Czech Republic

Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the north. Its capital and largest city, with 1.3 million inhabitants, is Prague. The Czech Republic includes the historical territories of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as a small part of Silesia.

Did you know that:
1. The Czech Republic is almost entirely surrounded by mountains (except to the south, toward Austria and Slovakia). Mountains mark a natural border with Germany and Poland.
2. 90% of Czechs have completed at least secondary education - the highest score in the EU (along with Poles, Slovaks, and Slovenes).
3. Czech people are the world's heaviest consumers of beer.
4. The country is renowned for its numerous spa towns, especially along the border with Saxony (Germany). The most famous ones are those of Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Františkovy Lázně (Franzensbad) and Teplice (Teplitz).
5. There are over 2,000 castles, keeps, and castle ruins in the Czech Republic, one of the highest density in the world (notably after Belgium and France).
6. A Czech, the chemist Otto Wichterle, invented the soft contact lenses in 1959.