Portal:Czech Republic

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Welcome to the Czech Portal!
Vítejte na Českém portálu!

The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers (30,452 sq mi) with a mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate. The capital and largest city is Prague; other major cities and urban areas include Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň and Liberec.

The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy. Nearly a hundred years later, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War. After the Battle of White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Crown lands became part of the Austrian Empire.

In the 19th century, the Czech lands became more industrialized; further, in 1918, most of the country became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic following the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a parliamentary democracy during the entirety of the interwar period. After the Munich Agreement in 1938, Nazi Germany systematically took control over the Czech lands. Czechoslovakia was restored in 1945 and three years later became an Eastern Bloc communist state following a coup d'état in 1948. Attempts to liberalize the government and economy were suppressed by a Soviet-led invasion of the country during the Prague Spring in 1968. In November 1989, the Velvet Revolution ended communist rule in the country and restored democracy. On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an advanced, high-income social market economy. It is a welfare state with a European social model, universal health care and free-tuition university education. It ranks 32nd in the Human Development Index. The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. (Full article...)

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Topography of the Bohemian Forest

The Bohemian Forest, known in Czech as Šumava (pronounced [ˈʃumava] ^ⓘ) and in German as Böhmerwald, is a low mountain range in Central Europe. Geographically, the mountains extend from Plzeň Region and the South Bohemian Region in the Czech Republic to Austria and Bavaria in Germany, and form the highest truncated uplands of the Bohemian Massif, up to 50 km wide. They create a natural border between the Czech Republic on one side and Austria and Germany on the other. (Full article...)

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Raduň Castle near Opava

Photographer: Multimotyl; License: Dual (GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons CC-BY-SA)

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In this month

1 January 1993 – Czechoslovakia dissolves, resulting in the establishment of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
1 January 2000 – 14 new regions are established
4 January 1896 – The Czech Philharmonic (pictured) plays its first concert
6 January 1977 – Charter 77 is published, with the names of 242 signatories
21 January 1930 – The nation's first traffic light is installed at the junction of Wenceslas Square with Jindřišská and Vodičková streets

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Portrait, c. 1650–1670

John Amos Comenius (/kəˈmiːniəs/; Czech: Jan Amos Komenský; German: Johann Amos Comenius; Polish: Jan Amos Komeński; Latinized: Ioannes Amos Comenius; 28 March 1592 – 15 November 1670) was a Czech philosopher, pedagogue and theologian who is considered the father of modern education. He served as the last bishop of the Unity of the Brethren (direct predecessor of the Moravian Church) before becoming a religious refugee and one of the earliest champions of universal education, a concept eventually set forth in his book Didactica Magna. As an educator and theologian, he led schools and advised governments across Protestant Europe through the middle of the seventeenth century.

Comenius introduced a number of educational concepts and innovations including pictorial textbooks written in native languages instead of Latin, teaching based in gradual development from simple to more comprehensive concepts, lifelong learning with a focus on logical thinking over dull memorization, equal opportunity for impoverished children, education for women, and universal and practical instruction. He also believed heavily in the connection between nature, religion, and knowledge, in which he stated that knowledge is born from nature and nature from God. (Full article...)

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Petr Čech Dominik Hašek Jaromír Jágr Pavel Nedvěd Gregor Mendel Tomáš Rosický Franz Kafka Bedřich Smetana Emanuel Moravec Gustav Mahler Fredy Hirsch Antonín Kinský Vlastimil Koubek Petra Kvitová Martin Miller (actor) Vratislav Lokvenc Vladimír Remek Leoš Janáček Libor Michálek Vojtěch Jarník Markéta Vondroušová Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková

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Did you know?

... that in 2005 UNESCO proclaimed the Moravian male recruit dance verbuňk as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind?
... that the report Public Finance Balance of Smoking in the Czech Republic found that the "effect of smoking on the public finance balance in the Czech Republic in 1999 was positive"?
... that Czech international footballer Jan Suchopárek dislocated his shoulder while attempting a bicycle kick?
... that Czech Karel Robětín was not only an Olympian and national tennis champion but also an international paper industry tycoon?

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General images

The following are images from various Czech Republic-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Rotunda of St. George from the beginning of the 12th century on Mount Říp (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 2An 1892 map showing Bohemia proper outlined in pink, Moravia in yellow, and Austrian Silesia in orange (from Bohemia)
Image 3House of the Black Madonna (from Czech architecture)
Image 4The radical Hussites became known as Taborites, after the town of Tábor that became their center (from Bohemia)
Image 5The National Theater from 1881 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 6Stone sculpture of a Celtic man, found in Mšecké Žehrovice (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 7The coat of arms of the Kingdom of Bohemia (from Bohemia)
Image 8Saint Wenceslas, Czech prince (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 9Nakládaný hermelín (marinated cheese) (from Czech cuisine)
Image 10Řežabinec a Řežabinecké tůně National Nature Reserve (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
Image 11Great Moravia during the reign of Svatopluk I (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 12Buděticko Nature Park with Rabí Castle (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
Image 13The First Czechoslovak Republic (1918-1938) (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 14Zelňačka (from Czech cuisine)
Image 15Lands of the Bohemian Crown (until 1635), map by Josef Pekař, 1921 (from Bohemia)
Image 16Obložené chlebíčky, a type of snack or appetizer (from Czech cuisine)
Image 17Adria Palace (Prague) (from Czech architecture)
Image 18Linguistic map of interwar Czechoslovakia (c. 1930) (from Bohemia)
Image 19Library of Clementinum, a former Jesuit College, built in 1722 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 20A "traditional Bohemian platter" at a restaurant in central Prague, consisting of roast duck, roast pork, beer sausage, smoked meat, red and white cabbage, bread, bacon and potato dumplings (from Czech cuisine)
Image 21Semi-detached villa in Brno by Otto Eisler, according to MoMA's Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, is a defining building of the International style. (from Czech architecture)
Image 22Prague-style beef goulash (from Czech cuisine)
Image 23Czech kings Ottokar II, Wenceslas II and Wenceslas III from the Přemyslid dynasty (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 24Territory under the control of the Přemyslids, c. 1301 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 25Bohemia (westernmost area) in Czechoslovakia 1918–1938 (from Bohemia)
Image 26Entrance to Moravian Karst PLA (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
Image 27Iconic brutalist Transgas building, demolished in 2019 (from Czech architecture)
Image 28King George of Podebrady, one of the first promoters of united Europe (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 29St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague Castle, John of Luxembourg laid the foundation stone in 1344 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 30John Amos Comenius (1592-1670), Czech philosopher and school reformer (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 31Europe after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 32Pilsner Urquell in a branded mug (from Czech cuisine)
Image 33Cubist architecture in Prague (from Czech architecture)
Image 34Empress Maria Theresa (reignet 1740–1780) (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 35Beheading of 27 Bohemian nobles at the Old Town Square in Prague, 1621 (contemporary illustration) (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 36Fried cheese, served with tartar sauce and side salad (from Czech cuisine)
Image 37Church of Saint Agnes of Bohemia (Spořilov) (from Czech architecture)
Image 38Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the oldest ceramic article in the world (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 39Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, philosopher, Czechoslovak president in the years 1918-1935 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 40The coat of arms of the Přemyslid dynasty (until 1253–1262) (from Bohemia)
Image 41Frgál, a type of koláč baked in Moravian Wallachia (from Czech cuisine)
Image 42Russian occupation in 1968 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 43Grand Café Orient in Prague (from Czech architecture)
Image 44Svíčková na smetaně served with dumplings, whipped cream and cranberries (from Czech cuisine)
Image 45Bohemia as the heart of Europa regina; Sebastian Münster, Basel, 1570 (from Bohemia)
Image 46A panorama of Zittau (from Bohemia)
Image 47Map of protected areas of the Czech Republic: national parks (grey) and protected landscape areas (green) (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
Image 48Vepřo-knedlo-zelo (Roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut) (from Czech cuisine)
Image 49Copper engraving of the Second Defenestration of Prague from Theatrum Europaeum by Matthäus Merian. (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 50Monument to Master Jan Hus, a religious reformer and philosopher in Prague (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 51Dacian Influence over Bohemia (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 52Bronze sword, Urnfield culture, c. 1200 BC (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 53Cubist lamp by Emil Králíček, Jungmannovo náměstí, next to the Gothic Church of Our Lady of the Snows (Prague) (from Czech architecture)
Image 54Kačina Castle in Chotkov (from Czech architecture)
Image 55Hroby Nature Monument in Radenín (from Protected areas of the Czech Republic)
Image 56Duchy of Bohemia, around 1029 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 57Bohemian city Karlovy Vary (from Bohemia)
Image 58Emperor and King Charles IV. Luxembourg (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 59A panorama of Kłodzko, the capital city of Kłodzko Land, which is referred to as "Little Prague" (from Bohemia)
Image 60Detailed map of Bohemia, 1742 (from Bohemia)
Image 61Christmas cookies (vánoční cukroví) (from Czech cuisine)
Image 62Václav Havel, playwright, dissident and president from 1989 to 2003 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 63Monument to the village of Lidice murdered by the Nazis (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 64Vladislaus Hall at the Prague Castle, built from 1490 to 1502 by Benedikt Rejt (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 65Apple strudel with raisins (from Czech cuisine)
Image 66The Kingdom of Bohemia in 1618 with other Bohemian Crown lands within the Holy Roman Empire (1618). (from Bohemia)
Image 67Svíčková na smetaně (Marinated tenderloin), served here with dumplings and cream (from Czech cuisine)
Image 68Baroque St. Nicholas Church in Malá Strana, built between 1704 and 1755 (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 69The extent of the Protestant Reformation (1545–1620) (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 70Korozluky Castle (from Czech architecture)
Image 71Emperor Francis Joseph I. (reigned 1848–1916) (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 72Fried bramboráky (potato pancakes) (from Czech cuisine)
Image 73Writer Božena Němcová (from History of the Czech lands)
Image 74Territories ruled by Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1273 (from History of the Czech lands)

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Topics

Czech lands: Bohemia • Moravia • Czech Silesia

History: Únětice culture • Boii • Marcomanni • Samo • Great Moravia • Přemyslid dynasty • Lands of the Bohemian Crown • Czech lands (1526–1648) • 1648–1867 • 1867–1918) • Czechoslovakia • Czech Republic

Geography: Lakes • Protected areas • Regions • Rivers

Law: Judiciary • Law enforcement • Supreme Court of the Czech Republic

Politics: Administrative divisions • Government • Constitution • Elections • Foreign relations • Army • Parliament • Political parties • President • Prime Minister

Economy: Banks • Czech koruna • Energy • Oil and gas deposits • Stock Exchange • Tourism • Transport

Culture: Architecture • Art • Cinema • Cuisine • Demographics • Education • Language • Literature • Media • Music • Philosophy • Prostitution • Public holidays • Religion • Sport • Television • Video games

Symbols: Flag • Coat of arms • National anthem (Kde domov můj)

Lists: Outline of the Czech Republic • List of Czech Republic–related topics

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WikiProjects

WikiProject Czech Republic

WikiProject Europe

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Featured and good content

	Featured articles		Dominik Hašek • Earth-grazing meteoroid of 13 October 1990 • Franz Kafka • Gustav Mahler • Bedřich Smetana • The Bartered Bride
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