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A landlocked country of central Europe. It was a part of Czechoslovakia from 1918 until January 1993. Prague is the capital and largest city. Population: 10,200,000.
In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Czech Koruna.
Investopedia Says:
The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion.
For more information on Czech Republic, visit Britannica.com.
Land and People
The Czech Republic comprises the former provinces of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia, together often called the Czech Lands. In the western part of the republic lies the Bohemian plateau, which is separated by the Bohemian-Moravian heights from the fertile Moravian lowland in the eastern part of the republic. The Sudetes Mts. in the north separate Moravia from Czech Silesia along the Polish border. Agriculture is concentrated in the Moravian lowlands and in the valleys of the Elbe and Vltava rivers.
More than 90% of the people are Czech, with small minorities of Slovaks, Germans, Poles, Gypsies, and Hungarians; the Gypsies have been subjected to increased discrimination since the fall of Communist rule. Although many Czechs do not profess a religion, more than 25% are Roman Catholic. There is also a substantial Hussite minority and a smaller group belonging to the Orthodox Church. Czech is spoken by most people; Slovak is also spoken.
Economy
In state hands during the Communist era, much of the Czech Republic's agricultural and industrial sectors was relatively quickly privatized and showed appreciable growth in the early 1990s. Foreign investment was widely sought. An economic slowdown beginning in 1997, however, revealed problems in the transition from government control to a privatized economy, as many large industrial conglomerates with thousands of employees lost money and sought government aid instead of revamping. In 1999–2000 most of the state-owned banks were privatized, with the government assuming responsibility for bad loans; privatization of the telecommunications industry took place in 2005.
The chief crops are wheat and other grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, and fruit. Among the country's livestock are hogs, cattle, sheep, and poultry. Manufacturing is the chief economic activity, especially the production of automobiles, machine tools, machinery, glass, and armaments. Iron and steel industries are important in Moravia. Other industries include metalworking, chemicals, and electronics. The republic's rather scant natural resources include hard and soft coal, timber, and uranium. Machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, raw materials, and fuels are exported, and similar products also constitute the most significant imports. The largest trading partners are Germany, Slovakia, Poland, France, and Italy.
Government
The Czech Republic is governed under the constitution of 1992. The president, who is the head of state, is elected by the legislature for a five-year term and is eligible for a second term. The prime minister is the head of government. The bicameral Parliament consists of the 81-seat Senate, whose members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, and the 200-seat Chamber of Deputies, whose members are popularly elected for four-year terms. Administratively the country is divided into 13 regions and the capital city.
History
For a detailed history of the Czech Lands see Bohemia, Moravia, and Czechoslovakia. In response to Slovakia's demands for greater autonomy, Czechoslovakia was on Jan. 1, 1969, declared a federation. The constituent Czech and Slovak republics received autonomy over local affairs, with the federal government responsible for foreign relations, defense, and finance. The Communist regime collapsed in 1989, and in 1990 economic reforms were begun that were especially disruptive in Slovakia, which had a disproportionate share of subsidized state-owned heavy industry. A strong secessionist movement in Slovakia led to a declaration in 1992 that the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic would separate into independent states. In response to the imminent breakup of Czechoslovakia, a new Czech constitution was written. It was implemented with the birth of the new Czech Republic on Jan. 1, 1993.
Václav Havel, who had been president of Czechoslovakia, became the Czech Republic's president; after legislative elections a right-of-center coalition government came into office, headed by Václav Klaus. The government moved quickly to privatize state-owned businesses, and mutual funds became a popular investment vehicle for a public unused to dealing with a stock market. The Czech Republic actively sought membership in Western institutions and alliances. In 1994 it became an associate member of the European Union (it became a full member ten years later), in 1995 it was admitted to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and in 1999 it joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Meanwhile, the economy faltered in 1997 and Klaus was forced to resign. Austerity measures were put in place and Josef Tosovsky, a banker, was appointed caretaker prime minister. Havel was reelected in 1998 and, following legislative elections later that year, Social Democrat Milos Zeman became prime minister, vowing to slow privatization and return more control to the state.
In the 2002 elections the Social Democrat–led coalition was returned to power, but Zeman, who had resigned as party leader prior to the election, was replaced as prime minister by Vladimír Spidla. Václav Klaus was elected president in 2003, succeeding the retiring Havel. In 2004, after the Social Democrats made a poor showing in the European Parliament elections, Spidla only narrowly survived a party confidence vote, and subsequently resigned as prime minister.
Social Democrat Stanislav Gross succeeded Spidla as government leader, but Gross resigned in Apr., 2005, dogged by charges of personal financial impropriety. He was succeeded as prime minister by fellow Social Democrat Jiri Paroubek. In the June, 2006, elections the Civic Democrats won the largest share of the vote and the most seats in parliament, but the Social Democrat–led coalition secured half the seats. The Civic Democrats formed a three-party coalition, and Mirek Topolánek became prime minister in August. In October, however, the coalition lost a confidence vote, forcing the president to open negotiations on formation of a new government. In Jan., 2007, the president again approved a government headed by Topolánek that involved the same three parties, and it narrowly won a vote of confidence.
The first pioneer of psychoanalysis in the Czech lands was Jaroslav Stuchlik (1890-1967), the Czech psychiatrist. He studied medicine in Switzerland, where he met with Eugen Bleuler and Carl Gustav Jung. At the end of the First World War, he was the first Czech to visit Freud's seminars in Vienna. He surrounded himself with a group of young physicians in Slovakia (Kaschau) in the 1920s.
Another group, consisting of Russian physicians, originated in Prague around the Russian emigré Nikolaj I. Osipov (1877-1934, who lived in Prague from 1921 until his death and founded the Russian Psychoanalytical Association with Drosnez, Tryto, and Viroubov. Osipov lectured in psychoanalytic psychiatry at Charles University in Prague.
Nicolaj Osipov and Jaroslav Stuchlik, along with Eugen Windholz, formerly of the group in Kaschau, initiated the idea of the commemorative plaque that was installed on Freud's home in Freiberg on October 25, 1931. Anna Freud took part in the celebration and Sigmund Freud, at that time 75 years old, sent a letter of greeting to participants. In connection with this event the first Czech Yearbook of Psychoanalysis (1932) appeared, edited by Windholz. Windholz (1903-1986), a Slovak Jew, was the first in the Czechoslovakian history to receive a proper psychoanalytical training. He started his analysis with Dr. Wolfe in the Berlin Psychoanalytical Institute where he spent few weeks in 1930. Then he continued his training in Prague with Frances Deri, a German analyst, who was the firstémigré from Germany, followed by Heinrich and Yela Loewenfeld, Steff Bornstein. Hanna Heilborn, Annie Reich, and Elisabeth Gero-Heymann.
The Prague Psychoanalytical Study Group was established in 1933, led by Frances Deri until 1935, when she moved to Los Angeles and, after that, by Otto Fenichel, who trained and taught in Prague until 1938 as an emissary of the Viennese Psychoanalytical Society which was affiliated with the Prague Group officially at the Lucerne Congress in 1934. Among the analysts from Vienna who traveled to Prague on weekends to present lectures were E. Bibring, R. Waelder, R. Spitz, P. Federn, E. Kris, and A. Aichhorn. Among the pupils were Emmanuel Windholz, Jan Frank, a Slovak psychiatrist and neurologist, Richard Karpe, a Czech pediatrician, Theodor N. Dosuzkov, a Russianémigré, neurologist and psychiatrist, and Otta Brief and Theresa Bondy. The Czech Study Group was officially recognized by the 14th IPA Congress in Marienbad in 1936. The Munich treaty in 1938 had disastrous consequences for the psychoanalytic movement: Czechoslovakia was occupied by Hitler in March 1939.
During the years 1938-1939, a majority of the Czech Study Group emigrated to the United States (Windholz to San Francisco, Frank to New York, Karpe to Hartford, Connecticut), some died in concentration camps, and the only member to survive the German occupation was Theodor Dosuzkov (1899-1982). He had been trained by Annie Reich and Fenichel supervised him. During the war he went on with his psychoanalytic work illegally, surrounding himself with a small group that played a significant role in the postwar development of psychoanalysis in Czechoslovakia.
The Society for the Study of Psychoanalysis was reestabilished in Prague in 1946. It had to be dissolved officially at the beginning of the 1950s, after the Communist putsch, but it continued illegally a further 40 years (1950-1989). The training in psychoanalysis went on secretly. Theodor Dosuzkov and his pupils Otakar Kuera, Ladislas Haas (emigrated in 1965 to London), and M. Benová were direct members of the IPA, and had some private contacts with analysts abroad. In the 1960s the younger generation of analysts started to train candidates: P. Tautermann, A. Sizková.
In the early 1980s, descendants of Dosuzkov and others established the new group and the Psychoanalytic Institute. Since 1987, the Czech Group has been visited by several important European and American psychoanalysts. An important step was made at the 26th IPA Congress in Rome in 1969: V. Fischelová, Jiri Kocourek, Vaclav Mikota, M.Šebek, and B. Vacková were recognized as the direct and associate members of the IPA. The Czech Group became a Study Group of the IPA at the 38th Congress in Amsterdam in 1983. The official journal of the Czech Study Group, Psychoanalyticky sbornik, has been published since 1989.
Bibliography
Fischer, Eugenia. (1992). Czechoslovakia. In P. Kutter (Ed.), Psychoanalysis international, a guide to psychoanalysis throughout the world, vol. 1, Europe (pp. 34-49). Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt: Frommann-Holzboog, 34-49.
Fischer, René. (1975). Zur Geschichte der psychoanalytischen Bewegung in der Tschechoslowakei. Psyche, 29, 12.
Šebek, Michael. (1992). La psychanalyse, les psychanalystes et la période stalinienne de l'après-guerre. La situation tchécoslovaque. Revue internationale d'histoire de la psychanalyse, 5, 553-568.
Šebek, Michael. (1993). Psychoanalysis in Czechoslovakia. Psychoanalytic Review, 80 (3), 433-439.
—MICHAEL ŠEBEK
The international dialing code for Czech Republic is: 420
Local Time: Jul 27, 9:02 AM
Introduction
| Background: | Following the First World War, the closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. |
Geography
| Location: | Central Europe, southeast of Germany |
| Geographic coordinates: | 49 45 N, 15 30 E |
| Map references: | Europe |
| Area: | total: 78,866 sq km land: 77,276 sq km water: 1,590 sq km |
| Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
| Land boundaries: | total: 2,290.2 km border countries: Austria 466.3 km, Germany 810.3 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km |
| Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked) |
| Maritime claims: | none (landlocked) |
| Climate: | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters |
| Terrain: | Bohemia in the west consists of rolling plains, hills, and plateaus surrounded by low mountains; Moravia in the east consists of very hilly country |
| Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Elbe River 115 m highest point: Snezka 1,602 m |
| Natural resources: | hard coal, soft coal, kaolin, clay, graphite, timber |
| Land use: | arable land: 38.82% permanent crops: 3% other: 58.18% (2005) |
| Irrigated land: | 240 sq km (2003) |
| Natural hazards: | flooding |
| Environment - current issues: | air and water pollution in areas of northwest Bohemia and in northern Moravia around Ostrava present health risks; acid rain damaging forests; efforts to bring industry up to EU code should improve domestic pollution |
| Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Geography - note: | landlocked; strategically located astride some of oldest and most significant land routes in Europe; Moravian Gate is a traditional military corridor between the North European Plain and the Danube in central Europe |
People
| Population: | 10,228,744 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 14.1% (male 738,391/female 698,999) 15-64 years: 71.2% (male 3,657,877/female 3,627,493) 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 588,531/female 917,453) (2007 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 39.5 years male: 37.9 years female: 41.3 years (2007 est.) |
| Population growth rate: | -0.071% (2007 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 8.96 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death rate: | 10.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | 0.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.056 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.008 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.641 male(s)/female total population: 0.951 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 3.86 deaths/1,000 live births male: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.49 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 76.42 years male: 73.14 years female: 79.88 years (2007 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 1.22 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 2,500 (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 10 (2001 est.) |
| Nationality: | noun: Czech(s) adjective: Czech |
| Ethnic groups: | Czech 90.4%, Moravian 3.7%, Slovak 1.9%, other 4% (2001 census) |
| Religions: | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
| Languages: | Czech 94.9%, Slovak 2%, other 2.3%, unidentified 0.8% (2001 census) |
| Literacy: | definition: NA total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
Government
| Country name: | conventional long form: Czech Republic conventional short form: Czech Republic local long form: Ceska Republika local short form: Cesko |
| Government type: | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: | name: Prague geographic coordinates: 50 05 N, 14 28 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions: | 13 regions (kraje, singular - kraj) and 1 capital city* (hlavni mesto); Jihocesky Kraj, Jihomoravsky Kraj, Karlovarsky Kraj, Kralovehradecky Kraj, Liberecky Kraj, Moravskoslezsky Kraj, Olomoucky Kraj, Pardubicky Kraj, Plzensky Kraj, Praha (Prague)*, Stredocesky Kraj, Ustecky Kraj, Vysocina, Zlinsky Kraj |
| Independence: | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) |
| National holiday: | Czech Founding Day, 28 October (1918) |
| Constitution: | ratified 16 December 1992, effective 1 January 1993 |
| Legal system: | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to bring it in line with Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) obligations and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003) head of government: Prime Minister Mirek TOPOLANEK (since 9 January 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Petr NECAS (since 9 January 2007), Jiri CUNEK (since 9 January 2007), Martin BURSIK (since 9 January 2007), and Alexandr VONDRA (since 9 January 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); last successful election held 28 February 2003 (after earlier elections held 15 and 24 January 2003 were inconclusive; next election to be held in January 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaclav KLAUS elected president on 28 February 2003; Vaclav KLAUS 142 votes, Jan SOKOL 124 votes (third round; combined votes of both chambers of parliament) |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (81 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms; one-third elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies or Poslanecka Snemovna (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held in two rounds 20-21 and 27-28 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 2-3 June 2006 (next to be held by June 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ODS 41, CSSD 12, KDU-CSL 11, others 15, independents 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - ODS 35.4%, CSSD 32.3%, KSCM 12.8%, KDU-CSL 7.2%, Greens 6.3%, other 6%; seats by party - ODS 81, CSSD 74, KSCM 26, KDU-CSL 13, Greens 6 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; chairman and deputy chairmen are appointed by the president for a 10-year term |
| Political parties and leaders: | Association of Independent Candidates-European Democrats or SNK-ED [Jana HYBASKOVA]; Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party or KDU-CSL [Jiri CUNEK]; Civic Democratic Alliance or ODA [Jirina NOVAKOVA]; Civic Democratic Party or ODS [Mirek TOPOLANEK]; Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia or KSCM [Vojtech FILIP]; Czech Social Democratic Party or CSSD [Jiri PAROUBEK]; Freedom Union-Democratic Union or US-DEU [Jan HADRAVA]; Green Party [Martin BURSIK]; Independent Democrats (NEZDEM) [Vladimir ZELEZNY]; Party of Open Society (SOS) [Pavel NOVACEK]; Path of Change [Jiri LOBKOWITZ] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions or CMKOS [Milan STECH] |
| International organization participation: | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA (cooperating state), EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Petr KOLAR chancery: 3900 Spring of Freedom Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 274-9100 FAX: [1] (202) 966-8540 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Richard W. GRABER embassy: Trziste 15, 11801 Prague 1 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [420] 257 022 000 FAX: [420] 257 022 809 |
| Flag description: | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side (identical to the flag of the former Czechoslovakia) |
Economy
| Economy - overview: | The Czech Republic is one of the most stable and prosperous of the post-Communist states of Central and Eastern Europe. Growth in 2000-05 was supported by exports to the EU, primarily to Germany, and a strong recovery of foreign and domestic investment. Domestic demand is playing an ever more important role in underpinning growth as interest rates drop and the availability of credit cards and mortgages increases. The current account deficit has declined to around 3% of GDP as demand for Czech products in the European Union has increased. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. In early 2004, the government passed increases in the Value Added Tax (VAT) and tightened eligibility for social benefits with the intention to bring the public finance gap down to 4% of GDP by 2006. However, due to significant increases in social spending in the run-up to June 2006 elections, the government is not likely to meet this goal. Negotiations on pension and healthcare reforms are continuing without clear prospects for agreement and implementation. Privatization of the state-owned telecommunications firm Cesky Telecom took place in 2005. Intensified restructuring among large enterprises, improvements in the financial sector, and effective use of available EU funds should strengthen output growth. |
| GDP (purchasing power parity): | $225.5 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP (official exchange rate): | $119.1 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate: | 6.4% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 2.7% industry: 39.1% services: 58.2% (2006 est.) |
| Labor force: | 5.334 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 4.1% industry: 37.6% services: 58.3% (2003) |
| Unemployment rate: | 8.4% (2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: | NA% |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 4.3% highest 10%: 22.4% (1996) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 27.3 (2003) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 2.5% (2006 est.) |
| Investment (gross fixed): | 25.2% of GDP (2006 est.) |
| Budget: | revenues: $56.31 billion expenditures: $62.57 billion (2006 est.) |
| Public debt: | 27.5% of GDP (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products: | wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry |
| Industries: | metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments |
| Industrial production growth rate: | 9.5% (2006 est.) |
| Electricity - production: | 77.38 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - consumption: | 59.72 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports: | 24.99 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports: | 12.35 billion kWh (2005) |
| Oil - production: | 15,240 bbl/day (2005) |
| Oil - consumption: | 203,100 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil - exports: | 20,930 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil - imports: | 203,700 bbl/day (2004) |
| Oil - proved reserves: | 15 million bbl (1 January 2006) |
| Current account balance: | $-4.585 billion (2006 est.) |
| Exports: | $95.12 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 52%, chemicals 5%, raw materials and fuel 9% (2003) |
| Exports - partners: | Germany 31.9%, Slovakia 8.5%, Poland 5.7%, France 5.6%, Austria 5.1%, UK 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2006) |
| Imports: | $92.14 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports - commodities: | machinery and transport equipment 46%, raw materials and fuels 15%, chemicals 10% (2003) |
| Imports - partners: | Germany 32%, Netherlands 6.5%, Slovakia 6.1%, Poland 6.1%, Russia 5.7%, Austria 4.9%, Italy 4.4%, France 4.4% (2006) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $31.22 billion (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external: | $55.47 billion (2006 est.) |
| Economic aid - recipient: | $278.7 million in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) |
| Currency (code): | Czech koruna (CZK) |
| Exchange rates: | koruny per US dollar - 22.596 (2006), 23.957 (2005), 25.7 (2004), 28.209 (2003), 32.739 (2002) |
| Fiscal year: | calendar year |
Transportation
| Airports: | 122 (2007) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 45 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 18 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 77 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 26 under 914 m: 50 (2007) |
| Heliports: | 1 (2007) |
| Pipelines: | gas 7,010 km; oil 547 km; refined products 94 km (2006) |
| Railways: | total: 9,597 km standard gauge: 9,597 km 1.435-m gauge (3,041 km electrified) (2006) |
| Roadways: | total: 127,865 km paved: 127,865 km (includes 633 km of expressways) (2006) |
| Waterways: | 664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2006) |
| Merchant marine: | registered in other countries: 1 (St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
| Ports and terminals: | Decin, Prague, Usti nad Labem |
Military
| Military branches: | Army of the Czech Republic (ACR): Joint Forces Command (includes Army and Air Forces), Support and Training Forces Command (2007) |
| Military service age and obligation: | 18-50 years of age for voluntary military service (2005) |
| Manpower available for military service: | males age 18-49: 2,414,728 females age 18-49: 2,329,412 (2005 est.) |
| Manpower fit for military service: | males age 18-49: 1,996,631 females age 18-49: 1,923,508 (2005 est.) |
| Manpower reaching military service age annually: | males age 18-49: 66,583 females age 18-49: 63,363 (2005 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.81% (2005 est.) |
Transnational Issues
| Disputes - international: | in 2006, Austrian public protests for the Czech Republic to close the Temelin nuclear power plant resulted in an Austrian parliamentary motion threatening international legal action |
| Illicit drugs: | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and minor transit point for Latin American cocaine to Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for local and regional markets; susceptible to money laundering related to drug trafficking, organized crime; significant consumer of ecstasy |
Recipes
Houbova Polevka Myslivecka (Mushroom Soup)Geographic Setting and Environment
The Czech Republic is located in the middle of Eastern Europe. It borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the north and northwest, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the southeast. The country was formally known as Czechoslovakia, and decided to end its union with Slovakia on January 1, 1993.
The land of the Czech Republic is made up of two regions. Rolling hills, plains, and plateaus make up the western region of Bohemia. The eastern region of Moravia is very hilly. Czech summers are relatively cool, with temperatures averaging 66 °F. Winters are cold, cloudy, and humid, with temperatures typically around 30°F.
History and Food
Czech cuisine was influenced historically by the surrounding regions that dominated the country. In 1273, Count Rudolph, King of Germany, founded the Hapsburg dynasty. Eventually the dynasty controlled most of Europe, including the region of the present-day Czech Republic. The Germans brought with them roast goose, sauerkraut, and dumplings, which have since become Czech staple dishes.
In 1526, Ferdinand I of Austria began his reign as King of Bohemia (a western region in the Czech Republic) and the Hapsburg rule of Central Europe grew. From Vienna, the capital city of Austria, schnitzels (breaded and fried chicken or pork patties) were introduced to the Czechs.
Other culinary influences come from Hungary and Eastern Europe, whose people used present-day Czech Republic as a crossroad to other European countries. Hungary introduced gulás (goulash) to the Czechs, a meat-based dish served with dumplings, and Eastern Europe offered such flavorings as sour cream, vinegar, and pickles.
Foods of the Czechs
Czech cuisine is considered heavy and very filling, with meals centered on meats and starches. This is because Czech winters are long and cold, which does not allow for a variety of fresh vegetables. In fact, if salads are available, they typically are limited to two vegetables, such as tomato and cucumber. Houby (mushrooms) are the exception, which flourish in local forests and are popular in soups, such as houbova polevka myslivecka (Hunter's mushroom soup).
Seafood is not widely available because the country is not located by any large bodies of water. The fish, usually carp and trout, are raised in artificial lakes or fish farms. Some Westerners may think eating carp is unappealing, but in the Czech Republic, the water where they are raised is drained clean every year.
See Houbova Polevka Myslivecka (Hunter's Mushroom Soup) recipe.
Czechs eat a wide variety of meats, from pork, beef, ryba (fish), and chicken, to duck, hare (similar to a rabbit), and venison (deer meat). The meats are commonly served with knedlíky (dumplings), brambory (potatoes), or rýe (rice), and are covered in a thick sauce. Dumplings are popular side dishes, and are even stuffed with fruit as a dessert. The sauces are thick, like gravy, and are commonly made with wine. Sometimes fruit (such as cherries or berries of some sort), mushrooms, or onions are added for more flavor. Other common flavorings in Czech dishes are caraway seeds, bacon, and salt.
See Knedlíky (Czech Dumplings) recipe.
One of the most popular dishes is called vepro-knedlo-zelo, which is roast pork served with zeli (sauerkraut) and knedliky, made by boiling (or steaming) a mixture of flour, eggs, milk, and either dried bread crumbs or potatoes. Another popular dish is kure na paprice, chicken made with a spicy paprika sauce. Sliced dumplings are used to mop up gulás (goulash) for a filling lunch or dinner. A Czech specialty is svícková na smetane, roast beef and bread dumplings in sour cream sauce, with lemon and lingonberries (similar to cranberries).
See Kure Na Paprice (Chicken Paprikas) recipe.
See Fazolovy Gulás S Hovemzim Masem (Bean Goulash with Beef) recipe.
Food for Religious and Holiday Celebrations
More than 80 percent of the Czech Republic population is Christian, either Catholic or Protestant. Two of the biggest religious holidays are Christmas and Easter. Christmas Eve is celebrated on December 24 with a large dinner. According to one of the many Czech Christmas customs and traditions, a bowl of garlic is placed under the dinner table to provide protection to a family. There is an old superstition that if anyone leaves the dinner table early, they will die the following year. As a result, everything is prepared and placed on the table before anyone sits down so no one needs to get up before the meal is finished.
The traditional Christmas Eve meal is usually served around 6 P.M. and might include potato salad, soups, cookies, a fruit bread called vánocka, koláce (a type of pastry), and carp. Czechs go fishing for carp before Christmas Eve and usually keep the fish alive in the bathtub until it is ready to be prepared.
See Moravske Vano ni Kukyse (Moravian Christmas Cookies) recipe.
Mealtime Customs
A typical snídane (breakfast) in a Czech home is hearty–bread with butter, cheese, eggs, ham or sausage, jam or yogurt, and coffee or tea. For a quick breakfast, a Bohemian koláce (pastry) topped with poppy seeds, cottage cheese, or plum jam may be bought at a bakery.
See Topinky S Vejci (Eggs on Toast) recipe.
See Mala Sousta Se Syre (Small Cheese Bites) recipe.
Politics, Economics, and Nutrition
The Czechs have very few nutritional problems. Free assistance and care provided to women and children have resulted in a low infant mortality rate (number of infant deaths) of 7 per 1,000 live births in 1999. All school children are provided with medical attention, including X rays, and annual examinations. In 1997, children up to one year old were immunized for a number of diseases, including tetanus, and measles.
Further Study
Books
Czech and Slovak Republics. Melbourne, Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications, 1998.
Martin, Pat.Czechoslovak Culture: Recipes, History and Folk Arts. Iowa City, Iowa: Penfield Press, 1989.
Martin, Pat. The Czech Book: Recipes and Traditions. Iowa City, Iowa: Penfield Press, 1981
Trnka, Peter. The Best of Czech Cooking. New York, NY: Hippocrene Books, 1996.
Web Sites
Diana's Gourmet Corner. [Online] Available http://belgourmet.com/cooking/links/cze.html (accessed April 17, 2001).
Locallingo.com. [Online] Available http://www.locallingo.com/countries/czech_republic/culture/easter.html (accessed April 17, 2001).
The Prague Post. [Online] Available http://www.praguepost.cz/tourist/tourfood.html (accessed April 17, 2001).
Radio Czech. [Online] Available http://www.radio.cz/christmas/customs.html (accessed April 17, 2001).
Kde domov muj
Kde domov muj, kde domov muj,
voda huci po lucinach,
bory sumi po skalinach,
v sade skvi se jara kvet,
zemsky raj to na pohled!
A to je ta krasna zeme,
zeme ceska domov muj,
zeme ceska domov muj!
| Česká republika
Czech Republic
|
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
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"Pravda vítězí" (Czech) "Truth prevails" |
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| Anthem Kde domov můj |
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Location of
the Czech Republic (orange)
– on the European continent (camel & white) |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Prague |
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| Official languages | Czech (de facto)1 | |||||
| Demonym | Czech | |||||
| Government | Republic | |||||
| - | President | Václav Klaus | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Mirek Topolánek | ||||
| Independence | (formed 9th century) | |||||
| - | from Austria-Hungary | October 28 1918 | ||||
| - | Czechoslovakia dissolved | January 1 1993 | ||||
| EU membership | May 1 2004 | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 2.0 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2007² estimate | 10,325,941 (79th) | ||||
| - | 2001 census | 10,230,060 | ||||
| - | Density | 130/km² (77th) /sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2006 IMF estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $236.536 billion (41st³) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $23,100 (33rd) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2006 IMF estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $141.801 billion (41st) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $13,848 (39st) | ||||
| Gini? (1996) | 25.4 (low) (5th) | |||||
| HDI (2004) | 
0.885 (high) (30th) |
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| Currency | Czech koruna (CZK) |
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| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .cz4 | |||||
| Calling code | [[+420]]5 | |||||
| 1 | While the Czech language isn't codified as the official language, it is required by law in some situations and is spoken by great majority of Czech population. Polish language is officially recognized as a minority language in the region with significant Polish minority population (The Teschen or Těšín region). Slovak is de jure recognized as an alternative to Czech without the need of translation in the whole territory of the Czech Republic. | |||||
| 2 | 30 June 2007 (See Population changes - 1st-2nd quarter of 2007). | |||||
| 3 | Rank based on 2005 IMF data. | |||||
| 4 | Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states. | |||||
| 5 | Shared code 42 with Slovakia until 1997. | |||||
The Czech Republic (IPA: /ˈtʃɛk riˈpʌblɨk/) (Czech: Česká republika (help·info), short form in Czech: Česko, IPA: [ʧɛsko]) is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (Czech: Praha), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia.
The Czech lands were under Habsburg rule from
1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was
created in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I.
After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, disillusion with the
Western response and occupation by the Red Army,
the
The Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy. President Václav Klaus is the current head of state. The Prime Minister is the head of government (currently Mirek Topolánek). The Parliament has two chambers — the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of the OECD, the Visegrád group and the Council of Europe.
After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech part found itself without a common single-word name. In 1993, The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested the name Czechia as an official alternative in all situations other than formal official documents and the full names of government institutions, however this has not caught on in English usage. The official website of the Czech Republic (www.czech.cz) run by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not use the name Czechia any longer as of 2005. Its Czech equivalent is Česko.
Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric human settlement in the area dating back to the Neolithic era. In the classical era, from the 3rd century BC Celtic migrations, the Boii (see Bohemia) and later in the first century Germanic tribes of Marcomanni and Quadi settled there. During the Migration Period around the 5th century, many Germanic tribes moved westward and southward out of Central Europe. In an equally significant migration, Slavic people from the Black Sea and Carpathian regions settled in the area (a movement that was also stimulated by the onslaught of peoples from Siberia and Eastern Europe: Huns, Avars, Bulgars and Magyars). Following in the Germans' wake, they moved southward into Bohemia, Moravia, and some of present day Austria. During the seventh century the Frankish merchant Samo, supporting the Slavs fighting their Avar rulers, became the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe. The Moravian principality arose in the eighth century (see Great Moravia).
The Bohemian or Czech state emerged in the late 9th century when it was unified by the Přemyslid dynasty. The kingdom of Bohemia was a significant regional power during the Middle Ages. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire during the entire existence of this confederation.
Religious conflicts such as the 15th century Hussite Wars and the 17th century Thirty Years' War had a devastating effect on the local population. From the sixteenth century, Bohemia came increasingly under Habsburg control as the Habsburgs became first the elected and then hereditary rulers of Bohemia. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, Bohemia became part of Austrian Empire and later of Austria-Hungary.
Following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I, the independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918. This new country incorporated regions of Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Slovakia and Carpathian Ruthenia (known as Subcarpathian Rus at the time) with significant German, Hungarian, Polish and Ruthenian speaking minorities.[1] Although Czechoslovakia was a unitary state, it provided what was at the time rather extensive rights to its minorities. However, it did not grant its minorities any territorial political autonomy, which resulted in discontent and strong support among some of the minorities to break away from Czechoslovakia. Adolf Hitler used the opportunity and, supported by Konrad Henlein's Sudeten German National Socialist Party, gained the largely German speaking Sudetenland through the Munich Agreement. Poland occupied Polish inhabited areas around Český Těšín. Hungary gained parts of Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus as a result of the First Vienna Award in November 1938.
Slovakia and Subcarpathian Rus gained greater autonomy, with the state renamed to "Czecho-Slovakia" (The Second Republic; see Occupation of Czechoslovakia). Slovakia seceded in March 1939 and allied itself with Hitler's coalition. The remaining Czech territory was occupied by Germany, transformed it into the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. The Protectorate was proclaimed part of the Reich, and President and Prime Minister were subordinate to the Nazi Reichsprotektor ("imperial protector"). Subcarpathian Rus declared independence as the Republic of Carpatho-Ukraine on 15 March 1939 but was invaded by Hungary the same day and formally annexed on 16 March. Approximately 390,000 citizens, including 83,000 Jews, were killed or executed, and hundreds of thousands of others were sent to prisons and concentration camps or forced labour. A Nazi concentration camp existed at Terezin to the north of Prague. There was Czech resistance to Nazi occupation both home and abroad, most notably with the assassination of leading Nazi leader Reinhard Heydrich in Prague suburbs on May 27, 1942. The Czechoslovak government-in-exile and its army fighting against the Germans were acknowledged by Allies (Czech troops fought in Great Britain, North Africa, Middle East and Soviet Union). The occupation ended on 9 May 1945 with the arrival of Soviet and American armies and the Prague uprising.
In 1945-1946 almost the entire German minority of Czechoslovakia, about 2.7 million people, were expelled to Germany and Austria. During this time, thousands of Germans were held in prisons, detention camps, and used in forced labour. In the summer of 1945, there were several massacres. Only 250,000 Germans who had been active in the resistance against the Nazis or were necessary for the economy were not expelled, though many of them emigrated later. Subcarpathian Rus has never returned under Czechoslovak rule and became part of the Ukrainian SSR, as the Zakarpattia Oblast in 1946.
Czechoslovakia uneasily tried to play the role of a "bridge" between the West and East. However, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia rapidly increased in popularity, particularly because of a general disappointment with the West (due to the pre-war Munich Agreement) and a favourable popular attitude towa
