The Four Towns Become One

In 1784, Emperor Joseph II signed a decree that erased borders you can barely see today. What you're walking through used to be four separate towns. Old Town on the east bank. New Town stretching south. Lesser Town below the castle hill. And Hradčany up where the fortress sits. Each had its own mayor. Its own courts. Its own militia standing guard. They competed hard. Old Town merchants blocked New Town traders from their markets. Lesser Town brewers fought for privileges their rivals across the river couldn't touch. Commit a crime in one town, flee to the next, and you'd crossed a real border. Joseph II despised that chaos. He was the emperor who dissolved over 700 monasteries, ended serfdom, and centralized everything within reach. On 12 February 1784, he made all four towns into one. Overnight, four town halls answered to one administration. Four separate courts merged. Rival tax collectors started working for the same treasury. But walk from Old Town Square toward the broad boulevard to the south and you're still crossing what used to be a border. No guard post needed anymore. Just invisible lines where New Town once began.