About the Czech republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe bordering with Poland (NE), Slovakia (E), Austria (SE) and Germany (NW). It includes three main regions: Bohemia, Moravia and parts of Silesia, which together spread over the area of about 78,886 km2 and that makes the Czech Republic 114th in the world. In 2006, the population was estimated at 10,280,968, in the process of which, about 1,186,618 people live in the state’s capital - Prague. Concerning politics, the Czech Republic is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy with the President Václav Klaus being the head of the state. The Czech Republic joined NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. It is also a member of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development), the Visegrád Group, a.k.a. the Visegrád Four (V4), and the Council of Europe.
Relating to the name of the state, there are still disputes going on. The official name, according to the constitution, is “Czech Republic” and the word “Czechia” is a short equivalent, yet many inhabitants do not like this short form at all.
History
The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, right after the end of World War I and Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk became its first President. After that, nine Presidents changed in the head of the state; along with them even the official name changed for a several times. The greatest radical change came in November 1989 through a peaceful so-called “Velvet Revolution” during which Czechoslovakia returned to a multi-party political system. But only four years later, in January 1993, the republic split into two – the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. So, the very first President of the independent Czech Republic became a Czech writer and dramatist, Václav Havel. But on February 28, 2003, he retired and to his place succeeded the Prime Minister of that time, Václav Klaus.
Climate
Since the Czech Republic does not have any access to sea, it has a temperate, continental climate with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy winters with snow. Because of its geographical position, the temperature difference between summers and winters is pretty high. The coldest months are January, February and December. During these there is usually snow even in Prague and lowlands. It, however, tends to melt very soon, so the winter is usually only wet. On the other hand, summers are much warmer and the average temperatures ranges from 22 to 29°C but it is not actually very usual to experience temperatures above 30°C.
Geography
The Czech landscape is truly quite varied; Bohemia to the west consists of a basin, drained by the Labe and Vltava rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains such as Krkonoše, where you can also find the highest peak in the country, the Sněžka (1,602 meters). Moravia, the eastern part, is also quite hilly and is drained predominantly by the Morava river, but also contains the source of the Odra river. Despite being landlocked, water from the Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea. The Czech Republic also possesses a 30,000 m² exclave in the middle of Hamburg docks which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported downriver could be transferred to seagoing ships; this territory reverts to Germany in 2018.