THE CZECH
REPUBLIC
a)
Geography
It
is my native country. The Czech Republic is situated in Central Europe - it
lies in the heart of Europe. The CR is an inland country with its area of
78,864 sq. km. and with a population
about 10,3 million.
It borders Slovakia in the east, Poland in
the north, Germany in the north and west and Austria in the south.
The nation's borders are mostly defined by
mountains. The surface of our country is rather hilly. The Western border is
formed by the Krušné Mountains, the Šumava range extends to the south. The
highest mountains in the CR are the Krkonoše. That's where the highest peak in
the CZ, Sněžka, is located (1602 m). The Jizerské Mountains lie on the border
with Poland, where Orlické Mountains are also located. Other mountain ranges
are Beskydy, Hrubý Jeseník and the Little Carpathians along the border with
Slovakia. The Jeseníky and the Beskydy are known as Western Carpathians. There
are also some hilly regions within country, such as the Českomoravská vysočina
(Highland) and the weathered sandstone of the Český ráj (Bohemia Paradise).
The largest national park is Šumava.
The country consists of two main regions:
Bohemia (the western half, industry) and Moravia (the eastern half, agriculture
- except around the city of Ostrava).
The biggest river is the Labe (enters in
the North Sea). Other major rivers include the Vltava, Odra and Morava. The
Dyje and the Danube enters in the Black Sea and the Odra with the Opava enters
in the Baltic.
The biggest lake is Černé lake - it's
glacial lake (the lake Čertovo is glacial lake too) and these lakes are
situated on Šumava. The largest pond is Rožmberk.
The climate is moderate but unpredictable.
b)
History
In ancient times this
area was inhabited by Celtic and Teutonic tribes. From the historical point of
view our territory has been inhabited by Slavonic tribes since the 5th
century A.D. The first Slavonic state was Sámo´s Empire which was founded here
in 623. In the 9th century was formed here the Great Moravian
Empire.
From this Empire developed an independent Czech state. Until the
early 14th century the Czech lands were ruled by the native
Přemyslid dynasty. When the Přemyslid dynasty had died out by the sword in 1306
the Czech throne went to the Luxemburgs. Under Charles IV. and his son
Wenceslas IV. the country became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the
reign of Charles IV., Prague grew into one of the largest European metropolises
of that era, and was a significant centre of education, architecture and the
arts. In 1348 Charles University - the oldest one in Central, Northern and
Eastern Europe - was founded in Prague.
The first part of the 15th century is marked by the
Hussite Movement (1419-1437). It is named after Jan Hus, professor, dean and
later rector of Charles University. In 1415 he was tried by the Church council
in Constance and burnt at the stake as a heretic.
After the reign of King Jiří of Poděbrady - who is known for his
appeal to other European kings to make a treaty securing peace - and after the
period of the rule of Jagiellonian dynasty on the Czech throne there came the
period of the Hapsburg dynasty (1526-1918). These rulers tried to oppress the
Czech nation in favour of the Germans and the Roman Catholic Church, but were
not successful until the Battle on the White Mountain in 1620. It was a
beginning of long period of political, religious n cultural oppression.
When World War I ended in 1918, the Czech Republic was able to
take its fate into its hands in the newly established Czechoslovak Republic.
Though this was destroyed by the German occupation (1939-1945) it appeared again
World War II. In 1948 the power was taken over by the communists directed by
Soviet Union. The "Prague Spring" in 1968 was oppressed by the
invasion of the Soviet army and the "normalisation" lasted about
another 20 years till the "velvet revolution" in 1989. The following
development led to the splitting of the republic, and in 1993 two new states
appeared - the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
c)
Economy
Our country is rich in minerals. Black and brown coal, lignite,
sand for glass making are mined there. Among the prominent industrial cities
are Prague, Brno, Ostrava, Kladno, Most, Litvínov, etc.
The CR has a large number of spas - the
famous are Karlovy Vary, Františkovy Lázně, in Moravia can be found Luhačovice.
Fuel and energy industries are very well
developed in the CR. To produce energy, thermal power stations (e.g. Mělník,
Počerady), nuclear power plants (Dukovany and Temelín) and hydroelectric power
plants (Lipno, Orlík, Slapy) are used.
Other industries include metallurgy
(Ostrava, Kladno areas), the machine tool industries (Brno, Plzeň, Prague),
chemical industries (Litvínov, Ústí nad Labem), building, consumer, food
industry. Czech beer brewing (Plzeň) and wine making (South Moravia) have a
long tradition and popularity both at home and abroad.
d)
Agriculture
The lowlands are
important for agriculture and crop farming. The most extensive Czech lowlands
is Polabská. In the lowlands are grown - sugar beet, sunflowers, sweet corn,
fruits and vegetables. Poultry also kept there. In the highlands mainly
potatoes and some types of grain are grown. Pigs and sheep are bred here. In
mountain areas highlands cattle are reared.
e)
Political system
The CR is a sovereign,
united and democratic state. The head of state is the President. He is
elected for a five-year term. Real power, however, is wielded mostly by
parliament and the government.
The government is
divided into three branches - the legislative, represented by the Parliament,
the executive, represented mainly by the president and the government, and the
judicial, represented by courts at various levels.
The Parliament
consists of two chambers - the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. The
Parliament is law-making body.
On January 1st 1993, the former
Czechoslovakia split into two countries - the CR and the Slovak Republic.
The currency is the Czech crown.
f)
The capital - Prague
Prague is the capital of
the CR, the seat of the President, government and parliament and the political
and economic centre of the country. It spreads out on both banks of the river
Vltava in the centre of Bohemia. It has about 1,2 million inhabitants. The
whole city consists of 10 administrative districts.
Vocabulary:
peak - vrchol
glacial - ledovcový
pond - rybník
significant - významný
dean - děkan
prominent - přední
heretic - kacíř
oppress - utlačovat
fate - osud
spas - lázně
fuel - palivo
brew - vařit (pivo)
sugar beet - cukrovka
grain - obiloviny
bred - chovat (chovat
dobytek)
wield - mít moc