Praga is a historical borough of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. It is located on the east bank of the river Vistula. First mentioned in 1432, until 1791 it formed a separate town with its own city charter.

The historical Praga was a small settlement located at the eastern bank of the Vistula river, directly opposite the towns of Old Warsaw and Mariensztat, both being parts of Warsaw now. First mentioned in 1432, it derived its name from a Polish verb prażyć, meaning to burn or to roast, as it occupied a forested area that was burnt out to make place for the village. Separated from Warsaw by a wide river, it developed independently from the nearby city. Because of that, on February 10, 1648 king Władysław IV of Poland granted Praga with a city charter. However, as it was mostly a suburb and most buildings were wooden, the town had repeatedly been destroyed by fires, floods and foreign armies. Currently the only surviving historical monument from that epoch is the Church of Our Lady of Loreto. The Church of Our Lady of Loreto (Polish: Kościół Matki Boskiej Loretańskiej) is an ornate church in Praga, a district of Warsaw, Poland, on the east bank of the Vistula River. The church stands on Ratuszowa (City Hall) Street and is Praga’s oldest monument. What may be seen today is a former chapel that on its south side was once attached to a baroque church and a Bernardine (Minor Friars) monastery. A chapel is all that remains of the old building that used to stand adjacent to the Bernardine church and monastery. On 4 October 1617 the cornerstone of the baroque church was laid in the presence of King Sigismund III Vasa. The St. Andrew's church was constructed between 1628 and 1638. The Loreto Chapel was built between 1640 and 1642, in the southern part of the shrine. The construction was financially supported by King Władysław IV Vasa and Queen Cecilia Renata. Other members of the royal family, especially king's brothers, also participated in the construction. The chapel was built according to design by Royal architect Constantino Tencalla and modelled after Basilica della Santa Casa by Donato Bramante and Andrea Sansovino. Tencalla adjusted the original renaissance design to the baroque forms. The copy of Mary’s house, so-called Loreto house, was placed inside the chapel. According to legend the Loreto house was transported by angels from the Holy Land to Croatia, and later to the Italian town of Loreto in about 1294. Inside a small room of the chapel the statue of Virgin Mary of Loreto, brought from Italy at the king’s initiative, was arranged. In 1641 Queen Cecilia Renata established golden crowns for the statue. The solemn consecration of the chapel occurred in 1642. During the Deluge the chapel was ransacked and destroyed by Swedish and Brandenburgian forces. It was rebuilt thanks to donations of Stefan Warszycki, castellan of Kraków and Michał Warszycki, voivode of Sandomierz. Again during the Kościuszko Uprising the building was severely damaged, when the city was besieged by the Suvorov army. The most precious item in the church was transferred here in 1807, when the Skaryszew Church was pulled down by the Napoleon's Army. It is a Gothic cedar statue of the Madonna and Child of Kamion. The statue was removed several times, when it finally found the place in the main altar of the Loreto Chapel (the statue of the Loreto Virgin was moved to the St. Anne' Church). Around 1811 the Bernardine monastery was pulled down to build Praga fortifications, but the Church of Our Lady of Loreto was preserved in answer to a protest by the inhabitants. During the Warsaw Uprising the church was badly damaged by German artillery fire. It was rebuilt in 1953 to Alfons Kropiwnicki design.

Although there were numerous attempts to build a permanent bridge across the river, none succeeded and Praga remained a separate entity well into 18th century. Communications between the capital and Praga was maintained by privately-run ferries and, in the winter, over the ice. Finally, in 1791, during the reign of Stanisław August Poniatowski, Praga was attached to Warsaw as its borough.

The Battle of Praga, or Battle of Warsaw of 1794, was a Russian assault during the Kościuszko Uprising in 1794. It was followed by a massacre in which over 20,000 inhabitants of the Praga district lost their lives.

Unlike the western parts of Warsaw, during the World War II Praga remained relatively untouched and in the period of reconstruction of the capital was home to many ministries and public facilities.

Because of the traditional separate status of Praga, there are two Catholic dioceses in Warsaw - Archdiocese of Warsaw with St. John's Cathedral and Diocese of Warsaw-Praga with St. Florian's Cathedral. St. Florian's Cathedral, more formally known as the Cathedral of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Florian the Martyr (Polish: Katedra Świętego Michała Archanioła i Świętego Floriana), is a Catholic church and historical landmark at ul. Floriańska 3 (English: 3 Florian Street) in eastern Warsaw. The 75-meter towers of St. Florian’s dominate the Praga district and highlight the cathedral’s role as a form of protest against the Russian domination of Poland. There has been a Catholic church presence in or around the site of the future church since 1583, but the impetus for creating a lasting and substantial church did not arrive until the late 19th century. The map of Europe was redrawn during the Congress of Vienna and the resulting territorial maneuvers placed the Duchy of Warsaw under the control of the Russian Empire, transforming it into the Congress Poland. Among other intrusions, over twenty Russian Orthodox churches were built in Poland. To protest against the perceived imposition of a foreign church, and in direct reaction to the monumental Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene built down the street, St Florian’s was built with two commanding 75-meter (250-foot) towers between 1897-1904. The church is named after St. Florian, the patron saint of professions associated with fire, such as firefighters, steelworkers, chimney sweeps, potters and bakers. During and after the Siege of Warsaw, churches were used as a hiding place for Jews, the Warsaw Army (Armia Warszawa) and as a general refuge for civilians. St. Florian's was destroyed by the Germans as they withdrew from Poland in 1944 after the Warsaw Uprising. The church remained in ruins for several years, but by the 1950s a reconstruction effort slowly began with support from Praga residents. The rebuilt church was re-opened in 1972. St Florian's is built in a Gothic Revival style distinguished by two twenty-story towers facing Al. Solidarności (English: Solidarity Avenue), capped with bronze spires. Most of its exterior is made of red brick. Over the entrances are mosaic depictions of Jesus Christ and the emblem of the first bishop of Warsaw-Praga, Kazimierz Romaniuk, while the interior is decorated in red or white plaster and brick.

The district experienced a revival following the end of Communism in 1989, as young artists moved into many of the former factory buildings, drawing in crowds in search of something different from the old town. Currently Praga is administratively divided into: Praga Północ (Praga North) and Praga Południe (Praga South).