|  Czech Republic
- Acession to the EU: 2004
- Accession to the Council of Europe: 1993
- Surface area: 78 866 km2
- Population: 10,4 Million
- Capital city: Prague (1,2 Million inhabitants)
- Official languages: Czech
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- Main religion: Catholic
- Currency: Czech Crown
- Political system: Republic
- Head of state: Vaclav Klaus (president, since 2003, re-elected in 2008, ODS)
- Head of government: Jan Fischer (interim prime minister)
- International code: + 420
- National holiday: 28 October
 Dancing House, Prague ©Czech National Office of Tourism The kingdom of Bohemia was founded in the 9th century. From 1526 onwards, the Habsburgs acceded to the throne of Bohemia, only relinquishing this in 1918. - 1918 Czechoslovakia is created. Thomas Masaryk becomes its first President.
- 1938 The Third Reich annexes the Sudetenland, which has a mainly German population.
- 1945 Prague falls to the Red Army.
- 1948 Prague coup: the communists take power without a vote in Parliament and run the country for the next 41 years.
- 1968 Alexander Dubcek, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, begins liberalising the regime. This is the Prague Spring, with the aim being to give a new chance to communism by gaining popular backing. In August, Russian tanks enter Prague to overturn the government.
- 1977 With opposition in the country having virtually disappeared, the next note of dissidence comes in the form of Charter 77, chiefly signed by Vaclav Havel.
- 1989 Velvet Revolution. The fall of the communist regime begins during a students’ demonstration. In late December, Vaclav Havel is elected President of Czechoslovakia by the Parliament.
- 1993 Czechoslovakia democratically divides itself into two countries: the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- 1999 The country joins NATO.
- 2004 The Czech Republic joins the European Union.
- 2007 President Vaclav Klaus nominated a new government with Mirek Topolanek as the prime minister.
 Prague ©Czech National Office of Tourism Built along the banks of the river Vltava, this beautiful city with its thousand year-old culture reflects all artistic styles and developments through its fine monuments, like the huge Prague Castle. Built as an archbishop’s palace in the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378), from this time onwards Prague begins its expansion. As a centre of Christianity and the seat of the kings of Bohemia, the town is home to many monuments, symbolising this power such as its Gothic cathedral, the old royal palace or the famous Charles Bridge, forming an amazing link between the old town and the Malá Strana district. Other Renaissance style buildings are dotted throughout this town of luxurious palaces, while in the 17th century the baroque period enhanced the royal residences with domes, courtyards and gardens. Churches and monasteries also bear witness to this period. Prague also stands out for its intense cultural activity. As a home for many artists, the town has resounded to operas by Mozart or concertos from Beethoven. All of these features earned the town of 100 spires its place in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The European Union also awarded it the title of European City of Culture in the year 2000.  Bohemian crystal ©Czech National Office of Tourism The world-famous Bohemian crystal was and has remained a reference in its field for many years. However, the history of crystal actually began far from Bohemia! The word cristallo was initially used in Venice to define an extremely fine and transparent glass at the end of the 15th century. It was in the 18th century that Bohemian crystal became synonymous with quality thanks to this hard and sparkling glass which quickly replaced Venetian products and became a “must have” item on any royal table. Nevertheless, this was still not the crystal that we see today in Bohemia and elsewhere. The invention of crystal (the special feature of which is that it is produced using lead) originates from England. Today, the Czech Republic has more than 200 crystal and glassworks, making Bohemian crystal famous. One of the most famous brands in the country is Moser. Founded in 1857, this glassworks has the particularity of not using lead in its production process. Despite this, the glass is compared to crystal for its sheer quality and the complexity of its chemical composition.  Valclav Havel ©Pajer Alan Vaclav Havel was born in Prague in 1936. The fact that he came from a wealthy family of intellectuals made it impossible for him to continue his secondary education in what was now a communist country. He joined the theatre as a prop man and had his first play The Garden Party performed in 1963. The measures taken by the Czechoslovakian government after the Prague Spring obliged him to leave the capital and also led to him becoming more actively involved in the opposition to the communist regime. In 1975, he wrote a letter to President Husak openly criticising his government. In January 1977, he signed Charter 77, an organisation for the defence of human rights including several Czechoslovakian dissidents. He was subsequently imprisoned on several occasions. In prison, he wrote his Letters to Olga, his wife. He published three other plays which were performed internationally. In 1989, Vaclav Havel was catapulted to the forefront of the political scene by the “Citizens’ Forum” which brought together opponents to communist rule. The same year, he was elected as President of Czechoslovakia, and subsequently re-elected following the division of the country into the Czech and Slovak Republics, becoming the first President of the Czech Republic. Re-elected in 1998, he decided not to stand again in 2003. Today, he intends to devote himself once again to his writing.  Charles Bridge ©Czech National Office of Tourism Following detailed calculations by astrologers, the first stone of Charles Bridge was laid in 1357 on July 9th (therefore in the seventh month) at 05.31. All of this precision was aimed at observing the horoscope for the building of the bridge, involving a mathematical series of odd numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 7, 5, 3, 1. It was Otto Wichterle, a Czech chemist, who developed the first flexible hydrophilic contact lenses in 1963. Most soft lenses are still produced based on the material discovered by Wichterle. | |
