Portal:Czech Republic

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Welcome to the Czech Portal!Vítejte na Českém portálu!

The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it 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 State of the Holy Roman Empire in 1002 and became a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of the Crown lands of Bohemia 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, and in 1918 most of it 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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Gate of the "family camp" at Auschwitz II–Birkenau

On the night of 5 April 1944, Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from the Auschwitz concentration camp wearing an SS-TV uniform provided by SS-Rottenführer Viktor Pestek. Pestek opposed the Holocaust; he was a devout Catholic and was infatuated with Renée Neumann, a Jewish prisoner. Pestek accompanied Lederer out of the camp, and the two men traveled together to the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia to obtain false documents for Neumann and her mother.

Lederer, a former Czechoslovak Army officer and member of the Czech resistance, tried unsuccessfully to warn the Jews at Theresienstadt Ghetto about the mass murders at Auschwitz. He and Pestek returned to Auschwitz in an attempt to rescue Neumann and her mother. Pestek was arrested under disputed circumstances and later executed. Lederer returned to occupied Czechoslovakia, where he rejoined the resistance movement and attempted to smuggle a report on Auschwitz to the International Committee of the Red Cross in Switzerland. After the war he remained in Czechoslovakia. The story of the escape was retold by Lederer and writers including historian Erich Kulka. (Full article...)

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Selected picture

Raduň Castle near Opava

Photographer: Multimotyl; License: Dual (GNU Free Documentation License and Creative Commons CC-BY-SA)

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In this month

2 September 1347 – Charles IV is crowned King of Bohemia
11 September 1951 – Opponents of Czechoslovakia's communist regime escape into West Germany on the Freedom Train
23 September 1875 – The first of the trams in Prague (Tatra T3 pictured) gets underway, under the power of horse
28 September 935 – Death of St Wenceslaus, marked in the Czech Republic by a national holiday since 2000
30 September 1938 – Leaders of Nazi Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, permitting Germany to annex portions of Czechoslovakia

More anniversaries...

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Janáček in 1914

Leoš Janáček (Czech: [ˈlɛoʃ ˈjanaːtʃɛk] ^ⓘ, 3 July 1854 – 12 August 1928) was a Czech composer, music theorist, folklorist, publicist, and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and other Slavic music, including Eastern European folk music, to create an original, modern musical style.

Born in Hukvaldy, Janáček demonstrated musical talent at an early age and was educated in Brno, Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna. He then returned to live in Brno, where he married his pupil Zdenka Schulzová and devoted himself mainly to folkloristic research. His earlier musical output was influenced by contemporaries such as Antonín Dvořák, but around the turn of the century he began to incorporate his earlier studies of national folk music, as well as his transcriptions of "speech melodies" of spoken language, to create a modern, highly original synthesis. The death of his daughter Olga in 1903 had a profound effect on his musical output; these notable transformations were first evident in the opera Jenůfa (often called the "Moravian national opera"), which premiered in 1904 in Brno. (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that, although Mozart never visited Kroměříž, much of the Academy Award-winning film Amadeus was filmed at the local episcopal residence?
... that the World War II idea of Polish-Czechoslovakian confederation was eventually discarded by the Czechs, whose leader chose instead to believe in the Soviet Union promises of alliance?
... that, having played 465 league matches, Jaroslav Šilhavý holds the record for the most appearances in top-flight Czech football?
... that Czech Karel Robětín was not only an Olympian and national tennis champion but also an international paper industry tycoon?

General images

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

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