Czech Gems

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HERECZECH REPUBLICArea: 78,864 square kilometresPopulation: 10,266,000O cial language: CzechPolitical system: parliamentary democracyCapital: Prague

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CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe.It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that wasshaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the countrys picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that o er many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a clever choice. Welcome!

Information about the Czech Republic: www.czech.cz Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.czRadio Prague The International Service of Czech Radio: www.radio.cz

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CZECH GEMS

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PRAGUE CASTLE is the traditional residence of Czech rulers and, since 1918, the countrys presidents. Successive extensions and modifi cations steadily transformed the castle, established in the 9th century, into a huge complex. According to the Guinness Book of Records, its lengthof 570 m and width of 130 m makes it the LARGEST CASTLE IN THE WORLD. The dominant feature is St Vitus Cathedral, on the site of a roundhouse built in around 925. Prague Castles golden age came during the reign of Charles IV. The construction of the Gothic cathedral was interrupted by the Hussite Wars and was not completed until 1929. Today, besides serving as the seat of the head of state, Prague Castle is alsoan outstanding cultural and historical monument. The CROWN JEWELS, the mortal remains of Bohemian kings, rare Christian relics, art treasures and historical documents can all be found here.

THELARGEST CASTLE

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CHARLES BRIDGE is the oldest bridge spanning the River Vltava in Prague and the second oldest bridge still standing in the Czech Republic. Work on this structure began in 1357 under the aegis of CHARLES IV and was completed in 1402. It is 515 metres long,9.5 metres wide, and has 16 arches. Over time, it was decorated with thirty primarily BAROQUE STATUES AND SCULPTURAL GROUPS by artists such as Maty B. Braun, Josef Max and Jan Broko and his sons. This bridge played a part in making Prague a crossroads of European trade routes. Originally, it was known as the Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge. The name Charles Bridge was established in around 1870, based on an earlier initiative by the poet and journalist Karel Havlek Borovsk.

A BRIDGE OVER HISTORY

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The Czech Republic is a fairy-tale land of castles. There are more than 2,000 castles here, the most beautiful of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.At the beginning of Czech history, fortresses were set up for defence purposes in almost impenetrable locations; later on, royal and noble castles were also built to be impressive residences. The fi rst lavish chateaus, surrounded by stunning gardens and parks, were built in the 16th century. All these types of medieval structures have survived in Bohemia and Moravia: the castles of sovereigns (KARLTEJN), noble residences (ESK KRUMLOV) and architectural gems such as ERVEN LHOTA (pictured). Their a uent interiors and fi ne collections of art are a sight to behold.Many of them are open to the public.

CASTLES

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NATIVITY SCENE

Jindichv Hradec, a town in south Bohemia, boasts the famous KRZA NATIVITY SCENE the work of the local burgher and hosiery maestro TOM KRZA (18381918). He spent more than 60 years making the nativity scene from pasteboard (fl our, sawdust, plaster and glue) and wood. He created 1,398 fi gures of people and animals, 133 of which have moving parts. In the centre is the impressive model of the nativity, accompanied by well-known biblical scenes. Another part depicts a poetic rural landscape and bourgeois architecture, shedding light on life in the 19th century. The nativity scene is 17 metres long, and two metres wide and high. The hand drive was replaced by electric power in 1966. Since 1998, the nativity scene has featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the LARGEST MECHANICAL FOLK NATIVITY SCENE IN THE WORLD.

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The village of HOLAOVICE is the most impressive evidence of the unique south Bohemian architecture from the latter half of the 19th century PEASANT BAROQUE. There are 23 listed homesteads (120 buildings) here forming an integrated conservation area, complete with cowsheds, barns, stables, granaries and gates. The homesteads are spread out around a large rectangular green covering an area of 210 x 70 metres. This layout, together with the preserved stucco dcor on most of the facades, lends the village an inimitable atmosphere and appearance. Holaovice was declareda conservation area in 1995. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1998.

PEASANT BAROQUE

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CZECH GARNET (pyrope) is the MINERALOGICAL SYMBOL of Bohemia. The garnet originating in the esk stedoho mountain range is a rich red, verging on crimson; it is of precious stone quality and defects are rare. Garnet stones are small (0.2 0.8 cm) and exceptionally constant from the perspective of colour. Dark red garnet took its place among precious stones under the reign of Rudolph II. In the mid-18th century, garnet became so fashionable that in 1762 Empress Maria Theresia banned its export from the country. In terms of popularity, the golden age of garnet was the end of the 19th century, afterthe Russian tsarevna appeared at a court ball in Vienna with a breathtaking set of red stones set in gold. Garnet is widely known as the STONE OF LOVE.

STONE OF LOVE

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The OLD KLADRUBY HORSE is a unique breed. It was declared a signifi cant cultural monument in 1995. The origins of the breed can be traced back to the 16th century. This is the only horse bred for ceremonial purposes at royal courts. These white or black horses have retained their baroque appearance. They are the only creatures to have earned a place alongside works of art and architectural gems; they are protected monuments and are o cially regarded as LIVING WORKS OF ART. Breeding is protected by the FAO and the breed features on UNESCOs World Heritage list.

COURT STEEDS

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A SEA OF CARP

Czech carp, like Czech fi shpond management, is a CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION. The oldest ponds belonged to monasteries, and from the outset they were used to breed carp as important LENTEN FOOD. They were successful, and over time Bohemia became the largest carp producer in Europe. From the end of the 15th century, the most important fi shpond area was southern Bohemia. The architect JAKUB KRN from Jelany wasa particularly prominent fi gure behind the expansion of the local water systems. In 1584 he started building his most important work the Bohemian Sea of Romberk. Over the space of six years, a pond covering 489 hectares was built this is still the largest pond in the country. The art of fi shpond management continued to improve A book on the feeding of carp and other pond fi sh, Diet and feeding of the carp and its fi shpond community,by Josef usta was published in 1884 and soon became famous; it is still regarded worldwideas a textbook in this fi eld.

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The Czech Republic is extraordinarily rich in MINERAL SPRINGS. The golden age of Czech spas was in the 18thand 19th centuries. Bottling plants were set up at everyquality spring, and the fi rst spa houses were built hereNumerous towns with specifi c spa architecture steadily emerged. Staying here became a mark of status, and asa result spa tourism fl ourished. Clients from across the world including celebrities of the time (such as Goethe, Chopin and Gogol) came here to restore their health. The Golden Triangle in West Bohemia, comprising KARLOVY VARY, MARINSK LZN and FRANTIKOVY LZN, became world famous.

MEDICINAL SPRINGS

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MOUNTAIN BELLS

Despite its small area, KRKONOE, the mountain range in the north of Bohemia, is exceptionally rich in fl ora. More than 1,250 species of vascular plants (almost half of all the Czech Republics original fl ora) can be found here. The diversity of the vegetation here can be attributed in part to the bio-geographic location of Krkonoe at the time of glaciation the nature of the Nordic tundra came into direct contact with the southern Alpine grasses at this point. A rare, now endangered plant is the BOHEMIAN BELLFLOWER (Campanula bohemica), an endemic species growing exclusively here at an altitude of between 1,250 and 1,450 m. You might be able to fi nd it on SNKA, the highest Czech mountain.

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PROKOP DIVI, a Czech priest, natural scientist and designer, is known as the inventor of the lightning rod. He specialised in physical experiments, and even demonstrated his electrical experiments in the presence of Emperor Franz and Empress Maria Theresiain Vienna in 1750. He used electricity to treatthe sick. On 15 June 1754, with the help of a local blacksmith he made the worlds FIRST EARTHED LIGHTNING ROD. He called this invention a weather machine. Divis lightning rod comprised a system of 400 earthed metal studs accompanied, for safetys sake, by a central rod.

LIGHTNING MACHINE

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In 1956, the outstanding Czech chemist and inventor OTTO WICHTERLE invented gel CONTACT LENSES, and thus enabled more than 100 million people around the world to discard their glasses. He built the prototype of the production machinery from the childrens construction kit Merkur (similar to Meccano) and a bicycle dynamo in his own fl at at Christmas in 1961. He succeeded in producing the fi rst four lenses. In the early 1970s, contact lenses conquered the world. Since then, similar gels have been used in numerous other fi elds of medicine and in the cosmetics industry, especially for plastic surgery.

SIGHT

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In 1915, BEDICH HROZN, the Czech oriental scholar and linguist, was the fi rst to decipher the language of the Hittites. Seven years earlier, various scholars from around the world had tried to decipher the TEXTS from the archive of the HITTITE KINGS, discovered in Asia Minor in 1906. Over 20,000 fragments of tablets were covered in a cuneiform script that had been deciphered but which was in an unknown language. Over 20 months, he proved that the language in the cuneiform tablets was the Indo-European language of the Hittites. What is more, he was soon able to read and translate these texts. A dead language had spoken again after three millennia HITTITOLOGY was born.

THE KEY TOA LANGUAGE

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THE SECRET OF BLOOD

The Czech doctor JAN JANSKwas fi rst and foremost a psychiatrist.In his exploration of mental diseases, he managed to make a spin-o discovery he divided human blood into FOUR BLOOD TYPES based on the presence or absence of antigenic substances. He labelled them with the roman numerals I to IV, and was the fi rst person in the world to make the correct CLASSIFICATION of these types, which is still valid today. He published his results in 1907 in a historic paper which earned him a senior lectureship. His work was a major milestone onthe way to safer transfusions and blood donations. Jansks original roman numerals were later replaced with capital letters of the alphabet (A, B, AB and O).

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The father of scientifi c genetics isthe Czech natural scientist JOHANN GREGOR MENDEL. In his now world-famous vegetable patch, he carried out his historic pea variation experiments. He published the results of his research, a mathematical formulation of the transfer of hereditary traits from purebred parents to their progeny. Three of Mendels laws became the cornerstone of MODERN GENETICS, the basis of plant and animal improvement, and a signifi cant element of medicine and other fi elds of science. They heralded the newera of genetic engineering.

GENESIS OF GENETICS

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The Czech composer ANTONN DVOK wrote Symphony No. 9 in E minor, FROM THE NEW WORLD, also known as the NEW WORLD SYMPHONY, while at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. It was fi rst performed in 1893 at Carnegie Hall, and went on to become one of the most famous compositions in the history of music. In 1945, Iowa State Senate unanimously adopted the main theme of Largo as the o cial anthem for the state. During the Apollo 11 mission (1969) the New World Symphony was heard on the MOON. Neil Armstrong listened to it as he made his way onto the surface. As the New World Symphony features among the examples of music onboard VOYAGER 1 and 3, dispatched into deep space, this work may well be one of the fi rst to be heard by other civilisations

SPACE MUSIC

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Puppet theatre became very popular in Bohemia from as early as the 16th century onwards. These theatres were run by itinerant puppeteers, one of whom, Matj Kopeck, became legendary in the 19th century. The most typical puppet, and later a national cultural monument, was the Czech KAPREK (Punch). The fi rst Czech professional puppet company the SPEJBL AND HURVNEK Theatre was formed in 1930 by Josef Skupa.The fi gures of the philosophising father, Spejbl, and his reprobate son, Hurvnek, soon entered the folk mainstream. Following Skupas death, the role of both puppets was taken over by Milo Kirschner, who used them to entertain audiences all over the world in 18 languages. Since its foundation, the theatre has performed over 250 plays, all original comedies for children and adults.

PLAYERSON STRINGS

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JOHN AMOS COMENIUS (in Czech Jan mos Komensk), the Bohemian teacher, theologian, philosopher, priest and last bishop of the Unity of the Brethren, was one of the most signifi cant fi gures of the 17th century. The political situation during the Thirty Years War forced him into exile, and he never returned to his homeland. He published approximately 60 works (such as Theatrum universitatis rerum, Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart, and General Deliberation Concerning the Reform of Human A airs). He spent his life attempting to unify all human knowledge and make it accessible to all layers of society. Of his pedagogical works (World in Pictures, Gate to Languages Unlocked, The School of Infancy), the best-known is The Great Didactic, in which he prepared a coherent system of education. He died in Amsterdam in 1670 and is buried in nearby Naarden. Comenius, one of the greatest European teachers of all time, is often referred to as the TEACHER OF NATIONS.

THE TEACHER OF NATIONS

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Robot... This word of Czech origin requires no translation in any language. It is in common usage in all world languages. The word robot was introduced by the Czech dramatist and writer KAREL APEK in the play R.U.R. (Rossums Universal Robots) in 1920. However, the word was invented by his brother, JOSEF APEK. Labor, Karels originally term for the manmade worker in the drama, felt wrong, and so he drew on inspiration from Czech history. He recalled the word ROBOTA, meaning serf labour, and advised his brother to use ROBOT instead of labor. And the fi rst robot entered the world

THE FIRSTROBOT

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The name Cubism comes from the term cube. Sharp edges, the penetration of spaces, crystalline structures These are typical features of CZECH CUBISM, a globally unique movement that emerged in Prague in around 1910. A group of young avant-garde architects and artists applied the Cubist principles of Picasso and Braque to ARCHITECTURE and APPLIED ART. Prague became a city of Cubism. In Cubist buildings with fl ats containing cubist furniture, their occupants were able to have Cubist vases, glasses, co ee sets, ashtrays, clocks, mirrors and lights. The architects and designers Josef Gor, Pavel Jank, Vlastislav Hofman and Josef Chochol entered the history books of architecture and design with their creations from this era.

DESIGN AT THE EDGE

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The fi rst SUGAR CUBES were made in the Czech town of Daice in 1841. J. K. RAD, the director of the local sugar factory, came up with the idea at the instigation of his wife, who hurt herself chopping some sugar in loaf form. She urged him: Youre the director, do something about it! Several months later, she received a present: a small wooden box containing the fi rst 300 white and pink sugar cubes. They came in two sizes, with edges measuring either 1.2 cm or 1.5 cm. Rad pressed them with a device he invented himself. In 1843, his new product was patented and he was licensed to produce sugar cubes, which he marketed as TEA SUGAR. An invention was born, the practicality of which was soon recognisedall over the world.

SWEET REWARDS

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In the 16th century, there were already 34 Czech foundries making glass. There was a boom in glass-making during the reign of Rudolph II. When Venetian glass went into decline, Czechs came to dominate the international market. They were especially famous for the unique engraved fi gural and ornamental dcor they used to decorate CRYSTAL GLASS. They also contributed to several inventions: Egermann invented yellow and red glazing, while Count Buquoy came up with black and red hyalite. In Szava, Kavalr produced the worlds FIRST CHEMICALLY RESISTANT GLASS. In the interwar period, Bohemian crystal chandeliers illuminated the interiors of opera buildingsin Rome, Milan, and Brussels, as well as luxurious hotels in the USA. The glassmakers reaped success at many world exhibitions. Bohemian glass is not just a famous artistic phenomenon, but also an attractive product.

FRAGILE LIGHT

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SLIVOVITZ is a popular spirit, especially in MORAVIA, one of the lands of the Bohemian Crown. It is made from plums. The distillation of slivovitz spread rapidly in the fi rst half of the 19th century, when an imperial charter of 1835 granted peasants the freedom to distil spirits from their own fruit and for their own consumption up to a limit of one pail. Homemade slivovitz inherently belongs to Moravian region. For local people it is a representative drink, a symbol of sorts, and a phenomenon, just like FOLK COSTUMES, FOLK MUSIC and FOLK DANCING. According to historians, it is also a ritual beverage accompanying signifi cant milestones in life.

LIQUID PLUMS

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CHEERS

The Czech nation is the world leader in beer consumption. In the past, Czechs regarded beer not just as a refreshing drink,but also as nutritious, tasty and cheap liquid bread. It was the 18th-century maltster FRANTIEK O. POUP who is credited with the fundamental reform in the way this beverage was produced, taking the fi rst step towards the development of the typical properties of Czech beer we know today.

He designed new equi

pment for

malting and brewing,

adjusted the

quantities of hops, an

d in Brno he set

up the FIRST BREW

ING SCHOOL

IN EUROPE. A land

mark year was

1842, when the City B

rewery opened

in Plze and produced

the prototype of

todays pilsner lager, w

hich has become

the dominant beer not

only in the Czech

Republic, but throug

hout the world.

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There is nothing in the world to rival genuine OLOMOUC CHEESE. This delicacy has a tradition stretching back almost 600 years. It was originally homemade for consumption within the household. It was fi rst marketedin 1580. It was even a feature of Emperor Leopold IIs wedding breakfast in 1765. The essence of its distinctive taste is the unrenneted sour curd it is matured from. This cheese is entirely natural. It has just one percent fat and is distinguished by its very strong smell. Since 1876, it has been produced in only ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD in Lotice, in the umperk region.

TASTE AND FRAGRANCE

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In 1997, he was named the best athlete of the 20th century, and two years later the BEST OLYMPIC ATHLETE IN HISTORY. The best Czech female runner is the 800 m world record holder JARMILA KRATOCHVLOV.The javelin thrower JAN ELEZN was world champion three times, the world record holder in 1996, and triple Olympic gold medallist. Notable success has been achieved by TOM DVOK, the decathlon world champion in 1997, 1999 and 2001. The leading fi gure in Czech athletics today is the decathlon athlete ROMAN EBRLE.

The most famous Czech athlete of all

time is the runner EMIL ZTOPEK,

the four-time Olympic champion, eighteen-time

world record holder and SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR in 1949 and 1952.

THE SPORT OF CHAMPIONS

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The Czech tennis system has nurtured many world-class players,

most of whom, however, became famous after they had left the country. The dawn of the era of prominent tennis players

came in 1909 when KAREL KOELUH was made a professional trainer in Munich at the tender age of 14. The fi rst Czech

Wimbledon champion was JAROSLAV DROBN, originally an ice-hockey player, who won in 1954. JAN KODE

won Wimbledon two decades later, in 1973. IVAN LENDL was the most famous, and was one of the most dominant players of the

1980s. He fought his way to 19 Grand Slam fi nals, which is a mens record. MARTINA NAVRTILOV is regarded as the best female

tennis player of all time. She won 18 Grand Slam singles and 40 Grand Slam doubles titles. In the womens singles, she won an incredible 9 titles at

WIMBLEDON. Czech players among the current world elite are TOM BERDYCH and NICOLE VAIDIOV.

TENNIS SCHOOL

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BALL MAESTROS

The most famous Czech footballer is the phenomenal striker JOSEF BICAN, who scored

447 goals in the national league. He scored seven goals in a single match on four separate

occasions! He was the leagues top scorer nine times in a row. He scored more than

5,000 goals during his career. In 2001, he was named the GREATEST STRIKER IN

HISTORY. Another of Czech footballs most famous sons is ANTONN PANENKA.

Todays stars include PAVEL NEDVD (who won the 2003 Golden Ball the prize

for European Footballer of the Year), TOM ROSICK, and in particular the

goalkeeper PETR ECH, the Chelsea player, who was named the worlds best

goalkeeper in 2005.

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Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Bohemia. Czechoslovakia became world champions for the fi rst time in 1947 and for the last time in 1985 (in Prague). Other triumphs followed in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, but these came after the country had split and so belonged solely to the Czech Republic.

One of the key fi gures of Czech ice hockey was IVAN HLINKA, who was not only a player, but subsequently a coach, and led his team to gold at the 1998 WINTER OLYMPICS in Nagano. For many years now, the Czech Republic has been a feeder for the NHL in America. One of the best contemporary players is JAROMR JGR.

A HOCKEY BREEDING GROUND

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The Czech Republic has the LARGEST NETWORK of signposted FOOTPATHS in the world. The fi rst walking route in the Czech lands was created on 11 May 1889, when the signposting team of the Bohemian Hikers Club forged a route between tchovice and Svatojnsk proudy with red marks. In 1912, the signposting of the fi rst long-distance route from Prague to umava, via Brdy, was completed. By 2002, 38,500 km of footpaths and 1,240 km of cross-country skiing routes had been signposted. Since 1997, signposting similar to the footpath markings has been introducedin the Czech Republic for skiers and cyclists; since 2006, signposting has existed for horse-riders as well. The Czechsystem has become a model for many other countries.

GUIDES TO THE PROVINCES

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe.It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that wasshaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the countrys picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that o er many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a good choice. Welcome!


THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE

THE TIMELESS ROCKET

THE LITTLE WHISKER

THE FOREST OF BOUBN

TEARS OF UNIVERSE

CZECH EDISON

In 1959, as a fi rst Czech, a physical chemistry professor JAROSLAV HEYROVSK (18901967), received the NOBEL PRIZE for theinvention of the POLAROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS. The method and the measuring instrument, constructed by Heyrovsk and his Japanese pupil Masuzo Shikata, proved useful in metalurgy, pharmacy, medical science, food industry etc. It was quick, reliable and cheap in detecting substances and their quantities in any given sample. The method lies in measuring by the so-called polarographic curve. Its peak determines the concentration of the substance, the voltage value defi nes its type. Heyrovsk made the discovery in 1922 and in the following decades he ceaselessly worked on its practical application. The mercury in the electrode, which is the key element in the electroanalysis, thus gave Czech science a new glamour and lustre.

WHAT THINGSARE MADE OF

The King of the Romans and King of Bohemia, Charles IV, founds a general seat of learning, takes into his protection doctors, masters and students and promises them material support, the Founding Charter of CHARLES UNIVERSITY, issued on 7 April 1348, says. Why did the king decide to found the fi rst university to the north of the Alps and to the east of Paris? He needed experts of all kinds to carry out his plans. Also, with such an important institution, the kings and the lands prestige would grow. The University had the full number of faculties, i. e. liberal arts (or philosophical), medicine, law and theological. The University remained ever grateful to its founder. It has kept his name and his portrait as part of its insignia. The university seal served as a model for the symbol. It depicts St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands, and Charles IV on his knees as he hands the founding charter over to the patron. He thus symbolically commends the future of Czech learning to the saints care and keeping.

ALMAMATER

THE HOLY PATRONESS

In 1930s every other PRESS STUD came from Prague. That was because in 1903 Hynek Puc constructed a machine for putting springs inside the fastener, work which before could only be done by hand and therefore slowly. Puc together with a former salesman Jindich Waldes founded their own company. They set about with one worker and one apprentice. Thanks to the improved fastener, named after the worlds largest diamond Koh-i-noor, they soon employed 300 people. Later the works adopted its main products name which it has kept up till now. The companys logo, Miss KIN, is supposedly the work of Waldess girlfriend. Jokingly she laid an enlarged sample to her eye, the artist FRANTIEK KUPKA painted her on canvas and the graphic artist VOJTCH PREISSIG created the logo based on the picture. Miss KIN fastens people worldwide up to the present time.

FAST FASTENERS

CHECKING THE PUCKS

WINGED ARROW

KOLACHES

GO GO GO!

THE NATION OF KNIGHTS

The fi rst gold medal from the Olympic Games was brought home by BEDICH UPK for rope climbing.

In the years to follow men scored in gymnastics, then the era of winning women came. In 1948 in London the

female team won the Olympic gold. But it was a painful victory. Soon after arrival, one of the girls was

hospitalized. While the rest of the team, including the girls sister, contended for the title the young gymnast

died of infantile paralysis. The career of EVA BOSKOV, a three-times World Champion and Rome 1960 Olympic

Games winner, got problematical owing to political circumstances. Her pupil, VRA SLAVSK, whom

Eva discovered, su ered a similar fate. Vra became a legend infl uencing world gymnastics and a symbol

of sporting charm. Eleven times she became the European Champion, four times the World Champion, and a winner

of seven Olympic golds. In 1968 she was nominated the best sportswoman of the year and at the same time

the second most popular woman in the world.

FATED GYMNASTICS

HERECZECH REPUBLICArea: 78,864 square kilometresPopulation: 10,266,000O cial language: CzechPolitical system: parliamentary democracyCapital: Prague

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe.It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that wasshaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the countrys picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that o er many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a good choice. Welcome!


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