Carolinum
One of the most important elements in the transformation of Prague into the capital of the Holy Roman Empire under Emperor Charles IV (1346-78) was the establishment of Central Europe’s first university in Prague.
When Charles IV founded Charles University in 1348 he stressed out that it was the first university in the Central Europe. There were four faculties at that time: faculty of art, medical faculty, faculty of law and theological faculty. The lectures were given first in churches, monasteries and in private. Charles College was founded in 1366, seated in the Jewish quarter. The teachers and students realised more and more that they needed a building that would represent the University. That is why the son of Charles IV, Wenceslas IV, bought for the University an imposing Old Town palace together with two other neighbouring houses. These buildings were reconstructed for the university purposes and Charles College moved into the new complex – Carolinum.
Later, the buildings were extended. A new university chapel, lecture rooms, assembly halls and apartments for lecturers were build. The university owned a spa, and a prison. Carolinum’s pride is the large hall (Aula Magna) which is used for university celebrations and graduation ceremonies. Its main wall is decorated by a tapestry with the motive of Charles IV kneeling in front of St. Wenceslas. In front the tapestry there is a bronze statue of Charles IV.
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The university building experienced a numerous important events of the Czech history. Jan Hus (1372-1415) was a Czech Catholic priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at the University. Although his campaign for church reform and promotion of the Czech language was greatly opposed by the majority of teachers and students who spoke German, he won wide public support. 
The three foreign nations at the University opposed the request of King Wenceslas to take a neutral attitude between the two rival popes in the Great Schism, which led Wenceslas to issue the Decree of Kutna Hora (1409) that effectively handed control of the University over to Czechs. Shortly after that Hus himself became the rector. As a consequence, somewhere between 5,000 and 20,000 of foreign (mostly German) doctors, masters, and students left the University. This exodus resulted in the foundation of the University of Leipzig, among others. Thus, Prague university lost part of its international importance and became a Czech school. The emigrants also spread news of the Bohemian "heresies" throughout the rest of Europe. The rising influence of this doctrine and the execution of Hus (1415) was the beginning of the Hussite Wars.
Following Hus’ death the University became a hotbed of revolution but hopes of Czech independence were crushed at the Battle of Bílá Hora (1620). The control of the University was handed over to the Jesuits from the nearby Klementinum who merged the two universities in 1654 as Charles-Ferdinand University. Following the Pope’s dissolution of the order in 1773 the University was returned to state control and the condition of the Carolinum began to deteriorate. This process was exacerbated in 1882 when the Germans withdrew again as the University split following further divisions with the Czechs.
In October 1939, an anti-occupation demonstration ended with the shooting of student Jan Opletal by German police. Further demonstrations surrounding the funeral finally led Adolf Hitler himself on November 17, 1939 to decree closing of the University. Thousands of Czech students were arrested and the already crumbling Carolinum was devastated. After the Nazis left in 1945 the University was reopened and the German university was terminated. A sign of the enduring potency of that date of 17th November is that on its fiftieth anniversary, in 1989, Czech students clashed with police again, and this time set off a "Velvet Revolution" which helped to break the Soviet Eastern block.
The Charles College – Carolinum is the oldest preserved university building in Prague. Thus even today it is of extraordinary importance within the Charles University, as a rector’s seat and ceremonious meeting place. In the Carolinum auditorium numerous outstanding personalities were given the honorary doctorates.