CZECH REPUBLIC

BEAUTIFUL PRAGUE - 
THE MOST VISITED CITY IN EUROPE

When you visit the Czech Republic you will have a great holiday experience. The country borders on Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia. It has no coastal areas and lies in the centre of Europe. It contains Bohemia and Moravia. Bohemia's borders are natural by mountains. They are the Sumavas and Ore Mountains along the German border. The Sudetan Highland is across the Polish border. The river Elbe flows across to the north Germany. The Vltava is Czech longest river at 430km and flows through Prague.

The fertile Moravin is surrounded by the Bohemo-Moravian Highlands in the West, Sudetans in the north and the White Carpathians in the east. The Moravian karst, a rough limestone country, north of Brno is an area of outstanding natural beauty.

SANCE DAM  -  MORAVIN

The Czech Republic climate is warm, showery summers and cool winters. In Prague the winter is usual freezing in December and January.

The country has about 30% forests with spruce and beech. However, acid rain has destroyed vast areas of the forest in northern Bohemia. The acid rain was caused by burning poor-quality of brown coal.

Czech people are very musical. Great Czech composers are Bedrich Smetana who wrote 'The Bartered Bride' in 1855 and 'My Fatherland' from 1874 to 1879. Antonin Dvorak, who wrote the love symphony 'From the New World' in 1893. Leos Janacek who wrote the comic opera 'The Cunning Little Vixen' in 1924. The country also produced famous writers like Franz Kafka who wrote 'Metamorphosis' in 1915, The Trial in 1925 and The Castle in 1926. In 1926 the play of Karel Capek 'Rossum's Universal Robots' introduced the word Robot. Jaroslav Hasek became famous with his humorous WWI's story 'The Good Soldier Schweik' in 1923. Another famous writer is Milan Kundera and the poet Jaruslev Seifert who won the Nobel Prize in 1984. Marionette theatre became famous and the animated film of the puppeteer, Jiri Trnka, is some of the best in the world. In the early 19^th century the Czech introduced the Polka and with that whole Europe was dancing it.

CESKY KRUMLOV

CZECH COUNTRYSIDE

ECONOMY

The Czech Republic is rich on natural resources which are coal, timber, uranium, iron ore, lead and zinc. They have to import oil and natural gas. Their heavy industries are manufacturing of steel, machinery and railway equipment. Pilzen is the home of Skodia and Volkswagen works which manufactures cars and trucks. The Pilzner lager is also brewed there. Budweiser beer is brewed at Ceske Budejovice. Other industries are cement, ceramics, chemicals, glassware and textiles. Agriculture employs about 10% of the labour force. The crops are barley, hops, maize, potatoes, sugar beet and wheat.

RECENT HISTORY

In 1948, Czechoslovakia which was the Czech and Slovakian Republic together became part of the Communist Party.  It was ruled as an annex of the USSR.  April 1968 became known as the 'Prague Spring'. The general secretary of the Communist Party Alexander Dubcek started a more democratic policy.  In August of the same year the reform was crushed when 200,000 Soviet troops invaded the country. The pressure increased and 20 years later the Communist Party lost its power in 1989.  Democratic election was held and the playwright Vaclav Havel who was the leader of the Civic Forum Party became the elected president.  January 1993 the Czech Republic and the Slovakia Republic separated

In recent years there was also a great increase in tourism and the generated millions add to the economy.

MARIENBAD

KARLSBAD

If you want to improve your health and have a holiday at the same time, the Czech Republic has hundreds of mineral springs (spas). They offer a great variety of therapeutic treatments for a wide variety of ailments.  Patients drink the water, bath in it or even wallow in a mud bath. The largest and famous spa town is Karlsbad which is in northern Bohemia. It specializes in treating digestive disorders and metabolic disturbances.  Then close by is Marienbad  especially for urinary and respiratory systems.

The picturesque land is of gently rolling hills, green, fertile valleys and huge forests and flatlands.  The Czech Republic has a lot to offer for a wonderful holiday. The country has been described as the Roof of the World because all the rivers and streams flow out of the country and none of them back.

Then there is the visit to Prague which is legendary for its fascinating and beautiful buildings. The most famous are - the Charles Bridge - spanning across the Vltava River and the other is - Hradcany Castle - built in the 9th century and covers 18 acres. It is the largest ancient castle in the world.

The medieval town of Cesky Krunlov is on the banks of the upper Vitava in Southern Bohemia

PRAGUE  -  ONE OF THE FAMOUS BRIDGES