Location: Czechoslovakia a country in central Europe. It is bounded on the north by Poland, on the east by Russia, on the south by Hungary and Austria, and on the west by Germany.

Czechoslovakia is composed of former Austrian states:

Bohemia, Moravia and parts of Silesia - and part of the former Hungarian state of Slovakia. They, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia were provinces of the Hapsburg empire. As the latter crumbled the Czechs established a republic.

October 1918. The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was formed.1920. The constitution adopted.

1940. Hitler occupies Czechoslovakia. Bohemia and Moravia established as protectorates.

1944/45. Russian and USA forces free the country. Three years later the Communist party gained control of the National Assembly.

1960. Czechoslovakia became the first Russian satellite to adopt a socialist constitution.

1989. With the collapse of Soviet authority, Czechoslovakia regained its freedom.

January 1, 1993, Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Border countries: Austria, Germany, Poland, Slovakia

Country name: Czech Republic ( Cesko/Ceska Republika )

Capital: Prague

Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic since 1993, lies on the banks of the Vltava River, its mediaeval centre dominated by the 1100-year-old castle of Prazsky.

Prague is also known as Praha in Czech and is the largest city. It is rich in historic buildings in the Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles of architecture.

Nationality: Czech

Ethnic groups: Czech, Moravian, Slovak

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Atheist

Languages: Czech

Border countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Ukraine

Country name: Slovakia ( Slovensko) or Slovak Republic ( Slovenska Republika)

Ethnic groups: Slovak, Hungarian, Roma, Ruthenian/Ukrainian

Religions: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Greek Catholic

Languages: Slovak (official), Hungarian, Roma, Ukrainian

There's Lots More To See In The Czech Republic Than Just Prague.

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in the centre of Europe. It is a country of varied natural beauty, living legends and traditions, and historical monuments that reflect rich times gone by.

The legacies left to us by our ancestors include monuments dating as far back as the Romanesque era, Gothic cathedrals, Baroque churches and palaces, ornate Renaissance houses and summer residences, fine examples of Cubist architecture, Synagogues of various styles, Art Nouveau coffee shops, and winding cobblestone streets.

Though Prague might be the first choice for travellers seeking intriguing destinations in the Czech Republic, the other regions of the country should not be missed.

The open landscape is scattered with castles, historical ruins, and chateaux.

The most distinguished people of European and world science and art have left their permanent mark on the country's history. Mozart, Kafka, Goethe, Einstein, Beethoven and Casanova are only a few of the famous citizens who were associated with the Czech lands.

Apart from the capital Prague, the Czech Republic has eleven other locations on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Located on the banks of the Vltava river, the town was built around a 13th-century castle with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque elements. It is an exceptional example of a minor European medieval town whose architectural legacy has remained intact thanks to its peaceful development over more than five centuries.

The houses in Telc, which stands on a peak, were initially constructed of wood. After a fire in the late 14th century, the town was rebuilt in stone, enclosed by walls and further strengthened by a complex of man-made ponds. The town's Gothic castle was reconstructed in High Gothic style in the late 15th century.

This pilgrimage church, built in honour of St John of Nepomuk, stands at Zelena Hora, not far from Zdar nad Sazavou in Moravia. Constructed at the turn of the 18th century on a star-shaped arrangement, it is the most remarkable work by the famous architect Jan Blazej Santini, whose highly unusual style falls between neo-Gothic and Baroque.

Kutná Hora developed as a result of the exploitation of the silver mines. In the 14th century it became a royal city endowed with monuments that symbolized its affluence.

The Church of St Barbara, a jewel of the late Gothic era, and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec, which was restored in line with the Baroque taste of the early 18th century, were to affect the architecture of central Europe.

These masterpieces today form part of a well-preserved medieval urban fabric with some exceptionally fine private homes.

Between the 17th and 20th centuries, the ruling dukes of Liechtenstein transformed their domains in southern Moravia into a remarkable landscape.

It merged Baroque architecture and the classical and neo-Gothic style of the castles of Lednice and Valtice with countryside created according to English romantic ideology of landscape architecture. At 200 sq. km, it is one of the leading simulated landscapes in Europe.

Kromeríz stands on the location of an earlier ford across the River Morava, at the foot of the Chriby mountain range which dominates the central part of Moravia.

The gardens and castle of Kromeríz are remarkably complete and well-preserved example of a European Baroque sizeable residence and its surrounding gardens.

Holašovice is an outstandingly complete and well-preserved example of a traditional central European village. It has a large number of outstanding 18th- and 19th-century vernacular buildings in a style known as 'South Bohemian folk Baroque', and preserves a ground plan dating from the Middle Ages.

Litomyšl Castle was initially a Renaissance arcade-castle of the type first developed in Italy and then adopted and greatly developed in central Europe in the 16th century.

Its design and beautification are particularly excellent, including the later High-Baroque features added in the 18th century. It preserves undamaged the range of secondary buildings associated with an aristocratic abode of this type.

This commemorative column, erected in the early years of the 18th century, is the most exceptional example of a type of monument specific to central Europe.

In the typical regional style known as Olomouc Baroque and rising to a height of 35 m, it is adorned with many fine religious sculptures, the work of the illustrious Moravian artist Ondrej Zahner.

The Tugendhat Villa in Brno, designed by the architect Mies van der Rohe, is an outstanding example of the global style in the modern progress in architecture as it developed in Europe in the 1920s. Its specific value lies in the use of ground-breaking spatial and artistic concepts that aspire to satisfy new lifestyle needs by taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by modern manufacturing.

The ensemble of the Jewish Quarter, the old Jewish cemetery and the Basilica of St Procopius in Trebíc are reminders of the co-existence of Jewish and Christian cultures from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. The Jewish Quarter bears exceptional testimony to the different aspects of the existence of this community. St Procopius Basilica, built as part of the Benedictine monastery in the early 13th century, is a remarkable model of the influence of Western European architectural tradition in this area.