Short answers, pulled from the story.
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic, with a population of about 1.4 million. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, the seat of Holy Roman Emperors Charles IV and Rudolf II, and the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and during the Cold War era. Its historic centre has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992.
The Czech name Praha is most widely accepted since the 19th century as deriving from the old Czech verb pražiti, meaning "to burn," and from vypražený les, a "burned forest" cleared to establish a settlement. In the mid-20th century, linguist Antonín Profous refined the theory to argue that the word also means "to roast" (as in the sun), and that the name referred to a hot, arid place on the shale bedrock where Prague Castle was founded.
Jan Hus was a theologian and rector at Charles University who began preaching at the Bethlehem Chapel in 1402. Inspired by John Wycliffe, his sermons called for reform of a corrupt Church. He was summoned to the Council of Constance, convicted of heresy, and burned at the stake in Konstanz in 1415. His death sparked the Hussite Wars, which drew in the military commander Jan Žižka and saw Prague militia fight against imperial forces.
The Prague Spring was a period of political reform led by Czechoslovak Communist Party secretary Alexander Dubček, who aimed to renovate political institutions in a democratic direction. The Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries, except Romania and Albania, invaded Czechoslovakia on the 21st of August 1968 to suppress the reforms. The military occupation by the Red Army lasted until 1991.
Prague Castle was the most visited destination in Prague in 2023, drawing over 2.5 million visitors. The Petřín funicular and Prague Zoo were the second and third most visited, followed by the Petřín Lookout Tower and Old Town Hall. The city received more than 7.4 million overnight guests in 2023, with over 78% coming from abroad.
Charles University was founded in 1348 by Charles IV and is the oldest university in Central Europe. It is located in Prague and is still in operation today. On the 21st of December 2023, a mass shooting at Charles University killed fifteen people and injured 25, the deadliest mass murder in the history of the Czech Republic.