerced Charles the Bold of Burgundy to give his daughter Mary of Burgundy as wife to Frederick's son Maximilian . The wedding took place on the evening of 16 August 1477, and ultimately resulted in the Habsburgs acquiring control of

1677-575: Is Velký Počernický with 41.76 ha (103.2 acres). The largest body of water is Hostivař Reservoir with 42 hectares (103.8 acres). House of Habsburg Cognatic : The House of Habsburg ( / ˈ h æ p s b ɜːr ɡ / ; German : Haus Habsburg [haʊs ˈhaːpsbʊrk] ), also known as the House of Austria , was one of the most prominent and important dynasties in European history. The house takes its name from Habsburg Castle ,

1806-608: Is a city from the stone, the richest of all states north of the Alps." After their rise to prominence, however, struggles within the family set in motion a decline in power and, in 1002, the Polish duke Boleslaus the Brave occupied Prague. Boleslaus III, son of Boleslaus II, escaped from Bohemia; decades of confusion and anarchy ensued. The decline ended in the reign of Prince Bretislaus I , grandson of Boleslaus II. He in turn looted Poland , including

1935-668: Is a crescent-shaped golden sun with rays protruding. One of these banners was captured by Swedish troops during the Battle of Prague (1648) when they captured the western bank of the Vltava river and were repulsed from the eastern bank, they placed it in the Royal Military Museum in Stockholm ; although this flag still exists, it is in very poor condition. They also took the Codex Gigas and

2064-627: Is also called the "City of a Hundred Spires " , based on a count by 19th century mathematician Bernard Bolzano ; today's count is estimated by the Prague Information Service at 500. Nicknames for Prague have also included: the Golden City, the Mother of Cities and the Heart of Europe. The local Jewish community, which belongs to one of the oldest continuously existing in the world, have described

2193-578: Is evinced by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV naming Prince Vratislaus II of Bohemia the first king of Bohemia, Vratislaus I, in 1085. He was raised to this prominent position not long after his father Bretislaus pacified Bohemia after years of civil conflict. The kingship was disputed whenever Bohemian internal conflict increased. It was fixed, however, after the position of the emperor in Germany weakened. In 1198, Duke Ottokar I again gained

2322-412: Is home to about 1.4 million people. Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of Central Europe , with a rich history and Romanesque , Gothic , Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors , most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611). It was an important city to

2451-615: The Allies , were executed. The Habsburg family played a leading role in the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of the Communist Eastern Bloc . As they accumulated crowns and titles, the Habsburgs developed a family tradition of multilingualism that evolved over the centuries. The Holy Roman Empire had been multilingual from the start, even though most of its emperors were native German speakers. The language issue within

2580-889: The Battle on the Marchfeld in 1278, he appointed his sons as Dukes of Austria and moved the family's power base to Vienna , where the Habsburg dynasty gained the name of "House of Austria" and ruled until 1918. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs from 1440 until their extinction in the male line in 1740, and, as the Habsburg-Lorraines, from 1765 until its dissolution in 1806. The house also produced kings of Bohemia , Hungary , Croatia , Slavonia , Dalmatia , Spain , Portugal , Sicily , Lombardy-Venetia and Galicia-Lodomeria , with their respective colonies; rulers of several principalities in

2709-557: The Bethlehem Chapel . Inspired by John Wycliffe , these sermons focused on what were seen as radical reforms of a corrupt Church. Having become too dangerous for the political and religious establishment, Hus was summoned to the Council of Constance , put on trial for heresy , and burned at the stake in Konstanz in 1415. Four years later Prague experienced its first defenestration , when

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2838-525: The Bohemian Diet in Czech, even though it is not clear that they were fluent. By contrast there is little evidence that later Habsburgs in the 17th and 18th centuries spoke Czech, with the probable exception of Ferdinand III , who had several stays in Bohemia and appears to have spoken Czech while there. In the 19th century Francis I had some Czech and Ferdinand I spoke it decently. Franz Joseph received

2967-631: The Burgundian Netherlands . After Mary's early death in 1482, Maximilian attempted to secure the Burgundian inheritance for one of his and Mary's children Philip the Handsome . Charles VIII of France contested this, using both military and dynastic means, but the Burgundian succession was finally ruled in favor of Philip in the Treaty of Senlis in 1493. After the death of his father in 1493, Maximilian

3096-514: The Casa de Austria , including illegitimate sons such as John of Austria and John Joseph of Austria . The arms displayed in their simplest form were those of Austria, which the Habsburgs had made their own, at times impaled with the arms of the Duchy of Burgundy (ancient). After Maria Theresa married Duke Francis Stephen of Lorraine , the idea of "Habsburg" as associated with ancestral Austrian rulership

3225-613: The Codex Argenteus . The earliest evidence indicates that a gonfalon with a municipal charge painted on it was used for the Old Town as early as 1419. Since this city militia flag was in use before 1477 and during the Hussite Wars, it is the oldest still preserved municipal flag of Bohemia. In the following two centuries, Prague strengthened its role as a merchant city. Many noteworthy Gothic buildings were erected and Vladislav Hall of

3354-682: The Duchy of Milan were in personal union under the King of Spain but remained part of the Holy Roman Empire . Furthermore, the Spanish king had claims on Hungary and Bohemia. In the secret Oñate treaty of 29 July 1617, the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs settled their mutual claims. The Habsburgs sought to consolidate their power by frequent consanguineous marriages , resulting in a cumulatively deleterious effect on their gene pool . Health impairments due to inbreeding included epilepsy, insanity and early death. A study of 3,000 family members over 16 generations by

3483-597: The Habsburg Castle . That castle was the family seat during most of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. Giovanni Thomas Marnavich in his book " Regiae Sanctitatis Illyricanae Faecunditas " dedicated to Ferdinand III , wrote that the House of Habsburg is descended from the Roman emperor Constantine the Great , an invention common in ruling dynasties at the time. In the 12th century, the Habsburgs became increasingly associated with

3612-746: The Habsburg monarchy and Austria-Hungary . The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations , the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era . Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions including Prague Castle , Charles Bridge , Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock ,

3741-577: The Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveler Abraham ben Jacob . The Old New Synagogue of 1270 still stands in the city. Prague was also once home to a slave market. At the site of the ford in the Vltava river, King Vladislaus I had the first bridge built in 1170, the Judith Bridge (Juditin most), named in honor of his wife Judith of Thuringia . This bridge was destroyed by a flood in 1342, but some of

3870-555: The House of Gorizia . Following Rudolph's death in 1291, Albert I 's assassination in 1308, and Frederick the Fair 's failure to secure the German/Imperial crown for himself, the Habsburgs temporarily lost their supremacy in the Empire. In the early 14th century, they also focused on the Kingdom of Bohemia . After Václav III 's death on 4 August 1306, there were no male heirs remaining in

3999-605: The Jewish Quarter , Petřín hill and Vyšehrad . Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites . The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague,

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4128-557: The Low Countries and Italy; numerous Prince-Bishoprics in the Holy Roman Empire, and in the 19th century, emperors of Austria and of Austria-Hungary , as well as one emperor of Mexico . The family split several times into parallel branches, most consequentially in the mid-16th century between its Spanish and German-Austrian branches following the abdication of Emperor Charles V in 1556. Although they ruled distinct territories,

4257-431: The Přemyslid dynasty . Habsburg scion Rudolph I was then elected but only lasted a year. The Bohemian kingship was an elected position, and the Habsburgs were only able to secure it on a hereditary basis much later in 1626, following their reconquest of the Czech lands during the Thirty Years' War . After 1307, subsequent Habsburg attempts to gain the Bohemian crown were frustrated first by Henry of Bohemia (a member of

4386-634: The Red Army took the city almost unopposed. The majority (about 50,000 people) of the German population of Prague either fled or were expelled by the Beneš decrees in the aftermath of the war. Prague was a city in a country under the military, economic, and political control of the Soviet Union (see Iron Curtain and COMECON ). The world's largest Stalin Monument was unveiled on Letná hill in 1955 and destroyed in 1962. The 4th Czechoslovak Writers' Congress, held in

4515-518: The Spanheim ( Carinthia and Carniola ). In 1278, Rudolph and his allies defeated and killed Ottokar at the Battle of Marchfeld , and the lands he had acquired reverted to the German crown. With the Georgenberg Pact of 1286, Rudolph secured for his family the duchies of Austria and Styria. The southern portions of Ottokar's former realm, Carinthia, Carniola, and Savinja, went to Rudolph's allies from

4644-548: The Staufer emperors, participating in the imperial court and the emperor's military expeditions; Werner II, Count of Habsburg died fighting for Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in Italy. This association helped them to inherit many domains as the Staufers caused the extinction of many dynasties, some of which the Habsburgs were heirs to. In 1198, Rudolf II, Count of Habsburg fully dedicated

4773-463: The Thirty Years' War , a particularly harsh period for Prague and Bohemia. Ferdinand II of Habsburg was deposed, and his place as King of Bohemia taken by Frederick V, Elector Palatine ; however his army was crushed in the Battle of White Mountain (1620) not far from the city. Following this in 1621 was an execution of 27 Czech Protestant leaders (involved in the uprising) in Old Town Square and

4902-616: The Tyrol ; and Margrave of Upper and Lower Lusatia and Istria ". The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 created a real union , whereby the Kingdom of Hungary was granted co-equality with the Empire of Austria , that henceforth didn't include the Kingdom of Hungary as a crownland anymore. The Austrian and the Hungarian lands became independent entities enjoying equal status. Under this arrangement,

5031-421: The US Army Air Forces . 701 people were killed, more than 1,000 people were injured and some buildings, factories and historic landmarks ( Emmaus Monastery , Faust House , Vinohrady Synagogue ) were destroyed. Many historic structures in Prague, however, escaped the destruction of the war and the damage was small compared to the total destruction of many other cities in that time. According to American pilots, it

5160-445: The University of Santiago de Compostela suggests inbreeding may have played a role in their extinction. Numerous members of the family showed specific facial deformities: an enlarged lower jaw with an extended chin known as mandibular prognathism or 'Habsburg jaw', a large nose with hump and hanging tip ('Habsburg nose') and an everted lower lip ('Habsburg lip'). The last two are signs of maxillary deficiency . A 2019 study found that

5289-467: The oldest university in Central Europe. His father John of Bohemia began construction of the Gothic Saint Vitus Cathedral , within the largest of the Prague Castle courtyards, on the site of the Romanesque rotunda there. Prague was elevated to an archbishopric in 1344, the year the cathedral was begun. The city had a mint and was a center of trade for German and Italian bankers and merchants. The social order, however, became more turbulent due to

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5418-407: The " normalization " of the country. In 1989, after riot police beat back a peaceful student demonstration, the Velvet Revolution crowded the streets of Prague, and the capital of Czechoslovakia benefited greatly from the new mood. In 1992, the Historic Centre of Prague and its monuments were inscribed as a cultural UNESCO World Heritage Site . In 1993, after the Velvet Divorce , Prague became

5547-413: The 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia . They were also able to gain high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other noble families such as the House of Kyburg . By the second half of the 13th century, Count Rudolph I (1218–1291) had become an influential territorial lord in

5676-418: The 17th century, Prague's population began to grow again. Jews had been in Prague since the end of the 10th century and, by 1708, they accounted for about a quarter of Prague's population. In 1689, a great fire devastated Prague, but this spurred a renovation and a rebuilding of the city. In 1713–14, a major outbreak of plague hit Prague one last time, killing 12,000 to 13,000 people. In 1744, Frederick

5805-441: The 20th century. Ottokar's son King Wenceslaus II was just seven when he came to the throne of Bohemia. Over time, thanks to deft diplomacy, he gained the Polish crown for himself and the crown of Hungary for his son. Wenceslas II brought together a vast empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Danube River and established numerous cities, among them Plzeň in 1295. Bohemia became a wealthy nation during his reign thanks to

5934-425: The Adriatic Sea. After the death of Leopold's eldest son, William , in 1406 the Leopoldian line was further split among his brothers into the Inner Austrian territory under Ernest the Iron and a Tyrolean/Further Austrian line under Frederick of the Empty Pockets . In 1440 Ernest's son Frederick III was chosen by the electoral college to succeed Albert II as the king. Several Habsburg kings had attempted to gain

6063-586: The Austrian Succession . The former was won by House of Bourbon , putting an end to Habsburg rule in Spain . The latter, however, was won by Maria Theresa and led to the succession of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine ( German : Haus Habsburg-Lothringen ) becoming the new main branch of the dynasty in the person of Maria Theresa's son, Joseph II . This new House was created by the marriage between Maria Theresa and Francis Stephan , Duke of Lorraine . (Both of them were great-grandchildren of Habsburg emperor Ferdinand III , but from different empresses.) This new House

6192-430: The Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes ( Marcomanni , Quadi , Lombards and possibly the Suebi ), leading some to place the seat of the Marcomanni king, Maroboduus , in Závist. Around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map drawn by Roman geographer Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis . In the late 5th century AD, during the great Migration Period following

6321-399: The Empire became gradually more salient as the non-religious use of Latin declined and that of national languages gained prominence during the High Middle Ages . Emperor Charles IV of Luxembourg was known to be fluent in Czech, French, German, Italian and Latin. The last section of his Golden Bull of 1356 specifies that the Empire's secular prince-electors "should be instructed in

6450-686: The French on 18 May 1804. Emperor Francis I of Austria used the official full list of titles: " We , Francis the First, by the grace of God, Emperor of Austria; King of Jerusalem , Hungary , Bohemia , Dalmatia , Croatia , Slavonia , Galicia and Lodomeria ; Archduke of Austria ; Duke of Lorraine , Salzburg , Würzburg , Franconia , Styria , Carinthia , and Carniola ; Grand Duke of Cracow ; Grand Prince of Transylvania ; Margrave of Moravia ; Duke of Sandomir , Masovia , Lublin , Upper and Lower Silesia , Auschwitz and Zator , Teschen , and Friule ; Prince of Berchtesgaden and Mergentheim ; Princely Count of Habsburg, Gorizia and Gradisca and of

6579-454: The Great of Prussia invaded Bohemia. He took Prague after a severe and prolonged siege in the course of which a large part of the town was destroyed. Empress Maria Theresa expelled the Jews from Prague in 1745; though she rescinded the expulsion in 1748, the proportion of Jewish residents in the city never recovered. In 1757 the Prussian bombardment destroyed more than one-quarter of the city and heavily damaged St. Vitus Cathedral. However,

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6708-404: The Handsome or the Fair, married Joanna of Castile , also known as Joanna the Mad, heiress of Castile and Aragon . Phillip and Joan had six children, the eldest of whom became Emperor Charles V in 1516 and ruled the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon (including their colonies in the New World ), Southern Italy, Austria and the Habsburg Netherlands with his mother and nominal coruler, Joanna, who

6837-440: The House of Gorizia) and then by the House of Luxembourg . Instead, they were able to expand southwards: in 1311, they took over Savinja ; after the death of Henry in 1335, they assumed power in Carniola and Carinthia ; and in 1369, they succeeded his daughter Margaret in Tyrol . After the death of Albert III of Gorizia in 1374, they gained a foothold at Pazin in central Istria , followed by Trieste in 1382. Meanwhile,

6966-417: The Hungarians referred to their ruler as king and never emperor (see k. u. k. ). This prevailed until the Habsburgs' deposition from both Austria and Hungary in 1918 following defeat in World War I. On 11 November 1918, with his empire collapsing around him, the last Habsburg ruler, Charles I of Austria (who also reigned as Charles IV of Hungary) issued a proclamation recognizing Austria's right to determine

7095-403: The Ottomans in 1439 and that of his son Ladislaus Postumus in 1457, the Habsburgs lost Bohemia once more as well as Hungary for several decades. However, with the extinction of the House of Celje in 1456 and the House of Wallsee-Enns in 1466/1483, they managed to absorb significant secular enclaves into their territories and create a contiguous domain stretching from the border with Bohemia to

7224-532: The Prague Castle was added. In 1526, the Bohemian estates elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg . The fervent Catholicism of its members brought them into conflict in Bohemia, and then in Prague, where Protestant ideas were gaining popularity. These problems were not preeminent under Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II , elected King of Bohemia in 1576, who chose Prague as his home. He lived in Prague Castle, where his court welcomed not only astrologers and magicians but also scientists, musicians, and artists. Rudolf

7353-436: The area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance . On 1 October 1273, he was elected as a compromise candidate as King of the Romans and received the name Rudolph I of Germany . He then led a coalition against King Ottokar II of Bohemia who had taken advantage of the Great Interregnum in order to expand southwards, taking over the respective inheritances of the Babenberg ( Austria , Styria , Savinja ) and of

7482-444: The assassination of his only son, Wenceslaus III in 1306, which ended their rule. On the distaff side, however, the dynasty continued, and in 1355, Bohemian king Charles IV , the grandson of Wenceslaus II, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome. The name of the dynasty, according to Cosmas in his Chronica Boemorum (1119), comes from its legendary founder, Přemysl , husband of duchess Libuše . The first historical Přemyslid

7611-492: The capital city of the new Czech Republic. From 1995, high-rise buildings began to be built in Prague in large quantities. In the late 1990s, Prague again became an important cultural center of Europe and was notably influenced by globalisation . In 2000, the IMF and World Bank summits took place in Prague and anti-globalization riots took place here. In 2002, Prague suffered from widespread floods that damaged buildings and its underground transport system. Prague launched

7740-429: The cities of Kraków and Gniezno (1038), where he obtained the relics of St. Adalbert . He sought the establishment of the Prague archbishopric and a royal title. His son and successor Vratislaus II became the first King of Bohemia in 1085. Vratislaus' son Soběslav I destroyed the Imperial army of King Lothar III in the Battle of Chlumec in 1126. This allowed a further strengthening of Bohemia, culminating during

7869-406: The city as עיר ואם בישראל Ir va-em be-yisrael , "The city and mother in Israel". Prague has grown from a settlement stretching from Prague Castle in the north to the fort of Vyšehrad in the south, to become the capital of a modern European country. The region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz , citing Cyriacus Spangenberg , claimed that

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7998-427: The city in June 1967, took a strong position against the regime. On 31 October 1967 students demonstrated at Strahov . This spurred the new secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party , Alexander Dubček , to proclaim a new deal in his city's and country's life, starting the short-lived season of the " socialism with a human face ". It was the Prague Spring , which aimed at the renovation of political institutions in

8127-406: The city militia fought bravely under the Prague Banner. This swallow-tailed banner is approximately 4 by 6 ft (1.2 by 1.8 m), with a red field sprinkled with small white fleurs-de-lis, and a silver old Town Coat-of-Arms in the center. The words "PÁN BŮH POMOC NAŠE" (The Lord is our Relief/Help) appeared above the coat-of-arms, with a Hussite chalice centered on the top. Near the swallow-tails

8256-412: The city was founded as Boihaem in c.  1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. Around the fifth and fourth century BC, a Celtic tribe appeared in the area, later establishing settlements, including the largest Celtic oppidum in Bohemia , Závist, in a present-day south suburb Zbraslav in Prague, and naming the region of Bohemia, which means "home of the Boii people". In the last century BC,

8385-415: The city's name is borrowed from French . In the 19th and early 20th centuries it was pronounced in English to rhyme with "vague": it was so pronounced by Lady Diana Cooper (born 1892) on Desert Island Discs in 1969, and it is written to rhyme with "vague" in a verse of The Beleaguered City by Longfellow (1839) and also in the limerick There was an Old Lady of Prague by Edward Lear (1846). Prague

8514-431: The collapse of the Western Roman Empire , the Germanic tribes living in Bohemia moved westwards and, probably in the 6th century, the Slavic tribes settled the Central Bohemian Region. In the following three centuries, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in the Šárka valley , Butovice and Levý Hradec . The construction of what came to be known as Prague Castle began near

8643-483: The country was occupied by Nazi Germany , Hitler took over Prague Castle. During the Second World War , most Jews were deported and killed by the Germans. In 1942, Prague was witness to the assassination of one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany — Reinhard Heydrich —during Operation Anthropoid , accomplished by Czechoslovak national heroes Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš . Hitler ordered bloody reprisals. In February 1945, Prague suffered several bombing raids by

8772-481: The crown of the Holy Roman Empire . His ambitions started the conflict with the House of Habsburg , which had been composed of little-known counts , and suited the interests of German noble houses better than the mighty King Ottokar. The Habsburg representative, Rudolf , was elected as King of the Romans. In the Battle of Marchfeld (1278), Ottokar clashed with the Imperial and Hungarian armies, only to be killed. The Habsburgs then acquired Austria and retained it until

8901-418: The degree of mandibular prognathism in the Habsburg family shows a statistically significant correlation with the degree of inbreeding. A correlation between maxillary deficiency and degree of inbreeding was also present but was not statistically significant. Other scientific studies, however, dispute the ideas of any linkage between fertility and consanguinity . The gene pool eventually became so small that

9030-418: The different branches nevertheless maintained close relations and frequently intermarried. Members of the Habsburg family oversee the Austrian branch of the Order of the Golden Fleece , the Order of the Starry Cross and the Imperial and Royal Order of Saint George . The current head of the family is Karl von Habsburg . The origins of Habsburg Castle 's name are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether

9159-400: The dynasty to the Staufer cause by joining the Ghibellines and funded the Staufer emperor Frederick II 's war for the throne in 1211. The emperor was made godfather to his newly born grandson, the future King Rudolf . The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, especially countship rights in Zürichgau , Aargau and Thurgau . In

9288-401: The early 15th century, Strasbourg -based chronicler Jakob Twinger von Königshofen asserted that Charlemagne had mastered six languages, even though he had a preference for German. In the early years of the family's ascendancy, neither Rudolf I nor Albert I appears to have spoken French. By contrast, Charles V of Habsburg is well known as having been fluent in several languages. He

9417-463: The end of the 9th century, expanding a fortified settlement that had existed on the site since the year 800. The first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad , was founded in the 10th century, some 70 years later than Prague Castle. Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral , which began construction in 1344, but

9546-407: The exiling of many others. Prague was forcibly converted back to Roman Catholicism followed by the rest of Czech lands. The city suffered subsequently during the war under an attack by Electorate of Saxony (1631) and during the Battle of Prague (1648) . Prague began a steady decline which reduced the population from the 60,000 it had had in the years before the war to 20,000. In the second half of

9675-569: The family domains and enacted the separation of the so-called Albertinian and Leopoldian family lines on 25 September 1379 by the Treaty of Neuberg . The former would maintain Austria proper (then called Niederösterreich but comprising modern Lower Austria and most of Upper Austria ), while the latter would rule over lands then labeled Oberösterreich , namely Inner Austria ( Innerösterreich ) comprising Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, and Further Austria ( Vorderösterreich ) consisting of Tyrol and

9804-578: The fight against Protestantism , which led to its eradication throughout vast areas under Habsburg control. Charles formally became the sole monarch of Spain upon the death of his imprisoned mother Queen Joan in 1555. After the abdication of Charles V in 1556, the Habsburg dynasty split into the branch of the Austrian (or German) Habsburgs, led by Ferdinand, and the branch of the Spanish Habsburgs, initially led by Charles's son Philip . Ferdinand I , King of Bohemia, Hungary, and archduke of Austria in

9933-421: The four municipalities of Malá Strana, Nové Město, Staré Město, and Hradčany were merged into a single entity. The Jewish district, called Josefov , was included only in 1850. The Industrial Revolution produced great changes and developments in Prague, as new factories could take advantage of the coal mines and ironworks of the nearby regions. The first suburb, Karlín , was created in 1817, and twenty years later

10062-401: The future of the state and renouncing any role in state affairs. Two days later, he issued a separate proclamation for Hungary. Even though he did not officially abdicate , this is considered the end of the Habsburg dynasty. In 1919, the new republican Austrian government subsequently passed a law banishing the Habsburgs from Austrian territory until they renounced all intentions of regaining

10191-655: The imperial dignity over the years, but success finally arrived on 19 March 1452, when Pope Nicholas V crowned Frederick III as the Holy Roman Emperor in a grand ceremony held in Rome. In Frederick III the Pope found an important political ally with whose help he was able to counter the conciliar movement . While in Rome Frederick III married Eleanor of Portugal , enabling him to build a network of connections with dynasties in

10320-508: The last of the Spanish line, Charles II , who was severely disabled from birth (perhaps by genetic disorders ), possessed a genome comparable to that of a child born to a brother and sister, as did his father, probably because of 'remote inbreeding '. The death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 led to the War of the Spanish Succession , and that of Emperor Charles VI in 1740 to the War of

10449-581: The members of the House of Habsburg (e.g., Queen Marie Antoinette of France was born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria ). In 1457 Duke Frederick V of Inner Austria also gained the Austrian archduchy after his Albertine cousin Ladislaus the Posthumous had died without issue. 1490 saw the reunification of all Habsburg lines when Archduke Sigismund of Further Austria and Tyrol resigned in favor of Frederick's son Maximilian I . As emperor, Frederick III took

10578-548: The name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg ( hawk castle), or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford , as there is a river with a ford nearby. The first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg name was not continuously used by the family members, since they often emphasized their more prestigious princely titles. The dynasty

10707-602: The name of his brother Charles V became suo jure monarch as well as the Habsburg Holy Roman Emperor (designated as successor already in 1531 ). Philip became King of Spain and its colonial empire as Philip II , and ruler of the Habsburg domains in Italy and the Low Countries. The Spanish Habsburgs also ruled Portugal for a time, known there as the Philippine dynasty (1580–1640). The Seventeen Provinces and

10836-513: The oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague

10965-549: The original foundation stones of that bridge remain in the river. It was rebuilt and named the Charles Bridge. In 1257, under King Ottokar II , Malá Strana ("Lesser Quarter") was founded in Prague on the site of an older village in what would become the Hradčany (Prague Castle) area. This was the district of the German people, who had the right to administer the law autonomously, pursuant to Magdeburg rights . The new district

11094-511: The original home territories of the Habsburgs in what is now Switzerland, including the Aargau with Habsburg Castle, were lost in the 14th century to the expanding Swiss Confederacy after the battles of Morgarten (1315) and Sempach (1386). Habsburg Castle itself was finally lost to the Swiss in 1415. Rudolf IV 's brothers Albert III and Leopold III ignored his efforts to preserve the integrity of

11223-482: The people rebelled under the command of the Prague priest Jan Želivský . Hus' death, coupled with Czech proto-nationalism and proto-Protestantism , had spurred the Hussite Wars . Peasant rebels, led by the general Jan Žižka , along with Hussite troops from Prague, defeated Emperor Sigismund , in the Battle of Vítkov Hill in 1420. During the Hussite Wars when Prague was attacked by "Crusader" and mercenary forces,

11352-481: The population exceeded 100,000. The revolutions in Europe in 1848 also touched Prague, but they were fiercely suppressed. In the following years, the Czech National Revival began its rise, until it gained the majority in the town council in 1861. Prague had a large number of German speakers in 1848, but by 1880 the number of German speakers had decreased to 14% (42,000), and by 1910 to 6.7% (37,000), due to

11481-605: The reign of Prince Boleslaus I the Cruel (935) and his son Boleslaus II the Pious (972), the Přemyslids ruled territory stretching to today's Belarus . The dynasty controlled vital trade routes during this time. The Bohemian lands and Prague were an important center of trade where merchants from all of Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by the Hispano-Jewish merchant and traveller Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub . He wrote, "Prague

11610-465: The reign of Vratislav's grandson, King Vladislaus II (1158). Vladislav II founded many monasteries and built the first stone bridge across the Vltava river, one of the earliest in Central and Northern Europe. Once again, internal struggles started the decline of the Přemyslids. Many leaders from the dynasty alternated on the Bohemian throne, leading to their eventual bankruptcy. Finally, on his ascension to

11739-529: The reign of his son, King Wenceslaus IV (1378–1419), a period of intense turmoil ensued. During Easter 1389, members of the Prague clergy announced that Jews had desecrated the host (Eucharistic wafer) and the clergy encouraged mobs to pillage, ransack and burn the Jewish quarter. Nearly the entire Jewish population of Prague (ca 750 people) was murdered. Jan Hus , a theologian and rector at Charles University, preached in Prague. In 1402, he began giving sermons in

11868-433: The rising power of the craftsmen 's guilds (themselves often torn by internal conflicts), and the increasing number of poor. The Hunger Wall, a substantial fortification wall south of Malá Strana and the castle area was built during a famine in the 1360s. The work is reputed to have been ordered by Charles IV as a means of providing employment and food to the workers and their families. Charles IV died in 1378. During

11997-523: The ruler of Austria himself. Frederick himself used just "Duke of Austria", never Archduke , until his death in 1493. The title was first granted to Frederick's younger brother, Albert VI of Austria (died 1463), who used it at least from 1458. In 1477, Frederick granted the title archduke to his first cousin Sigismund of Austria , ruler of Further Austria . Frederick's son and heir, the future Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor , apparently only started to use

12126-556: The second half of the 13th century, the Přemyslids were one of the most powerful dynasties in Central Europe. King Přemysl Ottokar II , son of Wenceslas I, earned the nickname "Iron and Golden King" because of his military power and wealth. After several victorious wars with the Hungarian Kingdom, he acquired Austria , Styria , Carinthia and Carniola , extending Bohemian territory to the Adriatic Sea . King Ottokar II aspired to

12255-474: The site. The region became the seat of the dukes , and later kings of Bohemia . Under Duke of Bohemia Boleslaus II the Pious the area became a bishopric in 973. Until Prague was elevated to archbishopric in 1344, it was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishopric of Mainz . Prague was an important seat for trading where merchants from across Europe settled, including many Jews, as recalled in 965 by

12384-426: The source] to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse." Latin was the administrative language of the Empire until the aggressive promotion of German by Joseph II in the late 18th century, which was partly reversed by his successors. From the 16th century most if not all Habsburgs spoke French as well as German and many also spoke Italian. Ferdinand I , Maximilian II and Rudolf II addressed

12513-465: The throne and accepted the status of private citizens. Charles made several attempts to regain the throne of Hungary , and in 1921 the Hungarian government passed a law that revoked Charles' rights and dethroned the Habsburgs, although Hungary remained a kingdom, albeit without a king, until 1946. The Habsburgs did not formally abandon all hope of returning to power until Otto von Habsburg , the eldest son of Charles I, on 31 May 1961 renounced all claims to

12642-418: The throne, Ottokar I began a series of changes that brought Bohemia out of crisis, and began a period of success that lasted for nearly 220 years. Ottokar I became the third King of Bohemia in the year 1198 but was the first King of Bohemia to acquire a hereditary royal title. This began significant growth of the Přemyslids' dynastic power. There was also a large urban and crafts development in Bohemia. In

12771-471: The throne. In the interwar period, the House of Habsburg was a vehement opponent of Nazism and Communism . In Germany, Adolf Hitler diametrically opposed the centuries-old Habsburg principles of largely allowing local communities under their rule to maintain traditional ethnic, religious and language practices, and he bristled with hatred against the Habsburg family. During the Second World War there

12900-425: The title after the death of his wife Mary of Burgundy in 1482, as Archduke never appears in documents issued jointly by Maximilian and Mary as rulers in the Low Countries (where Maximilian is still titled "Duke of Austria"). The title appears first in documents issued under the joint rule of Maximilian and Philip (his under-age son) in the Low Countries. Archduke was initially borne by those dynasts who ruled

13029-554: The title of Archduke to place the Habsburgs on a par with the Prince-electors of the Empire, since Emperor Charles IV had omitted to give them the electoral dignity in his Golden Bull of 1356 . Charles, however, refused to recognize the title, as did his immediate successors. Duke Ernest the Iron and his descendants unilaterally assumed the title "archduke". That title was only officially recognized in 1453 by Emperor Frederick III ,

13158-598: The title of King of Bohemia as an ally of Philip of Swabia . This title was reconfirmed by Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor and later on in Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor 's Golden Bull of Sicily (1212). In 1269-1276, King Ottokar II of Bohemia was the first in history to rule the lands of today's Austria together (except for Tyrol and Salzburg ). He also founded the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. In 1300, King Wenceslaus II

13287-665: The tripartite arms adopted in the 18th century by Francis Stephen. The name of the dynasty is sometimes spelled in English publications as Hapsburg . Timeline The progenitor of the House of Habsburg may have been Guntram the Rich , a count in the Breisgau who lived in the 10th century, and forthwith farther back as the medieval Adalrich, Duke of Alsace , from the Etichonids from which Habsburg derives. His grandson Radbot of Klettgau founded

13416-461: The varieties of the different dialects and languages" and that "since they are expected in all likelihood to have naturally acquired the German language, and to have been taught it from their infancy, [they] shall be instructed in the grammar of the Italian and Slavic tongues, beginning with the seventh year of their age so that, before the fourteenth year of their age, they may be learned in the same". In

13545-401: The wedding was formally completed in 1521. Vladislaus died on 13 March 1516, and Maximilian on 12 January 1519, but the latter's designs were ultimately successful: on Louis's death in battle in 1526 Ferdinand became king of Bohemia and Hungary. The Habsburg dynasty achieved its highest position when Charles V was elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1519. Much of Charles's reign was dedicated to

13674-489: The west and southeast of Europe. Frederick was rather distant to his family; Eleanor, by contrast, had a great influence on the raising and education of Frederick's children and therefore played an important role in the family's rise to prominence. After Frederick III's coronation the Habsburgs were able to hold the imperial throne almost continuously until 1806. Through the forged document called privilegium maius (1358/59), Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (1339–1365) introduced

13803-510: The western Habsburg lands in Alsace and Swabia . By marrying Elisabeth of Luxembourg , the daughter of Emperor Sigismund , in 1437 Duke Albert V of the Albertine line (1397–1439) became the ruler of Bohemia and Hungary, again expanding the family's political horizons. The next year Albert was crowned King of the Romans , known as such as Albert II . Following his early death in a battle against

13932-409: Was Bořivoj I (867). DNA testing on the remains of his son, Spytihněv I , reveal the family's Y-haplogroup to be R1b , second most common haplogroup in Czech republic. In the following century, the Přemyslids also ruled over Silesia and founded the city of Wroclaw (Czech: Vratislav ; German: Breslau ), derived from the name of a Bohemian duke, Vratislaus I , father of Saint Wenceslaus . Under

14061-547: Was Duke Bořivoj I , baptised in 874 by Saint Methodius . In 895, Bohemia gained independence from Great Moravia . Between 1003 and 1004, Bohemia was controlled by Boleslaus the Brave , Duke of Poland from the Piast dynasty , grandson of Boleslaus I the Cruel . In 1085, Duke Vratislaus II , and, in 1158, Duke Vladislaus II , were crowned King of Bohemia as a personal award from the Holy Roman Emperor . The title, however,

14190-464: Was a cadet branch of the female line of the House of Habsburg and the male line of the House of Lorraine . On 6 August 1806, Emperor Francis I dissolved the Holy Roman Empire under pressure from Napoleon 's reorganization of Germany . In anticipation of the loss of his title of Holy Roman Emperor, Francis had declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria (as Francis I) on 11 August 1804, three months after Napoleon had declared himself Emperor of

14319-699: Was a native speaker of French and also knew Dutch from his youth in Flanders . He later added some Castilian Spanish , which he was required to learn by the Castilian Cortes Generales . He could also speak some Basque , acquired by the influence of the Basque secretaries serving in the royal court. He gained a decent command of German following the Imperial election of 1519. A witticism sometimes attributed to Charles was: "I speak Spanish/Latin [depending on

14448-695: Was a strong Habsburg resistance movement in Central Europe, which was radically persecuted by the Nazis and the Gestapo . The unofficial leader of these groups was Otto von Habsburg, who campaigned against the Nazis and for a free Central Europe in France and the United States . Most of the resistance fighters, such as Heinrich Maier , who successfully passed on production sites and plans for V-2 rockets , Tiger tanks and aircraft to

14577-472: Was a true European capital with highly developed industry. By 1930, the population had risen to 850,000. Hitler ordered the German Army to enter Prague on 15 March 1939, and from Prague Castle proclaimed Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate . For most of its history, Prague had been a multi-ethnic city with important Czech, German and (mostly native German-speaking) Jewish populations. From 1939, when

14706-407: Was also recognized by the Pope owing to changes in political alliances. This had the consequence of the Roman king automatically becoming emperor without needing the Pope's consent. Emperor Charles V would be the last to be crowned by the Pope himself, at Bologna in 1530. Maximilian's rule (1493–1519) was a time of dramatic expansion for the Habsburgs. In 1497, Maximilian's son Philip , known as

14835-403: Was an art lover as well, and Prague became the capital of European culture. This was a prosperous period for the city: famous people living there in that age include the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler , the painter Arcimboldo , the alchemists Edward Kelley and John Dee , the poet Elizabeth Jane Weston , and others. In 1618, the famous second defenestration of Prague provoked

14964-515: Was crowned King of Poland . Prior to this, he held the title "High Duke of Poland ( Duke of Kraków )" since 1291 and became its overlord upon the death of Przemysł II of Poland in 1296. The royal line ended in 1306 with the death of King Wenceslaus III . The Bohemian throne went to the Luxembourgs , and the Polish throne returned to the Piasts . In 1269, Nicholas , bastard son of King Ottokar II who

15093-475: Was held by Přemyslids until 1456. This line of Opavian Přemyslids ended in 1521, with the death of Valentine , Duke of Ratibor. Bořivoj I. + Saint Ludmila Prague Prague ( / ˈ p r ɑː ɡ / PRAHG ; Czech : Praha [ˈpraɦa] ) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia . Situated on the Vltava river, Prague

15222-411: Was kept under confinement. The foundations for the later empire of Austria-Hungary were laid in 1515 by a double wedding between Louis , only son of Vladislaus II, King of Bohemia and Hungary , and Maximilian's granddaughter Mary and between her brother Archduke Ferdinand and Louis's sister Anna . The wedding was celebrated in grand style on 22 July 1515. All these children were still minors, so

15351-455: Was legitimized by Pope Alexander IV in 1260, became Duke of Opava . In 1337, his son Nicholas II inherited the Duchy of Ratibor . His four sons divided the Duchy of Opava (the Duchy of Ratibor was inherited only by the eldest, John ). Thus started the partition of a once-unified land between the descendants of Nicholas II. In 1443, William, Duke of Opava gained the Duchy of Münsterberg , which

15480-405: Was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London , Paris , Rome , and Istanbul . The Czech name Praha is derived from an old Slavic word, práh , which means " ford " or " rapid ", referring to the city's origin at a crossing point of the Vltava river. Another view to the origin of the name is also related to the Czech word práh (with the meaning of a threshold ) and

15609-425: Was not completed until the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th-century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl , founder of the Přemyslid dynasty . Legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied: "I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars". She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on

15738-501: Was not hereditary. Bohemia was the only princedom in the Holy Roman Empire which was raised to the status of kingdom prior to the Napoleonic wars . The reason for this was strength: as soon as Bohemia overcame its civil strife, the Bohemian duke became the principal ally for any candidate for the Imperial throne. The emperor could thus use Bohemian forces to punish any rebels who were Bohemian neighbours simply by raiding their lands. This

15867-544: Was on the bank opposite of the Staré Město ("Old Town"), which had borough status and was bordered by a line of walls and fortifications. Prague flourished during the 14th-century reign (1346–1378) of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor and the king of Bohemia of the new Luxembourg dynasty . As King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, he transformed Prague into an imperial capital. In the 1470s, Prague had around 70,000 inhabitants and with an area of 360 ha (~1.4 square miles) it

15996-448: Was proclaimed the new King of Germany , as Maximilian I . Maximilian was initially unable to travel to Rome to receive the Imperial title from the Pope, owing to opposition from Venice and from the French who were occupying Milan , as well a refusal from the Pope owing to enemy forces being present on his territory. In 1508, Maximilian proclaimed himself to be the 'chosen Emperor', and this

16125-476: Was the deadliest mass murder in the history of the Czech Republic. Prague is situated on the Vltava river. The Berounka flows into the Vltava in the suburbs of Lahovice . There are 99 watercourses in Prague with a total length of 340 km (210 mi). The longest streams are Rokytka and Botič. There are 3 reservoirs, 37 ponds, and 34 retention reservoirs and dry polders in the city. The largest pond

16254-399: Was the result of a navigational mistake. In March, a deliberate raid targeted military factories in Prague, killing about 370 people. On 5 May 1945, two days before Germany capitulated, an uprising against Germany occurred. Several thousand Czechs were killed in four days of bloody street fighting, with many atrocities committed by both sides. At daybreak on 9 May, the 3rd Shock Army of

16383-503: Was the third-largest city in the Holy Roman Empire. Charles IV ordered the building of the New Town (Nové Město) adjacent to the Old Town and laid out the design himself. The Charles Bridge, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed in the flood just prior to his reign, was erected to connect the east bank districts to the Malá Strana and castle area. In 1347, he founded Charles University ,

16512-399: Was thus long known as the "House of Austria". Complementary, in some circumstances the family members were identified by their place of birth. Charles V was known in his youth after his birthplace as Charles of Ghent . When he became king of Spain he was known as Charles of Spain, and after he was elected emperor, as Charles V (in French, Charles Quint ). In Spain, the dynasty was known as

16641-405: Was used to show that the old dynasty continued as did all its inherited rights. Some younger sons who had no prospects of the throne were given the personal title of "count of Habsburg". The surname of more recent members of the family such as Otto von Habsburg and Karl von Habsburg is taken to be " von Habsburg " or more completely "von Habsburg-Lothringen". Princes and members of the house use

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