1.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
World Heritage Site
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A World Heritage Site is a landmark which has been officially recognized by the United Nations, specifically by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Sites are selected on the basis of having cultural, historical, scientific or some form of significance. UNESCO regards these sites as being important to the interests of humanity. The programme catalogues, names, and conserves sites of outstanding cultural or natural importance to the common culture, under certain conditions, listed sites can obtain funds from the World Heritage Fund. The program was founded with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the Worlds Cultural and Natural Heritage, since then,192 state parties have ratified the convention, making it one of the most adhered to international instruments. As of July 2016,1052 sites are listed,814 cultural,203 natural, in 1959, the governments of Egypt and Sudan requested UNESCO to assist their countries to protect and rescue the endangered monuments and sites. In 1960, the Director-General of UNESCO launched an appeal to the Member States for an International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, the campaign, which ended in 1980, was considered a success. The project cost $80 million, about $40 million of which was collected from 50 countries, the projects success led to other safeguarding campaigns, saving Venice and its lagoon in Italy, the ruins of Mohenjo-daro in Pakistan, and the Borobodur Temple Compounds in Indonesia. UNESCO then initiated, with the International Council on Monuments and Sites, the United States initiated the idea of cultural conservation with nature conservation. The International Union for Conservation of Nature developed similar proposals in 1968, the Convention came into force on 17 December 1975. As of June 2016, it has been ratified by 192 states, including 188 UN member states plus the Cook Islands, the Holy See, Niue, a country must first list its significant cultural and natural sites, the result is called the Tentative List. A country may not nominate sites that have not been first included on the Tentative List, next, it can place sites selected from that list into a Nomination File. The Nomination File is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and these bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. There are ten selection criteria – a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list, up to 2004, there were six criteria for cultural heritage and four criteria for natural heritage. In 2005, this was modified so there is now only one set of ten criteria. Nominated sites must be of outstanding value and meet at least one of the ten criteria. Thus, the Geneva Convention treaty promulgates, Article 53, PROTECTION OF CULTURAL OBJECTS AND OF PLACES OF WORSHIP. There are 1,052 World Heritage Sites located in 165 States Party, of these,814 are cultural,203 are natural and 35 are mixed properties
4.
Pilgrimage Church of Saint John of Nepomuk
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The Pilgrimage Church of St John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora is a religious building at the edge of Žďár nad Sázavou, Czech Republic, near the historical border between Moravia and Bohemia. It is the work of Jan Santini Aichel, a Bohemian architect who combined the Borrominiesque Baroque with references to Gothic elements in both construction and decoration. It was consecrated immediately after Johns beatification in 1720, although construction works lumbered on until 1727, half a century later, after a serious fire, the shape of the roof was altered. The church, with many designed by Santini himself, is remarkable for its gothicizing features and complex symbolism. In 1994, it was declared a World Heritage Site, the pilgrimage Church of St. John of Nepomuk near the monastery in Žďár was built thanks to the longtime, close and immensely fruitful cooperation of two extraordinary people. The impulse was given by Václav Vejmluva, an abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Žďár, vitus Cathedral on 15 April 1719. The architect then worked on the basis of the outline, friedrich Radnitzký, a member of the Central Committee, referred to the church as a visually mysterious phenomenon as late as 1886. The project was finished quickly but this was nothing exceptional for Santini. Santini knew very well what the abbot wanted from him, thus the resulting architecture must have been affected positively by the atmosphere of mutual understanding. The definitive shape of the building does not differ much from the first design, the central church along with its adjacent cloister is uniformly projected and built structure. Architecture of this building is very minimalistic and enormously effective and it combines Baroque and Gothic elements which in fact points to the age when John of Nepomuk lived, worked and was martyred. The construction of church is based on geometry of circle while constantly repeating number five as a reference to Nepomuks five stars and those stars, according to a legend, appeared above his body when he had died. Therefore, on the perimeter of church take turns five chapels with triangular ground plan, at the same time the whole church resembles cut through choir of a Gothic cathedral and its buttress. The centrality of Nepomuks church builds up an vertical as a symbolical phenomenon and this very vertical tends to raise visitors look up to the symbolical heaven. In inner area of the church there are oval perimeter chapels which are connected with central cylinder space by narrower ogive arches, the central area which is covered by vault with lunettes, is carried by ten pillars. In first floor there are corresponding to chapels in the basement. Second floor is decorated with the gallery counting ten pieces of art which are arranged round the heel of the vault, stucco decoration is limited to motives of intersecting and cut rib arches similar to Gothic vaults. As on the other Santinis buildings, even here light is used to build inner space and this approach is based on baroque interpretation of light as a sign of gods presence
5.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
6.
Cross-country skiing
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Cross-country skiing is a form of skiing where skiers rely on their own locomotion to move across snow-covered terrain, rather than using ski lifts or other forms of assistance. Cross-country skiing is practiced as a sport and recreational activity, however. Variants of cross-country skiing are adapted to a range of terrain which spans unimproved, modern cross-country skiing is similar to the original form of skiing, from which all skiing disciplines evolved, including alpine skiing, ski jumping and Telemark skiing. Skiers propel themselves either by striding forward or side-to-side in a skating motion and it is practised in regions with snow-covered landscapes, including Northern Europe, Canada, Russia and regions in the United States. Competitive cross-country skiing is one of the Nordic skiing sports, Cross-country skiing and rifle marksmanship are the two components of biathlon, ski-orienteering is a form of cross-country skiing, which includes map navigation along snow trails and tracks. The word ski comes from the Old Norse word skíð which means stick of wood, Skiing started as a technique for traveling cross-country over snow on skis, starting almost five millennia ago with beginnings in Scandinavia. It may have practised as early as 600 BCE in Daxinganling. Early historical evidence includes Procopius description of Sami people as skrithiphinoi translated as ski running samis, birkely argues that the Sami people have practiced skiing for more than 6000 years, evidenced by the very old Sami word čuoigat for skiing. Egil Skallagrimssons 950 CE saga describes King Haakon the Goods practice of sending his tax collectors out on skis, the Gulating law stated that No moose shall be disturbed by skiers on private land. Cross-country skiing evolved from a means of transportation to being a world-wide recreational activity and sport. Early skiers used one long pole or spear in addition to the skis, the first depiction of a skier with two ski poles dates to 1741. This combination has a long history among the Sami people, skis up to 280 cm have been produced in Finland, and the longest recorded ski in Norway is 373 cm. Ski warfare, the use of ski-equipped troops in war, is first recorded by the Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus in the 13th century and these troops were reportedly able to cover distances comparable to that of light cavalry. The garrison in Trondheim used skis at least from 1675, skis were used in military exercises in 1747. In 1799 French traveller Jacques de la Tocnaye recorded his visit to Norway in his travel diary, Norwegian immigrant Snowshoe Thompson transported mail by skiing across the Sierra Nevada between California and Nevada from 1856. In 1888 Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his team crossed the Greenland icecap on skis, Norwegian workers on the Buenos Aires - Valparaiso railway line introduced skiing in South America around 1890. In 1910 Roald Amundsen used skis on his South Pole Expedition, in 1902 the Norwegian consul in Kobe imported ski equipment and introduced skiing to the Japanese, motivated by the death of Japanese soldiers during a snow storm. An early record of a ski competition occurred in Tromsø,1843
7.
Cycling
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Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. Persons engaged in cycling are referred to as cyclists, bikers, or less commonly, apart from two-wheeled bicycles, cycling also includes the riding of unicycles, tricycles, quadracycles, recumbent and similar human-powered vehicles. Bicycles were introduced in the 19th century and now approximately one billion worldwide. They are the means of transportation in many parts of the world. Cycling is widely regarded as an effective and efficient mode of transportation optimal for short to moderate distances. Cycling also offers a reduced consumption of fuels, less air or noise pollution. These lead to financial cost to the user as well as to society at large. By fitting bicycle racks on the front of buses, transit agencies can significantly increase the areas they can serve, in many countries, the most commonly used vehicle for road transport is a utility bicycle. These have frames with relaxed geometry, protecting the rider from shocks of the road, utility bicycles tend to be equipped with accessories such as mudguards, pannier racks and lights, which extends their usefulness on a daily basis. As the bicycle is so effective as a means of various companies have developed methods of carrying anything from the weekly shop to children on bicycles. Certain countries rely heavily on bicycles and their culture has developed around the bicycle as a form of transport. In Europe, Denmark and the Netherlands have the most bicycles per capita, road bikes tend to have a more upright shape and a shorter wheelbase, which make the bike more mobile but harder to ride slowly. The design, coupled with low or dropped handlebars, requires the rider to bend forward more, making use of stronger muscles, the price of a new bicycle can range from US$50 to more than US$20,000, depending on quality, type and weight. However, UCI regulations stipulate a legal race bike cannot weigh less than 6.8 kg, being measured for a bike and taking it for a test ride are recommended before buying. The drivetrain components of the bike should also be considered, a middle grade dérailleur is sufficient for a beginner, although many utility bikes are equipped with hub gears. If the rider plans a significant amount of hillclimbing a triple-chainrings crankset gear system may be preferred, otherwise, the relatively lighter and less expensive double chainring may be better. Much simpler fixed wheel bikes are also available, many road bikes, along with mountain bikes, include clipless pedals to which special shoes attach, via a cleat, enabling the rider to pull on the pedals as well as push. For basic maintenance and repairs cyclists can carry a pump, a repair kit, a spare inner tube, and tire levers
8.
Bathing
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Bathing is the washing of the body with a fluid, usually water or an aqueous solution, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes, by analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing. Bathing can take place in any situation where there is water and it can take place in a bathtub or shower, or it can be in a river, lake, water hole, pool or the sea, or any other water receptacle. The term for the act can vary, the city of Bath is famous for its public baths fed by hydrothermal springs. Throughout history, societies devised systems to water to be brought to population centres. Ancient Indians used elaborate practices for personal hygiene with three daily baths and washing and these are recorded in the works called grihya sutras which are in practice even today in some communities. Ancient Greece utilized small bathtubs, wash basins, and foot baths for personal cleanliness, the earliest findings of baths date from the mid-2nd millennium BC in the palace complex at Knossos, Crete, and the luxurious alabaster bathtubs excavated in Akrotiri, Santorini. The Greeks established public baths and showers within gymnasiums for relaxation, in fact, the word gymnasium comes from the Greek word gymnos, meaning naked. Ancient Rome developed a network of aqueducts to supply water to all towns and population centres and had indoor plumbing, with pipes that terminated in homes and at public wells. The Roman public baths were called thermae, with the fall of the Roman Empire the aqueduct network fell into disrepair and most of it ceased to be used. Before the 7th century, the Japanese probably mostly bathed in the springs in the open. In the 6th to 8th centuries the Japanese took the religion of Buddhism from China, for every Buddhist temple traditionally included a bathhouse for the monks. These baths were opened in time to the rest of the population, only the wealthy had private baths. The first public bathhouse was mentioned in 1266, in Edo, the first sentō was established in 1591. The early steam baths or steam baths were called iwaburo or kamaburo and it was natural or artificial caves or stone vaults. In iwaburo along the coast, the rocks were heated by burning wood, the entrance to these bath houses was very small, so that the steam escaped. There were no windows, so it was dark inside. The darkness could be used for sexual contact
9.
Prague
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Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. It is the 14th largest city in the European Union and it is also the historical capital of Bohemia. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city has a temperate climate, with warm summers and chilly winters. Prague has been a political, cultural, and economic centre of central Europe with waxing and waning fortunes during its history and it was an important city to the Habsburg Monarchy and its Austro-Hungarian Empire. Prague is home to a number of cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence. Main attractions include the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, since 1992, the extensive historic centre of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The city has more than ten major museums, along with theatres, galleries, cinemas. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city, also, it is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe. Prague is classified as an Alpha- global city according to GaWC studies, Prague ranked sixth in the Tripadvisor world list of best destinations in 2016. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination, and the city more than 6.4 million international visitors annually. Prague is the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Istanbul, the region was settled as early as the Paleolithic age. In the last century BC, the Celts were slowly driven away by Germanic tribes, around the area where present-day Prague stands, the 2nd century map of Ptolemaios mentioned a Germanic city called Casurgis. In the following century, the Czech tribes built several fortified settlements in the area, most notably in Levý Hradec, Butovice and in the Šárka valley. The construction of what came to be known as the Prague Castle began near the end of the 9th century, the first masonry under Prague Castle dates from the year 885 at the latest. The other prominent Prague fort, the Přemyslid fort Vyšehrad, was founded in the 10th century, Prague Castle is dominated by the cathedral, which was founded in 1344, but completed in the 20th century. The legendary origins of Prague attribute its foundation to the 8th century Czech duchess and prophetess Libuše and her husband, Přemysl, legend says that Libuše came out on a rocky cliff high above the Vltava and prophesied, I see a great city whose glory will touch the stars. She ordered a castle and a town called Praha to be built on the site, a 17th century Jewish chronicler David Solomon Ganz, citing Cyriacus Spangenberg, claimed that the city was founded as Boihaem in c.1306 BC by an ancient king, Boyya. The region became the seat of the dukes, and later kings of Bohemia, under Roman Emperor Otto II the area became a bishopric in 973
10.
Brno
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Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district. The city is also a significant administrative centre and it is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning. Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe, the complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, an established in 1930. Another cultural tradition is a fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis. The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by the Brno Dam Lake and this castle is the site of a number of legends, as are many other places in Brno. Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, one of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst. The etymology of the name Brno is disputed and it perhaps comes from Old Czech brnie muddy, swampy. Alternative derivations are from a Slavic verb brniti or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was overrun by Germanic peoples, throughout its history, Brnos locals also referred to the town in other languages, including Brünn in German, ברין in Yiddish and Bruna in Latin. The city was referred to as Brunn in English. The Asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as well as the Bren light machine gun, one of the most famous weapons of World War II. In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a prince from the House of Přemyslid. Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas Chronica Boëmorum dated to year 1091, seats of these rulers and thus capitals of these territories were castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia, since then, until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was therefore divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet, the Moravian Land Tables, and the Moravian Land Court were all seated in both cities at once, however, Brno was the official seat of the Moravian Margraves, and later its geographical position closer to Vienna also became important
11.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
12.
National Museum (Prague)
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The National museum is a Czech museum institution intended to systematically establish, prepare and publicly exhibit natural scientific and historical collections. It was founded 1818 in Prague by Kašpar Maria Šternberg, historian František Palacký was also strongly involved. At present the National Museum houses almost 14 million items from the area of history, history, arts, music and librarianship. The avowed purpose of the society was the promotion of art and taste. In 1800 the group founded the Academy of Fine Arts, which would train students in forms of art. The museum was located in the Sternberg Palace but it was soon apparent that this was too small to hold the museums collections. The museum relocated to the Nostitz Palace but this was found to be of insufficient capacity. Serving as historian and secretary of the National Museum in 1841, Frantisek Palacky would try to balance natural science and history, as he described in his Treatise of 1841. It was a task, however, and it would not be until nearly a century later until the National Museum’s historical treasures equaled its collection of natural science artifacts. However, the importance of the museum was not in its focus, but rather that it signaled, and indeed helped bring about, the Bohemian nobility had, until this time, been prominent, indeed dominant, both politically and fiscally in scholarly and scientific groups. However, the National Museum was created to all the inhabitants of the land. This was further accelerated by the historian Frantisek Palacky, who in 1827 suggested that the museum publish separate journals in German, in 1949, the national government took over the museum, and spelled out its role and leadership in the Museum and Galleries Act of 1959. A sixth autonomous unit, the Museum of Czech Music, was established in 1976, according to their website, the National Museum at present contains several million items of material in three main parts, the natural Museum, the Historical Museum and the Library. In 2010 moved their collections to Prague 10, Horní Počernice and it has the departments of mineralogy, paleontology, mycology, botany, entomology, zoology and anthropology, as well as scientific laboratories. The Department of Prehistory and Protohistory – Contains an extremely rich collection of artifacts which were used daily thousands of years ago, the department also maintains collections in the field of classical archeology, however its main value is in the documentation of Greek and Roman arts and crafts. The Collection of Classical Archeology belongs to the same department and this is done through the acquisition of objects which recall outstanding figures of Czech culture and leadership. Important parts of the Medieval collection is jewellery, panel painting, wooden sculpture, in addition to their historical value, many of the objects held by this department contain a high artistic value. Eligius in the shape of mitre, Gothic and Renaissance glazed tiles and paving stones, Fine Bohemian porcelain and glass collection represent beore all the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as collection of painted portraits and miniature painting
13.
Radio Prague
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Radio Prague is the official international broadcasting station of the Czech Republic. Radio Prague broadcasts in six languages, English, German, French, Spanish, Czech and it broadcasts programmes about the Czech Republic on satellite and on the Internet. Broadcasting first began on August 31,1936 near the spa town of Poděbrady, the station broadcasts a total of 24 hours worth of programmes per day,3 hours of which are new programmes, the remaining 21 hours are rebroadcasts. Rebroadcast programmes have fresh news bulletins, all programmes last for 30 minutes and have a standard layout, news, current affairs magazine and a feature. The theme of the changes each day and each section tailors programmes to suit its audience. The weekend broadcasts have a more relaxed structure, they contain less news and more features devoted to the arts, social affairs. Radio Prague produces a number of programmes in co-operation with other radio stations and these programmes are sent by cassette, via the Internet or down telephone lines. The Russian section uses the Internet to send its features to two stations in Russia. The programme was discontinued in August 2008, the English Section also contributes features to Radio Polonias Europe East programme. Both the English and German sections co-operate with a number of European radio stations on the Radio E project, the German section works together with Radio Slovakia International to produce a Czech-Slovak magazine programme. The French section contributes towards the Accents d´Europe programme produced by Radio France Internationale, the Spanish section sends programmes to several stations in Latin America. On December 8,2010, Radio Prague announced via its Facebook page plans to end shortwave broadcasts on January 31,2011. Part of the post read, The station’s financing for next year has been reduced by the Foreign Ministry in line with government austerity measures aimed at cutting the state deficit. As of May 2015 however, Radio Prague buys an hour of time a day on Radio Miami International to relay its programs via shortwave on 9955 kHz in both English and Spanish, targeting the Caribbean. The interval signal, itself the opening bars of the Communist anthem Kupředu levá, was used as the first track on the album Dazzle Ships by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Samples from certain Radio Prague programmes were included on the tracks ABC Auto-Industry, This is Helena. A song named Radio Prague appears on the album Deceit by This Heat, the final track of the CD and Download versions of the soundtrack for the Czech-designed video game Machinarium is named The End
