the Czech
Republic
Geography
State in central Europe.
Area size – 78 866 km
2.
The highest point – Sněžka (1603 m) located in Krkonoše mountain range
3 largest(longest) rivers – Vltava, Labe, Morava.
4 national parks – Krkonoše, Šumava, Podyjí, Bohemian Switzerland
3 historical lands –
Bohemia, Moravia,
Silesia
Geography - pictures
Satellite image of the Czech Republic
Geography – protected areas (2016)
National parks – 4
Protected landscape areas – 26
National nature reservations – 107
Nature reservations – 815
National natural landmarks – 120
Natural sights - 1531
Geography - pictures
History - Middle ages
The beginnings of the Czech state fall into 9th century.
First Czech prince – Bořivoj I
Prague bishopric was founded in 973 major national saint became St.
Václav
Czech is „growing“ and becoming independent, belong to the Holy Roman Empire
Czech kingdom was founded in 1198, big milestone is 1212 when Přemysl Otakar I gets the Golden Bull of Sicily…
Another big progress and getting areas.
Important period – Karel IV –
„golden age“(14th century)
Czech reformation – Hussite wars - Basel compacts(15th century)
History – modern times
From 16th century starts Habsburg dynasty
(Ferdinand I – 1526)
Uprising of the Czech Estates, the Thirty Years‘
War…
„dark age“ becomes - The Habsburgs „receive“
extensive Czech estate, Christianity allowed only, German language becomes more important…
Reforms, bondsman unrests…
Bohemian lands became part of the Austrian Empire and later of Austria-Hungary. During the 18th and 19th century the Czech National Revival began its rise, with the purpose to revive Czech language, culture and national identity. Industry increase…
After 1st WW - Czechoslovakia
2nd WW – Protectorate of
Bohemia and Moravia, - part of Third Reich, president and prime minister – Nazi
Germany's Reichsprotektor.
After 2nd WW – Communist state within the Eastern Bloc, 1989 Velvet Revolution, normalization…
From 1993 Czech Republic…
Government and politics
The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy, with the Prime Minister as the head of government.
The Parliament is bicameral, with the
Chamber of Deputies (200 members) and the Senate (81 members).
The Prime Minister is the head of government and wields considerable powers, such as the right to set the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy and choose government
ministers
Government and politics
The president is a formal head of state with
limited and specific powers, most importantly to return bills to the parliament, appoint members to the board of the Czech National Bank,
nominate constitutional court judges for the Senate's approval and dissolve the Chamber of Deputies under certain special and unusual
circumstances. The president and vice president of the Supreme Court are appointed by the
President of the Republic. He also appoints the prime minister, as well the other members of
the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister.
Since 2013 the presidential election is direct.
Government and politics -
picture
Government and politics – law
Czech Republic has a civil law system based on the
continental type, rooted in Germanic legal culture. Czech judiciary has triumvirate system of the main courts, the Constitutional Court which oversees violations of the
Constitution by either the legislature or by the government consisting of 15 constitutional judges, the Supreme Court is the court of highest appeal for almost all legal cases heard in the Czech Republic formed of 67 judges and the
Supreme Administrative Court decides on issues of procedural and administrative propriety. It also has jurisdiction over many political matters, such as the formation and closure of political parties, jurisdictional boundaries between government
entities, and the eligibility of persons to stand for public office.
Government and politics – Administrative divisions
regions
Since 2000, the Czech Republic has been divided into thirteen regions and the capital city of Prague. Every region has its own elected regional assembly and a
regional governor. In Prague, the assembly and
presidential powers are
executed by the city council and the mayor.
districts
The older seventy-six districts including three
"statutory cities" (without Prague, which had special status) lost most of their importance in 1999 in an administrative reform; they remain as territorial
divisions and seats of various branches of state administration.
Government and politics – Administrative divisions
- picture
economy
Czech economy is at a high level, also
because of Germany and low unemployment rate.
The largest companies: Czech post, ČEZ, Agrofert, Seznam.cz, AVG, Škoda auto, OKD….
The strongest sectors are: engineering,
chemistry, metallurgy, food industry and IT.
Need to mention Energy (nuclear power,
ČEZ), and tourism.
Picture of Škoda auto
Science and technology
The Czech lands have a long and rich scientific tradition.
The research based on cooperation between universities, Academy of Sciences and specialised research centers brings new inventions and impulses in this area. Important
inventions include the modern contact lens, the separation of modern blood types, and the production of Semtex plastic explosive.
Some of the famous scientists:
Jan Ámos Komenský – teacher, educator
Václav Prokop Diviš – inventor of the first grounded lightning rod
Jan Janský – discovered the AB0 blood groups
Josef Čapek and Karel Čapek – created word – robot
Oldřich Homuta – inventor of Remoska oven
Capital city - Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 15th largest city in the
European Union. It is
also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country of the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people.
Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes
during its history. Founded during the Romanesque and flourishing by the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque eras, Prague was the capital of the kingdom of Bohemia and the main residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably of Charles IV (r. 1346–1378). It was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and Protestant
Reformation, the Thirty Years' War, and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia, during both World Wars and the post-war Communist era.
Capital city - Prague
culture
The city is traditionally one of the cultural centres of Europe, hosting many
cultural events. Some of the significant cultural
institutions include the National Theatre (Národní Divadlo) and the Estates Theatre (Stavovské or
Tylovo or Nosticovo divadlo)
tourism
Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Prague has become one of the world's most popular tourist destinations. It contains one of the world's most pristine and varied collections of
architecture, from
Romanesque, to Gothic,
Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, Neo-Renaissance, Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau, Cubist, Neo-
Classical and ultra-modern.
Capital city – Prague - tourism
Hradčany and Lesser Town (Malá Strana)
Prague Castle with the St. Vitus Cathedral
which store the Czech Crown Jewels
Charles Bridge
Petřín hill
The Franz Kafka Museum
Old Town (Staré Město) and Josefov
The Astronomical Clock (Orloj)
Powder Tower (Prašná brána)
Old Town Square
Clam-Gallas
Palace
Capital city – Prague - tourism
New Town (Nové Město)
