240 Years of the Royal Capital City of Prague
240 years ago, a significant historical event took place in the territory of Prague. On February 12, 1784, the four historic cities of Prague merged into single entity to establish the Royal Capital City of Prague.
By the decision of Emperor Joseph II, as part of his Enlightenment reforms, a court decree was issued that merged the previously independent cities of Old Town, New Town, Lesser Town, and Hradcany into one territorial entity. Prague thus became the second largest city in the Habsburg monarchy after Vienna.
The municipal office was established in the building of the Old Town Hall, and the original coat of arms of Old Town became the emblem of the Royal Capital City of Prague.
Although the area of the Prague conurbation had been commonly referred to as Prague much earlier, each city carefully protected its autonomy, which gave it its own privileges and rights.
Attempts to unite the Prague conurbation occurred multiple times throughout history but were mostly unsuccessful or of very short duration.
Further expansion of Prague occurred only in 1850 with the inclusion of Josefov, followed by Vysehrad (1883), Holesovice and Bubny (1884), and Liben (1901).
The name “Royal Capital City of Prague” was used until the establishment of the so-called Greater Prague in 1922, when another 37 municipalities and settlements were added to the city.
