78,867squarekilometresand ischaracterisedby itsbeautiful and
varied landscape. In thenortheast is the“BohemianParadise”,
designatedas thefirstUNESCOGeopark in theCzechRepublic.
This isa lowmountain landscapewithamazingsandstone for-
mations, theso-called“rock towns”. Therearealso the famous
bathswhichhaveattractedpeople toWestBohemia fromall
over Europe for centuries. Themost famousareKarlovyVary
(Carlsbad) andMariánskéLázně (Marienbad). ThepoetGoethe
dedicatedhis romanticpoem the“MarienbadElegy” to this latter
city. Slightly to thenorthwest of thegeographical centreof the
country is the“GoldenCity”of Prague. This famousmetropolis
with itshistoricCharlesBridge, PragueCastle, hundredsof church
towersandenchantingold townattracts20million tourists
everyyear. In thesouthwest of the country, visitors canexpect
unspoiled forestswithhills that areoccasionally interrupted
by lakes. InMoravia in theeast is thesecond largest city in the
CzechRepublic, Brno.On thepicturesqueMoravianplains,wine-
growingflourishesbetweensmall townswithaMediterranean
charm. Czech cooking ranges inflavour fromhearty tosweet,
with themost famousspecialtybeingdumplings inall sortsof
variants. Servedmostlyasanaccompaniment tomeat dishes,
theyarealsoofferedasadessert filledwith fruitsandsprinkled
withpowderedsugar.
Czecheconomybasedon industry
Witha traditionof advancedeconomicdevelopment, theCzech
Republic today isamong the leading industrial nationsof central
andeasternEurope. Themost significant industrial segments
includemachinebuilding, theautomotive industry, energy,
electronics, rubber industryandmetallurgy. The country’smain
tradingpartnersareGermany, Austria, Slovakia, Russiaand Italy.
In total, Czech industryemploys1.2millionworkers. Theauto-
motive industry is themost important industrysegment in the
CzechRepublic, and theonewith themostdynamicdevelopment.
1.2015
trends inautomation
Synergies
24
–
25
Art, cultureandsport
TheCzechRepublic’smost famouscitizens includemany
greats from theworldsof art and culture.Writer Franz
Kafka (1883–1924)wasoneof themost influential au-
thorsof the20thcentury.MilanKundera, now85yearsof
age,wonnumerous international awards for his literary
works, including“TheUnbearableLightnessof Being”.
AntonínDvořák, known for hisninesymphonies, and
BedřichSmetana,whosebest-knownorchestralwork
was“TheMoldau”, areamong theworld’smost famous
composers.
TherehavealsobeenmanyoutstandingCzechathletes.
Legendary tennisplayer IvanLendlwoneightgrandslam
titlesandwas ranked theworldNo. 1 for 270weeks.His
fellow countrywomanMartinaNavrártilová isoneof the
most famous tennisplayersof all time.Alsounforgettable
tomany is theworld famous long-distance runner,multi-
pleOlympic championandworld recordholderwithhis
inimitable runningstyle, Emil Zátopek,whowas called
“theCzech locomotive”.
According to thestatisticsof theGerman-CzechChamber of
IndustryandCommerce, theCzechautomotive industryhas
alwaysplayedamajorpart in thecountry’seconomyandcurrently
accounts for19per centof total industryoutputbyvalue. In2010,
the three carmanufacturersSkodaAuto, TPCAandHMMCwere
able for thefirst time toproduce inexcessof onemillion cars.
Further important segmentsarebusand truckmanufacturing.
Irisbus Iveco, SORLibchavyandMercedes-Benzareamong the
market leaders in thefieldof buses,while the top truckmakers
areAviaandTatra. Themain investor in theCzechautomotive in-
dustry isGermany. Local companieswork intensivelywithGerman
manufacturersandare closely involved in theglobal supplynet-
workof theautomotive industry.
Post-recessionpick-up
TheCzechRepublic’sgrossdomesticproduct hasgrown from
$33billion in1992 to$216billion in2011. According to the
German ForeignOffice inBerlin, after theCzechgrossdomestic
product droppedby1.0per cent in2012and0.9per cent in
