Czech Gems by Lukáš Šlehofer

HERE

CZECH REPUBLIC Area: 78,864 square kilometres Population: 10,266,000 Oﬃcial language: Czech Political system: parliamentary democracy Capital: Prague

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe. It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that was shaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the country’s picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that oﬀer many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a clever choice. Welcome! Information about the Czech Republic: www.czech.cz Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.cz Radio Prague – The International Service of Czech Radio: www.radio.cz

CZECH GEMS ÂŠ Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, 2007

THE LARGEST CASTLE

PRAGUE CASTLE is the traditional residence of Czech rulers and, since 1918, the country’s presidents. Successive extensions and modifications steadily transformed the castle, established in the 9th century, into a huge complex. According to the Guinness Book of Records, its length of 570 m and width of 130 m makes it the LARGEST CASTLE IN THE WORLD. The dominant feature is St Vitus’ Cathedral, on the site of a roundhouse built in around 925. Prague Castle’s golden age came during the reign of Charles IV. The construction of the Gothic cathedral was interrupted by the Hussite Wars and was not completed until 1929. Today, besides serving as the seat of the head of state, Prague Castle is also an outstanding cultural and historical monument. The CROWN JEWELS, the mortal remains of Bohemian kings, rare Christian relics, art treasures and historical documents can all be found here.

CHARLES BRIDGE is the oldest bridge spanning the River Vltava in Prague and the second oldest bridge still standing in the Czech Republic. Work on this structure began in 1357 under the aegis of CHARLES IV and was completed in 1402. It is 515 metres long, 9.5 metres wide, and has 16 arches. Over time, it was decorated with thirty primarily BAROQUE STATUES AND SCULPTURAL GROUPS by artists such as Matyáš B. Braun, Josef Max and Jan Brokoﬀ and his sons. This bridge played a part in making Prague a crossroads of European trade routes. Originally, it was known as the Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge. The name Charles Bridge was established in around 1870, based on an earlier initiative by the poet and journalist Karel Havlíček Borovský.

A BRIDGE OVER HISTORY

The Czech Republic is a fairy-tale land of castles. There are more than 2,000 castles here, the most beautiful of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At the beginning of Czech history, fortresses were set up for defence purposes in almost impenetrable locations; later on, royal and noble castles were also built to be impressive residences. The first lavish chateaus, surrounded by stunning gardens and parks, were built in the 16th century. All these types of medieval structures have survived in Bohemia and Moravia: the castles of sovereigns (KARLŠTEJN), noble residences (ČESKÝ KRUMLOV) and architectural gems such as ČERVENÁ LHOTA (pictured). Their aﬄuent interiors and fine collections of art are a sight to behold. Many of them are open to the public.

Ministry of Foreign2007 Aﬀairs of the Czech Republic, 2007 © Ministry of Foreign Affairs of©the Czech Republic,

CASTLES

Jindřichův Hradec, a town in south Bohemia, boasts the famous KRÝZA NATIVITY SCENE – the work of the local burgher and hosiery maestro TOMÁŠ KRÝZA (1838–1918). He spent more than 60 years making the nativity scene from pasteboard (flour, sawdust, plaster and glue) and wood. He created 1,398 figures of people and animals, 133 of which have moving parts. In the centre is the impressive model of the nativity, accompanied by well-known biblical scenes. Another part depicts a poetic rural landscape and bourgeois architecture, shedding light on life in the 19th century. The nativity scene is 17 metres long, and two metres wide and high. The hand drive was replaced by electric power in 1966. Since 1998, the nativity scene has featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the LARGEST MECHANICAL FOLK NATIVITY SCENE IN THE WORLD.

NATIVITY SCENE

The village of HOLAŠOVICE is the most impressive evidence of the unique south Bohemian architecture from the latter half of the 19th century – PEASANT BAROQUE. There are 23 listed homesteads (120 buildings) here forming an integrated conservation area, complete with cowsheds, barns, stables, granaries and gates. The homesteads are spread out around a large rectangular green covering an area of 210 x 70 metres. This layout, together with the preserved stucco décor on most of the facades, lends the village an inimitable atmosphere and appearance. Holašovice was declared a conservation area in 1995. It was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 1998.

PEASANT BAROQUE

CZECH GARNET (pyrope) is the MINERALOGICAL SYMBOL of Bohemia. The garnet originating in the České středohoří mountain range is a rich red, verging on crimson; it is of precious stone quality and defects are rare. Garnet stones are small (0.2 – 0.8 cm) and exceptionally constant from the perspective of colour. Dark red garnet took its place among precious stones under the reign of Rudolph II. In the mid-18th century, garnet became so fashionable that in 1762 Empress Maria Theresia banned its export from the country. In terms of popularity, the golden age of garnet was the end of the 19th century, after the Russian tsarevna appeared at a court ball in Vienna with a breathtaking set of red stones set in gold. Garnet is widely known as the STONE OF LOVE.

STONE OF LOVE

COURT STEEDS The OLD KLADRUBY HORSE is a unique breed. It was declared a significant cultural monument in 1995. The origins of the breed can be traced back to the 16th century. This is the only horse bred for ceremonial purposes at royal courts. These white or black horses have retained their baroque appearance. They are the only creatures to have earned a place alongside works of art and architectural gems; they are protected ‘monuments’ and are oﬃcially regarded as LIVING WORKS OF ART. Breeding is protected by the FAO and the breed features on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

A SEA OF CARP

Czech carp, like Czech fishpond management, is a CENTURIES-OLD TRADITION. The oldest ponds belonged to monasteries, and from the outset they were used to breed carp as important LENTEN FOOD. They were successful, and over time Bohemia became the largest carp producer in Europe. From the end of the 15th century, the most important fishpond area was southern Bohemia. The architect JAKUB KRČÍN from Jelčany was a particularly prominent figure behind the expansion of the local water systems. In 1584 he started building his most important work – the ‘Bohemian Sea’ of Rožmberk. Over the space of six years, a pond covering 489 hectares was built – this is still the largest pond in the country. The art of fishpond management continued to improve… A book on the feeding of carp and other pond fish, Diet and feeding of the carp and its fishpond community, by Josef Šusta was published in 1884 and soon became famous; it is still regarded worldwide as a textbook in this field.

MEDICINAL SPRINGS

The Czech Republic is extraordinarily rich in MINERAL SPRINGS. The golden age of Czech spas was in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bottling plants were set up at every quality spring, and the first spa houses were built here… Numerous towns with specific spa architecture steadily emerged. Staying here became a mark of status, and as a result spa tourism flourished. Clients from across the world – including celebrities of the time (such as Goethe, Chopin and Gogol) – came here to restore their health. The ‘Golden Triangle’ in West Bohemia, comprising KARLOVY VARY, MARIÁNSKÉ LÁZNĚ and FRANTIŠKOVY LÁZNĚ, became world famous.

Despite its small area, KRKONOŠE, the mountain range in the north of Bohemia, is exceptionally rich in flora. More than 1,250 species of vascular plants (almost half of all the Czech Republic’s original flora) can be found here. The diversity of the vegetation here can be attributed in part to the bio-geographic location of Krkonoše – at the time of glaciation the nature of the Nordic tundra came into direct contact with the southern Alpine grasses at this point. A rare, now endangered plant is the BOHEMIAN BELLFLOWER (Campanula bohemica), an endemic species growing exclusively here at an altitude of between 1,250 and 1,450 m. You might be able to find it on SNĚŽKA, the highest Czech mountain.

MOUNTAIN BELLS

LIGHTNING MACHINE

PROKOP DIVIŠ, a Czech priest, natural scientist and designer, is known as the inventor of the lightning rod. He specialised in physical experiments, and even demonstrated his electrical experiments in the presence of Emperor Franz and Empress Maria Theresia in Vienna in 1750. He used electricity to treat the sick. On 15 June 1754, with the help of a local blacksmith he made the world’s FIRST EARTHED LIGHTNING ROD. He called this invention a ‘weather machine’. Diviš’s lightning rod comprised a system of 400 earthed metal studs accompanied, for safety’s sake, by a central rod.

SIGHT

In 1956, the outstanding Czech chemist and inventor OTTO WICHTERLE invented gel CONTACT LENSES, and thus enabled more than 100 million people around the world to discard their glasses. He built the prototype of the production machinery from the children’s construction kit Merkur (similar to Meccano) and a bicycle dynamo in his own flat at Christmas in 1961. He succeeded in producing the first four lenses. In the early 1970s, contact lenses conquered the world. Since then, similar ‘gels’ have been used in numerous other fields of medicine and in the cosmetics industry, especially for plastic surgery.

THE KEY TO A LANGUAGE In 1915, BEDŘICH HROZNÝ, the Czech oriental scholar and linguist, was the first to decipher the language of the Hittites. Seven years earlier, various scholars from around the world had tried to decipher the TEXTS from the archive of the HITTITE KINGS, discovered in Asia Minor in 1906. Over 20,000 fragments of tablets were covered in a cuneiform script that had been deciphered but which was in an unknown language. Over 20 months, he proved that the language in the cuneiform tablets was the Indo-European language of the Hittites. What is more, he was soon able to read and translate these texts. A dead language had spoken again after three millennia… HITTITOLOGY was born.

THE SECRET OF BLOOD

The Czech doctor JAN JANSKÝ was first and foremost a psychiatrist. In his exploration of mental diseases, he managed to make a ‘spin-oﬀ’ discovery – he divided human blood into FOUR BLOOD TYPES based on the presence or absence of antigenic substances. He labelled them with the roman numerals I to IV, and was the first person in the world to make the correct CLASSIFICATION of these types, which is still valid today. He published his results in 1907 in a historic paper which earned him a senior lectureship. His work was a major milestone on the way to safer transfusions and blood donations. Janský’s original roman numerals were later replaced with capital letters of the alphabet (A, B, AB and O).

GENESIS OF GENETICS

The father of scientific genetics is the Czech natural scientist JOHANN GREGOR MENDEL. In his now world-famous vegetable patch, he carried out his historic pea variation experiments. He published the results of his research, a mathematical formulation of the transfer of hereditary traits from purebred parents to their progeny. Three of Mendel’s laws became the cornerstone of MODERN GENETICS, the basis of plant and animal improvement, and a significant element of medicine and other fields of science. They heralded the new era of genetic engineering.

SPACE MUSIC

The Czech composer ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK wrote Symphony No. 9 in E minor, ‘FROM THE NEW WORLD’, also known as the ‘NEW WORLD SYMPHONY’, while at the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. It was first performed in 1893 at Carnegie Hall, and went on to become one of the most famous compositions in the history of music. In 1945, Iowa State Senate unanimously adopted the main theme of Largo as the oﬃcial anthem for the state. During the Apollo 11 mission (1969) the New World Symphony was heard on the MOON. Neil Armstrong listened to it as he made his way onto the surface. As the New World Symphony features among the examples of music onboard VOYAGER 1 and 3, dispatched into deep space, this work may well be one of the first to be heard by other civilisations…

PLAYERS ON STRINGS

Puppet theatre became very popular in Bohemia from as early as the 16th century onwards. These theatres were run by itinerant puppeteers, one of whom, Matěj Kopecký, became legendary in the 19th century. The most typical puppet, and later a national cultural monument, was the Czech KAŠPÁREK (Punch). The first Czech professional puppet company – the SPEJBL AND HURVÍNEK Theatre – was formed in 1930 by Josef Skupa. The figures of the philosophising father, Spejbl, and his reprobate son, Hurvínek, soon entered the folk mainstream. Following Skupa’s death, the role of both puppets was taken over by Miloš Kirschner, who used them to entertain audiences all over the world in 18 languages. Since its foundation, the theatre has performed over 250 plays, all original comedies for children and adults.

JOHN AMOS COMENIUS (in Czech Jan Ámos Komenský), the Bohemian teacher, theologian, philosopher, priest and last bishop of the Unity of the Brethren, was one of the most significant figures of the 17th century. The political situation during the Thirty Years’ War forced him into exile, and he never returned to his homeland. He published approximately 60 works (such as Theatrum universitatis rerum, Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart, and General Deliberation Concerning the Reform of Human Aﬀairs). He spent his life attempting to unify all human knowledge and make it accessible to all layers of society. Of his pedagogical works (World in Pictures, Gate to Languages Unlocked, The School of Infancy), the best-known is The Great Didactic, in which he prepared a coherent system of education. He died in Amsterdam in 1670 and is buried in nearby Naarden. Comenius, one of the greatest European teachers of all time, is often referred to as the TEACHER OF NATIONS.

THE TEACHER OF N ATIONS

THE FIRST ROBOT

Robot... This word of Czech origin requires no translation in any language. It is in common usage in all world languages. The word robot was introduced by the Czech dramatist and writer KAREL ČAPEK in the play R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots) in 1920. However, the word was invented by his brother, JOSEF ČAPEK. ‘Labor’, Karel’s originally term for the manmade worker in the drama, felt wrong, and so he drew on inspiration from Czech history. He recalled the word ROBOTA, meaning ‘serf labour’, and advised his brother to use ROBOT instead of labor. And the first robot entered the world…

DESIGN AT THE EDGE

The name Cubism comes from the term ‘cube’. Sharp edges, the penetration of spaces, crystalline structures… These are typical features of CZECH CUBISM, a globally unique movement that emerged in Prague in around 1910. A group of young avant-garde architects and artists applied the Cubist principles of Picasso and Braque to ARCHITECTURE and APPLIED ART. Prague became a city of Cubism. In Cubist buildings with flats containing cubist furniture, their occupants were able to have Cubist vases, glasses, coﬀee sets, ashtrays, clocks, mirrors and lights. The architects and designers Josef Gočár, Pavel Janák, Vlastislav Hofman and Josef Chochol entered the history books of architecture and design with their creations from this era.

SWEET REWARDS

The first SUGAR CUBES were made in the Czech town of Dačice in 1841. J. K. RAD, the director of the local sugar factory, came up with the idea at the instigation of his wife, who hurt herself chopping some sugar in loaf form. She urged him: ‘You’re the director, do something about it!’ Several months later, she received a present: a small wooden box containing the first 300 white and pink sugar cubes. They came in two sizes, with edges measuring either 1.2 cm or 1.5 cm. Rad pressed them with a device he invented himself. In 1843, his new product was patented and he was licensed to produce sugar cubes, which he marketed as TEA SUGAR. An invention was born, the practicality of which was soon recognised all over the world.

FRAGILE LIGHT In the 16th century, there were already 34 Czech foundries making glass. There was a boom in glassmaking during the reign of Rudolph II. When Venetian glass went into decline, Czechs came to dominate the international market. They were especially famous for the unique engraved figural and ornamental décor they used to decorate CRYSTAL GLASS. They also contributed to several inventions: Egermann invented yellow and red glazing, while Count Buquoy came up with black and red hyalite. In Sázava, Kavalír produced the world’s FIRST CHEMICALLY RESISTANT GLASS. In the interwar period, Bohemian crystal chandeliers illuminated the interiors of opera buildings in Rome, Milan, and Brussels, as well as luxurious hotels in the USA. The glassmakers reaped success at many world exhibitions. Bohemian glass is not just a famous artistic phenomenon, but also an attractive product.

SLIVOVITZ is a popular spirit, especially in MORAVIA, one of the lands of the Bohemian Crown. It is made from plums. The distillation of slivovitz spread rapidly in the first half of the 19th century, when an imperial charter of 1835 granted peasants the freedom to distil spirits from their own fruit and for their own consumption up to a limit of one ‘pail’. Homemade slivovitz inherently belongs to Moravian region. For local people it is a representative drink, a symbol of sorts, and a phenomenon, just like FOLK COSTUMES, FOLK MUSIC and FOLK DANCING. According to historians, it is also a ritual beverage accompanying significant milestones in life.

LIQUID PLUMS

CHEERS

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There is nothing in the world to rival genuine OLOMOUC CHEESE. This delicacy has a tradition stretching back almost 600 years. It was originally homemade for consumption within the household. It was first marketed in 1580. It was even a feature of Emperor Leopold II’s wedding breakfast in 1765. The essence of its distinctive taste is the unrenneted sour curd it is matured from. This cheese is entirely natural. It has just one percent fat and is distinguished by its very strong smell. Since 1876, it has been produced in only ONE PLACE IN THE WORLD – in Loštice, in the Šumperk region.

TASTE AND FRAGRANCE

THE SPORT OF CHAMPIONS

The most famous Czech athlete of all time is the runner EMIL ZÁTOPEK, the four-time Olympic champion, eighteen-time world record holder and SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR in 1949 and 1952.

In 1997, he was named the best athlete of the 20th century, and two years later the BEST OLYMPIC ATHLETE IN HISTORY. The best Czech female runner is the 800 m world record holder JARMILA KRATOCHVÍLOVÁ. The javelin thrower JAN ŽELEZNÝ was world champion three times, the world record holder in 1996, and triple Olympic gold medallist. Notable success has been achieved by TOMÁŠ DVOŘÁK, the decathlon world champion in 1997, 1999 and 2001. The leading figure in Czech athletics today is the decathlon athlete ROMAN ŠEBRLE.

TENNIS SCHOOL The Czech tennis system has nurtured many world-class players, most of whom, however, became famous after they had left the country. The dawn of the era of prominent tennis players came in 1909 when KAREL KOŽELUH was made a professional trainer in Munich at the tender age of 14. The first Czech Wimbledon champion was JAROSLAV DROBNÝ, originally an ice-hockey player, who won in 1954. JAN KODEŠ won Wimbledon two decades later, in 1973. IVAN LENDL was the most famous, and was one of the most dominant players of the 1980s. He fought his way to 19 Grand Slam finals, which is a men’s record. MARTINA NAVRÁTILOVÁ is regarded as the best female tennis player of all time. She won 18 Grand Slam singles and 40 Grand Slam doubles titles. In the women’s singles, she won an incredible 9 titles at WIMBLEDON. Czech players among the current world elite are TOMÁŠ BERDYCH and NICOLE VAIDIŠOVÁ.

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BALL MAESTROS

A HOCKEY BREEDING GROUND

Ice hockey is one of the most popular sports in Bohemia. Czechoslovakia became world champions for the first time in 1947 and for the last time in 1985 (in Prague). Other triumphs followed in 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2005, but these came after the country had split and so belonged solely to the Czech Republic.

One of the key figures of Czech ice hockey was IVAN HLINKA, who was not only a player, but subsequently a coach, and led his team to gold at the 1998 WINTER OLYMPICS in Nagano. For many years now, the Czech Republic has been a ‘feeder’ for the NHL in America. One of the best contemporary players is JAROMÍR JÁGR.

GUIDES TO THE PROVINCES

The Czech Republic has the LARGEST NETWORK of signposted FOOTPATHS in the world. The first walking route in the Czech lands was created on 11 May 1889, when the ‘signposting team’ of the Bohemian Hikers Club forged a route between Štěchovice and Svatojánské proudy with red marks. In 1912, the signposting of the first long-distance route from Prague to Šumava, via Brdy, was completed. By 2002, 38,500 km of footpaths and 1,240 km of cross-country skiing routes had been signposted. Since 1997, signposting similar to the footpath markings has been introduced in the Czech Republic for skiers and cyclists; since 2006, signposting has existed for horse-riders as well. The Czech system has become a model for many other countries.

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe. It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that was shaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the country’s picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that oﬀer many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a good choice. Welcome! Information about the Czech Republic: www.czech.cz Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.cz Radio Prague – The International Service of Czech Radio: www.radio.cz

THE INFANT JESUS OF PRAGUE

THE TIMELESS ROCKET

THE LITTLE WHISKER

THE FOREST OF BOUBÍN

TEARS OF UNIVERSE

CZECH EDISON

WHAT THINGS ARE MADE OF

In 1959, as a first Czech, a physical chemistry professor JAROSLAV HEYROVSKÝ (1890—1967), received the NOBEL PRIZE for the invention of the POLAROGRAPHIC ANALYSIS . The method – and the measuring instrument, constructed by Heyrovský and his Japanese pupil Masuzo Shikata, proved useful in metalurgy, pharmacy, medical science, food industry etc. It was quick, reliable and cheap in detecting substances and their quantities in any given sample. The method lies in measuring by the so-called polarographic curve. Its peak determines the concentration of the substance, the voltage value defines its type. Heyrovský made the discovery in 1922 and in the following decades he ceaselessly worked on its practical application. The mercury in the electrode, which is the key element in the electroanalysis, thus gave Czech science a new glamour and lustre.

ALMA MATER

“The King of the Romans and King of Bohemia, Charles IV, founds … a general seat of learning, takes into his protection doctors, masters and students and promises them material support,” the Founding Charter of CHARLES UNIVERSITY, issued on 7 April 1348, says. Why did the king decide to found the first university to the north of the Alps and to the east of Paris? He needed experts of all kinds to carry out his plans. Also, with such an important institution, the king’s and the land’s prestige would grow. The University had the full number of faculties, i. e. liberal arts (or philosophical), medicine, law and theological. The University remained ever grateful to its founder. It has kept his name and his portrait as part of its insignia. The university seal served as a model for the symbol. It depicts St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of the Czech lands, and Charles IV on his knees as he hands the founding charter over to the patron. He thus symbolically commends the future of Czech learning to the saint’s care and keeping.

THE HOLY PATRONESS

FAST FASTENERS

In 1930’s every other PRESS STUD came from Prague. That was because in 1903 Hynek Puc constructed a machine for putting springs inside the fastener, work which before could only be done by hand and therefore slowly. Puc together with a former salesman Jindřich Waldes founded their own company. They set about with one worker and one apprentice. Thanks to the improved fastener, named after the world’s largest diamond Koh-i-noor, they soon employed 300 people. Later the works adopted its main product’s name which it has kept up till now. The company’s logo, Miss KIN, is supposedly the work of Waldes’s girlfriend. Jokingly she laid an enlarged sample to her eye, the artist FRANTIŠEK KUPKA painted her on canvas and the graphic artist VOJTĚCH PREISSIG created the logo based on the picture. Miss KIN fastens people worldwide up to the present time.

CHECKING THE PUCKS

WINGED ARROW

KOLACHES

GO GO GO!

THE NATION OF KNIGHTS

FATED GYMNASTICS The first gold medal from the Olympic Games was brought home by BEDŘICH ŠUPČÍK for rope climbing. In the years to follow men scored in gymnastics, then the era of winning women came. In 1948 in London the female team won the Olympic gold. But it was a painful victory. Soon after arrival, one of the girls was hospitalized. While the rest of the team, including the girl’s sister, contended for the title the young gymnast died of infantile paralysis. The career of EVA BOSÁKOVÁ, a three-times World Champion and Rome 1960 Olympic Games winner, got problematical owing to political circumstances. Her pupil, VĚRA ČÁSLAVSKÁ, whom Eva discovered, suﬀered a similar fate. Věra became a legend influencing world gymnastics and a symbol of sporting charm. Eleven times she became the European Champion, four times the World Champion, and a winner of seven Olympic golds. In 1968 she was nominated the best sportswoman of the year and at the same time the second most popular woman in the world.

HERE

CZECH REPUBLIC Area: 78,864 square kilometres Population: 10,266,000 OďŹ&#x192;cial language: Czech Political system: parliamentary democracy Capital: Prague

CZECH REPUBLIC

The Czech Republic is located in the very heart of Europe. It is not a large country, yet one with an eventful history that was shaped by its geographical situation. The present-day life of the Czech Republic is no less interesting, whether you are a traveller just passing through, a vacationer coming to rest and learn about the Czech history, an entrepreneur interested in doing business with the hardworking and highly-skilled Czech people, or a tourist attracted by the country’s picturesque nature with cycling trails, rivers and lakes that oﬀer many opportunities for recreation and sports. The Czech Republic is a good choice. Welcome! Information about the Czech Republic: www.czech.cz Ministry of Foreign Affairs: www.mzv.cz Radio Prague – The International Service of Czech Radio: www.radio.cz

CZECH GEMS