1. The Czech Republic

2. © Lenka Lexová INTRODUCTION  it's located in Central Europe  it borders on Poland in the northeast, on Germany in the west and northwest, on Austria in the south and on Slovakia in the east  the capital and largest city is Prague  the country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia  the Czech Republic has been a member of NATO since 1999 and of the European Union since 2004

3. © Lenka Lexová GEOGRAPHY  the landscape is quite varied  Bohemia consists of a basin drained by the Elbe and the Vltava river. The country is surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the Krkonoše range, Šumava, Jeseníky, Beskydy  on the river Vltava there are important damps and power stations (Slapy, Orlík)‏  national parks – Český ráj, Krkonoše, Beskydy, České Švýcarsko, Šumava, Jeseníky etc.  Třeboňsko – manmade ponds  the climate is mild continental, with relatively hot summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters

4. © Lenka Lexová POPULATION  Czech, Moravian and Silesian (94.24%)‏  minorities are: Slovaks (1.89%); Poles (0.51%); Germans (0.38%); Ukrainians (0.22%); Vietnamese (0.17%); Hungarians (0.14%); Russians (0.12%); Romani (0.11%); Bulgarians (0.04%); and Greeks (0.03%)‏  more than 200,000 Romani people  59% of the country is atheist or non-believer, 26.8% is Roman Catholic and 2.5% is Protestant

5. © Lenka Lexová POLITICAL SYSTEM  it is parliamentary democratic country  the Prime Minister is the head of government  the Parliament has two parts: the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate  the President is elected for a five-year term, he is a formal head of state  the Czech armed forces consist of the Army and Air Force

6. © Lenka Lexová REGIONS  Since 2000, the Czech Republic is divided into thirteen regions Prague, the capital city Central Bohemian Region - Prague South Bohemian Region - Budějovice Plzeň Region - Plzeň Karlovy Vary Region - Karlovy Vary Ústí nad Labem Region - Ústí nad Labem Liberec Region - Liberec Hradec Králové Region - Hradec Králové Pardubice Region - Pardubice Olomouc Region - Olomouc Moravian-Silesian Region - Ostrava South Moravian Region - Brno Zlín Region - Zlín Vysočina Region - Jihlava

7. © Lenka Lexová ECONOMY  most of the economy services have been privatised, including banks and telecommunications  industries - heavy and general machine-building, iron and steel production, metalworking, chemical production, electronics, textiles, glass, brewing, china, ceramics, and pharmaceuticals  agricultural products - sugarbeets, potatoes, wheat, and hops; cattle, poultry, pigs and sheep  services – banking, communication, trade  the river Elbe is important for homeland and foreign cargo shipping

8. © Lenka Lexová ŠKODA CAR MLADÁ BOLESLAV Škoda Auto is one of the largest car manufacturers in Central Europe. In 2007, 630,032 cars were sold worldwide, a record for the company.

9. © Lenka Lexová CZECH BEER

10. © Lenka Lexová TRANSPORT  Ruzyně International Airport – it´s one of the busiest airports in Central Europe. In total, Czech Republic has 46 airports with paved runways, six of which provide international air services.  České dráhy is the main railway operator in the Czech Republic, it transports cargo and passangers.  Czech motorways

11. © Lenka Lexová HISTORY  since the 3 rd century BC – Celtic tribes  the first state started in 830-833 – the Great Moravian Empire  the 2 nd half of the 9 th century – 1305 the Přemyslid dynasty  the reign of Charles IV (1346-1378) is the Golden Age of the Czech history  the founding of Charles University in Prague in 1348 and Charles Bridge 1357  since 1526-1918 the Habsburg dynasty  after WW I the Austrian-Hungarian Empire ended  on 28 September 1918 first independent Czechoslovakian Republic, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk became the president

12. © Lenka Lexová  1939 Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia established by the German Nazis  8th May 1945 end of WW II  after WW II Czechoslovakia became a Communist country within the Eastern Bloc, nationalizing of private properties, political law suits, emigration  1968 Prague Spring - a period of democratic tendencies to change the politics  stopped on 21 August 1968 by occupation by troops of the Soviet Union and of countries of the communist Warsaw Pact  1989 the Velvet Revolution – end of communism  January 1, 1993, the country peacefully split into the independent Czech Republic and Slovakia

13. © Lenka Lexová TOURISM  the historic city of Prague is the primary tourist attraction  most other towns in the country attract significant numbers of tourists, but the spa towns, such as Karlovy Vary, Mariánské Lázně and Františkovy Lázně, are particularly popular holiday destinations  many castles and chateaux, such as Karlštejn Castle, Český Krumlov, Kost and Hluboká, Orlík or the Lednice–Valtice area  Český ráj, Šumava and Krkonoše attract visitors seeking outdoor activities

14. © Lenka Lexová ČESKÝ KRUMLOV

15. © Lenka Lexová ZOO PRAGUE

16. © Lenka Lexová PILSEN

17. © Lenka Lexová HLUBOKÁ CHATEAU

18. © Lenka Lexová KARLŠTEJN CASTLE

19. © Lenka Lexová THE VLTAVA – THE LONGEST RIVER

20. © Lenka Lexová SNĚŽKA – THE HIGHEST MOUTAIN

21. © Lenka Lexová ORLÍK CHATEAU

22. © Lenka Lexová ORLÍK POWER STATION

23. © Lenka Lexová LEDNICE CHATEAU

24. © Lenka Lexová UNESCO sites in ČR  Prague  Český Krumlov  Telč  St. Jan Nepomucký Church, Žďár nad Sázavou  Kutná Hora  Lednice-Valtice area  Holašovice – a traditional village  Kroměříž Chateau and gardens  Chateau area in Litomyšl  the Column of the Holy Trinity in Olomouc  the Jewish area in Třebíč  Villa Tugendhat in Brno Source: www.wikipedia.org, www.google.com