The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is situated in Central Europe. Its neighbours are Slovakia in the east, Poland in the north, the Federal Republic of Germany in the west and Austria in the south. Our country is called „The Heart of Europe“. Population is about ten million. The capital is Prague, it is also the centre of history, economy, industry and centre of political life. There is the seat of our president and the Czech government.

Our flag has three colours – red, white and blue. The anthem is the song Kde domov muj composed by Skroup, text by J. K. Tyl.

Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to this city every year. There are lots of interesting places, historical buildings, theatres, exhibitions, cinemas – and also a lot of restaurants and pubs with famous Czech beer.

In the ČR we can find lowlands along rivers – along the river EIbe or the river Moravia. But there are mountains too. They are mostly on the borders – it is Šumava range or the Giant Mountains with the highest peak Snežka – it is 1602 metres high or the Jizerské mountains, the Czech Forest, the Ore mountains, The Eagle mountains. Bohemia is separated from Moravia by the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and Moravia is separated from Slovakia by Beskydy. In the Czech Republic there are many rivers – the Elbe, the Moldau, the Moravia. Our rivers flow into three seas – the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Black Sea. On our largest rivers there are many dams.

Above all in Southern Bohemia where there are also many ponds. The best known ponds are Svět and Bezdrev, the largest is called Rožumberk. In this part of our country there is beautiful countryside, we can find many castles and other sights here. It is the part of our country that many people like very much and where a lot of town people, actors, singers, painters and other artists have their cottages.

The north of the country is very industrial and pollution is a big problem there. It is very bad for all the people living there. Sometimes the pollution is so bad that people can´t go out and the windows should be closed and so life there is not easy. This pollution has already killed many of the forests and lakes in this area. Also the rivers are so badly contaminated that nothing can live in them. But even in the north there are still some beautiful areas – for example the rock formations – known as the Bohemian Paradise and Bohemian – Saxon Switzerland.

In Bohemia and in Moravia too there are several remarkable karst regions. In Macocha (in the Moravian Karst) there is an abyss and an underground river. This used to be a nice place for school trips at the and of the school year. Such areas and many others are protected – there are several nature reserves or national parks.

We have a mild climate here. Temperature differences are not very big between summer and  winter. It often rains here – especially in spring and autumn – but still not as much as in Britain.

The first people that settled here were Slav tribes. In the 10th century Bohemia became independent and was called The Kingdom of Bohemia.There were various kings in this country, but the most famous was Charles IV. Under his rule the Kingdom of Bohemia experienced a golden age and Prague was named the capital of Europe. Charles founded the first university in Central Europe and also many other important buildings which still exist – Charles Bridge and others.

We were under the Habsburgs from 1526 to 1918 when they were defeated in the First World War. In this year the Czechs and Slovaks united to form Czechoslovakia. After the Second World War when we were freed by the Red and US Armies – in 1945 – the Communist Party won the elections and took power. In 1968 there was an attempt to change something in our life but it was interrupted by the Soviet Army. In 1989 the Communist government resigned and Václav Havel became president. In 1993 Czechoslovakia was divided into two independent states – the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

In the Czech Republic there is important industry, especially heavy industry, but you can find  chemical, engineering, food and textile industry there too. ČR is not rich in raw materials. Some resources have been exhausted already. We have some coal – brown coal in Northern Bohemia and black coal in Northern Moravia. We can mention some other materials too – silver, gold, uranium or kaolin for the china industry near Kaznejov. China is produced in Karlovy Vary. It is known all over the world. We produce cars and lorries. Škoda cars are produced in Mladá Boleslav – the factory is owned by a Germany company Volkswagen. Czech beer is also very famous – like Pilsner  Urquell or Krušovice or Radegast. Tiles are produced in Rakovnik, Semtex from Semily is used in mining and also as a weapon, safety matches in Sušice, pencils in  České  Budějovice. Jablonec  is  famous  for  its glass,  the chemical industry is in Litvinov, Neratovice and Pardubice. Shoes are made in Zlín. We produce vegetables and fruit, cereals, potatoes, hops and meat. But now there are big problems in agriculture.

Interesting places; above all Prague but besides there are also many other historical towns, many castles, many spas (in West Bohemia) with a number of mineral springs where plenty of famous people used to go – Goethe, Beethoven, Puskin, Gorkij and many others. Folk festivals are held in Stražnice and Domažlice. You can buy  good gingerbread  in Pardubice and while eating it you can watch  some  horse  races – the most famous is the Velká Pardubicka (steeplechase). Lakes, ponds,cathedrals, lovely forests and woods, churches – all kind of architecture can be seen in this country. It is said we have everything for tourists except the sea.