The Czech Republic is in central Europe. Slovakia,
Germany, Poland and Austria are its neighbours. The extraordinarily beautiful capital
is Prague. The coat of arms of the Czech Republic displays the three historical regions which make up the nation.
An iconic place
An iconic object
Something the country has done for the world
Famous historical figure
Wenceslas I was the Duke of Bohemia from 921 until his assassination in 935,
purportedly in a plot by his own brother, Boleslav the Cruel.
Important living person
Madeleine Albright, U.S. Secretary of State in Bill Clinton's administration heavily
influenced American policy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the Middle East.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from US President Barack Obama
in 2012.
History before 2000
14th century King of Bohemia
Charles IV became Holy Roman Emperor. In 1526, the kingdom of Bohemia fell
to the Hapsburgs, becoming part of the vast Austro- Hungarian Empire. In 1848, there was the start of the
nationalist revival. After World War1, Czechoslovakia
was set up, a liberal democracy with flourishing industry.
In 1938, as part of the Munich agreement, the German-speaking province of Sudetenland
was handed over to Germany. German troops invaded the country in 1939. Bohemia-Moravia was transformed into protectorate of the 3rd Reich.
In 1948, Czechoslovakia became part of the Soviet bloc dominated
by the Soviet Union. The 1968 "Prague Spring" was
a failed attempt to introduce “socialism with a human face”. In 1989, Czechoslovakia was finally freed from the Eastern bloc
during the "Velvet revolution”. Václav Havel became president. In 1993, there was a peaceful separation
of Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
History after 2000
The Czech Republic joined the EU on 1 May
2004. It ratified the Lisbon Treaty in 2009. The President is Miloš Zeman.
Human geography
Population: 10,52 million.
Language(s) and culture(s)
Languages: 95% of the population speak Czech,
3% of the population speak Slovak, which is closely related to Czech. 2% of the
population have German, Hungarian, Romani or Polish as their mother tongue. Ethnic
Make-up: Czech 81.2%, Moravian 13.2%, Slovak 3.1%, Polish 0.6%, German 0.5%,
Silesian 0.4%, Roma 0.3%, Hungarian 0.2%, other 0.5% (1991). Religions: Roman
Catholic 39.2%, Protestant 4.6%, Orthodox 3%, other 13.4%, atheist 39.8%.
Politics, economy, place in the EU
The Czech Republic is
a multi-party parliamentary representative democratic
republic. According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic,
the President is the head of state while the Prime
Minister is the head of government, exercising
supreme executive power. The Legislature is bicameral (Chamber of
Deputies and Senate). The currency is the Czech Crown (Koruna). The Czech
Republic is a developed country with an advanced economy and
high living standards. The UN ranks the
country 14th in the HDI. It also ranks as the eleventh-most peaceful
country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It is a
member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD,
the OSCE and the Council of Europe.
Youth
15–29 year olds make up 1.8 million (5.6%)
of the total population. School is obligatory from 6 to 16. 15 to 18 year olds
can continue education to prepare for university or to attend a vocational or
technical school. Over 90% of boys and girls attend secondary school. They
get married around 20-25. Czechs will generally start working in their early to
mid-twenties. In 2011, unemployment for 16 to 24 year olds was about 17.5%.
Blog post by Romain DEGOULANGE
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