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Location: Central Europe,
southeast of Germany
Lowest point: Elbe River
115 m
Highest point: Snezka 1,602
m
Capital: Prague
Religion: Roman Catholic
26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59%
Languages Spoken: Czech
See also: Languages
spoken in Europe, Languages of
the world
Information & Brief History
Following the First World War, the
closely related Czechs and Slovaks of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire
merged to form Czechoslovakia. During the interwar years, the new country's
leaders were frequently preoccupied with meeting the demands of other ethnic
minorities within the republic, most notably the Sudeten Germans and the
Ruthenians (Ukrainians). After World War II, a truncated Czechoslovakia
fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1968, an invasion by Warsaw
Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize Communist
party rule and create "socialism with a human face." Anti-Soviet demonstrations
the following year ushered in a period of harsh repression. With the collapse
of Soviet authority in 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom through
a peaceful "Velvet Revolution." On 1 January 1993, the country underwent
a "velvet divorce" into its two national components, the Czech Republic
and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union
in 2004.
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Czech
Republic