Intro
- Small country
- Situated in the heart of Europe
- Known for its high beer consumption and low percentage of religious people
Location
- Located in central Europe
- Often referred to as “bridge between west and east”
- Borders with Slovakia, Austria, Poland and Germany
- Comprised of three historical regions – Bohemia, Moravia and part of Silesia
- The capital – Prague – located in country´s northwest
Surface
- Many spots of natural beauty as well as areas destroyed by intensive mining
- Landscape shows great variety
- Most of the mountains run along the borders – Šumava, Krkonoše, Krušné Mountains
- Bohemia and Moravia are separated by Bohemian-Moravian Highlands
- Highest mountain – Sněžka
- Fertile lowlands can be found mostly in valleys of big rivers – Vltava, Labe and in southern Moravia
Climate
- Temperate, continental
- Warm summers, cold winters
- Temperature varies greatly depending on elevation
- Bíly Potok – known to be the wettest area
- Most rain falls during summer
Water Bodies
- The biggest river – Elbe – flows to the North Sea
- Vltava river – springs in Šumava, one of the tributaries of Elbe, there is a cascade of damns built on it
- Many water reservoirs – Lipno – important center of recreation
- Morava – drained mostly by river Morava and Oder river
- Biggest lakes – in Šumava, Černé a Čertovo
- Many ponds in southern Bohemia – Svět
- Large number of mineral water springs in CZ =baths, important recreation spots
Natural Resources
- Relatively few resources – heavily dependent on imported energy
- Black and brown coal – biggest energy source – found near the cities Most and Ostrava
- Also small deposits of uranium ore – used for power plants
- Český Les – source of wood
Economy
- One of the most stable post-Communist countries
- Export – mostly to Germany, exports mostly machinery equipment
- Although part of the EU – have not adopted Euro yet
- Currency – Czech crown, consists of 100 haléř
- Economy tightly connected with economy of Slovakia
- Economy has expected to start growing in upcoming years
Agriculture
- High percentage of arable land
- Has been declining lately
- Most important crops – grain
- Grain – important for number of breweries in CZ
- Brewing has long tradition – one of the oldest brands were invented here
- CZ is also country with the highest beer consumption in the world
- Other important crops – oilseeds, sugar beet, potatoes
- BIO production has been very popular lately
Industries
- Most important industry – car manufacturing
- Škoda auto – founded by Laurin and Klement in 19th century, headquarters in Mladá Boleslav
- Škoda transportation – trams, buses
- Aero Vodochody – small planes manufacturing
- Mining industry – mostly in eat Moravia, negative impact on environment
- Foodstuff manufacturing – beer is the leading product
- Beer companies – Pilsner Urquell (Plzeň), Staropramen Praha (Praha)
- Liquors – Stock (Plzeň), Becherovka ( Karlovy Vary)
- Ginger bread – Pardubice
Services
- Employ significant amount of people
- Most tourist come to visit Prague
People, languages
- Population of 10,5 million
- Biggest city – Prague
- Majority of people are Czechs, followed by Moravians and Slovaks
- High migration – mostly from Ukraine, Vietnam, Russia (their minority has been growing lately)
- Significant minority of Gypsies – cause problems
- A lot of Americans are partly Czech descent
- Big Czech minorities all over the world – At the turn of the 20th century, Chicago was the city with the third largest Czech population, after Prague and Vienna
- One of the least religious countries in the world
- Official language – Czech, related to Slovak and Polish
Cities
Prague
- Capitol city
- Population of 1,4 million
- Situated on Vltava river
- Founded more than 1000 years ago
- Cultural and financial center
- UNESCO Heritage site
- Many popular tourist destinations such as Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, Petřín hill
- Home of one oldest universities in the world – Charles University – founded in 1348
- One of the most popular tourist destination in Europe
Brno
- Largest Moravian city
- Seat of the Constitutional Court
- Administrative center of Moravia
- Host motorbike races on Masaryk circuit every year
- Sights – Špilberk Castle, Villa Tugendhat
Plzeň
- Fourth biggest city in Czech Rep.
- It is located at the confluence of four rivers – Úhlava, Úslava, Mže a Radbuza
- Known worldwide for Pilsner beer – since 1295!
Hradec Králové
- Musical instrument manufacturing – PETROF pianos
- The University of Hradec Králové is located in the city – Faculty of Medicine and Faculty of Pharmacy – most famous
České Budějovice
- Largest city in south Bohemia
- Beer brewing – Budweiser Budvar, major industry
- Koh-I-Noor – stationery
- Sights – Otakar II square, Black Tower
Places of interest
- Karlovy Vary – spa city in west Bohemia
- Český Krumlov – city in south Bohemia with wonderful historical center
- Vineyards in southern Moravia, Lednicko-Valtický areál also there
- Krkonoše mountains in the north
Bohemia Paradise – sandstone rocks