Country profile
Country profile
Geography
The Czech Republic is situated approximately in the heart of Central Europe, 326 km from the Baltic and 322 km from the Adriatic sea. It shares borders with Germany, Poland, Austria and Slovakia.
The total area of 78,864 km2 is comparable to that of Austria or Ireland and makes up 2percent of the area of the European Union.
The Czech Republic does not have access to any sea, but its rivers Labe (Elbe, 370 km), Vltava (433 km), Morava (246 km), Dyje (Thaya, 306 km), Odra (Oder, 135 km) carry their waters into the North, Baltic and Black seas.
The hilly western and middle part of Bohemia comprises the Czech Highlands and the slightly higher mountain ranges of Šumava, Český les, Krušné hory, Krkonoše, Orlické hory and Jeseníky. The Beskydy lie in the eastern part of the country.
The highest point of elevation is the peak of Mt. Snezka (1 602 m above the sea level) and the lowest point is near Hrensko where the River Labe leaves the Czech territory (117 m above the sea level).
Climate
The Czech Republic as a landlocked country has moderate climate with four seasons corresponding to the temperate climate zone, which is characterized by cool summers and cold, cloudy and humid winters.The climate varies markedly among the various regions of the Czech Republic, and throughout the year.
The average temperature in January, the coldest winter month is -5 degrees Centigrade. The summer weather can be very warm with temperatures around +23 degrees Centigrade in July.
A nice time of the year to visit the Czech Republic is late spring (mid-May to mid-June) and early fall (September to mid-October) when the weather can be quite pleasant, although it can be unpredictable. The best chance of warm and dry summer weather is from mid-July to mid-August.
Time
GMT +1, the same as in Western Europe.
Daylight Saving
Start: last Sunday in March
End: last Sunday in October
Nature
Nature in the Czech Republic and its forests and mountains were inhabited and cultivated since the ancient times. In spite of it we can still find beautiful untouched, wild places, unique with their sceneries and formations. In these areas animals such as the wolf, the wildcat, the lynx, the big bustard and the grouse still live.
Administration
The Czech Republic is divided into 14 local administrative units (the capital city of Prague being one of them), controlled by regional administrations.
The largest cities besides Prague are Plzeň, Brno, Liberec and Ostrava.
History
The Czech lands have existed for more than 10 centuries. Due to their position in the center of the European continent, they have played important roles in all eras of the history.
Some of the Famous Czechs from the history - sovereigns, thinkers, musicians, artists, sportsmen, inventors, pioneers.
See more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Czechs#Scientists
Saint Wenceslas (?907 – 28.9.929) Premyslid Prince, Patron of Bohemia
Cosmas (1045 – 1125) The first Czech historian, author of Cosmas' Bohemian Chronicle
Charles IV (1316 – 1378) Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor, one of the most significant Czech sovereigns, founder of the Charles University in Prague (in 1348)
Jan Hus (1369/70 – 1415) Burned at the stake for criticising of clerical customs of his day
Jehuda Liva ben Becalel (Rabbi Low, died 1609) – Talmudic teacher and alleged creator of Golem
Johan Amos Comenius (1592 – 1670) Author of the modern conception of pedagogy and education
Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884), Antonín Dvořák (1841 – 1904), Leoš Janáček (1854 – 1928), Bohuslav Martinů (1890 – 1959) Composers
Ema Destinnová (1878 - 1930) Opera interpreter who also acted with Enrico Caruso
Božena Němcová (1820 – 1862) Writer of short stories, fairy tales and novels.
Franz Kafka (1883 – 1924) Writer of German-Jewish origin, author of short stories Metamorphosis and The Trial
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850 - 1937) Philosopher, the first Czechoslovak president of Czechoslovakia
Jan Patočka (1907 – 1977) Philosopher and spokesman of Charter 77
Emil Zátopek (1922 – 2000) Quadruple Olympic winner in long-distance running
Dana Zátopková (*1922) Javelin thrower who beat the Czechoslovak record 17 times
Karel Čapek (1890 – 1938) Writer and philosopher
Josef Čapek (1887 – 1948) Poet, playwrighter, painter and illustrator, inventor of the word "robot" for his brother´s drama R. U. R.
František Drtikol (1883 – 1961) Representative of modern photography
Josef Sudek (1896 – 1976) Founder of Czech modern photography
Jiří Trnka (1912 – 1969) Director of puppet films
Jiří Voskovec (1905 – 1981), Jan Werich (1905 – 1980) and Jaroslav Ježek (1906 – 1942), stars and music composer of the avant-garde Liberated Theater
Jaroslav Seifert (1901 – 1986) Recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1984
Bohumil Hrabal (1914 – 1997) Author of poetic prose with characters having grotesque fates
Inventors and pioneers
Jan Jessenius (1566 – 1621) Executor of the first public necroscopy of the human body
Prokop Diviš (1698 – 1765) Inventor of electropathy and the lightning conductor
Josef Ressel (1793 – 1857) Inventor of the screw propeller
Johan Gregor Mendel (1822 - 1884) Founder of genetics
Jan Evangelista Purkyně (1787 – 1869) Author of cell theory
Emil Škoda (1839 – 1900) Founder of Škoda works, one of the most significant machine works in Czechoslovakia
Ernst Mach (1838 – 1916) Theoretically deduced and experimentally proved the existence of shock waves
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Inventor of deep psychology
Jaroslav Heyrovský (1890 – 1967) Founder of the Czech polarographic school
Otto Wichterle (1913 – 1998) Inventor of silon (Czechoslovak version of nylon) and contact lenses
Population
|
Total population |
10.3 million |
|
Czechs (including Moravians and Silesians) |
94% |
|
Slovaks |
3% |
|
Romany |
1.3% |
|
Polish |
0.6% |
|
Germans |
0.5% |
|
others |
0.6% |
Labour force: 5.27 million (2005 est.)
Occupation: agriculture: 4%, industry: 38% , services: 58%
Age structure: 0-14 years 16 %, 15-64 years 70 %, 65+ years 14 %
Life expectancy: male 71.01 years, female 78.22 years
Largest cities: Praha (capital), Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň, Olomouc, Liberec, Hradec Králové
Religions:
Roman Catholic - 39,2 %, Protestant - 4,1 %, Orthodox 3 %, non-believers and atheists - 39,7 %, other 13.4 %
Culture and Media
Many cultural events take place in the Czech Republic, such as music and movie festivals, concerts, theatrical performances, exhibitions of art and many others.
Top 100 Events 2007 can be found at: http://kalendar.czechtourism.cz/
For events in Prague see http://www.pragueexperience.com/
Television
Czech national television currently broadcasts on four channels. Two are classic analog channels (ČT1 and ČT2), and two modern channels are digital (news channel ČT24 and sports channels ČT4 Sport). Two private channels TV Prima and Nova.
Radio
Seven broadcasting radio stations and 76 regional broadcasting radio stations currently operate in the Czech Republic. The broadcasting radio stations include:
Daily press
Many periodical and non-periodical titles are published. Four main serious newspaper titles compete for the attention of the readers: MF Dnes and Lidové noviny, owned by MAFRA publishing company; Právo from the Borgis company and Hospodářské noviny, owned by the Economia company. The newspapers with a smaller circulation are bohemian and moravian daily papers owned by Vltava – Labe – Press, Sport owned by Ringier and Haló noviny owned by Futura.
The most successful tabloid newspaper on the market is Blesk http://www.blesk.cz/ , owned by Ringier.
The largest circulation is regularly shared by MF Dnes and Blesk.
Magazines
A wide range of magazines for all readers groups are published as both original Czech titles and licensed foreign magazines.
The social weekly press includes popular Reflex, Týden, MF Plus and Instinkt.
The news weekly press in the CR is Respekt.
Internet
Several Internet search engines compete on the market; the most frequently visited are
Seznam www.seznam.cz/
Centrum www.centrum.cz/
Atlas www.atlas.cz/
iDnes www.idnes.cz/
Volný www.volny.cz/
Tiscali www.tiscali.cz/
Language
Official language - Czech.
The Czech language belongs to the group of West Slavic languages. From another perspective, Czech is an inflectional language, which means that the words “inflect” (their endings change). The meaning a given word has in a sentence is primarily determined according to this inflection.
Political System
The Czech constitutional order thoroughly divides powers: legislative power (represented by a two-chamber Parliament ), executive power (represented by the Cabinet and the president ) and judiciary power.
According to the Constitution of the Czech Republic, the legislature is represented by the Parliament. It consists of two chambers: the lower (the Chamber of Deputies; 200 seats, members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and upper (the Senate; 81 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms, one-third elected every two years).
The executive in the Czech Republic is represented by the president and the government consisting of the prime minister and ministers, and is the supreme organ.
The government currently has 17 members, 15 of which are ministers heading the following ministeries: Transport, Finance, Informatics, Culture, Defense, Labor and Social Affairs, Regional Development, Industry and Trade, Justice, Education, Youth and Sports, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Health, Agriculture and Environment.
Next to legislative and executive power, judicial power is the third separated pillar of power. Judicial power is, on behalf of the republic, executed by independent courts. Impartiality and independence of judges must not be jeopardized in any way.
President Vaclav KLAUS (since 7 March 2003) was elected by the Parliament for a five-year term. (The Czech Republic's first president Vaclav HAVEL stepped down from office on 2 February 2003 having served exactly 10 years.)
Economy
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. Current account deficits of around 5% of GDP are beginning to decline as demand for Czech products in the European Union increases. Inflation is under control. Recent accession to the EU gives further impetus and direction to structural reform. 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.
Economic structure
|
Agriculture, hunting and forestry, fishing |
5 % |
|
Mining and quarrrying |
2,2 % |
|
Manufacturing |
26,6 % |
|
Electricity, gas and water supply |
5 % |
|
Construction |
6,8 % |
|
Wholesale and retail trade |
13.5 % |
|
Transport, storage, communication |
6,1 % |
|
Financial intermediation |
7,6 % |
|
Other |
27,2 % |
Agricultural products: wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, poultry
Industries: metallurgy, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, glass, armaments
Natural resources: hard coal, soft coal, clay, graphite, timber
Land use:
|
arable land |
41 % |
|
permanent crops |
2 % |
|
permanent pastures |
11 % |
|
forests and woodland |
34 % |
|
other |
12 % |
Transport
Overview
International rail crossings outnumber international airports by 18 to one (the Prague airport), but both are outscored by the 30-plus international road crossings.
Plane
Scheduled international flights arrive predominantly at Prague – the Ruzyně Airport (PRG) is connected worldwide by at least two dozen international carriers, including the state-run airline ČSA (České aerolinie).
The country is connected through three more international airports: Karlovy Vary (KLV), Brno Tuřany (BRQ), and Ostrava Mošnov (OSR). Prague is the central hub airport for low-cost airline Smart Wings. Buying tickets in the CR won't save you much money, so if you're only going to one destination, take advantage of the lower cost of a return (round-trip) ticket bought at home.
Train
Consider arriving by train, as it's the easiest (if not the cheapest) way to get from Western Europe to the CR. There are some 18 rail crossings into the Republic.
Car
By road, visitors can enter the CR at over 30 points, and the list is growing all the time. Currently there are 7 highways crossing the country and more are being constructed.
Speed limits:
On a motorway 130 km/h (80 mph)
On an open road 90 km/h (56 mph)
In build-up area 50 km/h (31 mph)
Motorways and high-speed roads can only be used by a motor vehicle, or an articulated vehicle with at least four wheels, upon the payment of a fee for the use of a motorway and a high-speed road.
The fee is paid prior to the use of a motorway or a high-speed road by a motor vehicle.
The sales outlets must be marked with a sticker and coupons may only be sold at their nominal prices, set by a government directive. Coupons can be purchased at all post offices (Česká pošta, a.s. ), from contractual vendors at fuel stations, primarily on the network of toll motorways and high-speed roads, and at connectors to those roads. They can also be obtained at border crossings (D 5 - Rozvadov and D 2 - Břeclav) and at other places servicing motorists. All vendors must be equipped with information materials, i.e., with a sticker marking the sales outlet, the price-list, and a four-language information leaflet.
Note: It is recommended that drivers, in their own best interest, check when purchasing short-term coupons (two-month, fifteen-day, one-day) whether the vendor marked the beginning of their validity correctly, before they attach them.
The fee for the use of a motorway and a high-speed road by a road motor vehicle (hereinafter referred to as a “motor vehicle”) with at least four wheels, or by an articulated vehicle is:
a) For one calendar year for a motor vehicle or an articulated vehicle:
1) Of a total weight up to 3.5 tonnes – CZK 900
2) Of a total weight over 3.5 tonnes and up to 12 tonnes - CZK 7,000
3) Of a total weight over 12 tonnes – CZK 14,000
Breakdown service
ABA 1240
Road assistance service can be reached at +420 800 124 000. Operates 24 hours a day.
In a traffic accident
During each traffic accident involving a foreign national or vehicle, the police officer will ask for the insurance document. The driver is obliged to have such a document with him/ her.
If the foreign vehicle is damaged and it proves necessary to interfere with the load due to the traffic accident, the relevant customs office will be informed.
If the foreigner shows an international insurance card, the police officer will verify its validity in the Czech Republic. He will make a note of the name, validity and number of insurance document in the record of road accidents.
If the foreign vehicle is damaged, the police officer always provides the driver with confirmation that the Police Force was informed of the traffic accident and that the traffic accident was verified by the Police Force.
Confirmation would include:
- Date and place of issuance of confirmation,
- Date, time and place of traffic accident,
- Make and registration number of vehicle, name and address of owner of vehicle, name and address of driver of vehicle at the time of the accident,
- Detailed description of the damaged parts of the vehicle,
- Stamp of the Police Force unit, which verified the accident and signature of the police officer who issued the confirmation and his/ her identification number.
Car Rental: See the booking engine for the CR and Europe www.myczechrepublic.com/car-rental/ .
For planning your car route try: http://www.mapy.cz/
Public Transport
You can look up the schedules and connections for Prague public transport, public transport in other Czech cities, and trains and buses in the Czech Republic and Europe at http://jizdnirady.atlas.cz/
Trains
Trains in the Czech Republic are operated by České dráhy (Czech Railways, http://www.cd.cz/ ). The train is a commonly used means of transportation in the Czech Republic. All Czech cities, towns and many villages have their train stations and are interconnected well enough to make train travel a convenient way of getting from one place to another.
Cheaper Fare?
- discounts on group tickets (at least two people traveling together)
- return journey reduction (return within 24 hours)
- "customer card": Z-Card (karta Z) provides discounts on regular fares
Anyone can buy it at any train station ticket counter with a passport-sized photo (35 x 45 mm), an ID and 200 CZK.
- Prepaid card is sold for 1400 CZK and gives you 2000 kilometers of train travel, expires six months from the date of first use.
Online Schedules and Connections for the Czech Republic and Europe at http://www.idos.cz/ :
Visit the Czech Railways website www.cd.cz/static/eng also for a complete up-to-date price list of International Fares.
Coaches, Buses
Traveling by coach is often the quickest and most direct way to get from one Czech town to another. There are many private bus companies that operate regular services. Almost no Czech buses are equipped with toilets and bathroom breaks are only made on long-distance trips, approximately every three hours.
Tickets can be bought when boarding, or at the main stations together with the seat reservation. For schedules see http://www.idos.cz/ .
Prague
Bigger cities have an advanced public transport system. In Prague, you can easily get around by buses and trams and also by Metro (subway). For travelling to the adjacing parts of Prague you can use buses or trains within the Prague Integrated Transport System. More information, maps and timetables are available at the Public Transport website: www.dpp.cz
Public Holidays
In total, there are seven bank, or public, holidays in the Czech Republic
The Day of Recovery of the Independent Czech State – January 1
Liberation Day - May 8
The Day of Slavonic Apostles Cyril and Methodius – July 5
Jan Hus Day - July 6
Day of Czech Statehood - September 28
The Day of Establishment of the Independent Czechoslovak Republic - October 28
Day of Students' Fight for Freedom and Democracy – November 17
Other significant days
Easter Monday
Christmas Day - December 24
First Christmas feast - December 25
Second Christmas Feast - December 26
For further information regarding the traditional Czech habits, see
http://www.czech.cz/
|
