Portal:Czech Republic

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

View new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

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...)

List of selected articles

edit

Selected picture

Panoramic view of Prague Castle

Photographer: Stefan Bauer; License: Creative Commons CC-BY-SA

More pictures...

edit

In this month

1 January 1993 – Czechoslovakia dissolves, resulting in the establishment of the Czech Republic and Slovakia
1 January 2000 – 14 new regions are established
4 January 1896 – The Czech Philharmonic (pictured) plays its first concert
6 January 1977 – Charter 77 is published, with the names of 242 signatories
21 January 1930 – The nation's first traffic light is installed at the junction of Wenceslas Square with Jindřišská and Vodičková streets

More anniversaries...

edit

Selected biography - show another

Vladimír Remek (born 26 September 1948) is a Czech politician and diplomat, as well as a former cosmonaut and military pilot. He flew aboard Soyuz 28 from 2 to 10 March 1978, becoming the first and only Czechoslovak in space. As the first cosmonaut from a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States, and with the entry of the Czech Republic and Slovakia into the European Union, Remek is considered to be the first astronaut from the European Union. Remek was a member of the European Parliament between 2004 and 2013 for the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. From 2014 to 2018, he was the Czech Ambassador to Russia. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
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 Leoš Janáček Libor Michálek Vojtěch Jarník Markéta Vondroušová Zdeňka Wiedermannová-Motyčková

edit

Did you know?

...that the Sedlec Ossuary is a chapel decorated with the bones of 40,000 people?
... 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 Jan Maroši scored directly from a corner for Sigma Olomouc in a 1992–93 UEFA Cup match against Juventus?
... that Czech Karel Robětín was not only an Olympian and national tennis champion but also an international paper industry tycoon?

More did you know facts

Read more...

General images

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

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

Related portals

edit

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

edit

WikiProjects

WikiProject Czech Republic

WikiProject Europe

edit

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