The Prague Garrison Command ( cz, Pražské velitelství) is the primary military area command of the

Army of the Czech Republic The Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky, AČR), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic in compliance with international obligations and treaties on collectiv ...

tasked for the defense and security of

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, the capital city of the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. It is currently under the leadership of Colonel Milan Virt, with Captain Eva Cajthamlova acting as its spokeswoman. The Prague Garrison Command currently bears the honorary title of ''Unit of

Prague Uprising The Prague uprising ( cs, Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of o ...

''.

History

The

garrison's history is closely associated with the city's military history. The first fortified

military garrison was established in 1621, making it the oldest in the area that is now the

, and one of the oldest in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. The first commander of this garrison was Generalissimus

Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...

, the Prince of Waldstein and the Duke of Frydlant. In centuries that followed, the Prague garrison had become the most important military garrison in the country and since 1918 it was the central seat of the military leadership of independent

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and the

ČSSR The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...

. After a military reorganisation of the armed forces took place on April 1, 2004, the Garrison Command of Prague was formed and was made the center of the armed forces garrison commands.

Garrison activities

The Prague Garrison Command is the governing body resbonisble for organizing garrison events in the public. The garrison mostly contributes to ceremonial protocol by providing soldiers from the Honor Guard of CAF and the

Czech Army Central Band The Czech Army Central Band (Czech: ''Centrální Ústřední Hudba České Armády'' or ''Ústřední Hudba AČR'') is a unit of the Czech Land Forces responsible for providing musical support to the Army of the Czech Republic and the Armed For ...

to serve during the ceremonial activities of the

President of the Czech Republic The president of the Czech Republic is the head of state of the Czech Republic and the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The president mostly has ceremonial powers as the day-to-day business of the executive governm ...

, the

Prime Minister of the Czech Republic The prime minister of the Czech Republic (Czech: ''Předseda vlády České republiky'') is the head of the government of the Czech Republic. The prime minister is the de-facto leader of the executive branch, chairs the Cabinet and selects its m ...

, the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

, the

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

and foreign leaders, namely

state visits A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...

to the capital.

Organization

The Prague Garrison is made up of military units and installations that are permanently or temporarily on the territory of

. The commander of the garrison directly reports to the First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of CAF. The Command is composed of the following: * Command and Staff *

Honor Guard of the Czech Armed Forces A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

* Music Service of CAF **

Military Band Olomouc Military Band Olomouc ( cz, Vojenská hudba Olomouc) is a musical unit of the Army of the Czech Republic based in the Moravian city of Olomouc, in the east of the Czech Republic. It is organizationally part of the Prague Garrison Command, which is ...

Kobylisy Firing Range Kobylisy Shooting Range () is a former military shooting range located in Kobylisy, a northern suburb of Prague, Czech Republic. The shooting range was established in 1889–1891, on a site that was at the time far outside the city, as a trai ...

References

Military units and formations of the Czech Republic Military units and formations established in 2004 2004 establishments in the Czech Republic {{CzechRepublic-stub