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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Voskovec and Werich (1938)

Osvobozené divadlo (1926–1938) (Liberated Theatre or Prague Free Theatre) was a Prague avant-garde theatre scene founded as the theatre section of an association of Czech avant-garde artists Devětsil (Butterbur) in 1926. The theatre's beginnings were strongly influenced by Dadaism and Futurism, later by Poetism (a specific Czech art movement). The theatre was very leftist oriented, but it could also be critical of the Communists. One of the founders, Jiří Frejka, came up with the name in 1926. In the theatre both authorial plays and works by well-established modern authors; such as G. Apollinaire, A. Jarry, J. Cocteau, A. Breton, F. T. Marinetti, and V. Nezval were performed. The modern conception of the scene also laid more emphasis on lighting and the theatrical conception adjured more cooperation and contacts between actors and audience. (Full article...)

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A Škoda 15 T, one of the trams in Prague

Photographer: Honza Groh; License: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

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In this month

14 November 1960 – The deadliest rail disaster in Czech history takes place in Eastern Bohemia, resulting in 118 deaths
14 November 1918 – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (pictured) becomes the first President of Czechoslovakia
17 November 1939 – Nazi Germany storms Czech universities, executing nine students and professors, later commemorated as International Students' Day
17 November 1989 – The Velvet Revolution starts in Prague, culminating in the end of 41 years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia
24 November 1966 – The deadliest air disaster in Czechoslovakia takes place near Bratislava, killing all 82 on board

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Emanuel Moravec (Czech pronunciation: [ˈmoravɛts]; 17 April 1893 – 5 May 1945) was a Czech army officer and writer who served as the collaborationist Minister of Education of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia between 1942 and 1945. He was also chair of the Board of Trustees for the Education of Youth, a fascist youth organisation in the protectorate.

In World War I, Moravec served in the Austro-Hungarian Army, but following capture by the Russians he changed sides to join Russian-backed Serbian forces and then the Czechoslovak Legion, which went on to fight on the side of the White Army in the Russian Civil War. During the interwar period he commanded an infantry battalion in the Czechoslovak Army. As a proponent of democracy during the 1930s, Moravec was outspoken in his warnings about the expansionist plans of Germany under Adolf Hitler and appealed for armed action rather than capitulation to German demands for the Sudetenland. In the aftermath of the German occupation of the rump Czechoslovakia, he became an enthusiastic collaborator, realigning his political worldview towards fascism. He committed suicide in the final days of World War II. (Full article...)

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John Amos Comenius Petr Čech Dominik Hašek Jaromír Jágr Pavel Nedvěd Gregor Mendel Tomáš Rosický Franz Kafka Bedřich Smetana 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 the Sedlec Ossuary is a chapel decorated with the bones of 40,000 people?
... 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 Patrik Gedeon went to play club football in Liechtenstein in the middle of his career?
... that a 1926 voyage to Java inspired Czech poet Konstantin Biebl for the remainder of his life?

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General images

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

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

WikiProject Europe

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