Prague, the capital of today's Czech Republic, has been for over a thousand years the centre and the biggest city of the Czech lands. Notable people who were born or died, studied, lived or saw their success in Prague are listed below. The arts Auguste Hauschner (1850-1924) — German writer, born in Prague H. G. Adler (1910–1988) — German-language writer; born and lived in Prague Filip Albrecht (born 1977) — lyricist, film producer, writer; lives in Prague Jana Andrsová (born 1939) — actress and ballerina; born and lives in Prague Lída Baarová (1914–2000) — actress; lived and died in Prague Max Brod (1884–1968) — German-language writer; born and lived in Prague Karel Čapek (1890–1938) — writer; lived and died in Prague Gene Deitch (born 1924) — American-born animator; lives in Prague Emmy Destinn (1878–1930) — operatic soprano; born in Prague Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) — composer; lived most of his life in Prague Miloš Forman (1932–2018) — film director, won twice Academy Award for Best Director; studied and lived in Prague Karel Gott (1939–2019) — singer; lived in Prague Jaroslav Hašek (1883–1923) — writer, humorist and satirist; lived in Prague for most of his life, described the city in many stories Václav Havel (1936–2011) — dramatist, writer and politician; President of Czechoslovakia and Czech republic (its first; 1993–2003); born and lived in Prague Maxim Havlíček — painter; born in Prague Vladimír Holan (1905–1980) — poet; born, lived and died in Prague Jiří Hošta (born 1978) — writer, essayist, photographer; lives in Prague Bohumil Hrabal (1914–1997) — writer; lived and died in Prague Leoš Janáček (1854–1928) — composer; studied in Prague Fanny Janauschek (1830–1904) — actress; migrated to the United States in 1867 Franz Kafka (1883–1924) — German-language fiction writer; born and lived in Prague Tomas Kalnoky (born 1980) — guitarist, singer; born in Prague Egon Erwin Kisch (1885–1948) – German-language journalist and writer; born, lived, and died in Prague Stefan Kisyov (born 1963) — novelist; lives in Prague Daria Klimentová (born 1971) - ballet dancer; born and raised in Prague Paul Kornfeld (1889–1942) — German-language playwright and novelist; born and lived in Prague Ivan Kral (born 1948) — guitarist, singer, record producer and film director; born in Prague Milan Kundera (born 1929) — writer; studied, lectured at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague Leopold Eugen Měchura (1804–1870) — composer Jiří Menzel (1938-2020) — film director (his first feature film, Closely