Charles Square
Encyclopedia
New Town, Prague
The New Town is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague...
of Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. It is one of the largest squares in the world and very likely the largest medieval square in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Founded in 1348 as the main square of the New Town by Charles IV
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....
, it was known as Dobytčí trh (Cattle market) from the 15th century and finally named after its founder in 1848. The central portion of the square was turned into a park in the 1860s.
The square is now one of the main transport hubs of the city centre with metro station Karlovo náměstí and numerous tram lines and busy roads crossing it in all directions.