The Czech Republic

- location: in central Europe

- size: 78,867 km2

- population: 10,649,800

- parliamentary democracy, republic

GEOGRAPHY:

· border areas are mainly mountainous, interior is mainly hilly or flat

· the CR lies in the temperate zone (it doesn´t have very cold winters and summers are not extremely hot either)

· The highest peak: Sněžka (1,603 m)

Our country is rich in minerals. Black coal (Ostrava Coal Basin, area of Kladno) and brown coal and lignite (North Bohemia Coal Basin), sand for glass-making, iron ore, uranium, kaolin, etc., are mined in the Czech Republic.

The Czech Republic is traditionallly an industry country. The most important part of our economy is engineering (machine tools, locomotives, tractors, agricultural machines). Other important branches are metalurgical and chemical industries and tourism. Textile and glass industries have a long tradition as doing cut glass. In animal production , cattle-breeding and pig-breeding are most important. Fish-breeding, especially carp-breeding has a long tradition in South Bohemia ponds.

HISTORY:

· Velká Morava (= Great Moravia): St Constantine /kɒnstəntaɪn/, St Methodius /mɪˈθəʊdɪəs/… 863: Christian missionaries, both highly educated; the language they used – Old Church Slavonic (= staroslověnština, the first Slavonic literary language)

· St Wenceslas (*about 907 AD – 935 AD) – Přemyslid, Czech prince, patron saint of the Czech lands, deeply religious, assassinated by his brother, Boleslav – feast day (svátek): September 28th (national holiday)

· Karel IV (=Charles IV, ruled 1346-1378) – the House of Luxembourg /lʌksəmbɜ:ɡ/ ← under his rule, the Czech Lands became a prosperous country, Holy Roman Emperor – made Prague centre of the Roman Empire, established Nové Město the New Town, Charles Bridge, Charles University 1348

· Jan Hus (1370-1415) – priest (=kněz), philosopher&preacher (=kazatel) at the Bethlehem Chapel /beθlǝhǝm ˈtʃæpl/, sharply criticized the Church, burned at the stake for heresy (the day of his death (6th July) is a national holiday)

· the Hussite /hʌsaɪt/ Wars (1419-1436): culmination of the tension – a series of battles between supporters and followers of Hus (Žižka, Prokop Holý) and his enemies

· 1526 …Czech lands became part of the Habsburg Monarchy → Austrian Empire

· Thirty Years´ War (1618-1648) – a religious war between Protestants and Catholics – one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in history

· Maria Theresa /mǝˈri:ǝ tiˈri:zǝ/ and Joseph II… important reforms

· Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780): – had sixteen children, financial&educational reforms: elementary education made compulsory

· Emperor Joseph II of Austria (1741-1790) – strong centralization and germanization, abolished serfdom, the Toleration Patent → the Toleration Edict (1782) (religious freedom was granted (udělené) to the Lutherans (=luteráni), Calvinists (=kalvínci), the Eastern Orthodox (=pravoslavní) and the Jews (=židé))

· 1918 – Czechoslovakia came into existence

· 1948 – the Communist Party seized (chopila se) power

· 1989 – the Velvet Revolution: the Communist Party lost power

· 1992 – Czechoslovakia split up

· 1993 – the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic came into being

PLACES OF INTEREST:

· Praha – capital and largest city in the CR, hundreds of sights

· Český Krumlov – established in 1272, in South Bohemia, located on the Vltava River, a well-preserved medieval town

· Hluboká – built 13th century, rebuilt 16th century, in South Bohemia, a Windsor style (Romantic) Chateau /SHaˈtō/

· Tábor – a historic town in South Bohemia – established in 1420 by radical Hussites

· Karlštejn – a Gothic castle in central Bohemia – established in 1348 – originally, Charles IV´s private residence

· Brno – the largest Moravian City in South Moravia, major sights include Špilberk Castle, Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul and Villa Tugendhat… an important university city: Masaryk University, Brno University of Technology, Mendel University, Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts

· Kroměříž – a historic town (founded in 1260), featuring the Archibishop´s Palace and its beautiful Flower Garden (Unesco World Heritage sites since 1998)