10 Things You Didn’t Know About the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is home to many famous international companies, including Deloitte Touche, Exxon Mobil and Zara. But the country also has its own homegrown large firms, such as Skoda, Budweiser Budvar, Pilsner Urquell and Bata. That’s a car company, a shoe company and two beer companies. Yes, the Czechs do love their beer…

The average working time is generally around 40 hours per week, not taking overtime into account. The standard amount of holidays is 20 days per year and Czechs also benefit from 11 additional national holidays.

This can afford you a high standard of living, because the price of consumables is so reasonable. The Czech Republic is very affordable when compared to other European countries. Compared to the UK, a meal for two in a Czech restaurant will cost £10 instead of £50, while rent for a three bedroom apartment is around £280 per month as opposed to over £3,000 in London. And, did you know that the Czech Republic has the highest standard of living of any former Soviet Bloc country?

Czechs aren’t famous for being famous… Nevertheless, they invented contact lenses and sugar cubes, so the visually challenged amongst you have Czechs to thank for being able to see how many sugar cubes you put into your tea! What’s more, they also invented the word robot, so if you’re wearing contact lenses while programming a robot to add sugar cubes to your tea then you’re really getting close to the essence of Czech-ness.

Famous people born in the Czech Republic include: Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl (tennis pros), Milos Forman (film director), Sigmund Freud (psychologist), Oskar Schindler (of Schindler’s List fame) and Petra Nemcova (supermodel).

Although Czechs and Slovaks refer to themselves as ‘brothers’, they are quite different. Stereotypically, Czechs are seen as being far more placid and sanguine than Slovaks, who have a reputation as being quite fiery. When Czechoslovakia broke up in 1990 most of the population actually did not want to separate, but the politicians of the time decided to have what is called ‘The Velvet Divorce’. The name is given due to the smooth and peaceful nature of the split, and also refers to the event which ousted Communism – The Velvet Revolution, a peaceful affair which was also largely free of bloodshed.

These are Bohemia in the west and Moravia in the east of the country. In Bohemia the people are generally perceived to be more reserved and especially keen on beer, while in Moravia they are said to be extremely friendly, more rural and fond of the wine grown across the southern part of the area. Moravians also speak their own dialect of Czech and consider themselves to be a sovereign nation which, as yet, has failed to gain political recognition.

As mentioned earlier, there are all kinds of outdoor activities on offer, so why not include a tour of Czech castles? You’ll need to allow plenty of time… There are over 200 castles in the Czech Republic, which makes it the most castle-rich country in Europe. Some of the most beautiful include Prague Castle (the biggest), Orlik (set on a volcano above a lake), Cesky Krumlow (perched on a sheer drop over a medieval village) and Cervena Lhota, a gorgeous red castle surrounded by gardens and a pond.

Paul Myers is internal recruitment manager at NonStop Recruitment, a specialist recruiter with offices across Europe.

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