Pec pod Sněžkou (829 - 1602 m.n.m.)

This village originated in connection with mining ores here. You can see large old mines in Obří důl. In preserved documents is said, that steel, arsenic and copper ores was melt in this mine. Originally, Pec pod Sněžkou and Velká Úpa were separated. These villages were united in 1960. Since 1.1.1987 Pec pod Sněžkou has town status.

Pec pod Sněžkou offers big amount of ski lifts and two cableways to Sněžka and Portášky. In order not to spend your holiday with skiing or hiking, you have many others activities to do. Riding a western horses, riding in a horse drawn carriage or sledge, tennis, squash, ricochet, indoor swimming pool, cycling, minigolf, bowling, billiard, sauna, solarium etc. If you don´t take your gear with you, you can borrow complete ski outfit or mountain bicycle right in Pec pod Sněžkou.

Official name: Czech Republic

The origin of the state: On January 1,1993 by the division of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic

System of government: Republic led by a president

Executive power: President (five-year term of office), prime minister

Legislative power: Two-chamber Parliament - Chamber of Deputies (200 members, elected for a period of 4 years), Senate (81 members, elected for a period of 6 years)

Type of government: Parliamentary republic

National anthem: "Where is My Home?", music: František Škroup (1834), lyrics: Josef Kajetán Tyl (1834)

State flag: The Czech Republic has a flag which features traditional Slavonic colours - white and red (the colours derived from the Czech national coat of arms), blue - a reference to the field of the Moravian coat of arms)

National coat of arms: The large coat of arms contains the emblems of the historical lands of the Czech Crown - a traditional heraldic rampant lion (Bohemia), a checquered eagle (Moravia) and the Silesian eagle

Area: 78 866 sq km2

Geographical location: an inland country in central Europe, 50°00´N latitude, 15°00´ E longitude Connecting line between the northernmost and the southernmost point: 278 km Connecting line between the easternmost and the westernmost point: 493 km

Time zone: GMT + 1/GMT + 2 (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time)

Membership in international organizations: EU (since May 1, 2004), United Nations, NATO, OECD

State border:   total length of 2,290.4 km, Austria 466.1 km, Germany 810.7 km, Poland 761.8 km, Slovakia 251.8 km

Administrative division (according to area in sq km): 14 regions - Central Bohemian Region 11,014, South Bohemian Region 10,056, Plzeň Region 7,560, South Moravian Region 7,067, Vysočina Region 6,925, Moravian-Silesian Region 5,555, Ústí nad Labem Region 5,335, Olomouc Region 5,139, Hradec Králové Region 4,757, Pardubice Region 4,519, Zlín Region 3,965, Karlovy Vary Region 3,315, Liberec Region 3,163, Capital City of Prague 496

Population: 10 213 480 (as of June 30, 2004)

Density of population: 129.4 inhabitants per sq km

Capital city: Prague

Population of the capital: 1 166 491 (as of June 30, 2004)

Regional capitals (according to the number of inhabitants as of January 1, 2004):  Brno (369 559), Ostrava (313 088), Plzeň (164 180), Olomouc (101 268), Liberec (97 770), České Budějovice (95 245), Hradec Králové (95 195), Ústí nad Labem (94 105), Pardubice (88 741), Zlín (79 177), Karlovy Vary (51 807), Jihlava (50 100)

Currency:  Czech crown CZK (Kč), 1 Kč = 100 hellers

Coins and banknotes:  coins - 50 hellers, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 Kč; banknotes - 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 Kč

Official language: Czech

Main languages: Czech (96%), Slovak (2%), German, Polish, Romany (2%)

Ethnic composition:: Czechs (94%, including Moravians and Silesians), Slovaks (1,9%), Poles (0,5%), Germans (0,4%), Romanies (0,4%), Hungarians, Ukrainians, Russians, Greeks and others

Important telephone numbers: Ambulance:155 Police:158 Fire brigade:150 City Police:156 Infomation regarding telephone numbers: 1180 Eurotel Assistance: 1188

Information about transport: By air: information about arrivals and departures - Prague Ruzyně airport , tel.: 220 113 314, www.csl.cz

By rail: Central telephone information of Czech Railways - tel.: 221 111 121, www.cd.cz

By road: : bus transport - Central Information Office - tel.: 900 119 041, 900 149 044, 900 144 444, www.vlak-bus.cz

motor transport  aABA road assistance service - tel.:1240 ÚAMK road assistance service - tel.: 1230

State and Public Holidays January 1st New Year´s Day, Day of the Revival of Independent Czech State, Variable Easter Monday, May 1st May Day (Labour Day), May 8th Day of Liberation from Fascism (1945), July 5th Day of Slav Missionaries Cyril and Methodius, July 6th Master John Huss (1415), September 28th Day of Czech Statehood, October 28th Foundation of Independent Czechoslovak State (1918), November 17th Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy, December 24th Christmas Eve, December 25th Christmas Day, December 26th Boxing Day

UNESCO Sights: In the Czech Republic there are twelve protected areas registered in the UNESCO List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

The Czech Republic can offer foreign visitors a wealth of scenic beauties and attractions located in its magnificent towns, which have no equal elsewhere, as well as treasures of architecture set in its unique natural environment with a great deal of sensitivity. All this and far more combines to make Czechia an extraordinarily attractive country from the viewpoint of tourism. Prague, the seat of the kings of Bohemia and emperors of the Holy Roman Empire in the past, has been a crossroads of cultural influences and a showcase of architecture that is admired practically by the entire world. The multi-cultural character of Czech towns, country residences and spa centres has always inspired visitors as well as the inhabitants of this country. Czechia has already managed to overcome the negative repercussions of the historical development of the latter half of the 20th century and become an equal partner in the sphere of the tourist industry. The country contributes to the creation and the enhancement of the cultural image of Europe and I recommed warmly that everyone who has the possibility should try to become acquainted with the splendid cultural heritage of the Czech Republic.