Changes

==History==

==History==

===Capital of Holy Roman Empire===

===Capital of Holy Roman Empire===

Emperor [[Rudolf II]] (r 1576-1612) in 1583 moved his capital to Prague. Rudolf II dabbled in and patronized alchemy, astronomy and art, and thus attracted many artists and astronomers from the "The School of Prague" painters and surrealist painter [[Giuseppe Archimboldo]],<ref> Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, ''The School of Prague: Painting at the Court of Rudolf II.'' (1988)</ref> to court astronomers [[Johannes Kepler]] and [[Tycho Brahe]], who invented modern astronomy.<ref> Peter Marshall, ''The Magic Circle of Rudolph II: Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague'' (2006)</ref>. Rudolf's architects built fine palaces in the Mannerist style; many are still extant making the city a great treasure house of [{Renaissance]] architecture.  

Emperor [[Rudolf II]] (r 1576-1612) in 1583 moved his capital to Prague. Rudolf II dabbled in and patronized alchemy, astronomy/astrology and art, and thus attracted many artists and astronomers from the "The School of Prague" painters and surrealist painter [[Giuseppe Archimboldo]],<ref> Thomas DaCosta Kaufmann, ''The School of Prague: Painting at the Court of Rudolf II.'' (1988)</ref> to court astronomers [[Johannes Kepler]] and [[Tycho Brahe]], who invented modern astronomy.<ref> Peter Marshall, ''The Magic Circle of Rudolph II: Alchemy and Astrology in Renaissance Prague'' (2006)</ref>. Rudolf's architects built fine palaces in the Mannerist style; many are still extant making the city a great treasure house of [{Renaissance]] architecture.  

Rudolf's architectural vision for the imperial residence was coherent, ambitious, and proto-baroque.Rudolf granted considerable liberty in terms of academic, political, and religious freedom. He sought the company of scholars, who often published and disseminated unorthodox opinionsl he permitted marriage between Catholics and Protestants. Rudolf was aware, however, that some members of the clergy and nobility wished to limit freedom of expression and conscience; while there was constant tension in Prague during this period between tolerance and intolerance, tolerance predominated.

Rudolf's architectural vision for the imperial residence was coherent, ambitious, and proto-baroque.Rudolf granted considerable liberty in terms of academic, political, and religious freedom. He sought the company of scholars, who often published and disseminated unorthodox opinionsl he permitted marriage between Catholics and Protestants. Rudolf was aware, however, that some members of the clergy and nobility wished to limit freedom of expression and conscience; while there was constant tension in Prague during this period between tolerance and intolerance, tolerance predominated.

===Religious tensions and Thirty Years War===

===Religious tensions and Thirty Years War===

In 1609, Rudolf II, acting as Holy Roman Emperor, issued a "Majesty" that decreed freedom of religion in Bohemia. The Bohemian estates had sought such a decree since the end of the Hussite Revolution in the early 15th century. The Hussite Revolution had left Prague, and Bohemia generally in disarray, as the archbishop converted to the Hussite cause, and Catholic orders and imperial forces left the city. For over a century, fundamental issues remained unresolved concerning religious practice and authority, the structure of the social-political order, and Bohemia's relationship with the Holy Roman Empire and the church.   

In 1609, Rudolf II, acting as Holy Roman Emperor, issued a "Majesty" that decreed freedom of religion in Bohemia. The Bohemian estates had sought such a decree since the end of the Hussite Revolution in the early 15th century. The Hussite Revolution had left Prague, and Bohemia generally in disarray, as the archbishop converted to the Hussite cause, and Catholic orders and imperial forces left the city. For over a century, fundamental issues remained unresolved concerning religious practice and authority, the structure of the social-political order, and Bohemia's relationship with the Holy Roman Empire and the church.