The Czech Republic , [ c ] [ 12 ] also known as Czechia , [ d ] [ 13 ] and historically known as Bohemia , [ 14 ] is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The Duchy of Bohemia was founded in the late 9th century under Great Moravia. It was formally recognized as an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire in and became a kingdom in After the Battle of White Mountain , the Habsburgs consolidated their rule.
In the 19th century, the Czech lands became more industrialized; further, in , most of the country became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic following the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I. Attempts to liberalize the government and economy were suppressed by a Soviet -led invasion of the country during the Prague Spring in In November , the Velvet Revolution ended communist rule in the country and restored democracy.
On 31 December , Czechoslovakia was peacefully dissolved , with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic is a unitary parliamentary republic and developed country with an advanced , high-income social market economy.
It is a welfare state with a European social model , universal health care and free-tuition university education. It ranks 32nd in the Human Development Index.
The traditional English name "Bohemia" derives from Latin Boiohaemum , which means "home of the Boii " a Gallic tribe. When the country regained its independence after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire in , the new name of Czechoslovakia was coined to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak nations within one country.
