Since its birth as a city, Prague's appearance, character, and life have been shaped by the River Vltava. The flow of the river enabled the settlement of the Prague basin, the creation of the capital of the Bohemian Kingdom, and, later, the Czech state. In the course of their joint history, the city has gradually tamed the river, and as Prague has changed, so too has its river.

This exquisitely illustrated book celebrates both the historical and living bond between Prague and the Vltava. After first exploring the river's major transformations--most radically those of the nineteenth...