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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Soviet T-54 in Prague during the invasion

On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The invasion stopped Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring liberalisation reforms and strengthened the authoritarian wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ).

About 250,000 Warsaw Pact troops (afterwards rising to about 500,000), supported by thousands of tanks and hundreds of aircraft, participated in the overnight operation, which was code-named Operation Danube. The Socialist Republic of Romania and the People's Republic of Albania refused to participate. East German forces, except for a small number of specialists, were ordered by Moscow not to cross the Czechoslovak border just hours before the invasion, because of fears of greater resistance if German troops were involved, due to public perception of the previous German occupation three decades earlier. 137 Czechoslovaks were killed and 500 seriously wounded during the occupation. (Full article...)

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The village of Malá Úpa in the Krkonoše

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

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In this month

14 November 1960 – The deadliest rail disaster in Czech history takes place in Eastern Bohemia, resulting in 118 deaths
14 November 1918 – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (pictured) becomes the first President of Czechoslovakia
17 November 1939 – Nazi Germany storms Czech universities, executing nine students and professors, later commemorated as International Students' Day
17 November 1989 – The Velvet Revolution starts in Prague, culminating in the end of 41 years of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia
24 November 1966 – The deadliest air disaster in Czechoslovakia takes place near Bratislava, killing all 82 on board

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Jágr with the Czech Republic in 2010

Jaromír Jágr (Czech pronunciation: [ˈjaromiːr ˈjaːɡr̩] ^ⓘ; born 15 February 1972) is a Czech professional ice hockey right winger and owner of Rytíři Kladno of the Czech Extraliga (ELH). He previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils, Florida Panthers and Calgary Flames, serving as captain of the Penguins and the Rangers, between 1990 and 2008.

After leaving the Rangers in 2008, he played three seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) with Avangard Omsk. He returned to the NHL in 2011 with the Flyers and remained in the league for seven more years before being assigned by the Flames in 2018 to HC Kladno. Having played in 37 professional seasons (as of 2024) and over 2,000 professional games, Jágr has had the longest playing career in professional ice hockey history. He is the most productive European player who has ever played in the NHL and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever. (Full article...)

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John Amos Comenius Petr Čech Dominik Hašek 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 Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková

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Did you know?

...that the Sedlec Ossuary is a chapel decorated with the bones of 40,000 people?
... 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 Patrik Gedeon went to play club football in Liechtenstein in the middle of his career?
... that a 1926 voyage to Java inspired Czech poet Konstantin Biebl for the remainder of his life?

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General images

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

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

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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
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