Welcome to Prague
Invitation to Prague
The XXVIth General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) will be held in Prague, Czech Republic, in a city with a rich astronomical history going back to the middle of XIVth century, when the oldest central European university was established there. Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, with more than 1.2 million inhabitants is a thousand years old town, being rich since ancient times not only in its beauty but literally in its unique history. For a thousand years, Prague has been the seat of kings, emperors and presidents. Its atmosphere and beauty are not given only by its location, but also by the unique joining of the artistic monuments from various ages and by its modern life and progressive development. Prague, the centre of industrial, cultural and scientific life, is known by its famous cultural events.
History of Astronomy
Prague is also interesting by its rich history of astronomy and physics. The outstanding personalities are represented, for example, by Tycho Brahe who is buried in the Týn church in Prague, Johannes Kepler who's stay in Prague (1600 - 1612) resulted in the discovery of the famous laws of planetary motion, and Christian Doppler - professor of mathematics at Prague Technical University (1835 - 1847), who formulated his well known principle in Prague. Further, Ernst Mach (who was appointed professor of experimental physics at Prague University in 1867 and spent nearly 30 years in Prague) contributed to the development of several parts of physics. Albert Einstein was without any doubt the most famous physicist who worked in Prague (1911 - 1912). In his own words he found there "the necessary concentration for giving a more precise form to the basic idea of the general theory of relativity".
Auspices
Auspices of the Presidents
At early stages of the preparation of the GA XXVIth, the former president of the Czech Republic Václav Havel expressed his positive feelings that the conference will take place in the Czech Republic. The GA IAU in 2006 will be held under the auspices of the acting President of the Czech Republic Václav Klaus, who is delighted that this important astronomical conference is organized again after almost 40 years in Prague.
Mayor of the town Prague
Mayor of the town Prague welcomes the GA IAU, which will be held under his auspices.
Auspices of the Academy
The GA IAU in 2006 will be held under the auspices of the president of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, rector of the Charles University Prague, rector of the Technical University Prague and rector of the Masaryk University Brno.
Prague - City full of Culture
Now in Prague the dust is off the once-sleepy facades that lined the winding, cobbled streets of Kafka's hometown. Today Prague's streets are filled with thousands of tourists that wind down the Royal Way from the Powder Tower to Prague Castle, where Kafka once met his jailers. The mix of young and old makes Prague Europe's hot new spot, and it is a far cry from the dusty days before 1989, when Prague was the world's largest living museum. The XXVIth GA IAU will offer you an opportunity to reveal the real beauty of the town.
GA IAU Venue
The Conference will be held in the Prague Congress Centre, where such big meetings as the ones of the International Monetary Fund (2001) and NATO (2002) took place. The area of the Conference is close to the city centre, and can be reached easily from the Prague airport.
On behalf of the National Organizing Committee & Local Organizing Committee
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| Jan Palouš Chairman of NOC |
Jan Vondrák Vice-Chairman of NOC |
Cyril Ron Chairman of LOC |
