Czech Republic

Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic

Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic

About  the Czech Republic

Czech refers to the Czech-speaking inhabitants of the Czech Republic (Česká republika). The Czech Republic has its roots in the ancient kingdoms of Bohemia (the Western part) and Moravia (the Eastern part), collectively known as the “Czech lands.” Northern Moravia also includes Silesia (Slezsko), a
historical region that lies mostly in southwestern Poland.

In the 1800s, the ethnic composition of the Czech lands was predominantly Czech or German. The Silesians (Slezané) mostly maintain their ethnic identity but are often considered a subset within the Czech culture. For centuries, the country was known as Bohemia.

CZECH REPUBLIC Fast Facts
OFFICIAL NAME: Ceska Republika (Czech Republic)
CAPITAL CITY: Praha (Prague)
AREA: 49,005 square miles
BORDERING COUNTRIES: Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Czech
POPULATION: 10 million
MAJOR ETHNIC GROUPS: Czech, Moravian, Slovak
MAJOR RELIGIONS: Catholicism