Earth from Space: Prague

This very high-resolution image captures the beautiful medieval core of the Czech capital, Prague.

Zoom in or click on the circles to explore this image at its full resolution.

Lying at the heart of Europe, Prague’s historic centre became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. From its original small riverside settlements, Prague has spread over its surrounding hills and valleys, reaching a metropolitan area of around 496 sq km.

Prague sits astride the Vltava River, the longest in Czechia. Thanks to the very high resolution of this image, a lot of Prague’s world-famous landmarks can be easily identified. Along the river’s winding course, we can see a succession of bridges and islands of different sizes.

Near the centre of the image, on the river’s left bank, we see Kampa Island, which gets its name from the Latin word ‘campu’, meaning ‘field’, due to its former use as farmland before it was raised above flood level. The island is separated from the mainland only by a small stream – the ‘Čertovka’. In this image it is even possible to spot the steps leading from Kampa Island up to Charles Bridge.

This famous arch bridge stretches for 500 m across the Vltava, with baroque statues lining its parapets. It was Prague’s only bridge over the Vltava until 1841. Two towers lie on either end and offer good views along the bridge and up and down the river over the many spires for which Prague is famous. 

The renowned twin spires that dominate the city skyline are those of the St. Vitus’s Cathedral within the grounds of Prague Castle. The latter is the city’s most popular attraction and official seat of the head of state. Its massive walls can be seen on a hill on Vltava’s left bank approximately where the river turns east. Covering an area bigger than seven football fields, the castle is the world’s largest ancient castle complex and includes several historic buildings, museums and galleries.

On the right bank of the river, Prague’s principal public square, the Old Town Square, can be spotted northeast of Charles Bridge. Zooming in, the statue known as Jan Hus Memorial is visible at the square’s northern end, with the Marian Column facing it.

Moving south, the elongated, rectangular shape of Wenceslas Square can be seen stretching from northwest to southeast, ending with the neoclassical building of the National Museum next to Prague’s main train station.

Prague also hosts many parks, gardens and recreational facilities, including the vast Strahov sports complex visible to the west of Kampa Island.

This image was acquired by the
Pléiades Neo mission, an optical constellation that pictures Earth with a resolution of up to 30 cm. It is part of ESA’s Third Party Missions programme, which means ESA uses its multi-mission ground systems and expertise to acquire, process, distribute and archive data from a wide range of satellite missions developed and operated by other agencies.

To illustrate the unique contribution that Earth observing satellites offer, a new ‘Earth from Space’ exhibit opened this week at the Prague Planetarium, which coincided with the 17th anniversary of Czechia joining ESA. The exhibition, organised by ESA, features four interactive installations with state-of-the-art immersive data visualisations aimed to inspire and fuel the curiosity of future generations.