Czech Republic ****************************************************************************************** * ****************************************************************************************** The Czech Republic is a state in the very heart of Europe. It consists of the historic lan Moravia, together with part of Silesia. Occupying an area of 78 866 square kilometres, it to the north, Austria to the south, Germany to the west and Slovakia to the east. It has a 10.33 million, the great majority being of Czech nationality. Ethnic minorities, including Romanies, Germans and Hungarians, make up around 5% of the population. Czech is one of the languages, an Indo-European language group. The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague. The currency is the Czech crown (Koruna, abbreviated Kč). The crown is divided into 100 ha abbreviated h). The republic has a varied landscape. Bohemia is partially ringed by mountain ranges, i.e. Bohemian Forest, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains (including Sněžka, the highes Czech Republic at 1602 metres above sea level), and the Eagle Mountains. The Moravian Plai on the west by the Bohemian-Moravian Uplands, and on the north by the forested ranges of J Beskydy. Fertile lowlands are to be found in the valleys of the major rivers, the Vltava, Oder and the Morava. The climate is generally continental in character. Temperatures can b short periods (+30 Degrees Celsius in Summer or 20 Degrees Celsius in winter) but the norm are 23/29 Degrees Celsius in summer and 11/0 Degrees Celsius in winter. The Czech Republic has traditionally been an industrial country. Engineering is the larges sector, but chemicals, food, textiles and metallurgy are all significant. Agriculture is h producing enough to feed the population and a surplus for export. Historically, the territory has been inhabited by Slavs since the arrival of Slav tribes i 5th century AD. The first Slavonic structure with elements of political statehood was the s Empire (Sámova říše), founded in 623. The first historically recorded Czech prince was B Premyslid Line, which gained control over Bohemia and part of Greater Moravia (Velkomoravs Czech princes, later acquiring the title of kings, played an important role in Central Eur Premyslid Dynasty died out in the High Middle Ages, the Bohemian throne was inherited afte instability by the House of Luxemburg, related to the Premyslids by marriage. The Kingdom became the centre of the Holy Roman Empire under King Charles IV (Karel IV), who became em son Wenceslas IV (Václav IV). Charles IV encouraged the development of the Bohemian Lands education, architecture and the arts, and Prague became one of the largest European cities early 15th century saw the rise of a reform movement in the church led by John Huss (Jan H dean and later rector of Charles University. In 1415 he was tried by the Church Council of burnt at the stake as a heretic, an event that sparked bitter religious wars in the countr to an end with the reign of the elected King George of Poděbrady (Jiří z Poděbrad). Then, rule by the Polish Jagiellonian dynasty, the Bohemian throne passed to the Habsburg family rule for centuries (1526 1918). The Habsburg rulers favoured the German inhabitants of the over the Czechs, and the Catholic church over the Hussites and protestants. Complex ethnic political tensions were held in balance for a few decades. The reign of Rudolph II (Rudolf of the 16th/17th century even brought what is sometimes called a Second Golden Age to Prag s court attracted artists and scientists from all over Europe, including the astronomers T Johannes Kepler. Under Rudolph s successors, however, there was a Bohemian revolt against The defeat of the revolt at the Battle of the White Mountain in 1620 inaugurated 300 years Bohemian Kingdom was ruled from Vienna. The forced recatholicisation of the population was Germanisation, and expressions of desire for an independent Czech national life were suppr of the 18th century, however, there were signs of the development of a movement known as t Revival . At first it concentrated on reviving Czech language and culture, but by the late was developing strong political aspirations for Czech autonomy or even independence from A With the collapse of Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I, the Czech and Slovak natio their fate into their own hands in the newly established Czechoslovak Republic. Under its T. G. Masaryk, Czechoslovakia became a highly democratic country with a high standard of l and achievements of the First Czechoslovak Republic were crushed, however, by the German O 1945). A few years of renewed liberty after 1945 ended in 1948 when the communists seized the Soviet Union. After twenty years of communist rule, the political and cultural thaw kn Spring led tragically to invasion by Soviet forces, and then to another 20 years of tyrann as normalisation . New restrictions were imposed on freedom and there was a general stagna services and infrastructure. Freedom came only with the Velvet Revolution of 1989, as the down. Mass demonstrations, with the dissident Václav Havel at the forefront, finally force government to resign. Havel was elected first president of the post-communist Czechoslovak president for 14 years, although from 1993 he was only president of the Czech Republic, fo up of Czechoslovakia into two separate states. In recent years the performance of the Czec affected by the 1997 currency crisis and the restrictive macro-economic stabilisation pack been impressive structural reforms. The Czech Republic has moved towards integration in wo of course, political integration in western structures. Since 1999 it has been a member of due to enter the EU next year. In 2003 Václav Klaus became new president of the republic.