1.

History

2.

Geography

3.	Population and religion

4.	Economy and industry

5.	System of government

6.	Places to visit

6.1	South Bohemia

6.2

Prague

7.	Famous Czech people

7.1	Bedřich Smetana

7.2	Alfons Mucha

7.3	Otto Wichterle

7.4	Jaroslav Heyrovský

7.5	Bohumil Hanč a Václav Vrbata

7.6	Emil Zátopek

7.7	Václav Havel

“1) History
The territory of our republic was settled by the Celts around 4th century B.C. They were followed by Germanic tribes. In the 5th century the Slavs came. The first state on our territory was Samo’s Empire. It was founded in 623. Samo was the Frankish merchant who united the Slavonic tribes and helped them to combat enemies.
Later, in the 9th century, the Great Moravian Empire was established. This period of our history is very important. Two monks called Cyril and Methodius came to our countryfrom Thessaloniky. They were invited by the ruler Mojnír I. They introduced liturgy written in the Slavic language. There were some quarrels among the rulers, which caused the end of the Empire. The Empire was invaded by Magyars and broke up.
Around the 10th century the Bohemian Kingdom was established. The Přemyslid family took the power. In 1212 King Přemysl Otakar I received a Goldun Bull from the German Emperor. The Bull confirmed the royal title for Otakar and his descendants. The Přemyslid family died out by the sword in 1306. Vaclav III was murdered in Olomouc.
The Czech throne came to the Luxembourgs. Czech King Charles IV became Holy Roman Emperor, and that´s why the Czech Kingdom bacame the centre of The Holy Roman Empire. Prague was the capital town, centre of culture, education, arts. Architecture. Charles IV founded Charles University in 1348. It´s the oldest university in Central Europe. He build many buildings such as Charles Bridge.
The first part of the 15th century was marked by the Hussite Movement. It is named after John Huss, rector of Charles University and a preacher, who tried to reform the Catholic Church. He was burnt at the stake as a heretic.
Well- known ist the reign of Jiří of Poděbrady. He appealed to other European kings to make a treaty securing peace.
There were conflicts among the Czech nobles. The country was weakened and the Habsburg dynasty took the power. They started their rule in 1526 and ruled for almost 3 centuries in our lands. The centre of culture and politics moved from Prague to Vienna. They oppressed the Czech nation,tried to re- catholicize and germanize inhabitants and they also tried to liquidate our language and literature. Bohemian Protestants rebelled against them but they were defeated at the Battle of White Mountain in 1620.
The 19th century was a time of national revival. After the WW I the Empire broke down and in 1918 the Czechoslovak republic was established. TGM became the first president. In 1938 Hitler invaded our country and declared the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. In 1948 the communists gained the power and Czechoslovakia became a totalitarian state. The revolt called Prag Spring was oppressed by the invasion of the Soviet army. The normalization lasted another 20 years. In 1989 after the Velvet revolution our republic became a democracy. In 1993 the Czechoslovak republic broke into two new states- the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

2) Geography
The Czech Republic is situated in Central Europe and sometimes it is called the heart of Europe. It has a population of 10 million people and covers an area of about 80,000 sq. km. Our country borders on Germanyto the west, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east ond Austria to the south.
Our country has a varied landscape. You can find there almost everything, except for the sea. It´s a pity we haven´t any sea. That´s why many people travel to southern Europe espicially to Italy or Croatio for their summer holiday.
There are several mountain ranges on the borders. These are the Ore Mountains, the Šumava range, the Jizerské Mountains, the Giant Mountains, the Eagle Mountains and the Jeseník Mountain range. The highest mountain is Sněžka. It´s to be found in the Giant Mountains. People enjoy visiting winter sport centers. There are quite good conditions for winter sports. You can do down-hill skiing as well as cross country skiing. There are marked routes. In summer you can go hiking. It´s not so hot there so it brings you refreshment. There are special paths for tourists. You can admire rocks, torents with rapids, gorges and alpine type of flora. I don´t like walking so much, I prefer cycling. There are paths for cyclists,too. It may be difficult and rather physical demanding to go by bike because the landscape and hills are very steep. Some people are lazy to walk or go by bike. You can´t go by car everywhere because some parts were proclaimed national reserves. There´s possibility to use the cable railway to get to Sněžka.
The central part of our country is made up by the Bohemian- Moravian Highland. There are lowlands in the valleys of big rivers. The most important rivers are the Vltava- it´s the longest river, the Elbe and the Morava. There are many dams o¬n the Vltava river - for example Lipno, Orlík or Slapy. In Moravia wine is grown.
There are also some mineral springs and spas in our country (Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně, Luhačovice or Mariánské lázně).
There are beautiful places in the Czech Paradise, for example Rock town in Prachov rocks.
People who are interested incaves can visit the Moravian Karst. Caves are adorned with stalagmites and stalagtites. You can visit the Macocha Abbys, too. Caves can be found in the environs of Prague- there are Koněprusy Caves.
Landscape of our country is very nice. Lowlands change for higlands, forests and fields, there are valleys, ponds, rivers. Forests are worth visiting. The wind murmurs, you can hear a woodpecker pecking at the bark. You can pick up mushrooms, berries such as strawberries, blueberries or blackberries. Or you can just go and admire the nature, trees- there are coniferous such as firs, spruces, pines as well as decidious such as oaks, beeches and birches. If you are tired you can sit down on a stump or lie down on the moss. But you should be careful, you can get a tick very easily. On a sunny clearing you can meet vipers. They are creeping there and it may happen that you step on them. They might sting you, which is very dangerous.
Our republic lies in the temperate zone, there is a continental type of climate. The warmest areas are in Southern Moravia and the coldest areas are in the Giant Mountains."