The fourteenth century in Prague is considered a "Golden Age" for the city. The Premyslid dynasty was succeeded by marriage by the Luxembourg Dynasty. During this period, Prague became a leading central European City. Much of the progress of the city can be attributed to the excellence of Charles IV as a King of Bohemia and later the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. Though Prague was only a small part of the area over which Charles IV reigned, he took a particular interest in the improvement of the area.

Charles IV made Prague the capital of the Roman Empire, over which he was the Emperor. This, of course, made it necessary to make other improvements. He established Charles University, the first university in central Europe in 1348, and had the Carolinum constructed as the university's main building He founded the area of Nové Mesto, or New Town, south of Staré Mesto. He had the Charles Bridge built crossing the Vltava River, and he began the building of the St. Vitus Cathedral. Many of Charles' projects still stand today and represent classic examples of Gothic architecture. The Charles Bridge and its towers, the Carolinum and the Old-New Synagogue are all remaining today.

The end of the reign of Charles IV, and the reign of his son, Wenesclas IV, was a period of economic and political strife. Jan Hus, a religious reformer who was appointed preacher at Prague's Bethlehem Chapel in 1402, inspired a group called the Hussites, who battled with crusaders sent by the Catholic Church over religious beliefs. An agreement between the Hussites and the Catholic Church was reached after much fighting and bloodshed, and there was a period of relative calm during the reign of George of Podebrady and Jagellon Dynasty. In the sixteenth century, the Austrian Habsburgs captured the throne, and this began a 400 year long period of Austrian rule of the "Lands of the Bohemian Crown."

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