Ladislaus Posthumus, and George Podiebrad ( 1458-71), a Bohemian follower
of Huss, Ladislaus II. ( 1471-1516) of the Polish House of the Jagellons came
to the throne of Bohemia, and on his election to the crown of Hungary
( 1490) transferred the royal residence to Ofen. The victory of the Turks
at the battle of Mohács ( 1526) in which Ladislaus' son Ludwig was killed,
assured the lasting possession of Bohemia to the Hapsburgs (comp. p. 13).
Ferdinand I. (Germ. emp. 1556-64) curtailed the rights of the Protestant
Bohemian estates and towns at the 'Bloody Diet' of 1547, but more beneficial
times for the Bohemians followed under Maximilian II. ( 1564-76) and
Rudolf II. ( 1576-1611), from whom his brother Matthias ( 1611-1619) wrested
Moravia in 1608 with the help of the Protestant aristocracy. The rebellion
of the Bohemian and Moravian Protestants under Count Matthias von Thurn
(p. 227), and the election as King of the Elector Palatine Frederick V. ( 1619)
in place of the Catholic Ferdinand II., were followed by the battle of
the White Hill (p. 230), which placed the emperor in possession of the
land once more, and led to the expulsion of nearly all the Protestant in-
habitants and to the transference of the royal residence to Vienna. The
endeavour of the Hapsburgs, assisted by the Jesuits, who were practically
all-powerful in Bohemia and Moravia, to Germanize the habits and language
of their Czechish subjects culminated in the establishment of German public
elementary schools under Joseph II. In opposition to this policy a new
Czechish movement has gradually developed since the end of the 18th cent.,
and since 1861 has led, in spite of violent parliamentary opposition, to the
repression of the German language and to bitter feuds between German-
Bohemians and Czechs.
Language. As in Prague and the rest of Central and S. Bohemia the
traveller will hear little but Czechish spoken, he should note the following
Czech characters: c = tz; č = tch; ě = ye or ie; ň = ny or ni; ř = rs or
rsh; š = sh; ǐ = ty or ti; ž = zh.
36. Prague.
Plans. In the town the names of streets, the names on the tramway-
cars, etc. are inscribed in Czechish only. Our survey-plan gives the Czechish
names (námešti = square, trh = warket-place, třída, silńice, ulice = street),
while the second plan, comprising the quarters of the Altstadt, the Klein-
seite, and the Hradschin, retains the well-known German names.
Railway Stations (cabs, see p. 218 ). 1. Staats-Bahnhof (Pl. G, H, 4),
for Dresden viâ Bodenbach (R. 37), Vienna viâ Brünn (R. 44), Eger viâ
Carlsbad (R. 39), and Braunau viâ Chotzen (p. 268). — 2. Franz-Josefs-
Bahnhof (Pl. H, 5), for Gmünd and Vienna (R. 45), for Linz viâ Budweis
(p. 238), for Pilsen and Furth (R. 41), for Brüx and Moldau (p. 238), for
Turnau (p. 271), and for Dresden viâ Všetat-Přivor. — 3. Nord-West-Bahnhof
(Pl. H, 3), for the line to Vienna via Lissa (p. 266) and Znaim (p. 258),
and for Mittelwalde and Breslau (R. 46). — The other stations are of no
importance for strangers. — Porter from the station to the cab 20 h. for
each trunk.
Hotels. HÔtel de Saxe (Pl. e; G, 4), Hybernergasse 2, R. from 3 ½,
B. 1 K. 20 h., D. 5-6 K.;Blauer Stern (Pl. e; G, 4) corner of the Graben
and Hybernergasse, R. 3 ½-15, D. from 3 K.;Schwarzes Ross (Pl. b;
G, 4), in the Graben (Czechish clientèle), R. from 3 ½, B. 1 K.; HÔt. Central
(Pl. c; G, 4), Hybernergasse; Goldner Engel (Pl. h; F, 4), Zeltnergasse 31,
R. 3-6, B. 1 K.; Victoria (Pl. f; F, 6), corner of Jungmann-Str. and
Palacky-Str., R. 2 ½-5 K., B. 80 h.; Erzherzog Stephan (Pl. g; G, 5), Wen-
zels-Platz, R. 2-6 K.; Englisciier Hof (Pl. d; G, 4), Pořitscher-Str., R.
3-5 K. (these two with Czechish clientèle); Hôt. Monopol (Pl. k; G, 4),
HÔt. Royal (Pl. 1; G, 4), both opposite the 'Staats-Bahnhof'; Kaiser von
Oesterreich (Pl. i; G, 4), Pořitscher-Str. — Pension Finger, Stadtpark 1
(Pl. G, H, 5), pens. 8-10 K.