New Town (Nové Mesto)

New Town (Nové Město) is the largest of Prague's historic districts, founded in 1348 by Charles IV as a planned urban expansion that tripled the city's walled territory and briefly made Prague the third largest city in Europe. Despite its name, it is nearly 700 years old — the "new" refers only to its position relative to the Old Town. Charles IV laid out the district around three vast market squares, the largest of which, Wenceslas Square (750 metres long), has been the stage for the most defining moments of Czech modern history: the declaration of Czechoslovak independence in 1918, the Nazi occupation in 1939, the Warsaw Pact invasion in 1968, and the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Today New Town is Prague's commercial and cultural centre, home to the National Museum, the National Theatre, the Dancing House, the Municipal House, and the Powder Tower — as well as the city's main shopping streets, theatres, and restaurants.