Czechia

Czech Republic

The continent's geographical heart, Bohemia was an imperial capital, cradle of the first Reformation and symbol of two European ruptures, 1968 and 1989.

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Heritage

Charles IV made Prague a new Rome: a Gothic cathedral, a stone bridge, a university founded in 1348 — the first east of the Rhine. Jan Hus anticipated Luther by a century. The Jewish quarter of Josefov, with its old cemetery and synagogues, is one of Europe's oldest surviving Jewish ensembles.

History

The duchy then kingdom of Bohemia integrated into the Holy Roman Empire while keeping a strong identity. Under Charles IV, emperor and king of Bohemia, fourteenth-century Prague became the Empire's capital and one of Europe's largest cities.

The preaching of Jan Hus, burned at Constance in 1415, triggered the Hussite wars: the first successful religious challenge to Rome. The defeat of White Mountain in 1620, by contrast, opened three centuries of Habsburg rule and recatholicisation.

Czechoslovakia was born in 1918, interwar Central Europe's only lasting democracy. Munich in 1938, the Prague coup of 1948, the Spring of 1968 and the Velvet Revolution of 1989 punctuate a century in which the country served as Europe's barometer. The amicable separation from Slovakia came in 1993.

Milestones

1348 Middle Ages

Charles University

Charles IV founds Central Europe’s first university and makes Prague the capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

1415 Middle Ages

Jan Hus burned at the stake

Condemned at Constance, the Czech reformer becomes a national martyr and a forerunner of Luther.

1620 Early modern period

Battle of White Mountain

Protestant defeat opens three centuries of Habsburg domination over Bohemia.

1918 Early modern period

Birth of Czechoslovakia

Masaryk founds a parliamentary democracy that will remain unique in Central Europe.

1968 Contemporary period

Prague Spring

“Socialism with a human face” is crushed by Warsaw Pact tanks in August.

1989 Contemporary period

Velvet Revolution

In a few weeks and without violence the regime falls; Václav Havel becomes president.

1989 European construction was affected

Fall of the Berlin Wall

9 November opens German reunification and, in time, that of the continent.

1993 Contemporary period

Velvet Divorce

Czechia and Slovakia separate peacefully on 1 January, a rare case in Europe.

2004 European construction took part

The big bang enlargement

Ten states, eight of them formerly communist, join the Union: the continent’s division ends.

Political landscape

Results of the June 2024 European election and their translation into European Parliament groups.

ANO — ANO 2011 7
SPOLU — SPOLU — ODS, KDU-ČSL, TOP 09 6
Přísaha — Přísaha a Motoristé 2
Stačilo! — Stačilo! 2
STAN — Starostové a nezávislí 2
Piráti — Česká pirátská strana 1
SPD — Svoboda a přímá demokracie 1

Distribution of European seats

Patriots for Europe Group 7
Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) 6
Non-attached Members 2
The Left group in the European Parliament — GUE/NGL 2
Renew Europe Group 2
Group of the Greens/European Free Alliance 1
Europe of Sovereign Nations Group 1

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The state in numbers

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Public debt, % of GDP 43.8 % 0.3 % GDP per head (EU = 100) 92.3 2.1 Government spending, % of GDP 42.9 % 0.8 % Total tax burden, % of GDP 35.2 % 0.1 % Prisoners per 100,000 people 178.3 2.5