Real Estate Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a Central European state bordering on Poland (border 658 km long) in the north, Germany (646 km) in the west and north-west, Austria (362 km) in the south and Slovakia (214 km) in the east. The border is 1880 km long total. The Czech Republic was formed after the historic regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and part of Silesia were merged.

According to the constitution, the Czech Republic is a parliamentary democracy. The head of the state, the president, is elected by the parliament every 5 years. The president can offer candidates for Constitutional Court judges, dismiss the parliament in certain situations and veto the laws. The president also appoints the prime minister who defines inner and foreign policy, as well as other cabinet members on the prime minister's suggestion.

The Czech Parliament consists of two chambers, Poslanecka snemovna (chamber of deputies) and Senat (the Senate). 200 chamber delegates are elected for a 4-year term, on the basis of proportional representations. 81 senate members occupy their posts during 6 years, with one third of the senate re-elected every two years at majority elections held in two rounds.

The Chamber of Deputies is the main legislative body which may raise the question of confidence to the government if not less than 50 members vote for it. A draft law passed by the chamber of deputies may not be passed by the senate. Unlike the senate, the chamber of deputies may be dismissed by the president before the term ends, and pre-term election may be announced.

The Supreme Court is the highest court of appellate jurisdiction. The constitutional courts which regulates constitutional issues is appointed by the president for a 10 year term.

The landscape of Czechia is really varied. Bohemia, the western part, is situated in the basins of the Elbe (Labe) and Vltava (Moldau), surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the Sudetes with its part Krkonoše, where the highest point in the country, the Snezka mountain, 1 602 metres (5,256 ft) high is situated. Moravia, the eastern part, is also rather hilly and is drained predominantly by the Morava (March) river, and also contains the source of the Odra (Oder) river. Water from the landlocked Czech Republic flows to three different seas, the North Sea, Baltic Sea and Black Sea.

The climate is temperate, the summers are warm with cold, cloudy, damp winters, defined by the combination of maritime and continental influences. The summer average temperature is +20° C, with -5° C in winter.

The majority of the inhabitants (95%) of the Czech Republic are Czechs speaking the Czech language which belongs to the Slavic group of languages. Germans, Roma, Hungarians, Ukrainians, Poles and Jews are among other major ethnic groups. After Czechoslovakia was divided in 1993 some Slovaks remained in Czechia, currently making up to 2% of the population. The Czechia-Slovakia border is open for former Czechoslovakia citizens.

As for religion, 27% are Catholic, 1% Protestant, 1% Jews. Most people describe themselves as atheists (59%), and 11% are not sure about their beliefs.

The Czech economy is the most stable and prosperous among all post-communist countries. During the 1990s fundamental changes took place in Czechia's industrial and economical relations, including major and minor privatizations, restitutions, reconstructions, technical modernization due to state provision and foreign investment. A certain depression was typical for the Czech economy up to the late 1999. The growth of 2000-2001 was brought about mainly by export of raw materials to the EU, mostly Germany, and growth in foreign investment and home demand. High fiscal and current account deficits could become problems in future.

Czech's agriculture now fully covers the home demand. The republic produces enough wheat, barley, corn, sugar beet, flax, sunflower, rape and other greens. Hop-growing, viticulture, gardening are popular. Stock raising includes breeding of pigs, poultry, bees, fish and cattle.

Czechia's major natural resources are coal, white porcelain clay, uranium. The deposits of oil and gas are moderate.

The fundamental sources of Czech energy are Temelin and Dukovany, coal and nuclear power plants. Metallurgy, machinery construction, textile, food, electrical and car industries are among the key industries.

Construction and telecommunications are developing rapidly. Foreign trade brought great profits in 2005 though it was not so developed before.

In 2995 the Czech Republic became a member of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Czechia is situated between two mountain systems. The western and central parts of the country are occupied by the hilly uplands known as Ceská vysocina and by the low mountain ranges Šumava, Ceský les, Krušné hory, Krkonoše, Orlické hory, and the Západní Karpaty mountains (Beskydy) in the eastern part. The climate is temperate, between maritime and continental. The average January temperature is -2 degrees Celsius, the average temperature of July is 20-22 degrees. There is not too much snow in winter which is also not too cold, though the situation is different in the mountains. If you are into mountain skiing, your period for visiting Czechia is from December to March. Autumns are mostly dry and warm.

Presumably, by the middle of the 21^st century there may be about 7 829 000 people in Czechia, almost 40% of them over 60 years of age. The average age has grown from 38 to 53.5 years. There were 10 235 365 in the country by June 30^th, 2005.

The Czech language is the only official language in the republic, having two dialects, Czech and Moravian.

There are four national reserves in Czechia. These are Bohemian Switerzland, established on January 1^st, 2000, where the main object of preservation is sandstone. It occupises 79 sq. km. The Krkonose National Park is situated in north-eastern Czechia, bordering on Poland, with total territory about 548 sq. km. This park is precious for its location on the crossroads of air streams from the Atlantic to Antarctica, becoming the place of intensive fauna migration. In 1991 Podyji National Park was proclaimed, being the smallest park and occupying about 63 sq.km. This park is situated across the Dyje river which runs from Vranov to Znojmo, creating canyon-like valleys up to 200 m. deep. Sumava Park is a huge system of Central European forests. Dozens of endangered species of plants and animals live and breed there. The wild stream of the Vidra river, Plesne lake, Vltava sources surrounded by near-virgin nature � it's more than worth seeing with your own eyes!

Czechia even has volcanoes situated in Western Bohemia. Among them we can mention the crater of Komorni Hurka, an extinct volcano. Here, between Heb and Františkovy Lázne, in the vast marshland of Slavkov forest, there are plenty of mud volcanoes producing mineralized water. Koneprusy Caves are also worth mentioning, with their amazing karst caves which you can visit at any time of the year, unlike the Moravian karst near Brno.

History of the Czech lands

Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric human settlement in the area dating back to the Neolithic era. In the classical era, from the 3rd century BC Celtic migrations, the Boii (see Bohemia) and later in the 1st century Germanic tribes of Marcomanni and Quadi settled there. During the Migration Period of ca. the 5th century, many Germanic tribes moved westward and southward out of Central Europe. In an equally significant migration, Slavic people from the Black Sea and Carpathian regions settled in the area (a movement that was also stimulated by the onslaught of peoples from Siberia and Eastern Europe: Huns, Avars, Bulgars and Magyars). Following in the Germans' wake, they moved southward into Bohemia, Moravia, and some of present day Austria.

During the 7th century the Frankish merchant Samo, supporting the Slavs fighting their Avar rulers, became the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe. The Moravian principality arose in the 8th century (see under Great Moravia).

The Bohemian or Czech state emerged in the late 9th century when it was unified by the Premyslids. The kingdom of Bohemia was a significant local power during the Middle Ages. It was part of the Holy Roman Empire during the entire existence of this confederation.

Religious conflicts such as the 15th century Hussite Wars and the 17th century Thirty Years' War had a devastating effect on the local population. Bohemia later came under Habsburg influence and became part of Austria-Hungary.

Following the collapse of this empire after World War I, the independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918. This new country contained large German, Hungarian and Polish minorities. Although Czechoslovakia was a democratic and liberal state guaranteeing and also implementing cultural and language rights to its minorities (schools in German language areas were entirely German), the centralistic state did not grant its minorities territorial political autonomy, which resulted in discontent and strong support among the minorities to break away from Czechoslovakia. Hitler used the opportunity and, supported by Konrad Henlein's Sudeten German Party, gained the majority German speaking Sudetenland through the Munich Agreement. Poland occupied areas with Polish minority around Ceský Tešín, while Slovakia gained greater autonomy, with the state being renamed to "Czecho-Slovakia". Eventually Slovakia broke away further in March 1939 and the remaining Czech territory was occupied by Hitler who installed the so-called Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which was proclaimed part of the Reich and where the Protectorate President and Prime Minister were subordinate to the Nazi Reichsprotektor ('imperial protector'). Approximately 125,000 citizens, including 83,000 Jews, were killed, and hundreds of thousand of others were sent to prisons and concentration camps or forced labour. The Czechoslovak government-in-exile and its army fighting against Nazis were acknowledged by Allies.

In 1945-6 almost the entire German minority of pre-War Czechoslovakia, about 3 million people, were expelled to Germany and Austria. During this time, hundreds of thousand of Germans were held in prisons, detention camps, and used in forced labour. In the summer of 1945, there were several massacres with at least 20,000 deaths. Only 250,000 Germans who had been active in the resistance against the Nazis or were necessary for the economy were allowed to stay, though many of them emigrated later.

Czechoslovakia uneasily tried to play "bridge" between the West and East; however the strengthening Communist Party of Czechoslovakia took over in February 1948, bringing the country within the Soviet sphere of influence. In August 1968, an invasion by Warsaw Pact troops ended the efforts of the country's leaders to liberalize party rule and create "socialism with a human face" during the Prague Spring.

In November 1989, Czechoslovakia regained its political independence through a peaceful "Velvet Revolution". On January 1, 1993, the country peacefully split in two, creating the independent Czech and Slovak republics.

The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union on May 1, 2004. From 1991 the Czech Republic, then Czechoslovakia, has been a member of the Visegrad Group

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