Portal:Czech Republic

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Panoramic view of Prague from Petřín Tower

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Vítejte na Českém portálu!

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Location of Czech Republic within Europe

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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Trans-Olza (Polish: Zaolzie, [zaˈɔlʑɛ] ; Czech: Záolží, Záolší; German: Olsa-Gebiet), also known as Trans-Olza Silesia (Polish: Śląsk Zaolziański), is a territory in the Czech Republic, which was disputed between Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Interwar Period. Its name comes from the Olza River.

The history of the Trans-Olza region began in 1918, when, after the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, the newly established Czechoslovakia made claims to the area with Polish majority, which gave rise to a dispute. For Poles, giving Trans-Olza to Czechoslovakia was unacceptable, so they decided to hold elections in the region to which Czechoslovakia responded by sending army to the disputed territory and annexing it in January 1919. (Full article...)

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Jaroslav Hašek, Czech humorist and satirist

Creator: Dějiny Československa; License: Public domain

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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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Topics

Czech lands: BohemiaMoraviaCzech Silesia

History: Únětice cultureBoiiMarcomanniSamoGreat MoraviaPřemyslid dynastyLands of the Bohemian CrownCzech lands (1526–1648)1648–18671867–1918)CzechoslovakiaCzech Republic

Geography: LakesProtected areasRegionsRivers

Law: JudiciaryLaw enforcementSupreme Court of the Czech Republic

Politics: Administrative divisionsGovernmentConstitutionElectionsForeign relationsArmyParliamentPolitical partiesPresidentPrime Minister

Economy: BanksCzech korunaEnergyOil and gas depositsStock ExchangeTourismTransport

Culture: ArchitectureArtCinemaCuisineDemographicsEducationLanguageLiteratureMediaMusicPhilosophyProstitutionPublic holidaysReligionSportTelevisionVideo games

Symbols: FlagCoat of armsNational anthem (Kde domov můj)

Lists: Outline of the Czech RepublicList of Czech Republic–related topics

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