About the Czech Republic

Did You Know?

• The Czech Republic has the most castles per capita of any country in the world — over 2,000!
• Pilsner lager was born in the Czech city of Plzeň in 1842. The Czech Republic remains one of the top beer-consuming countries per capita.
• The Czech language uses the Latin alphabet — with a few extra diacritics like č, ř, and ž.
• The astronomical clock in Prague's Old Town Square has been ticking since 1410 — making it the third-oldest in the world, and the oldest still operating.
• The soft contact lens was invented by Czech chemist Otto Wichterle in 1959.
• The Czech Republic has been a separate country only since 1993, after peacefully splitting from Slovakia in what is called the Velvet Divorce.
• Bonus Fact: The word "robot" comes from Czech! It was coined by writer Karel Čapek in his 1920 play R.U.R.