Prague’s spatial evolution was shaped by its changing economic function, and by its role first as the main city of Bohemia and later as a principal city in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and ultimately as a national capital. Importantly, during most of this period, land markets had played a major role in determining land uses. By the end of World War II, the result was an urban core with a variety of high-value commercial and residential buildings, built in various periods, that provided a high level of cultural and historical amenities, and a surrounding ring of manufacturing establishments and worker housing that reflected the role of the region as a major industrial manufacturing centre. Prague’s role as a manufacturing hub was further enhanced by the introduction of a socialist state that was embedded in the larger economic structure directed by the Soviet Union.