The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Praha (Prague), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia.
The Bohemian or Czech State emerged in the late 9th century when it was unified by the Přemyslid dynasty. The kingdom of Bohemia was a significant regional power during the Middle Ages. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire during the entire existence of this confederation.
Religious conflicts such as the 15th century Hussite Wars and the 17th century Thirty Years' War had a devastating effect on the local population. From the sixteenth century, Bohemia came increasingly under Habsburg control as the Habsburgs became first the elected and then hereditary rulers of Bohemia. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia became part of Austrian Empire and later of Austria-Hungary.Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I, the independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918.
After the Munich agreement from september 1938 and the occupation from March 1939 Czech territory was occupied by Hitler who installed the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The occupation ended on 9 May 1945 with the arrival of Soviet and American armies and the Prague uprising.
From 1948 to 1989 Czechoslovakia was a communist state within the eastern bloc. In November 1989, Czechoslovakia returned to democracy through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution". However, Slovak national aspirations strengthened until on January 1, 1993, the country peacefully split into the independent Czech and Slovak republics. (Wikipedia)
The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy with the President (Václav Klaus) as the head of the State. The Parliament consists of two chambers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Since the January 2007 the Czech Republic has a coalition Governement (Civic Democratic Party, Christian Democratic Union, Green Party).
The CR has a 78,864 km sq. area, 10,3 mio. population, the GDP per capita in PPS amounted to 17 309 € in 2005. The life expectancy is 72,9 and 79 for males and females, respectively (Czech Statistical Office). The CR has the 30rd highest Human Development Index among the 177 states, for which this measure was estimated by UN (Human Developement Report 2006).
The Czech Republic on the web pages:
- official presentation of the CR given by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
- of The Government of the CR
- Czech Statistical Office (see also the housing and population Statistical Yearbook 2006)
- documentation of OECD
- World FactBook of CIA
- The Investement Gateway to the Czech Republic by CZECHINVEST
- The 2006 EVA (Economic Value Added) ranking of the Czech Republic