Czech Republic Geography of the Czech Republic The

Czech Republic

Geography of the Czech Republic • The Czech Republic is in Central Europe and consists of Bohemia, Moravia and part of Silesia. • Bordering countries are Austria, Germany, Poland the Slovak Republic. • Prague is the Czech Republic's capital city. Other important cities are Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava and Plzen.

Geography of the Czech Republic • The terrain is varied consisting of plateau, highlands and lowlands • The highest mountains are the Krkonose (Giant Mountains), followed by the Hruby Jesenik (Ash Mountains), the Sumava mountain range and the Beskydy Mountains • Main rivers are the Elbe, Morava, Oder and Vltava

Geography of the Czech Republic • One third of the Czech Republic is forested • Trees are mainly coniferous firs and spruce. Deciduous trees include beech, birch and oak • National Parks are Krkonose National Park, Sumava National Park and Podyji National Park

Architecture - Prague • Prague is a World Heritage site • Most of the important buildings in the old town date back to the reign of Charles IV (1346 -78), the King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy Roman Emperor • At this time Prague was the capital city of Europe

Architecture Other World Heritage sites include the: • Medieval town of Cesky Krumlov • The old city of Kutna Hora • The historic town of Telc • Litomysl Castle • The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc • The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelena Hora.

Population/Religion • The population of the Czech Republic was estimated at 10, 220, 911 in 2008 • A large number of the Czech people do not belong to a religious body. Around thirty percent are Christian (mainly Roman Catholic). Some people are Hussites – The Hussites are followers of the fifteenth century religious reformer Jan Hus who was burnt at the stake in 1415

Food & Drinks • Main meals in the Czech Republic often consist of beef or pork, and sometimes fish, with potatoes or rice or dumplings. Sauerkraut is used in recipes including soup. Other soups are potato soup and liver dumpling soup • Dumplings are also served sweet. Desserts include strudel and pancakes. Gingerbread and pastries are popular • The Czech Republic is famous for Pilsner beer and Budweiser Budvar. • Wine is produced and stronger drinks include a herbal liqueur and plum brandy

History Facts • A goddess statuette found at Dolni Vestonice in the Czech Republic is one of the oldest known clay figurines. The artwork, discovered in a Paleolithic site in 1986, dates back around thirty thousand years • Bohemia was named after the Celtic Boii tribe who lived in the area before the Slavs. The Latin name for the country was Boiohaemum • Saints Cyril and Methodius, known as the Apostles of the Slavs, arrived in the Great Moravian Empire in 863 • Wenceslas (Vaclav I) is the patron saint of the Czech Republic. At the beginning of the tenth century, Wenceslas was murdered by his brother, Boleslav

History Facts In 1938 the Munich Agreement between Britain, France, Italy and Germany forced Czechoslovakia to surrender the Sudetenland territory to Adolf Hitler. Within six months of the Agreement the German army occupied all of Czechoslovakia The Warsaw Pact (1955 -1991) allowed the Red Army to have bases in member states. (Warsaw Treaty Organization member countries were Albania (until 1968), Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic), East Germany (DDR), Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Soviet Union).

History Facts • In 1968 Alexander Dubcek's government tried to introduce a more liberal form of communism - this was known as the "Prague Spring". In August the USSR occupied Czechoslovakia and removed Dubcek and government leaders from office • The communist system of government collapsed in 1989 (the Velvet Revolution) and Czechoslovakia became independent. • Vaclav Havel became Czechoslovakia's President. • In 1993 the Czechs and Slovaks decided to separate (the Velvet Divorce) forming the countries of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic

Other Facts • Mount Snezka (1, 602 m) is the highest point in the Czech Republic • Moravian Karst belongs to an important karst area in Europe. Caves include Punkva Caves and Catherine's Cave • The Vltava is the longest river in the Czech Republic. Its name is said to have come from the Celtic for wild (vlt) and water (va)

Famous and important people • Gregor Johann Mendel (1822 -1884), the biologist and botanist, established the basis of modern genetics. Mendel was born in Hyncice in the present-day Czech Republic; at the time of Mendel's birth Hyncice was within the Austrian Empire • Sigmund Freud, the famous psychologist and psychoanalysis, was born in Freiberg, Moravia, in 1856 • Karel Capek, a famous early twentieth century Czech playwright, introduced the word "robot" to the English language. It was used in his play "R. U. R" (Rossum's Universal Robots). The word for robot comes from the Czech word "robota" which means servitude

Famous and important people • Jean Comenius (J. A. Komensky) who lived in Czech lands in the seventeenth century is said to be the founder of modern teaching • Robert Maxwell was born Jan Ludvik Hoch (1923) in Slatinske Doly in Czechoslovakia. Hoch was a Jew who fought the Nazis through the Czech Resistance Movement. He was captured and escaped joining the British Army. Hoch changed his name to Robert Maxwell and went on to become one of the most powerful media owners in the UK

Famous and important people • Well known Czech artists include the early eighteenth century artist Petr Brandl and the Art Nouveau painter and poster artist Alfons Mucha (1860 -1944) • Toyen (1902 -1980) was a famous female Czech surrealist whose name was Marie Cerminova • Josef Sudek (1896 -1976), a Czech photographer, is numbered among the world's best photographers

Famous and important people • Czech composers include Antonin Dvorak (1841 -1904), who conducted his own works at the first concert of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague in 1896, and Bedrich Smetana (1824 -1884) who wrote the opera The Bartered Bride • Franz Kafka is a Czech writer famous for The Metamorphosis (1915) • Jaroslav Hasek (1883 -1923) wrote the anti-war comedy Good Soldier Svejk

Famous and important people • Vaclav Havel is a playwright whose interest in politics led to his presidency of Czechoslovakia between 1989 and 1992 and the Czech Republic from 1993 • Milos Forman is a well known Czech film director (Black Peter and Loves of a Blonde). Controversy over his work led to a move to the USA to continue his successful career (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Ragtime and Amadeus)