The Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is situated in central Europe and consists of three parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia. It's surrounded by four countries: Poland, Slovakia, Germany, and Austria. Czech people say that the country lies in the heart of Europe.

It is an inland country - there is no sea, but there are some big artificial lakes, for example Lipno, Orlík or Slapy. All of these three dams have been built on the Vltava River, which is the longest river of our state. Other important rivers are the Elbe, which is considered to be the biggest, the Morava and the Oder. They are all navigable and used for transport. The Vltava flows through Prague, the capital. The Czech Republic is also rich in ponds. They are numerous especially in South Bohemia.

Mountain ranges form natural borders of our country. They are the Krušné Mountains in the west, the Šumava in the south and the Giant Mountains (called the Krkonoše in Czech) in the north. They are the highest Czech mountains and Sněžka, the highest mountain of the republic, is situated there. The Jizerské Mountains and Orlické Mountains form our border with Poland. All the mountain ranges are frequently visited by tourists, especially in winter when you can go skiing there, although they are very interesting in every season of the year.

But Czech nature can offer much more. Near Hořovice there is for example the protected landscape area Český Kras with famous stalactite caves called Koněpruské jeskyně or Křivoklátsko - another protected landscape area, which is also a biosphere reserve of UNESCO. Beside that, there is the Brdy mountain range, where you can find places very similar to Šumava. I like these places very much and I often visit them. I walk there with my dog, take photographs and enjoy the beauty of the countryside.

Ofcourse the Czech Republic is not only the nature. There are many interesting and beautiful towns and cities too. My favourite ones are Prague and Český Krumlov.

Prague is the capital of the republic. It has a population of about 1.2 million people. There are lots of places to go and things to see. My favourite places in Prague are the Old Town Square, Charles' bridge and Malá Strana. Speaking about places to go for entertainment, I like Balbín's Poetic Pub in Vinohrady, where a lot of cultural events take place, such as concerts of interesting groups and singers. My favourite theatre is Jára Cimrman's Theatre of Žižkov. Svěrák and Smoljak's humour is intelligent and absolutely unique. Lots of people like it and you have to queue several hours early in the morning to get the tickets.

Český Krumlov lies in the south of Bohemia on the Vltva River, near the Šumava. It's protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. There is a beautiful castle and many medieval buildings. The town center is surrounded by the meandering river almost all around and it's very picturesque. There are lots of nice restaurants where you can get typical Czech meals. Unfortunately, the town is more and more becoming just a tourist attraction rather than a place for people to live. The new owners are rebuilding the historical houses and changing them into expensive hotels for foreign tourists, often breaking the law. You can hear more English or German than Czech there. It's the place with the highest concentration of American citizens in our republic. I hope it won't become a Disneyland.

The Czech Republic has a large number of spas. Spa services have a long tradition here. The most famous spa town is probably Karlovy Vary. Other famous spas are for example Mariánské Lázně, Františkovy Lázně or Jánské Lázně.

Our country is quite rich in minerals. Traditionally the main industry area is in the northern part of the country, where black and brown coal are mined. That is also the area with the most damaged environment. The thermal power stations produce huge amounts of sulphure oxides, which cause acid rains and kill moutain forests. Especilally the Krušné Mountains are well known for large areas of dead forests. The open-pit mining of brown coal changes the landscape into moonscape. Whole villages have been destroyed and the people forced to move into ugly blocks of flats during the communist era. Now there are two nuclear power plants in the Czech Republic - in Dukovany and Temelín. The construction of the latter was quite controversial and accompanied by many protests, supported by Austrian environmentalists.

The lowlands are important for agriculture. The most extensive and fertile Czech lowland is Polabská. The land along the banks of the river Morava is very fertile too. Our country is self-sufficient in food production. Sunflowers, maize, fruits and vegetables are grown there. In higher areas turnips, barley and wheat are grown. The highlands and mountain areas are suitable mainly for growing potatoes and breeding cattle.

The most frequently used means of transport are rail and road. The Czech Republic has got the densest railway network of all European countries.

Our country is a member of the European Union and NATO.

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