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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Former crematorium

Leitmeritz was the largest subcamp of the Flossenbürg concentration camp, operated by Nazi Germany in Leitmeritz, Reichsgau Sudetenland (now Litoměřice, Czech Republic). Established on 24 March 1944 as part of an effort to disperse and increase war production, its prisoners were forced to work in the caverns Richard I and II, producing Maybach HL230 tank engines for Auto Union (now Audi) and preparing the second site for intended production of tungsten and molybdenum wire and sheet metal by Osram. Of the 18,000 prisoners who passed through the camp, about 4,500 died due to disease, malnutrition, and accidents caused by the disregard for safety by the SS staff who administered the camp. In the last weeks of the war, the camp became a hub for death marches. The camp operated until 8 May 1945, when it was dissolved by the German surrender. (Full article...)

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A lake near Myslivny in the Ore Mountains, Czech Republic.

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

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In this month

11 December 1949 – The Číhošť miracle takes place: during a church service of Josef Toufar in the village of Číhošť, the crucifix moves several times over the pulpit, prompting an intervention by the StB
15 December 1230 – Wenceslaus I succeeds Ottokar I as King of Bohemia
16 December 1992 – The Czech National Council adopts the Constitution of the Czech Republic
18 December 1935 – Edvard Beneš is elected second President of Czechoslovakia
22 December 1966 – Construction begins on the Stalin Monument (pictured), the largest representation of Stalin in the world

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Martin Miller (born Johann Rudolph Müller; 2 September 1899 – 26 August 1969), was a Czech-Austrian character actor. He played many small roles in British films and television series from the early 1940s until his death. He was best known for playing eccentric doctors, scientists and professors, although he played a wide range of small, obscure roles—including photographers, waiters, a pet store dealer, rabbis, a Dutch sailor and a Swiss tailor. On stage he was noted in particular for his parodies of Adolf Hitler and roles as Dr. Einstein in Arsenic and Old Lace and Mr. Paravicini in The Mousetrap.

Miller appeared in several notable films, including Squadron Leader X (1943), English Without Tears (1944), The Third Man (1949), The Gamma People (1956), Peeping Tom (1960), 55 Days at Peking (1963), The V.I.P.s (1963), The Pink Panther (1963), and The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964). His most substantial roles include George II of Great Britain in Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948) and Kublai Khan in the Doctor Who serial Marco Polo. In the 1960s, he appeared in several ITC Entertainment cult television programmes, including Ghost Squad, Danger Man, The Saint, The Avengers and The Prisoner. (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 Emanuel Moravec Gustav Mahler Fredy Hirsch Antonín Kinský Vlastimil Koubek Petra Kvitová Vratislav Lokvenc Vladimír Remek Leoš Janáček Libor Michálek Vojtěch Jarník Markéta Vondroušová Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková

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Did you know?

... that in 2005 UNESCO proclaimed the Moravian male recruit dance verbuňk as part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind?
... 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?

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General images

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

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

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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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WikiProjects

WikiProject Czech Republic

WikiProject Europe

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Featured and good content

	Featured articles		Dominik Hašek • Earth-grazing meteoroid of 13 October 1990 • Franz Kafka • Gustav Mahler • Bedřich Smetana • The Bartered Bride
	Good articles		Patrik Berger • FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 • Reinhard Heydrich • Leoš Janáček • Vlastimil Koubek • Libor Michálek • Pavel Nedvěd • Panzer 35(t) • Polish minority in the Czech Republic • Prague Spring • Punch-up in Piestany • Randy Blythe manslaughter case • The Brothers Grimm (film) • Winton Train • Zaolzie