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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The Government Army (Czech: Vládní vojsko; German: Regierungstruppen) was the military force of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia during the German occupation of the Czech lands.

Established on July 25, 1939, the lightly armed force of less than 7,000 men was operationally limited to internal security throughout most of its existence, with the exception of a short deployment to northern Italy in support of German forces in the spring of 1944. During the Prague Uprising, some elements of the Government Army revolted and joined in the rebellion. After World War II, the inspector-general of the Government Army, Jaroslav Eminger, was tried and acquitted on charges of collaboration with Germany. (Full article...)

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The town of Kašperské Hory with the church of St Margaret, in the Plzeň Region

Photographer: Adam Hauner; License: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

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In this month

5 April 1937 – Prague Václav Havel Airport (pictured) opens as Prague Ruzyně Airport
7 April 1348 – Charles University in Prague is founded
17 April 1969 – First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubček, is replaced by Gustáv Husák
18 April 1920 – The first parliamentary elections are held in Czechoslovakia
26 April 1945 – The Red Army liberates the city of Brno at the end of World War II

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Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková (17 April 1868 – 16 October 1915) was a Moravian teacher, journal editor, and women's rights activist. Born into a family of progressive educators, she studied to become a teacher, graduating in 1886. Her Catholic education led her to more conservative values than her family's, but after teaching for several years, she began to recognize the disparities between women and men teachers, as well as those of their students. By 1898, she was publicly calling for equal pay for equal work and campaigning for equal education for boys and girls. In 1902, Wiedermannová founded and became chair of the Moravian Teachers Union, whose focus was to professionalize teaching standards. The following year, she opened a Girls' Academy in Brno, hoping later to include secondary education there. As the Austro-Hungarian Empire provided little funding for girls' education, she held lectures to provide for the operating costs of the academy. Finally in 1908, she successfully established the first girls' secondary school in Moravia.

That year, Wiedermannová founded and became the editor for Ženská revue (Women's Review), a magazine publishing articles on developments in the international women's movement. Also in 1908, she began an informal marriage with fellow teacher Vincenc Motyčka. As he was Catholic and unable to divorce his first wife, the two were not able to formalize their union, but she added his surname to her own. In 1909, she retired as a teacher to focus on activism. She became one of the most visible Czech feminists, presenting over a hundred lectures during her career. She founded numerous women's associations and in 1910 was instrumental in the creation of a regional umbrella organization, the Progressive Organization of Women in Moravia, actively committed to women's suffrage and the integration of women into all segments of public life. (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 Martin Miller (actor) Vratislav Lokvenc Vladimír Remek Leoš Janáček Libor Michálek Vojtěch Jarník Markéta Vondroušová

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Did you know?

...that in 1990, Czech and Slovak politicians "fought" the Hyphen War, a political battle over whether "Czechoslovakia" should be spelled with a hyphen?
... that the report Public Finance Balance of Smoking in the Czech Republic found that the "effect of smoking on the public finance balance in the Czech Republic in 1999 was positive"?
... that Czech international footballer Jan Suchopárek dislocated his shoulder while attempting a bicycle kick?
... that Czech actress Anna Letenská was killed by the Nazis for her alleged participation in the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich?

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General images

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

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

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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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