The
Czech Republic is a state in Central Europe. It comes into existence with the
beginning of January 1993 when Czechoslovakia split in two republics – the
Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
It
occupies an area of about 79,000 sq kms and its populations is around 10
millions people. It borders with Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Austria. The
major nationalities living here are Czech and Moravian, but there are minority
groups such as the Silesians, the Roms, the Poles, the Germans, the Russians
etc.
The
President of Czech Republic is a world famous playwright Václav Havel. He was
elected in after the “velvet revolution” in November 1989.
The
Czech Republic is an industrial country. The most important part of our economy
is engineering. Other important branches are metallurgical and chemical
industries, tourism, textile, glass industries, cut glass, china and food
production. The main items of our agriculture are wheat, maize, sugar-beet,
grapes, hops and fruit. In animal production, cattle-breeding and pig-breeding
are the most important. Fish breeding, especially carp-breeding has a long
tradition in South Bohemia ponds.
The borders are mostly made by mountains:
Šumava, Český les, , Jizerské hory, Krkonoše, Orlické hory, Jeseníky and Beskydy. Bohemia is separated
from Moravia by the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. Fertile lowland can be found
in the vales of big rivers, e.g. the Vltava, the Elbe, and the Morava.
In the
Czech Republic there are many spots of great natural beauty as well as areas
totally spoiled by industries (e.g. the Most area). Among most beautiful
natural places belong: the Czech Paradise, “rock town” in Prachov rocks, the
Děčín walls, Macocha abyss, the Jeseník mountains etc. The most beautiful historic
towns are: e.g. Prague, Kutná Hora,
Tábor, Olomouc, Třeboň. Visitors can walk around preserved old castles or ruins
such as Karlštejn, Křivoklát, Konopiště, Bezděz etc.
Bohemia
and Moravia are quite rich in mineral springs and spas (Karlovy Vary, Mariánské
Lázně, Františkovy lázně, Luhačovice, Jeseník etc.)..
One of
the best and most important rulers was Charles IV, who ruled in the 14th
century. During his reign the Prague University was founded, Prague New Town
was built and the economy developed (gothic style).
In the
Czech Republic is a birthplace of many famous writers e.g. Němcová, Mácha,
Neruda, Jirásek, Čapek, Hrabal, etc., and composers e.g. Janáček, Dvořák,
Smetana, etc.
Prague
is the capital of the Czech Republic and lies in the middle of Bohemia. Its
population is about 1.3 million people. The historical centre is made up by the
Old Town, Josefov, the Lesser Quarter, Hradčany, the New Town and Vyšehrad.
In
Prague we can find many beautiful and famous historical sights: the National
Museum, the National Gallery, the National Theatre, the Prague Castle, the
Strahov Monastery and Petřín, Old Town Square, Vyšehrad, the Charles Bridge,
the Powder Tower, the Carolinum, the Clementinum, Wenceslas Square etc.
Opava
is one of the oldest town in Czech Republic (exists more than 750 years). The
district of Opava is situated on the Opava River, near to Ostrava and to the
Polish border.
Now in
Opava live about 70 thousand of people. The city has textiles, food, chemical,
pharmaceutical industries, a slaughterhouse, a sugar mill, an engineering
enterprise “Ostroj”, a soft drinks company, a brewery and a frozen food
factory.
Opava
is centre of cultural life in region. In Opava we can find: Silesian Museum,
which is one of the oldest museums in the Czech Republic, Silesian Theatre, the
House of Arts, two cinemas and many churches such as: Chapel of the Holy Cross
in Kateřinky, The Church of the Virgin Mary’s Assumption, The Minorite
Monastery, Church of Holy Spirit, and the Church of St. Albert in the Lower
Square.
The
central square of the city is Upper Square, where we can found the Town Hall,
which possesses the famous Watch Tower.
Opava
is city of some famous people. In Opava studied Johan Gregor Mendel, and it is
birthplace of Czech poet Petr Bezruč. With his name is linked the name of one
Opava´s building: Bezruč Culture House with Opava´s Library of Petr Bezruč.
There
are also many possibilities of sports activities in Opava (football and hockey
stadium, indoor and outdoor swimming pools etc.
In
Opava there are many primary and secondary schools, kindergartens, and Silesian
University.