Fire of the National Theatre in Prague

The National Theatre (Czech: Národní divadlo) in Prague is known as the alma mater of Czech opera, and as the national monument of Czech history and art. The National Theatre belongs to the most important Czech cultural institutions, with a rich artistic tradition, which helped to preserve and develop the most important features of the nation–the Czech language and a sense for a Czech musical and dramatic way of thinking. Today the National Theatre consists of three artistic ensembles: opera, ballet and drama. They alternate in their performances in the historic building of the National Theatre, in the Theatre of the Estates and in the Kolowrat Theatre. All three artistic ensembles select their repertoire both from classical heritage, and modern authors.

The Prague Provisional Theatre (Czech: Prozatímní divadlo, Czech pronunciation: [ˈprozaciːmɲiː ˈɟɪvadlo]) was erected in 1862 as a temporary home for Czech drama and opera until a permanent National Theatre could be built. It opened on 18 November 1862 and functioned for 20 years, during which time over 5,000 performances were presented. Between 1866 and 1876 the theatre staged the premieres of four of Bedřich Smetana's operas, including The Bartered Bride. The Provisional Theatre building was eventually incorporated into the structure of the National Theatre, which opened its doors on 11 June 1881.

There are two triga sculptures installed on the roof corners of the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic. The horses are controlled by the winged goddess Victoria. The sculptures were proposed and modeled by Czech sculptor Bohuslav Schnirch (1845–1901) and created by Ladislav Šaloun (1870–1946). The works were installed in 1911. Šaloun's wife, Julia, served as the model for Victoria. The statues were renovated several times, most recently in 2008.

Znovuzrození (Rebirth) is a 1983 bronze sculpture by Josef Malejovský (1914-2003). It is installed outside the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic, on a piazzetta which was named "Náměstí Václava Havla" in 2016 to honor the first Czech president. The statue is a popular subject to artistic interventions - it has been wrapped in bubblegum-like cover, dressed in Carmen costume or into a lookalike of the famous Woman In Gold painting by Gustav Klimt.

Café Slavia is a café in Prague, Czech Republic, located on the corner of Národní street and Smetanovo nábřeží, next to the Vltava river and opposite the National Theatre. It was opened in August 1884. Poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke regularly spent time in the café. It was known for its associations with Prague's dissident community, hosting people such as Václav Havel, who would later become his country's president, and poet Jiří Kolář during the normalization period. It was also known as a place for writers, poets and other intellectuals to meet and discuss their ideas. The café was closed in 1992 due to a legal dispute but re-opened in 1997. Café Slavia has been described as Prague's "best-known café".

The Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (Czech: Filmová a televizní fakulta Akademie múzických umění v Praze) or FAMU is a film school in Prague, Czech Republic, founded in 1946 as one of three branches of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. It is the fifth oldest film school in the world. The teaching language on most courses at FAMU is Czech, but FAMU also runs certain courses in English. The school has repeatedly been included on lists of the best film schools in the world by The Hollywood Reporter. In the 1960s and 1970s, several young directors from Yugoslavia were FAMU students (Rajko Grlić, Srđan Karanović, Emir Kusturica, Goran Marković, Goran Paskaljević and Lordan Zafranović). All of these directors would become very successful in the following decades, prompting the coinage of the term Praška filmska škola ("Prague film school"), or Praški talas ("Prague wave"), which is sometimes considered a prominent subgenre of the Yugoslav cinema.

Laterna magika (Czech: Laterna magika), largely considered the world's first multimedia theatre, was founded as a cultural program at the 1958 Brussels Expo. It launched its official activity on 9 May 1959, as an independent company of the National Theatre, performing at the Adria palace in Prague. Wonderful Circus, which premiered in 1977, is the most frequently performed theatre piece in Central Europe, and has remained in the repertoire ever since. Laterna magika now is one of the ensembles of the National Theatre, based at the New Stage of the National Theatre in Prague. Laterna magika productions blend various genres, ranging from dramatic acting through affording a dominant role to dance and ballet to mime and Black Theatre. All of their productions have been original works directly created for the company, not ready-made pieces, which, with a few exceptions, have never subsequently appeared in the repertoire of another company. The fundamental principle (interaction between film projection and live dramatic action) has been gradually supplemented with new technologies, for instance, digital projection or new media, including real-time programmable software.

The Czech Academy of Sciences (abbr. CAS, Czech: Akademie věd České republiky, abbr. AV ČR) was established in 1992 by the Czech National Council as the Czech successor of the former Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences and its tradition goes back to the Royal Bohemian Society of Sciences (founded in 1784) and the Emperor Franz Joseph Czech Academy for Sciences, Literature and Arts (founded in 1890). The Academy is the leading non-university public research institution in the Czech Republic. It conducts both fundamental and strategic applied research. It has three scientific divisions, namely the Division of Mathematics, Physics, and Earth Sciences, Division of Chemical and Life Sciences, and Division of Humanities and Social Sciences. The Academy currently manages a network of sixty research institutes and five supporting units staffed by a total of 6,400 employees, over one half of whom are university-trained researchers and Ph.D. scientists. The Head Office of the Academy and forty research institutes are located in Prague, the remaining institutes being situated throughout the country.

On April 29, 2013 at around 10:00am CEST (8:00 UTC), an explosion occurred in a building in the centre of Prague, Czech Republic. The incident occurred in a townhouse belonging to the Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic on Divadelní street in Old Town, Prague 1, close to the Academy of Sciences and National Theatre. The blast could be heard across the whole city centre, as far away as Prague Castle, 1.4 km (1 mi) away from the incident. 43 people were injured by the blast, one seriously. No one was killed. The resulting shock wave from the blast damaged windows in nearby buildings including the National Theatre, Café Slavia, the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (FAMU), the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University and the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.The blast was caused by a natural gas leak. According to a head of the Prague Fire Service, gas could be smelled in the area following in the blast, causing risk of further explosions.

Kranner's Fountain, or Kranner Fountain, is a fountain and neo-gothic monument to Emperor Francis I of Austria, installed in Prague, Czech Republic. It features allegorical sculptures created by Josef Max.

The Park of National Awakening (Czech: Park Národního probuzení) is a park located in the Old Town, Prague, Czech Republic. One of its features is Kranner's Fountain.

Rotunda of the Finding of the Holy Cross is a Romanesque rotunda in Prague 1, Old Town quarter, on the crossing of Konviktská and Karolíny Světlé street. Its founding is considered after 1125.