Portal:Czech Republic
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Welcome to the Czech Portal!
Vítejte na Českém portálu!
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central and Eastern Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers (30,452 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec.
The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial State of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of the Crown lands of Bohemia were gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy. Nearly a hundred years later, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Crown lands became part of the Austrian Empire.
In the 19th century, the Czech lands became more industrialized, and in 1918 most of it became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic following the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a parliamentary democracy during the entirety of the interwar period. After the Munich Agreement in 1938, Nazi Germany systematically took control over the Czech lands.
Czechoslovakia was restored in 1945 and three years later became an Eastern Bloc communist state following a coup d'état in 1948. Attempts to liberalize the government and economy were suppressed by a Soviet-led invasion of the country during the Prague Spring in 1968. In November 1989, the Velvet Revolution ended communist rule in the country and restored democracy. On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an advanced, high-income social market economy. It is a welfare state with a European social model, universal health care and free-tuition university education. It ranks 32nd in the Human Development Index. The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. (Full article...)
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The Prague uprising (Czech: Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II. The preceding six years of occupation had fuelled anti-German sentiment and the rapid advance of Allied forces from the Red Army and the United States Army offered the resistance a chance of success.
On 5 May 1945, during the end of World War II in Europe, occupying German forces in Bohemia and Moravia were spontaneously attacked by civilians in an uprising, with Czech resistance leaders emerging from hiding to join them. The Russian Liberation Army (ROA), a collaborationist formation of ethnic Russians, defected and supported the insurgents. German forces counter-attacked, but their progress was slowed by barricades constructed by the insurgents. On 8 May, the Czech and German leaders signed a ceasefire allowing all German forces to withdraw from the city, but some Waffen-SS troops refused to obey. Fighting continued until 9 May, when the Red Army entered the nearly liberated city. (Full article...)Selected picture
Photographer: Milan Nykodym, Czech Republic; License: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA
In this month
- 1 May 2004 – The Czech Republic joins the European Union
- 9 May 1974 – The Prague Metro begins operation
- 14 May 1855 – The book The Grandmother by Božena Němcová is released
- 27 May 1942 – An assassination attempt (pictured) on acting Reichsprotektor Reinhardt Heydrich in Prague as part of Operation Anthropoid results in him dying on 4 June – the villages of Lidice and Ležáky are razed to the ground in response
- 29 May 1975 – Gustáv Husák becomes President of Czechoslovakia, remaining in office until 1989
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Did you know?
- ...that, although Mozart never visited Kroměříž, much of the Academy Award-winning film Amadeus was filmed at the local episcopal residence?
- ... that the report Public Finance Balance of Smoking in the Czech Republic found that the "effect of smoking on the public finance balance in the Czech Republic in 1999 was positive"?
- ... that, having played 465 league matches, Jaroslav Šilhavý holds the record for the most appearances in top-flight Czech football?
- ... that Miroslav Tyrš, the founder of Czech national sport movement Sokol, was born into a German family?
General images
- Image 3Bohemia (westernmost area) in Czechoslovakia 1918–1938 (from Bohemia)
- Image 6Christmas cookies (vánoční cukroví) (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 7Václav Havel, playwright, dissident and president from 1989 to 2003 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 8Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the oldest ceramic article in the world (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 9Detailed map of Bohemia, 1742 (from Bohemia)
- Image 11Monument to Master Jan Hus, a religious reformer and philosopher in Prague (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 12An 1892 map showing Bohemia proper outlined in pink, Moravia in yellow, and Austrian Silesia in orange (from Bohemia)
- Image 13Cubist lamp by Emil Králíček, Jungmannovo náměstí, next to the Gothic Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Prague) (from Czech architecture)
- Image 15Grand Café Orient in Prague (from Czech architecture)
- Image 17Beheading of 27 Bohemian nobles at the Old Town Square in Prague, 1621 (contemporary illustration) (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 18Library of Clementinum, a former Jesuit College, built in 1722 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 21Zelňačka (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 22The Kingdom of Bohemia in 1618 with other Bohemian Crown lands within the Holy Roman Empire (1618). (from Bohemia)
- Image 23St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle, John of Luxembourg laid the foundation stone in 1344 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 24Řežabinec a Řežabinecké tůně National Nature Reserve (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
- Image 26Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, philosopher, Czechoslovak president in the years 1918-1935 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 27Cubist architecture in Prague (from Czech architecture)
- Image 28The extent of the Protestant Reformation (1545–1620) (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 29Svíčková na smetaně served with dumplings, whipped cream and cranberries (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 33King George of Podebrady, one of the first promoters of united Europe (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 34The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia (from Bohemia)
- Image 35A "traditional Bohemian platter" at a restaurant in central Prague, consisting of roast duck, roast pork, beer sausage, smoked meat, red and white cabbage, bread, bacon and potato dumplings. (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 36Copper engraving of the Second Defenestration of Prague from Theatrum Europaeum by Matthäus Merian. (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 37Lands of the Bohemian Crown (until 1635), map by Josef Pekař, 1921 (from Bohemia)
- Image 38Map of protected areas of the Czech Republic: national parks (grey) and protected landscape areas (green) (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
- Image 40A panorama of Kłodzko, the capital city of Kłodzko Land, which is referred to as "Little Prague" (from Bohemia)
- Image 45Svíčková na smetaně (Marinated tenderloin), served here with dumplings and cream (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 46Prague-style beef goulash (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 47Fried cheese, served with tartar sauce and side salad (from Czech cuisine)
- Image 53Czech kings Ottokar II, Wenceslas II and Wenceslas III from the Přemyslid dynasty (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 55Baroque St. Nicholas Church in Malá Strana, built between 1704 and 1755 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 56John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), Czech philosopher and school reformer (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 58Rotunda of St. George from the beginning of the 12th century on Mount Říp (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 59Dacian Influence over Bohemia (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 61Vladislaus Hall at the Prague Castle, built from 1490 to 1502 by Benedikt Rejt (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 64Duchy of Bohemia, around 1029 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 65Church of Saint Agnes of Bohemia (Spořilov) (from Czech architecture)
- Image 69Adria Palace (Prague) (from Czech architecture)
- Image 71Russian occupation in 1968 (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 72Entrance to Moravian Karst PLA (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
- Image 73Stone sculpture of a Celtic man, found in Mšecké Žehrovice (from History of the Czech lands)
- Image 74Semi-detached villa in Brno by Otto Eisler, according to MoMA's Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, is a defining building of the International style. (from Czech architecture)
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Topics
Czech lands: Bohemia • Moravia • Czech Silesia
History: Únětice culture • Boii • Marcomanni • Samo • Great Moravia • Přemyslid dynasty • Lands of the Bohemian Crown • Czech lands (1526–1648) • 1648–1867 • 1867–1918) • Czechoslovakia • Czech Republic
Geography: Lakes • Protected areas • Regions • Rivers
Law: Judiciary • Law enforcement • Supreme Court of the Czech Republic
Politics: Administrative divisions • Government • Constitution • Elections • Foreign relations • Army • Parliament • Political parties • President • Prime Minister
Economy: Banks • Czech koruna • Energy • Oil and gas deposits • Stock Exchange • Tourism • Transport
Culture: Architecture • Art • Cinema • Cuisine • Demographics • Education • Language • Literature • Media • Music • Philosophy • Prostitution • Public holidays • Religion • Sport • Television • Video games
Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem (Kde domov můj)
Lists: Outline of the Czech Republic • List of Czech Republic–related topics
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