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CZECH REPUBLIC. The Czech Republic geography. The Czech Republic spreads over a total area of 79,000 square kilometers .
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TheCzechRepublicspreadsover a total area of 79,000 square kilometers. GeographyoftheCzechRepublicismarked by a terrain,whichisvery diverse andincludesplateaus, highlands, as well as lowlands. Thehighestmountainsofit are the Krkonoše (theGiantMountains) withthehighestpeakofSněžka(SnowmountorSnowdon, 1,602 m=5,256 ft).
TheCzechRepublicis a landlocked country in CentralEurope. The country isbordered by Germany to theWest, Poland to theNorth, Austria to theSouthandSlovakia to theEast. Itscapitalandlargest city, with 1.3 millioninhabitants, isPrague.
TheCzechlandscapeisexceedinglyvaried. Bohemia, to thewest, consistsof a basindrained by theElbeandtheVltava (orMoldau) rivers, surrounded by mostlylowmountains, such as theKrkonoše (theGiantMountains). Therethehighest point in the country, Sněžka (1,602 m=5,256 ft) islocated. Moravia, theeastern part ofthe country, isalsoquitehilly. Itisdrainedmainly by theMorava River.
TheCzechRepublic has thecontinentalclimate, withrelativelyhotsummersandcold, cloudyandsnowywinters.
Populationofthecities Praha (capital city) - 1 272 690 Brno - 384 277 Ostrava - 302 456 Plzeň - 169 688 Liberec - 102 247 Olomouc - 100 043 Ústí nad Labem - 95 003 Hradec Králové - 94 242 České Budějovice - 93 883 Pardubice - 91 073 Ethnicgroups Czechs – 63.7%Moravians – 4.9%Slovaks – 1.4%others – 29.9%
Prague is the capital and the largest city of the Czech Republic and the 14th largest city in the European Union. It is situated slightly North of Central Bohemia on the Vltava river.
Transportation Metro: Metro isthemainmeansof transport forthewhole city. There are currentlythreelines in operation. Thefirst line C wascommissioned in 1974 andthenthereweregradually put intooperationlines A and B. Thetotallengthofallthe Metro linesisnearly 50 km andit has a totalof 51 stations. In 1997, Metro transported 407 010 000 passengers, whichcorresponds to 38 per cent ofthem in public transport.
Tram: Tram service remains an important element in the outlook of public transport. It is the second most significant part of the public transport network. Buses: Prague is an important national and international crossroads of bus services.Bus service is a very important part of the public transport. It mainly provides connections to the Metro, rail and tram transport.
Airtransportation: Perspectiveinternationalanddomesticairpassengerandfreight transport willcontinuouslybeimplementedatPrague-RuzyneAirport. Due to thegrowthof transport volumesandexpandingqualitativedemands on airporttransportationitwillbefurthermodernized . Itscompletionwillincreasetraffic volume to 7 millionpassengers per year. Itwillincreasecapacityforfreightspace by constructingnewbuildings.
MonumentsofPrague´s HistoricalReserve Churchesandchapels: St. Vitus, St. Wenceslasand St. Adalbert´s Cathedral St. George´s Basilica ChapeloftheHolyCross AllSaints´ Church ChurchofOur Lady beforeTyn St. Nicholas´ Church (in theLesserTown) ChurchofOur Lady Victorious (Prague´s Infant Jesus) Bethlehemchapel St. Peter and Paul´s Church St. Martin´s Rotunda Palace: KinskyPalace CzerninPalace WallensteinPalace Monasteries: Strahov Monastery EmmausMonastery St. AgnesConvent Monasteryofthe Augustinians
BuildingsforEduca-tionandCulture: Carolinum (Charles University) TheNationalTheatre TheNational Museum Clementinum (University Library) Rudolphinum (The House ofArtists) Otherstructures: Charles Bridge TheOldTownTownHall TheMunicipal House
PragueCastle PragueCastlewasfounded in 870 by Prince BorivojofthePřemyslids. Sincethedaysofwoodenpalisades, however, it has changeditsface many times. Thecastlegrew, lived to seegreatalterationsespecially in thetimesofEmperor Charles IV (in the 14th ct) whoalsostartedtheconstructionof St. Vitus´s which has becomeoneofPrague's dominants (thoughitwasbeingcompleteduntilthe 20th century). ThecathedralisalsotherestingplaceofCzechkingsincludingtheCzech patron - St. Wenceslas. Itwasalsothesiteofroyalcoronations.PragueCastleisnowthebiggestcastlecomplex in Europe, thatrepresentsallarchitecturalstylesofthepreviousmillennium.
Charles Bridge Charles Bridgeisoneofthe most beautifulbridges in theworldandtheoldestPrague´s one. It´s almost 10 meterswideand 516 m longresting on 16 arches. On itsbothsidesthere are thefortifiedtowers - theOldTownTowerand on theothersidetwoLesserTownTowers.Thebridgeisdecoratedwith 30 baroquestatuesmostlyfromtheearly 18th century, depictingsaints, historicalandbiblicalfigures.
AstronomicalClock Fromthe 15th centurytheAstronomicalClockisoneoftherarestand most famoussights. Itislocated in theGothictoweroftheOldTownTownhall. Theclockis a masterpieceoftheCzechGothic science and technology and a magnificentartistic monument. Everyhourfrom 9.00 am to 7pm in itstwowindows 12 statuesoftheApostlesreveal. According to legend, Praguecouncilorsmadethe master whobuilttheclock blind sothat he could not make a copy oftheastronomicalclockanywhereelse.
Petrin PetrinHillisthehighestone in Prague.Itisrenownedforitsgardensandorchardsandis a popularplaceforlovers. The dominant feature isits Look-outTower.Thereisalso a Mirror Maze andObservatory. Thefunicularrailridesthere - from Újezd to the summit (elevationdifferenceis 130.5 meters). Traincarshavethesameslope as istheslopeofthe track, i.e. 45 grades.
Vyšehrad Vysehrad, according to a legend istheoldestseatofCzech princes. Attheturnofthe 11th and 12 centuryitwastheheadquartersoftheCzechruler. Thereis a preciousRomanesque rotunda of St. Martin fromthe 11th centuryand a neo-Gothic St Peter and Paul´s church, VysehradCemeteryandCasemates. ThecemeteryandthetombSlavin (www.slavin.cz) istheplacewhere more than 600 prominent reprezentativesoftheCzechnation are buried. Currently, thereisanexhibitionhall, calledGorlice, whereoriginalstatuesfrom Charles Bridge are on display.
TheNationalTheatre Thetheatrewasfirstopened in 1881. Therewas a totalof 12 performancesonly. On 12th August 1881 therewas a fire, whichdestroyedthecopper dome, the auditorium, thecurtain by FrancisZenisekandthestageofthetheatre.Thefirewasseen as a "nationalcatastrophe" andcaused a hugecommitment to thenewcollection: within 47 daysonemillionguilderswascollected. Thebuildingwascompletedafterthefire by prof. architect Josef Schulz. Therestoredtheatrewasopened on 18th November 1883 by the performance of Smetana's Libuseagain.
TheNational Museum The museum wasfounded in 1818 underthenameofthePatriotic Museum in Bohemia. Since 1848 itwasnamedCzech museum, in the period 1854-1919 the Museum ofCzechkingdom. Beforebuilding a new museum buildingitwastemporarilyhoused in theSternberg (1821-1846) andNosticPalaces (1846-1892) In 1968 its front wasdamaged by missilesoftheSovietArmy. In the 1970s thewallsofthe Museum hall had to bebetterreinforceddue to theconstructionofPrague´s Metro then.