While the Czech Republic is the heart of Europe, Prague is its soul. Situated in the fertile basin of the river Vltava Prague has from time immemorial been a junction of European trade routes, attracting businessmen as well as artists since ancient times. Since the 10th century, it was the seat of Czech kings and princes. First a settlement around Prague Castle and, later the Vysehrad Castle, it became a town with all its privileges in the 1230s, and developed into a self-confident agglomeration of Prague towns. Prague became the centre of the medieval Roman Empire and the number of inhabitants made it the third largest city in Europe. Under Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century, it was one of the capitals of the Christian world, the seat of the first trans-alpine university and a huge building works. 250 years later, during the reign of Rudolph II, Prague was a mysterious metropolis full of artists, scientists and learned rabbis. The Baroque entered Prague, and the domes of its churches, the palace courtyards and gardens have since adorned the historic part of the town with the ancient Old Town horologe, the only just measure of its time.

Hundreds of years of architectural development resulted in an exceptionally large collection of splendid buildings with a unique concentration of artistic treasures. The architectural styles merge in Prague in a singular way and the result is a city with a very special atmosphere. Romanesque monasteries, a Gothic cathedral, Renaissance palaces and gardens, Baroque churches, Classicist manors, Art Nouveau and Cubist structures, as well as contemporary architecture, which have recently won the prestigious award of Time magazine, Prague has all of it. It is also home to a unique complex of Jewish monuments in the area of the former medieval ghetto. The unique relics surviving in the Jewish Town rank among the earliest in Europe. People of most religious beliefs would find their place of worship in the city. The most valuable part of the city centre was in 1981 designated a protected zone and in 1992 it was included in the list of UNESCO's world cultural heritage.

Although the narrow lanes of the Old Town and Mala Strana invite to romantic walks, Prague also has its modern facets. Its Congress Centre has hosted the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund in the year 2002, many of its hotels are a part of worldwide hotel chains, and there is a wealth of luxury restaurants and shops, exhibition halls, art galleries, theatres, museums and concert halls. The choice of cultural events organized in Prague is so rich and varied that the city has been nominated as one of the European Cities of Culture for the Year 2000. The city has 36 museums, 95 art galleries, 27 theatres and 20 concert halls. Important international events take place in Prague every year, including the Prague Spring Music Festival.

Parks, forests and sporting facilities offer relaxation to everybody. Botanical gardens, the zoo, observatories and the planetarium also welcome visitors. For longer breaks, there are nature reserves within and outside the city boundaries.

The small republic in the heart of the European continent is the youngest form of the Czech state, which has been in existence for almost twelve hundred years. It is a country with a rich and eventful history, a country, or more precisely a union of several historic lands, with a rich cultural and artistic tradition imprinted on hundreds and thousands of towns, castles, chateaux and religious structures all over Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, as well as on the cultivated Czech landscape itself.

Geographically, the Czech Republic and its historical lands (Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia) are divided into 14 local administrative units controlled by regional administrations. Small as they are, the individual provinces have a lot to offer within a few miles because they often have significant differences in history and development.

In Bohemia, a wall of border mountain ranges and hills has protected from time immemorial the lowlands around the river Vltava and particularly around the calm Labe River against northern winds and enemy invasions. South Bohemia is a region with probably the highest number of historic monuments that are still bustling with activity. Its many castles, chateaux and historic towns, among them Hluboka, Rozmberk, Cesky Krumlov, Jindrichuv Hradec, Telc, and Trebon invite to a visit.
A half-hour flight from Prague takes you to the more remote part of the Czech Republic, Moravia, whose capital Brno has become known as a congress and exhibition centre. The south of Moravia is known for the excellent wines produced in its extensive vineyards. Here you will also find the plum orchards, from which emanates the familiar smell of the Slovácko plum brandy.
Bohemia, Moravia, and the harsher, heavily industrialized Silesia have one thing in common - the human dimension of the landscape, which is not one of crushing monumentality but rather an inviting, and cozy one.

The moment a foreign visitor crosses any one of the frontier mountains or the Austrian-Moravian river Dyje, he enters an extremely varied natural environment, filled with changing landscapes of historical towns and castles. He encounters boundless forests in the Sumava mountains, the harsh Krkonose or Giant Mountains (the two mountain chains declared National Parks), the melancholy Jeseniky or Ash Mountains as well as the bright Beskydy Mountains. Even today beautiful works of folk architecture adorns the slopes of all these ranges. Inland the visitor would see the hills of the Czech Central Highlands (volcanic origin) along with tortuous ravines among which rise hundreds of sandstone towers: the landscapes of the Bohemian Paradise and the Prachovske Skaly. Or he might prefer to seek out the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the South Moravian country along the Dyje River, the most beautiful parts of which from another National Park. The charms of the Moravian and Bohemian Karst and the Jizerske Mountains await their discoverers.

A counterpart of its natural environment is the culture of a country, and the Czech Republic can compete with the rest of Europe even in this respect... Important monuments of all architectural styles can be seen not only in the capital city of Prague, with its important historical buildings, museums and art galleries, large music and theatre ensembles, but also in dozens of urban monument reserves throughout the Republic. The Czech Republic has been known as the country of castles and chateaux many of which lie within these urban monument reserves. A large number of chateaux and castles have been renovated in recent years and offer visitors not only the informative tours provided by guides but also museum collections and classical music concerts. The many castle ruins will inspire romantic natures. Cities like Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Telc, Zdar nad Sazavou, Kutna Hora and Lednice - Valtice Complex are included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition to the many festivals, that have been taking place regularly in Vsetin, Kyjov and Straznice for many years already, folk tradition and customs can be found throughout both Bohemia and Moravia at every time of the year: Shrovetide, Easter, Witches' Day, Royal Ride, grain harvest and vintage festivals are just a few examples. One only has to select the right region at the right time to see with one's own eyes that Czech folklore in is still alive and holding a leading position in Europe.

History

The most important historical eras of the Czech Lands are the epoch of the Great Moravian Empire, marked by the influence of Slavonic liturgy (9th century), the reign of the Bohemian princes and kings of the house of Premyslids (9th to 13th century) and, later on, the reign of Charles IV (1316-1378). Also very significant are the period of the Hussite religious and social revolutions (early 15th century) and the pedagogical activities of J. A. Komensky (Comenius, 1670). This leads us into the time of the anti-Hussite counter-reformation, marked with conflicts but also with collaboration with the German element. This period brings us to the time of the National Revival (19th century) and, finally, to the birth of independent Czechoslovakia (1918). In recent history the Treaty of Munich, World War II and forty years of Soviet Communist rule heavily suppressed the country. This time of trials was interrupted by short flashes of hope in the course of the first post-war years and by the Prague Spring of 1968. The "Velvet Revolution" of autumn 1989, headed by Vaclav Havel, gave the impulse for a regeneration of the whole country. Nonetheless, this was the time when in Slovakia tendencies for independence began to rise. The Czech Republic has become one of the most visited countries of Europe.

Entrance to the Czech Republic and visas

The Czech Republic is a member of the European Union. Citizens of EU countries, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland may stay temporarily within the territory of the Czech Republic without any permit whatsoever on the basis of a travel document or ID card. A notification obligation does however apply for this group for stays longer than 3 months. You must notify the pertinent inspectorate of the foreign police service.

All citizens of countries with which an agreement on visa-less relations has been concluded require is a passport. A list of these countries can be found here.

Citizens of certain countries need to arrange a visa to enter the Czech Republic. A list of countries with a visa liability can be found here.

Currency, payments, tips and post

Currency

Although the Czech Republic is a member of the EU, it is not so far a member of the Eurozone and for this reason, the euro is not the official currency here (yet despite this it is possible to exchange euro for Czech crowns without any problems).

The official currency is called the crown, which is made up of 100 hellers. Small coins start at 1 crown coin, followed by the 2 crown coin, 5 crown coin, 10 crown coin, 20 crown coin and 50 crown coin. Banknotes begin with the 100 crown note, followed by the 200 crown note, 500 crown note, 1,000 crown note, 2,000 crown note and 5,000 crown note.

You can find out the crown exchange rate from the European Central Bank.

Exchanging money

There are three basic methods of changing money:

• Banks – they have a good exchange rate, but are not usually open in the evening or at weekends,
• Hotels – they have worse exchange rates, but smaller amounts in euro are not usually a problem almost any time of the day or night
• Bureaux de change – there are relatively large differences between them. For example, some bureaux de change do not charge a fee for the exchange, but have a worse exchange rate. The best idea is to first ask how much money you will get and calculate the actual exchange rate yourself.

If you have an international payment card, you can of course pay directly using this or withdraw cash from a bank machine.

Payments

Payment cards are regularly accepted in shops and also in some restaurants in large cities. Traveller’s cheques issued by internationally acknowledged companies are mostly accepted by Czech banks without any problems.

Tips

It is usual to leave a tip in restaurants – especially as an expression of your satisfaction with the services of the establishment. A member of staff usually brings the bill and leaves. When he or she returns, it is up to you to say how much you actually want to pay. Another option is to pay the precise amount and to leave the tip on the table. Tips are usually left at the level of roughly 10 percent of the bill.

Post

The main supplier of postal services in the Czech Republic is Czech Post. They deliver letters and packages all over the world. You can calculate the price of a letter or package here.
Delivery and courier services also regularly operate in the Czech Republic, for example FedEx and others.

Language

The official language in the Czech Republic is Czech, which is a Slavonic language (the same as Slovak, Polish, Serbian, Russian, Croatian or Bulgarian). It is sometimes possible to make yourself understood in English or Russian. German is a little less widespread. The deaf can make themselves understood more easily, if they use Italian or Austrian sign language, which are to a certain extent similar to Czech sign language. On the contrary, ASL or Asian sign languages are very different from Czech sign language.

Time and climate

Time zone and time

The 24-hour clock is generally used in the Czech Republic in printed materials and on digital clocks. The 12-hour clock is also used when speaking colloquially or in relation to analogue clocks.
The week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday. Saturday and Sunday are not working days. The time zone GMT (UTC) +1 applies throughout the territory of the whole Czech Republic, i.e. CET (+0). Winter and summer time are used in the Czech Republic. The clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March at 2:00 CET to 3:00 CEST. The clocks then go back on the last Sunday in October from 3:00 CEST to 2:00 CET. Summer time (an hour more) thus applies here from roughly April to October.

Climate and weather

This landlocked country in the centre of Europe does not abound in extremes. The climate is moderate with four seasons. People ski in the mountains in winter and the hot summer is excellent for bathing. When there is more substantial rainfall in the summer or when the snow and ice melt in the spring, there are sometimes problems here with local flooding, especially in the areas along the rivers (the same as in the whole of Europe). Cities are however well prepared for these situations and the capital for example has established a special system for protection against flooding.

Important telephone numbers

You should have certain telephone numbers with you at all times or know them by heart. The numbers of the most important institutions, which you might need, are mostly three digits. You can get through to these wherever you are at any time free of charge.
112 emergency calls (this number works throughout the whole of Europe and includes universal medical aid, the police and the fire brigade – but it need not necessarily work on older mobile telephones without SIM cards)

• Fire Brigade 150
• Medical First Aid 155
• Police 158
• Municipal Police 156 (they have limited authority and resolve smaller, local problems

Recommended links

http://www.czechtourism.com/Homepage.aspx
http://www.praguewelcome.cz/en/