The Czech republic

location: inland country in central Europe bordered by Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria, it’s surounded by mountains along borders
highest point: Sněžka 1603 m
mountain ranges:
- the Giant mountains
- the Bohemian forest in Bohemia
- the Jeseníky mountains
- the Beskydy mountains in Moravia
- the Ore mountains
largest river is the Elbe which flows through Germany and empties into the North Sea
- other: Vltava with numerous dams (Lipno, Slapy), Morava river which empties into the Danube and finaly into the Black Sea
humid continental climate with cold winters and warm summers
natural resources of coal (Ostrava), lignite (Chomutov, Most, Teplice)

parliamentary democracy
bicameral legislature
- Chamber of Deputies (lower house, 200)
- Senate (upper house, 81)
head of government: Prime Minister Miroslav Topolánek
president: Václav Klaus
main parties: ODS, ČSSD

the CR is both industrial and agricultural country
we grow weat, potatoes, sugar beet, rye
we produce wood, paper, chemicals, steel, glass, machines (motor cars, trams, buses etc), guns

in the 4th century BC Celtic tribes settled in area of today’s ČR and named it „Bohemia“
in the 7th century Frankish merchant Samo became the ruler of the new Slavic state called Great Moravia
by the end of 9th century Czech state was unified by the Přemyslids
during Middle Ages it was part of the Holy Roman Empire (Charel IV., a Czech king became the Holy Roman Emperor (1355)
in the 16th century country came under the Habsburg reign
country was devastated during Hussite Wars and after the Thirty Years War (1618-1648)
- Germanisation
Czech National Revival – cultural movement in 18th and 19th centuries
Czechoslovakia (1918) after collapse of Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of WW I.
during WW II. Czech state was occupied by the Germans (Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia), Slovakia broke away
1948-1989 – communist era with influence of Soviet Union
in 1989 freedom after the Velvet Revolution
in 2003 Czech republic was founded
2004 – Czech republic joined the EU

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (first president of Czechoslovakia)
Václav Havel (first spokesmen for Charter 77, leading figure of the Velvet Revolution, first Czech president)
Emil Zátopek (famous runner, three gold medals at the summer Olympics in Helsinki)
Jaromír Jágr, Dominik Hašek – hockey players
Jan Železný, Roman Šebrle – athletics
Matina Návratilová – tennis
Karel Čapek – R.U.R. – robot
Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana – composers

Nobel prize winners:

flag
- The Czech flag was first adopted in 1918 as the flag of Czechoslovakia
- consist of a horizontal white band above a red band (traditional colours of Bohemia and Moravia) and a blue triangle on the left side (originally represented Slovakia but it was kept even after the split of Czechoslovakia)
anthem
- Where is My Home?
- written by the composer František Škroup and the playwright Josef Kajetán Tyl as a part of the comedy Fidlovačka aneb Žádný hněv a žádná rvačka
the national colors
- The Bohemian national colors are regarded as being white and red. The colors of Moravia are gold and red and the national colors of Silesia are gold and black.
the large and small national emblem
- originally, the emblem used by Czech kings was a silver single-tailed lion on a red background, later on double-tailed
- the large national emblem
  - individual fields symbolize the historical lands – Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia
  - two lions (Bohemia) and two eagles (for Moravia and Silesia) in the national colors
the flag of the president of the republic

biggest and oldest city in the CR, also a capital city
seat of president, governent, parliament
more than 1.2 mil. people
best views of Prague are from Petřín hill where is also an observation tower and a cableway
the Old town is from 13th century, first settled in 5th century

pickled sausage with onions
pickled cheese with peppers
svíčková
- pieces of tenderloin covered in sweet creamy sauce
- served with dumplings, slice of lemon and cranberry sauce
goulash
- beef and onions cooked with spices and served with dumplings
roasted pork – national dish
- served with sauerkraut and dumplings
řízek
- slice of pork or chicken meat breaded and fried
- served usually with potatoes
beer
- cheaper than mineral water in restaurants