Abstract
The book by the Polish scholar undertakes to compare topographic and demo-graphic aspects of thesocialandethnicstructuresinPrague and Cracow. This pole-mical review focuses on the Prague part and points out some grave mistakes (e. g. with respect to the Prague Jewish township), the failure to include modern (not only Czech) literatuře and the fact that to a certain degree the book is based on works from the interwar period that were marked by grossly nationalist views.
The main criticism, however, centres on Belzyt's uncritical use of source editions and their data on the size, thesocialand aboveallthenationalstructure of the Prague population inthe Rudolfian time. Mistaken interpretations, sometimes bordering on manipula-tion, areadoptedby Belzyt, who does not use arguments to refute falše results of earlier research.
He either overlooks these arguments, or he rectifies them without naming reasons and methods. Prague is thus isolated from the context of the history of CentralEuropeancities.
Instead of a meaningful comparison between two capital cities, there is only aparalleldescription.