Czech Republic

The Czech Republic (Czech: Česká republika) with its capital Prague (Praha) in Central Europe covers 78,866 km². It is made up of the historical lands of Bohemia (Čechy) and Moravia (Morava) as well as parts of Silesia (Slezsko). The country borders Germany to the west, Poland to the north, Slovakia to the east and Austria to the south. The independent states of Slovakia and the Czech Republic were formed from the former state of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

History

Viticulture dates back to the Celts. In the 3rd century AD, under Emperor Marcus Aurelius Probus (232-282), Roman legionnaires advanced as far as southern Moravia and planted vineyards in the Znojemská (Znojmo Land) region. Viticulture reached its first heyday in the 9th century during the time of the Great Moravian Empire. As in many other countries, the monasteries exerted a positive influence, as they needed mass wine. The Premonstratensian monastery of Louka near Znojmo, founded in 1190, stood out in this respect. This order was strongly influenced by the ideals of the Cistercians and, like them, practised professional viticulture. During the Middle Ages, there were flourishing vineyards around many towns and monasteries. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) caused a great decline. Mildew and phylloxera, which first appeared in Satov in 1890, took care of the rest. Reconstruction took place in the 20th century with newly planted international grape varieties.