The Czech Republic (Česko), formally the Czech Republic (Česká republika) is a country in Central Europe. The country is almost twice the size of the Netherlands and has 10.5 million inhabitants. The capital is Praha (Prague).

Geography

According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, the Czech Republic is a landlocked country, it is not located by the sea. Clockwise it borders Poland, Slovakia, Austria and Germany. The country measures a maximum of 480 kilometers from west to east and 280 kilometers from north to south. The Czech Republic is largely hilly, with low mountain ranges mainly along the edges of the country, the Krkonoše (Giant Mountains) in the north, with the 1,603 meter high Sněžka being the highest point in the country. In the southwest lies Šumava (Bohemian forest) with peaks up to 1,300 meters, in the northwest lies the Krušné hory (Ore Mountains) with peaks up to 1,200 meters. The central part of the Czech Republic is quite hilly and heavily forested.

The country is often divided geographically into two areas, Čechy (Bohemia) in the west and Morava (Moravia) in the east. The extreme northeast along the Polish border is also called České Slezsko (Czech Silesia). The largest rivers in the Czech Republic are the Labe (Elbe), Vltava (Moldau), Morava and Odra (Oder). The rivers in the Czech Republic flow to three different seas, the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea.

The Czech Republic has a moderate continental climate with warm summers and fairly cold winters. The average maximum temperature in Praha (Prague) is 23 °C in summer and the average minimum temperature is -5 °C in winter. Due to the continental climate, temperature extremes occur, between -40 °C and 40 °C. Precipitation in the Czech Republic varies greatly by region. The average annual rainfall in Praha is only 525 mm.

Economy

The Czech Republic is one of the more highly developed countries in Europe. The country has a diverse economy, based on industry, mining, services and tourism. The west of the Czech Republic is particularly touristy, including the capital Praha (Prague). The country has a relatively large car industry, including the well-known Škoda brand, but also buses, trams and trucks. In the Czech Republic you pay with the Czech Koruna (CZK). Plans to adopt the euro have been frequently postponed. In 2014, the average income was 25,500 CZK, or approximately €915 per month.

Demographics

The Czech Republic is ethnically a fairly homogeneous country, the vast majority of the inhabitants are Czech, although the Moravian nationality is sometimes also indicated. See Czech Republic population density. There are small minorities of Slovaks, Poles and Germans. There are relatively many Roma living in the Czech Republic. The Czech Republic has initially seen a slight decline in population since the fall of communism, but this has risen again since 2005. In the Czech Republic, people speak Czech, which is closely related to Slovak. English and German are often spoken as second languages.

About 1 in 9 Czechs lives in the capital Praha (Prague). The second city is Brno. There are 6 cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the Czech Republic, and 18 cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

History

The history of the Czech Republic as a separate country goes back to the Middle Ages, when the Kingdom of Bohemia came into being in 1198. From the beginning of the 19th century it became part of Austria, and from 1867 Austria-Hungary. Czechoslovakia was created at the end of World War I in 1918. It was the only democratic country in this part of Europe between the two world wars. It was one of the allied countries. In 1938 the Sudetenland was annexed by Nazi Germany. The neighboring countries Poland and Hungary annexed border areas into their own territory in the same year. In 1939 the Czech Republic was occupied by Nazi Germany and Slovakia became independent. In 1945 the Czech Republic was liberated by the Americans and the Red Army.

Immediately after the Second World War, some 3 million Germans were expelled from Czechoslovakia to Germany and Austria. The easternmost part of Czechoslovakia was annexed by the Soviet Union in 1946, including the city of Uzhhorod in present-day Ukraine. Czechoslovakia tried to build a bridge between the west and the east after the Second World War, but in 1948 the communists seized power. Until 1989, the country was under communist rule. In 1968, the Warsaw Pact armies invaded Czechoslovakia because the country was becoming too open in the eyes of the Soviet Union. After the fall of communism, Czechoslovakia remained for a short time until the country split peacefully into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999. In 2004 it joined the European Union.