"1. The Czech Republic

1.1 Basic Facts
The Czech republic is situated in the middle/centre of Europe. It is surrounded (obklopený) by Germany to the west, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria to the south.
The area of the CR is 78 866 square kilometres and it has population of about 10 million. The capital city is Prague.
The CR is divided into 3 main parts. Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the east and Silesia in the north-east. The national flag consits of a white and red stripe (pruh) and a blue triangle. It is a country with nice countryside (příroda, krajina), rich culture and history.

1.2 History
1918 - Czechoslovakia was estabilished (zavedena), Masaryk was elected (zvolen) first president, the end of WWI.
1939 - 1945 - WW II.
1948 - The Communist Party took power
1968 - The occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union
1989 - The Velvet Revolution, the fall of communism
1993 - Czechoslovakia split (rozdělený) into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
1999 - The country joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
2004 - The country joined the EU

1.3 Geography
The Czech Republic has a moderate/temperate (mírný) climate. There are 4 seasons with cold winters and hot summers. We can find lowlands (nížiny) there and along the borders (hranice) there are mountains.
In the north of the country there are the Krkonoše Mountains with the highest mountain Sněžka (1602m). In the south there are the Šumava Mountains and in the west there are Krušné Mountains. The important mountains are also the Jeseníky and the Beskydy Mountains.
The longest river is the Vltava. Other important rivers are the Labe, Odra and Morava.

1.4 Political system
The Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy with the President as the head of state. The president is elected every 5 years by the parliament. The parliament consists of two house - The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. There are 200 people in the Chamber of Deputies (poslanecká sněmovna), and they serve a 4-year term. The Senate have 81 members who are elected for 6 years.

1.5 Famous Czechs
Charles IV. was one of the most popular Czech kings. He built the famous Charles Bridge and Karlštejn Castle. He found the first Czech university = Charles University in Prague.
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk was the first president of Czechoslovakia.
Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich Smetana are symphonic composers.
Milada Horáková is a symbol of anti-communist rasistance.
Karel Čapek and Milan Kundera are famous Czech writers.
Some famous athletes are Emil Zátopek as a runner or Jaromír Jágr for ice-hockey.

1.6 The places of interest
The famous places in the CR are Karlovy Vary, Mariánské lázně and Františkovy lázně. The famous cities are Rožmberk, České Budějovice, Písek, Český Krumlov, Olomouc, Ostrava and others.
On the UNESCO list are: The Historical Centre of Prague, Český Krumlov, Telč, The Pilgrimage Church of Jan Nepomuk in Zelená Hora, close to Žďár nad Sázavou, Kutná Hora, Lednice-Valtice Cultural Landscape, Holašovice, Kroměříž Castle, Litomyšl Castle, Holy Trinity Columm Olomouc, Villa Tugendhat, Třebíč"

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