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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A monument to the battle on the Slovak side of the Dukla Pass.

The Battle of the Dukla Pass, also known as the Dukla, Carpatho–Dukla, Rzeszów–Dukla, or Dukla–Prešov offensive, was the battle for control over the Dukla Pass on the border between Poland and Slovakia on the Eastern Front of World War II between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in September–October 1944. It was part of the Soviet East Carpathian strategic offensive that also included the Carpathian–Uzhgorod offensive. The operation's primary goal, to provide support for the Slovak rebellion, was not achieved, but it concluded the full liberation of the Ukrainian SSR.

The German resistance in the eastern Carpathian region was much stronger than expected. The battle which began on 8 September would not see the Soviet forces on the other side of the pass until 6 October, and German forces would stop their heavy resistance in the region only around 10 October. Five days to Prešov turned into fifty days to Svidník alone with over 70,000 casualties on both sides. Prešov that was to be reached in six days remained beyond the Czechoslovaks' grasp for four months. The battle would be counted among the most bloody in the entire Eastern Front and the history of Slovakia; one of the valleys in the pass, near the villages of Kapišová, Chyrowa, Iwla and Głojsce, would become known as the "Valley of Death". (Full article...)

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The town of Litoměřice with the cathedral of St Stephen, in the Ústí nad Labem Region

Photographer: Karelj; License: Public domain

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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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Kafka in 1923

Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was an Austrian-Czech novelist and writer from Prague. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature; he wrote in German. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include the novella The Metamorphosis and the novels The Trial and The Castle. The term Kafkaesque has entered English to describe absurd situations like those depicted in his writing.

Kafka was born into a middle-class German- and Yiddish-speaking Czech Jewish family in Prague, the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia, which belonged to the Austrian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (today the capital of the Czech Republic, also known as Czechia). He trained as a lawyer, and after completing his legal education was employed full-time, for a year handling cases for the indigent in the city's Provincial and Criminal Courts by an insurance company, then working for nine months for an Italian insurance company, and finally, starting in 1908, spending 14 years with the Austrian Imperial and Royal Workmen's Accident Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia and its successor under the Czechoslovak Republic, rising to the position of chief legal secretary. (Full article...)

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John Amos Comenius Petr Čech Dominik Hašek Jaromír Jágr Pavel Nedvěd Gregor Mendel Tomáš Rosický 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 Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková

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