Geography The Czech Republic, as a part of Middle Europe, is squeezed between Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. The capital Prague, is in the half way from Berlin (Germany) to Vienna (Austria). The country is bordered by the mountains. Its area is almost 79.000 sq. km (30.000 sq. miles), as same size as the island of Ireland. The highest point is Snezka, 1602 m (5222 ft). Prague is just in the middle of the western part of the country, 300 m above sea level.

Enlarge the map

People There are about 10 million people in the Czech Republic (1.3 million in Prague). Most of them are Czechs and they speak Czech language. They tend to be polite, mild-mannered with a good sense of humor, not incline to argue or fight. They are intelligent, creative, well educated and can be quite conservative. If you are invited into home, you will find them friendly and very hospitable (do bring flowers for your host and remember to remove your shoes when you enter the house). The largest Church is Roman Catholic one but Czechs are mostly atheists, because of the systematic oppression of religion during Communism. Recently there are many young American people in Prague. For reference about the Czech Republic look at US Consular Information Sheet. Nameday Search Czech people celebrate not only their birthday, but also their nameday. It is a custom that parents select their child's name from a list of 400 first names. So every day of the year celebrate one or two names. Enter your Czech friend's first name, find out the nameday and send him or her the nameday card. Your friend will really appreciate it. Economy Czech industries include power engineering, metallurgy, car manufacture, glass, leather, plastics, chemicals, ceramics and beer. Unemployment in the Czech Republic is about 9,9% (March 2010). Inflation is about 0,8% (March 2010). The average wage is about 25.752 Kc = $1355 a month (March 2010). Get more and the latest economic data from the Czech Statistical Office. Climate and Weather Czech is four seasoned country with a continental climate. The summers tend to be sunny and quite hot, the winters cold, spring and fall mild but changeable. Weather forecast is available at CNN.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Temperature [C]	-5	0	8	12	19	22	25	24	19	12	5	0
Temperature [F]	28	37	46	54	66	72	77	75	66	54	41	32
Rainfall [mm]	20	20	25	40	60	70	65	55	40	25	25	20
Humidity [%]	70	63	57	49	49	48	51	49	57	63	78	81

There is a nice weather from May through September. The most recommended month for the visit is June. There is nice weather and there are not so much tourists as in July, August and September. Time Zone Czech Republic included Prague is on Central European Time as well as Berlin, Bonn, Budapest, Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Vienna, Warsaw and the others. It is: 1 hour ahead of England 6 hours ahead of New York 9 hours ahead of Los Angeles 7 hours behind Singapore 8 hours behind Tokyo 10 hours behind Sydney Just add or deduct the above hours from your present local time to get the time in Prague or visit this great site WorldTimeZone. Visitor Centers Pick up free maps and tourist guides at the visitor centers: Prague Information Service, Praha 1, Old Town Hall, phone 12444 in summer open weekdays 9 am to 7 pm, weekends 9 am to 6 pm in winter open weekdays 9 am to 6 pm, weekends 9 am to 5 pm Prague Information Service, Praha 1, Na Prikope 20, phone 12444 in summer open weekdays 9 am to 7 pm, weekends 9 am to 5 pm in winter open weekdays 9 am to 6 pm, Saturdays 9 am to 3 pm, closed on Sundays Prague Information Service, Main Railway Station, phone 12444 in summer open weekdays 9 am to 7 pm, weekends 9 am to 4 pm in winter open weekdays 9 am to 6 pm, Saturdays 9 am to 3 pm, closed on Sundays Prague Information Service, Praha 1, Lesser Quarter Tower, phone 12444 in summer open daily 10 am to 6 pm, closed in winter Prague Tourist Center, Praha 1, Rytirska 12, phone 224-212-209 open daily 9 am to 8 pm Czech Transport Service (Cedok), Na prikope 18 open weekdays 8:30 am to 6 pm, Saturdays 8:30 am to 12:30, closed on Sundays Newspapers One of the most informative English language paper is the weekly paper The Prague Post, written by English and American staff. You can find there news, concert, gallery, museum, cinema, theater, club schedules as well as restaurant reviews and excursion ideas. It is an excellent source of local information. Radio In the 90s there were BBC World Service and Voice of America, both in English language with Czech and Slovak language inserts. As Voice of America finished broadcasting to the Czech Republic in 2004 and BBC finished in 2006, there is no foreign English language broadcasting available. But there is local Czech Radio Praha CR07 in English. Find online broadcasting and onair frequencies at http://www.radio.cz/en. There is also Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) run by American Government based in Prague. This station is broadcasting in 28 languages especially to the Middle East and Asia but not within the Czech Republic. Find more at http://www.rferl.org. RFE/RL moved from the Wenceslas Square to the new building close to metro station Zelivskeho at the beginning of 2009. Emergency In an emergency dial the following numbers 24 hours a day. Emergency: dial 112 Just Police: dial 158 Just Ambulance: dial 155 Just Fire Department: dial 150 Crime Violent crime is rare by the standards of western Europe or the United States, but there is a great deal of theft. Lock your car and put your valuables in the hotel. Be alert to the danger of pickpockets in crowded places, particularly on trams and metro. Prague had been plagued with unscrupulous cabbies ten years ago. Hailing taxi on the street might still be inviting trouble, but calling through the operator is absolutely safe now. Dial 14014 for AAA Taxi operator. © CzechSite, San Francisco, Prague, 1996-2010. All Rights Reserved. | Back Home | Close Window |