Brno (capital of Moravia) 376,400 population

Geography

Slightly smaller than South Carolina, the Czech Republic is a landlocked, temperate country that borders Germany, Slovakia, Poland, and Austria. One of the world’s newest independent states, the Czech Republic was founded on January 1, 1993, after the break-up of Czechoslovakia, a state first recognized in 1918. Today’s Czech Republic consists of two primary historical areas, Bohemia ( Čechy ) in the west and Moravia ( Morava ) in the east. The Bohemian landscape is characterized by hills and gently rolling plains flanked by low mountainous terrain. Important rivers include the Labe (Elbe), Vlata ( Moldau ), Morava , and Odra ( Odery ). Slovakia ended up with most of the mountains in the slit, but the Czech Republic still boasts several high peaks in the Krkonoše (Giant) mountain range, including Snĕža at 5,200 feet (1,600 meters) above sea level.

The capital city, Prague, is also considered to be the historical capital of the Czech people and is now home to approximately 1,2 million people. The Moravian first city, Brno, is also the second largest city in the Czech Republic with a population of approximately 370,000. Ethnic Czechs comprise some 81 percent of the Czech population of approximately 10 million, while ethnic Moravians – who do not speak a separate language although some would contend they speak more proper Czech – make up approximately 13 percent of the country’s people. Other ethnic groups include Slovaks, Poles, Germans, Hungarians, and Roma, also known as Gypsies.

Politically, the country is now divided into thirteen regions, called kraj (the plural is kraje ) and its capital city, Prague. Besides Prague and Brno, the only city with a population of over 300,000 is the Moravian city of Ostrava . Neither Brno nor Ostrava is as well-known internationally as two smaller cities, however: Plzeň and České Budĕjovice, while perhaps not recognizable by name, are internationally known for two of the Czech Republic’s most famous exports, Pilsner Urquell and Budvar (Budweiser) beers. (The latter brand has been locked in an international struggle with U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch for trademark rights to the “Bidweiser” name.) After Prague, the most common tourist destinations are medieval silver town Kutná Hora, UNESCO heritage site Českỷ Krumlov, and the spa towns of western Bohemia.

The Czech Republic’s location and geography have lent it a temperate climate, with humid, warm summers; short, mild springs and falls; and rainy, cold, any very gray winters. As a guiseline, the average temperature in Prague ranges fron 22ºF (-5ºC) to 33ºF (0ºC) in January and from 53ºF (12ºC) to 74ºF (23ºC) in July. As the temperature climate would suggest, there are few extremes in Czech weather, although the precipitation levels combined with the low-lying terrain can lead to widespread and extremely damaging floods, as happened in 2002.

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It is impossible to sum up any culture in just a few words, but if it came down to finding three adjectives to describe Czechs as a whole, those three would be resilient, reserved, and clever

Resilience

To look at Czech history and the Czech nation is to see a living embodiment of resilience. In the past hundred years alone, the Czech Republic has gone from imperial possession, to independent nation united with the Slovaks, to Nazi-occupied “protectorate”, to Soviet bloc state, to independent, post-Communist nation united with the Slovaks, to fully fledged independent state and E.U. member. To say a lot has happened to Czechs and the Czech nation in only a century would be a gross understatement. Such upheavals have left a people able to survive seemingly anything- from Soviet invasions to surly wait staff – and do so with a bare minimum of whining. With great changes comes great perspective, to twist the Spiderman maxim, and Czech people have perspective about what is important in spades.

Reserve

It is the reserved nature of Czechs that visitors may notice first, however. Emotion in speech is hard to gauge as Czechs speak in low tones and with a minimum of inflection. Smiles come only with good reason and almost always for friends not strangers. Modern Czech have perfected what can only be described as a bland façade – a sort of facial shrug of “whatever” – in dealing with strangers. Neither offensive nor friendly, the utter lack of visible emotion can be infuriating for someone who is feeling strongly after a poor service encounter or particularly trying bureaucratic moment, for example.

Cleverness

Czech cleverness, meanwhile, manifests itself in a number of different ways. It is clear to anyone who gets to know Czechs well- and especially if that visitor or foreigner can speak or understand Czech – that most are well-read and well-educated. There is a basic level of education and literacy that cuts across most generational and even many class lines. More so than erudition, however the Czech intellect comes out in its humour – black, witty, and subversive.

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The above extract is kindly provided by Culture Smart! the essential guide to customs & culture. The 168-page guide retails at £6.95 + P&P and is available directly from Kuperard, the publishers of Culture Smart! guides.

CultureSmart!Consulting in conjunction with Cactus Language Training creates tailor-made seminars and consultancy programs to meet a wide range of corporate, public sector, and individual needs. Find out more at www.cactuslanguagetraining.com.

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