Presentation by The Pavel Krizkovsky High School Brno, Czech Republic

1. Welcome to the

3. Where exactly is it ?

4. Geography The Bohemian Massif represents the major part of the Czech Republic and consists of a huge basin called the Bohemian Plateau. It is encircled by mountains: in the southwest there are the Šumava Mountains with the Bohemian Forest, in the west there are the Berounka River highlands and the Ore Mountains in the northwest form the frontier with Germany. The Sudeten Mountains in the northeast form most of the border with Poland and contain the country's highest peak Mount Sněžka (1 602 metres) in the Giant Mountains. In the south of the Bohemian Plateau there are the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands with the Moravian Karst . The Czech Republic is situated in a temperate zone of the northern hemisphere.

5. Lowest point: source of the River Labe (115 m above-sea-level, Hřensko) Biggest dam: Lipno (4,870 hectares) Biggest natural lake: Černé jezero (18.4 hectares) Longest river: Vltava (433 km) Highest point: Mount Sněžka (1 602 m above-sea level, Giant Mountains)

7. The Nazi Germany occupied the Sudetenland in October 1938, with the acceptance of France and Britain, after the Munich Agreement. Germany occupied Bohemia and Moravia in March 1939. Czechoslovakia was reestablished as an independent state after World War II in 1945. The Communists won the 1946 elections and ruled the country until November 1989. In the 1960s Czechoslovakia enjoyed a gradual liberalization under the reformist general secretary of the Czechoslovak Communist Party, Alexander Dubček but this short period was crushed by a Soviet invasion in August 1968. At the beginning of the 20th century Bohemia was a part of the Austrian Empire. After World War I in 1918 Czechoslovakia declared its independence. The new republic was established from three parts: Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. Tomáš Garigue Masaryk , a popular personality, became the first president.

9. G o v e r n m e n t Country name: Česká republika Capital: Praha (Prague) Government type: Parliamentary democracy Administrative divisions : 13 regions and the capital city Executive power : A dministered by the president (currently Václav Klaus ) who is the head of state and is elected by both chambers of Parliament for five yea rs . The president appoints a prime minister (currently Mirek Topolánek) who l eads the government . Legislative branch : I. e. the Parliament which consists of the Senate ( its members are elected for six years; i. e. o ne third is elected every two years) and the Chamber of Deputies ( its members are elected for four years ). G o v e r n m e n t

10. PRAHA Prague (Praha) is the capital of the Czech Republic. Lying at the heart of Europe, it is one of the finest cities. It i s situated on the Vltava river in central Bohemia and is home to approximately 1.2 million people.

11. BRNO The city represents the centre of the province of Moravia, one of the historic lands of the Czech Crown. It is home to approximately 360 000 people.

13. The 12 Wonders of the UNESCO list

15. Various i nformation Changing money The best way to change money is at one of the major banks which generally charge the lowest commissions. American Express trave l lers cheques can be paid out at the American Express office for local currency without commission. Minor exchange offices can be convenient but they sometimes charge higher commissions and there is a risk of hidden costs. Street exchanges can be very dangerous because they can sell you worthless fake papers instead of Czech crowns. Weather Cold winters and warm summers. The wettest seasons are spring and summer. Maximum temperatures in summer are usually bellow 30ºC (86ºF) and minimum in winter are about - 10ºC (14ºF). Currency Czech currency unit is the Czech crown (Česká koruna, Kč, CZK). The Czech currency is in a rate between 23 and 2 8 Kč to a US dollar. For exact exchange rates look at Czech National Bank exchange rate .