Prague never ever lets you go... this dear little mother has sharp claws.

A Prague-born German-speaking writer of prose, Kafka is recognized as an icon of dark existentialist literature. His most renowned novel is 'Der Prozess' (The Trial, 1914). Just like his other novels, 'Das Schloss' (The Castle, 1926) and 'Der Verschollene' (retitled 'Amerika', 1927), this one is unfinished and its main theme is the solitude of man living in the 20th Century. Besides novels, Kafka authored short stories including 'Das Urteil' (The Judgment, 1912), 'In der Strafkolonie' (In the Penal Colony, 1914), 'Die Verwandlung' (The Metamorphosis, 1915) and 'Ein Hungerkünstler' (A Hunger Artist,1924). Among his other famous works is one titled 'Letter to My Father' (1919).

He was one of the greatest composers ever, rivalled only by Mozart. Today, two hundred years after his death, his divine symphonies, sonatas and string quartets are as timely as ever, still performed by orchestras all around the world. Beethoven's most famous compositions are his symphonies, which include the 'Third Symphony' (the 'Eroica Symphony'), the 'Fifth Symphony' and the 'Sixth Symphony' (the 'Pastorale Symphony'). 'Ode to Joy', from his 'Ninth Symphony', was written at a time when the composer was totally deaf. He also composed a large body of piano music (the melancholic 'Moonlight Sonata' or the passionate 'Bagatelle in G Minor') and only one opera, 'Fidelio'.

One of the outstanding Czech writers of the 20th Century, alongside such authors as Jaroslav Hasek and Karel Capek, and conceivably the most significant in the post-war era, Hrabal is mostly popular for his short stories written with an influence of surrealism and psychoanalysis. He was born in Brno and raised in Nymburk, where his step-father was manager of a brewery. Later, Hrabal went to Prague to study law at Charles University, eventually graduating in 1946 with a doctorate. During World War II, he worked as a stationmaster, which inspired him to write 'Closely Watched Trains' (1965), his most famous work, which was made into a successful Oscar-winning film by Jiří Menzel. Other stories by Hrabal also served as a source of inspiration for the Czech “New Wave” filmmakers of the 1960s. His first book of short stories, 'Perlicka na dne' (Little Pearl at the Bottom) came out in 1963 and was followed by, among others, 'Tanecni hodiny pro starsi a pokrocile' (1964; Dancing Lessons for the Advanced in Age) and 'Mestecko ve kterem se zastavil cas' (The Little Town Where Time Stood Still, 1978). Hrabal's novel 'I Served the King of England' was filmed in 2006. His prose is expressive and visual, and he was a wonderful storyteller who gathered friends and admirers of his talent at his favourite pub, At the Golden Tiger (U zlatého tygra) on Husova Street.

Prague is like a woman: tender and hard, capricious and deep as a well in which you can recognise your real face.

To many, Seifert is thought to be the embodiment of the Czechoslovakian poet. His poetry is still read and admired in his homeland. In 1984, his autobiography 'Vsecky Krasy Sveta' (All the Beauty of the World, 1981 ) brought him the Nobel Prize for Literature, making him the first Czech to win this honour. During his lifetime, Seifert published more than 30 volumes of poetry. Among the most notable are 'Mesto v Slach' (1921), 'Sama Laska' (1923), 'Svatebni Cesta' (1925), 'Slavik Zpiva Spatne' (The Nightingale Sings Badly, 1926), 'Jablko z Klina' (1933), 'Ruce Venusiny' (1936), 'Zhasnete Svetla' (Put Out the Lights, 1938) as well as 'Morovy Sloup' (The Plague Column, 1977).

[Prague] is a miserable city of subordinate existences.

As a lyrical poet of the modern German language, Rilke takes a prominent place. He was born in Prague, a part of Austria-Hungary at the time. His first book of poems, 'Leben und Lieder', published in 1894 at the age of 19, was followed by many more, including 'Das Buch der Bilder' (The Book of Images, 1902), 'Das Stunded Buch' (The Book of Hours, 1905), 'Duineser Elegien' (Duino Elegies, 1923), 'Die Sonette an Orpheus' (Sonnets to Orpheus, 1923) as well as 'Neue Gedichte' (New Poems, 1907-08). Though mainly a poet, Rilke wrote some important prose works as well. These include 'Die Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornet Christopher Rilke' (The Tale of the Love and Death of Cornet Christopher Rilke, 1906) and 'Die Aufcechnungem des Malte Laurids Brigge' (The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brige, 1910).

Known as Charles IV and remembered for his numerous contributions to the city of Prague, he was born as Wenceslaus (Václav) to John the Blind and Elisabeth I of Bohemia. He chose to be called Charles at his confirmation and left for France, where he spent seven years at the court of his uncle, Charles IV of France. There, he was educated, becoming fluent in Latin, Czech, German, French and Italian. In the 1330s, young Charles went with his father to Italy, where he learnt warfare. In 1334, as heir to the throne, he received the title of Margrave of Moravia. In the summer of 1346, he was elected king in opposition to Louis IV of Bavaria, with the support of Pope Clement VI. He was crowned King of Bohemia on September 2, 1347, as Charles I. In October of that same year, Luis was killed, ending the dispute over Germany, as Gunther, Count of Schwarzburg, was chosen as a descendant. Charles, as Holy Roman Emperor, promulgated The Golden Bull of 1356, which regulated the election process. Based in Prague, he turned it into the imperial capital and began the construction of Charles University and the Charles Bridge. Also, during his reign the Prague Castle and nearby St. Vitus Cathedral were rebuilt, while cultural and artistic life flourished. He also founded the city of Karlovy Vary in 1370 and was married four times, with his son Wenceslaus (1361–1419) becoming successor to the throne.

His original Danish name was Tyge Ottesen Brahe, and he was an astronomer, but also an astrologer and alchemist. He was born at Knutstorp Castle, Denmark as a twin, though his brother died soon after. Tycho became interested in the stars when he witnessed an eclipse on August 21, 1560, when he was a student at the University of Copenhagen. Several years later, he travelled to Germany to study at Rostock University. He married Kirsten Jørgensdatter, and in 1574 they moved to Copenhagen, where their children were born. In 1576, Tycho received a grant from King Frederick II, which enabled him to build an observatory, known as Uraniborg, on the island of Hveen. Over the next two decades, he made accurate measurements at this research institute, and combing through the results with Copernican theory and the geocentric model of the universe by Aristotle and Ptolemy in mind led him to his own model of the solar system, the Tychonic system. In 1597, he left Denmark and moved to Prague, where he was appointed Imperial Mathematicus to the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II. He built an observatory and worked there until his death. His assistant was Johannes Kepler. Tycho is buried in Prague at the Church of Our Lady in front of Týn.

Arcimboldo was an Italian painter renowned all over Europe for his characteristic imaginative style, combining fruits, vegetables and other objects into male portraits. Born in Milan as the son of an artist working at the Cathedral, he followed in the footsteps of his father, creating the cartoons for the 'Stories of St. Catherine of Alexandria' for the stained glasses of the Duomo di Milano. In 1556, Arcimboldo worked on the frescoes in the Cathedral of Monza. In 1562, he moved to Vienna to work at the Habsburg court as an official portraitist to Maximilian II. In 1570, he was sent to Prague to serve Maximilian's son Rudolf II at his court. Arcimboldo's famous portrait presents Rudolf as Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons. Both monarchs truly appreciated the artist's talent. His other renowned painting is 'Librarian '(1566). Sadly, many of his works were stolen by the Swedes in1648 during the Thirty Years' War. In 1857, Giuseppe Arcimboldo returned to his hometown, where he spent the rest of his life. He was rediscovered by the Surrealists at the beginning of the 20th Century.