Ondřej Tuza

Coat of arms of the Czech Republic:•In the first and fourth field there is the historical emblem of Bohemia - a silver double-tailed lion.•In the second field there is the emblem of Moravia – a silver-red chequered eagle.•The third field is the emblem of Silesia – a black eagle with a silver crescent completed with trefoils.• The Coat of arms is the external representation of the state and the indication of state buildings.

A small coat of arms of the Czech Republic:•A historical emblem of Bohemia, a silver, two-tailed jumping lion, is placed there.•A small coat of arms is for example on stamps and seals of state offices and local governments, or at a sign indicating memorable trees.

Tricolour of the Czech Republic:•The white colour symbolizes purity, red symbolizes the blood shed by our patriots for the freedom of their homeland and blue symbolizes the clear sky.

The flag of the Czech Republic:•The flag consists of an upper white stripe and a lower red stripe. Between them there is inserted a blue wedge (half the length of the flag). The ratio of the flag's width to its length is 2:3

The flag of the Czech president:•The flag of the president is white with white-red-blue edge. In the middle of the field there is the Coat of arms. Underneath is a silver inscription “Truth wins” on the red ribbon with gold linden branches.

The seal of the Czech Republic:•The Seal of the Czech Republic is made up of Coat of arms underpinned by linden branches on the sides, around which is the inscription “Czech Republic”. The seal is used for confirmation of international contracts or issuance of credentials to diplomatic envoys.

The Czech anthem:•The song comes from the play of Josef Kajetán Tyl “Fidlovačka aneb Žádný hněv a žádná rvačka”. Music composed by František Škroup.

The president and the government:•The Czech Republic is a parliamentary-presidential state.•The president is elected by the Chamber of Deputies for a five-year term, and can be elected twice. The president appoints the Prime Minister. On the advice of the Prime Minister the president also appoints the members of the cabinet.•The Prime Minister, who is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the Chamber of Deputies, acts as the head of government.

Legislature:•The Czech parliament consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate (the upper house). The Chamber of Deputies consists of 200 members elected for four-year terms. The Senate consists of 81 members elected for six-year terms. One third of the Senate's seats come up for election every two years.•All citizens over the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

Political Parties:•The largest parties in the Czech Republic are presently the centre-left Czech Social Democratic Party (ČSSD) and the centre-right Civic Democratic Party (ODS).•Other parties represented in the Czech parliament include the TOP 09, the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSČM), the Public Affairs (VV) and the centrist Christian Democratic Union-Czech People's Party (KDU-ČSL).

• Most of the population (59%) is without religion. 19% of people believe in God, 50% believe in a life or spiritual strength and 30% do not believe in anything.

• The largest Church is Roman Catholic (27%), followed by the Evangelical Church (1%) and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church (1%).

• Number of adherents of Judaism, and Islam is slight. Buddhism is committed to only a few thousand people.

• A larger proportion of believers are in the South and Central Moravia. In the north and Northwest Bohemia there is the highest proportion of non-believers.

• As the main means of transport are used cars, followed by trains and buses.

• For transportation from Ostrava to Prague one can also use aircraft.

• Shipping now serves only as an attraction for tourists.

• In big cities there are subways, trolley-buses, trams or buses.

• Industry is an important sector of the Czech economy. • Among the major industries metallurgical, mining,

chemical, energy and engineering industries are included.

• The best-known Czech company is ironworks called “Třinecké Železárny” and the Czech car manufacturer called “Škoda Auto”

Antonín Dvořák and Bedřich smetana:•They are world-known musical composers.•They lived in 19th century.•Antonín Dvořák's well-known operas are Rusalka, Jakobín, Čert a Káča, Dimitrij and Armida.•Bedřich Smetana's well-known operas are Braniboři v Čechách, Prodaná nevěsta, Dalibor, Libuše, Dvě vdovy, Hubička, Tajemství and Čertova stěna.

Jan Amos Komenský:•He is also world-known as the Teacher of Nations.•He lived in 16th and 17th centuries. He was a writer, teacher and philosopher.•His works are for example Poklad jazyka českého, Labyrint světa a ráj srdce, Didactica or Orbis Pictus.

Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk:•The first president of Czechoslovakia in 1918.•Thanks to him (and others) Czechoslovakia was established.•He was a great politician.

Karel Gott:•A famous Czech singer, well-known in Germany, too.•He has been proclaimed the best singer almost every year since 1963!•His famous songs are for example Trezor, Pokaždé, Lady Carneval, Pár havraních copánků, Hej, páni konšelé, Bum, bum, bum, Jen se hádej and many, many others.

• On the one hand, in my country there is beautiful nature. The whether is quite good, too, and my country is also in the middle of Europe, so I don't have to travel so much, everything is close from here.

• On the other hand, unfortunately, I live in a corrupted state with no system. T.G. Masaryk would cry if he saw today's politicians taking bribes, regardless of the state's falling economy... Poor are poorer, the rich richer and those without work are just fine.