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67-505: SIGNAL has become the biggest cultural event in the Czech Republic in five years of its existence. Its unique integration of art, city space, and modern technology has drawn over 2 million attendees to Prague in overall. The festival brings visually attractive works together with complex installations of international quality. Its concept allows it to appeal both to professionals and general public. With its support of new works of art,

134-573: A liberal democracy through the Velvet Revolution . However, Slovak national aspirations strengthened ( Hyphen War ) and on 31 December 1992, the country peacefully split into the independent countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia . Both countries went through economic reforms and privatizations , with the intention of creating a market economy , as they have been trying to do since 1990, when Czechs and Slovaks still shared

201-554: A mostly temperate continental and oceanic climate . The capital and largest city is Prague ; other major cities and urban areas include Brno , Ostrava , Plzeň and Liberec . 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 1002 and became a kingdom in 1198. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, all of

268-576: A single-party government was formed. For the next 41 years , the Czechoslovak Communist state conformed to Eastern Bloc economic and political features. The Prague Spring political liberalization was stopped by the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia . Analysts believe that the invasion caused the communist movement to fracture, ultimately leading to the Revolutions of 1989. In November 1989, Czechoslovakia again became

335-516: A successful military commander and mercenary, led his group of forces in the Battle of Kutná Hora , resulting in a victory for the Hussites. He is honoured to this day as a national hero . After 1526, Bohemia came increasingly under Habsburg control as the Habsburgs became first the elected and then in 1627 the hereditary rulers of Bohemia. Between 1583 and 1611 Prague was the official seat of

402-607: Is a pluralist multi-party parliamentary representative democracy . The Parliament ( Parlament České republiky ) is bicameral, with the Chamber of Deputies ( Czech : Poslanecká sněmovna , 200 members) and the Senate ( Czech : Senát , 81 members). The members of the Chamber of Deputies are elected for a four-year term by proportional representation , with a 5% election threshold . There are 14 voting districts, identical to

469-584: Is also characterized by rain and storms. Autumn generally begins in September, which is still warm and dry. During October, temperatures usually fall below 15 °C (59 °F) or 10 °C (50 °F) and deciduous trees begin to shed their leaves. By the end of November, temperatures usually range around the freezing point. The coldest temperature ever measured was in Litvínovice near České Budějovice in 1929, at −42.2 °C (−44.0 °F) and

536-571: Is an art college in Prague , Czech Republic . Founded in 1799, it is the oldest art college in the country. The school offers twelve master's degree programs and one doctoral program. Starting in the early 18th century, a series of organizations were formed in Prague with an interest in promoting art and education . Thanks in part to their efforts, the Academy of Fine Arts was founded by Imperial Decree on September 10, 1799. Joseph Bergler

603-467: Is modeled on the U.S. Senate , but each constituency is roughly the same size and the voting system used is a two-round runoff. The president is a formal head of state with limited and specific powers, who appoints the prime minister, as well the other members of the cabinet on a proposal by the prime minister. From 1993 until 2012, the President of the Czech Republic was selected by a joint session of

670-547: The Church of St. Ludmila at Náměstí Míru and the Petřín Lookout Tower . Entry to the festival was free, but certain exhibits required special glasses, which were sold for 30 CZK . The 2014 festival, beginning on 17 October 2014, attracted around 460,000 visitors, and was listed as one of Europe’s top 10 light art festivals by The Guardian in September 2014. The 2015 festival began on 15 October 2015, and included for

737-606: The Constitution . The members of the government are the Prime Minister , Deputy prime ministers and other ministers. The Government is responsible to the Chamber of Deputies . The Prime Minister is the head of government and wields powers such as the right to set the agenda for most foreign and domestic policy and choose government ministers. Academy of Fine Arts, Prague The Academy of Fine Arts, Prague ( Czech : Akademie výtvarných umění v Praze ; AVU )

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804-515: The Czech Republic by the city authorities and the Czech Ministry of Culture in 2016. The Guardian put SIGNAL Festival among 10 best light festivals in Europe. Singapore daily The Straits Times chose SIGNAL among 8 most interesting light festivals in the world in 2017. Travel portal Orbitz.com presented SIGNAL as one of 7 mindbending light art festivals. SIGNAL was also part of

871-583: The European Union  (green)  –  [ Legend ] The Czech Republic , also known as Czechia , and historically known as Bohemia , 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 Czech Republic has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,871 square kilometers (30,452 sq mi) with

938-854: The European Union , NATO , the CIA , Google Maps , and the European Broadcasting Union . In 2022, the American AP Stylebook stated in its entry on the country that "both [Czechia and the Czech Republic] are acceptable. The shorter name Czechia is preferred by the Czech government. If using Czechia, clarify in the story that the country is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic." Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric human settlements in

1005-832: The Holy Roman Empire in 1806 led to degradation of the political status of Bohemia which lost its position of an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire as well as its own political representation in the Imperial Diet . Bohemian lands became part of the Austrian Empire . During the 18th and 19th century the Czech National Revival began its rise, with the purpose to revive Czech language , culture, and national identity. The Revolution of 1848 in Prague, striving for liberal reforms and autonomy of

1072-821: The Human Development Index . The Czech Republic is a member of the United Nations , NATO , the European Union , the OECD , the OSCE , the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group . The traditional English name "Bohemia" derives from Latin : Boiohaemum , which means "home of the Boii " (a Gallic tribe). The current English name ultimately comes from the Czech word Čech . The name comes from

1139-669: The Hussite Wars (1419–1434) defeated five crusades organized against them by Sigismund . During the next two centuries, 90% of the population in Bohemia and Moravia were considered Hussites . The pacifist thinker Petr Chelčický inspired the movement of the Moravian Brethren (by the middle of the 15th century) that completely separated from the Roman Catholic Church. On 21 December 1421, Jan Žižka ,

1206-879: The Lands of the Bohemian Crown were gradually integrated into the Habsburg monarchy . Nearly a hundred years later, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years' War . After the Battle of White Mountain , the Habsburgs consolidated their rule. With the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Crown lands became part of the Austrian Empire . In the 19th century, the Czech lands became more industrialized; further, in 1918, most of

1273-500: The OECD . The Czech Republic joined NATO on 12 March 1999 and the European Union on 1 May 2004. On 21 December 2007 the Czech Republic joined the Schengen Area . Until 2017, either the centre-left Czech Social Democratic Party or the centre-right Civic Democratic Party led the governments of the Czech Republic. In October 2017, the populist movement ANO 2011 , led by the country's second-richest man, Andrej Babiš , won

1340-826: The Oder River ( Czech : Odra ). Water from the Czech Republic flows to three different seas: the North Sea , Baltic Sea , and Black Sea . The Czech Republic also leases the Moldauhafen , a 30,000-square-meter (7.4-acre) lot in the middle of the Hamburg Docks, which was awarded to Czechoslovakia by Article 363 of the Treaty of Versailles , to allow the landlocked country a place where goods transported down river could be transferred to seagoing ships. The territory reverts to Germany in 2028. Phytogeographically ,

1407-918: The Old Town and the New Town (the Downtown route) and the other one was newly organized at Vinohrady , in Praha 2 and Praha 3 (the Vinohrady route). Part of the festival is now also the SIGNAL Gallery Zone of the festival which is subject to charge and which contained four indoor installations located in the Downtown route. The Gallery Zone entrance fee was CZK 100. Another new thing was the SIGNAL CALLING section where Czech promising authors’ installations were introduced. The program department

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1474-474: The elections with three times more votes than its closest rival, the Civic Democrats. In December 2017, Czech president Miloš Zeman appointed Andrej Babiš as the new prime minister. In the 2021 elections , ANO 2011 was narrowly defeated and Petr Fiala became the new prime minister. He formed a government coalition of the alliance SPOLU ( Civic Democratic Party , KDU-ČSL and TOP 09 ) and

1541-567: The 13th century. The Mongols in the invasion of Europe carried their raids into Moravia but were defensively defeated at Olomouc . After a series of dynastic wars, the House of Luxembourg gained the Bohemian throne. Efforts for a reform of the church in Bohemia started already in the late 14th century. Jan Hus ' followers seceded from some practices of the Roman Church and in

1608-713: The 8th century. It reached its zenith in the 9th (during the reign of Svatopluk I of Moravia ), holding off the influence of the Franks. Great Moravia was Christianized, with a role being played by the Byzantine mission of Cyril and Methodius . They codified the Old Church Slavonic language, the first literary and liturgical language of the Slavs , and the Glagolitic script . The Duchy of Bohemia emerged in

1675-554: The Bohemian Crown within the Austrian Empire, was suppressed. It seemed that some concessions would be made also to Bohemia, but in the end, the Emperor Franz Joseph I affected a compromise with Hungary only. The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 and the never realized coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Bohemia led to a disappointment of some Czech politicians. The Bohemian Crown lands became part of

1742-542: The Crown of Saint Wenceslaus . When the country regained its independence after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1918, the new name of Czechoslovakia was coined to reflect the union of the Czech and Slovak nations within one country. After Czechoslovakia dissolved on the last day of 1992, Česko was adopted as the Czech short name for the new state and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of

1809-478: The Czech Republic recommended Czechia for the English-language equivalent. This form was not widely adopted at the time, leading to the long name Czech Republic being used in English in nearly all circumstances. The Czech government directed use of Czechia as the official English short name in 2016. The short name has been listed by the United Nations and is used by other organizations such as

1876-756: The Czech Republic belongs to the Central European province of the Circumboreal Region , within the Boreal Kingdom . According to the World Wide Fund for Nature , the territory of the Czech Republic can be subdivided into four ecoregions : the Western European broadleaf forests , Central European mixed forests , Pannonian mixed forests , and Carpathian montane conifer forests . There are four national parks in

1943-578: The Czech Republic by means of a festival occurred. Preparing the first year took 3 years in total. The organizers succeeded in bringing the most famous names in the field from all over the world and with the kind support of the capital city of Prague, and the municipal districts of Praha 1 and Praha 2, as well as other partners they started the light festival tradition. The festival was first held in October 2013, and attracted around 250,000 visitors. Local landmarks used for projections included Charles Bridge ,

2010-627: The Czech Republic. The oldest is Krkonoše National Park ( Biosphere Reserve ), and the others are Šumava National Park (Biosphere Reserve), Podyjí National Park , and Bohemian Switzerland . The three historical lands of the Czech Republic (formerly some countries of the Bohemian Crown) correspond with the river basins of the Elbe and the Vltava basin for Bohemia, the Morava one for Moravia, and

2077-896: The Flightnetwork.com chart of 36 best world events. The festival organizers have also established the SIGNALlab creative centre, in Holešovice Hall No. 40, organised a second annual Transmit conference, held in March 2017. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Far From Home , the characters visit the Signal Festival on a school trip around Europe . Czech Republic – in Europe  (green & dark gray) – in

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2144-635: The Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II and his court. The Defenestration of Prague and subsequent revolt against the Habsburgs in 1618 marked the start of the Thirty Years' War . In 1620, the rebellion in Bohemia was crushed at the Battle of White Mountain and the ties between Bohemia and the Habsburgs' hereditary lands in Austria were strengthened. The leaders of the Bohemian Revolt were executed in 1621 . The nobility and

2211-443: The Oder river basin for Czech Silesia (in terms of the Czech territory). The Czech Republic has a temperate climate, situated in the transition zone between the oceanic and continental climate types, with warm summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. The temperature difference between summer and winter is due to the landlocked geographical position. Temperatures vary depending on the elevation. In general, at higher altitudes,

2278-439: The SIGNAL Festival has become a respected platform on an international scale and a sought-after venue for introducing the newest projects of the field. The financing of the festival is drawn from the support of grant programs such as those of the Magistrate of the Capital City of Prague, the Ministry of Regional Development, and the municipal districts involved, as well as through partnership with commercial entities and revenues from

2345-455: The Slavic tribe ( Czech : Češi, Čechové ) and, according to legend, their leader Čech , who brought them to Bohemia, to settle on Říp Mountain. The etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root * čel- , meaning "member of the people; kinsman", thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk (a person). The country has been traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia ( Čechy ) in

2412-447: The Younger was the first director. It began with instruction in drawing . The academy was gradually expanded to include programs in architecture , painting , printmaking , and sculpture , among others. In 1990 drastic reforms were undertaken by rector Milan Knížák to reorganize the concept and internal structure of the school. By 1991 new media related study programs including film and computer animation were added. Today,

2479-442: The alliance of Pirates and Mayors . In January 2023, retired general Petr Pavel won the presidential election , becoming new Czech president to succeed Miloš Zeman. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , the country took in half a million Ukrainian refugees , the largest number per capita in the world. The Czech Republic lies mostly between latitudes 48° and 51° N and longitudes 12° and 19° E . Bohemia , to

2546-400: The ambiguity of this historical period. Ottoman Turks and Tatars invaded Moravia in 1663. In 1679–1680 the Czech lands faced the Great Plague of Vienna and an uprising of serfs. There were peasant uprisings influenced by famine. Serfdom was abolished between 1781 and 1848. Several battles of the Napoleonic Wars took place on the current territory of the Czech Republic. The end of

2613-418: The area, dating back to the Paleolithic era. In the classical era , as a result of the 3rd century BC Celtic migrations, Bohemia became associated with the Boii . The Boii founded an oppidum near the site of modern Prague. Later in the 1st century, the Germanic tribes of the Marcomanni and Quadi settled there. Slavs from the Black Sea – Carpathian region settled in the area (their migration

2680-421: The auxiliary activities of the festival. The festival was the idea of producer Martin Pošta, curator Jan Rolník and artist Amar Mulabegovic from the group of artists The Macula. After the success of video mapping which was realized in 2010 by The Macula group and Martin Pošta on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the Prague astronomical clock an idea of a large-scale performance in the field of light art in

2747-400: The common state. This process was largely successful; in 2006 the Czech Republic was recognized by the World Bank as a "developed country", and in 2009 the Human Development Index ranked it as a nation of "Very High Human Development". From 1991, the Czech Republic, originally as part of Czechoslovakia and since 1993 in its own right, has been a member of the Visegrád Group and from 1995,

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2814-398: The country became part of the First Czechoslovak Republic following the collapse of Austria-Hungary after World War I . Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a parliamentary democracy during the entirety of the interwar period . After the Munich Agreement in 1938, Nazi Germany systematically took control over the Czech lands. Czechoslovakia

2881-404: The country's administrative regions. The Chamber of Deputies, the successor to the Czech National Council , has the powers and responsibilities of the now defunct federal parliament of the former Czechoslovakia. The members of the Senate are elected in single-seat constituencies by two-round runoff voting for a six-year term, with one-third elected every even year in the autumn. This arrangement

2948-437: The country, first as a result of local acts of violence and then under the aegis of an "organized transfer" confirmed by the Soviet Union, the United States, and Great Britain at the Potsdam Conference . In the 1946 elections , the Communist Party gained 38% of the votes and became the largest party in the Czechoslovak parliament, formed a coalition with other parties, and consolidated power. A coup d'état came in 1948 and

3015-480: The extermination, expulsion, Germanization or enslavement of most or all Czechs for the purpose of providing more living space for the German people. There was Czechoslovak resistance to Nazi occupation as well as reprisals against the Czechoslovaks for their anti-Nazi resistance. The German occupation ended on 9 May 1945, with the arrival of the Soviet and American armies and the Prague uprising . Most of Czechoslovakia's German-speakers were forcibly expelled from

3082-400: The festival were presented as their world or European premieres. The festival was free admission except for the two installations (SIGNAL Dome and videomapping in Tyršův dům). The Signal Festival’s fifth edition was held between 12 and 15 October. As part of its anniversary, the Festival prepared some new things for its visitors. For the first time, there were two routes, the traditional one at

3149-668: The festival, from 13–16 October, attracted 578,137 people according to data collected by Cisco Systems , partner of the festival. For the first time, the festival included a daytime program, aimed primarily at children, consisting of a spherical projection, Charles IV , by Jan Šíma , projected in the Signal Dome every day, from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. The 2016 festival consisted of 23 installations (15 light installations, 4 videomappings or spherical projections and 4 interactive installations) created by artists from 11 countries. The installations were located mainly in Prague 1, but also in Prague 2 and Prague 3. Two thirds of installations at

3216-410: The first time an educational platform, named Transmit, intended for light design specialists, artists and other professionals from the light and digital design field, as well as a spherical dome, the Signal Dome, located on Klárov , the only pay-to-enter installation. The Signal Dome consisted of a 15-minute spherical projection by French artist Joanie Lemercier , entitled Nimbes . The fourth year of

3283-435: The hottest measured, was at 40.4 °C (104.7 °F) in Dobřichovice in 2012. Most rain falls during the summer. Sporadic rainfall is throughout the year (in Prague, the average number of days per month experiencing at least 0.1 mm (0.0039 in) of rain varies from 12 in September and October to 16 in November) but concentrated rainfall (days with more than 10 mm (0.39 in) per day) are more frequent in

3350-400: The late 9th century when it was unified by the Přemyslid dynasty . Bohemia was from 1002 until 1806 an Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire . In 1212, Přemysl Ottokar I extracted the Golden Bull of Sicily from the emperor, confirming Ottokar and his descendants' royal status; the Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a Kingdom . German immigrants settled in the Bohemian periphery in

3417-406: The lead. This new country incorporated the Bohemian Crown . The First Czechoslovak Republic comprised only 27% of the population of the former Austria-Hungary, but nearly 80% of the industry, which enabled it to compete with Western industrial states. In 1929 compared to 1913, the gross domestic product increased by 52% and industrial production by 41%. In 1938 Czechoslovakia held 10th place in

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3484-420: The lowlands of the South Moravian Region , the average temperature is as high as 10 °C (50 °F). The country's capital, Prague, has a similar average temperature, although this is influenced by urban factors. The coldest month is usually January, followed by February and December. During these months, there is snow in the mountains and sometimes in the cities and lowlands. During March, April, and May,

3551-471: The middle class Protestants had to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. The following era of 1620 to the late 18th century became known as the "Dark Age". During the Thirty Years' War, the population of the Czech lands declined by a third through the expulsion of Czech Protestants as well as due to the war, disease and famine . The Habsburgs prohibited all Christian confessions other than Catholicism . The flowering of Baroque culture shows

3618-684: The months of May to August (average around two such days per month). Severe thunderstorms , producing damaging straight-line winds, hail , and occasional tornadoes occur, especially during the summer period. As of 2020, the Czech Republic ranks as the 21st most environmentally conscious country in the world in Environmental Performance Index . It had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.71/10, ranking it 160th globally out of 172 countries. The Czech Republic has four National Parks ( Šumava National Park , Krkonoše National Park , České Švýcarsko National Park , Podyjí National Park ) and 25 Protected Landscape Areas. The Czech Republic

3685-450: The parliament for a five-year term, with no more than two consecutive terms ( Václav Havel and Václav Klaus were both elected twice). Since 2013, the president has been elected directly. Some commentators have argued that, with the introduction of direct election of the President, the Czech Republic has moved away from the parliamentary system and towards a semi-presidential one. The Government 's exercise of executive power derives from

3752-440: The prestigious Burning Man festival in Nevada. As part of its 5th anniversary, the SIGNAL festival repeated all videomapping projections, which were shown at the Cathedral of St Ludmila in the Peace square (náměstí Míru). Five videomapping projections took nearly forty minutes and people could go to see them every festival evening starting from 11 p.m. The festival was included among the top priority cultural events of Prague and

3819-446: The region into the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia . The Protectorate was proclaimed part of the Third Reich, and the president and prime minister were subordinated to Nazi Germany's Reichsprotektor . One Nazi concentration camp was located within the Czech territory at Terezín , north of Prague. The vast majority of the Protectorate's Jews were murdered in Nazi-run concentration camps . The Nazi Generalplan Ost called for

3886-418: The so-called Cisleithania . The Czech Social Democratic and progressive politicians started the fight for universal suffrage. The first elections under universal male suffrage were held in 1907. In 1918, during the collapse of the Habsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, the independent republic of Czechoslovakia , which joined the winning Allied powers, was created, with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk in

3953-411: The temperature usually increases, especially during April, when the temperature and weather tends to vary during the day. Spring is also characterized by higher water levels in the rivers, due to melting snow with occasional flooding. The warmest month of the year is July, followed by August and June. On average, summer temperatures are about 20–30 °C (36–54 °F) higher than during winter. Summer

4020-407: The temperatures decrease and precipitation increases. The wettest area in the Czech Republic is found around Bílý Potok in Jizera Mountains and the driest region is the Louny District to the northwest of Prague . Another factor is the distribution of the mountains. At the highest peak of Sněžka (1,603 m or 5,259 ft), the average temperature is −0.4 °C (31 °F), whereas in

4087-409: The west, Moravia ( Morava ) in the east, and Czech Silesia ( Slezsko ; the smaller, south-eastern part of historical Silesia , most of which is located within modern Poland) in the northeast. Known as the lands of the Bohemian Crown since the 14th century, a number of other names for the country have been used, including Czech/Bohemian lands , Bohemian Crown , Czechia , and the lands of

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4154-408: The west, consists of a basin drained by the Elbe ( Czech : Labe ) and the Vltava rivers, surrounded by mostly low mountains, such as the Krkonoše range of the Sudetes . The highest point in the country, Sněžka at 1,603 m (5,259 ft), is located here. Moravia, the eastern part of the country, is also hilly. It is drained mainly by the Morava River , but it also contains the source of

4221-445: The world industrial production. Czechoslovakia was the only country in Central and Eastern Europe to remain a liberal democracy throughout the entire interwar period. Although the First Czechoslovak Republic was a unitary state , it provided certain rights to its minorities, the largest being Germans (23.6% in 1921), Hungarians (5.6%) and Ukrainians (3.5%). Western Czechoslovakia was occupied by Nazi Germany , which placed most of

4288-399: Was choosing installations from an open call and the section was meant to support the art of emerging artists or artists from the Czech Republic who have not been established yet. SIGNAL introduced works of Milena Dopitová’s atelier at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague , group of artists Blok_4 or group of young artists Heardt with the installation of the same name, the premiere of which was at

4355-406: 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

4422-539: Was pushed by an invasion of peoples from Siberia and Eastern Europe into their area: Huns , Avars , Bulgars and Magyars ). In the sixth century, the Huns had moved westwards into Bohemia, Moravia, and some of present-day Austria and Germany. During the 7th century, the Frankish merchant Samo , supporting the Slavs fighting against nearby settled Avars , became the ruler of the first documented Slavic state in Central Europe, Samo's Empire . The principality of Great Moravia , controlled by Moymir dynasty , arose in

4489-405: Was restored in 1945 and three years later became an Eastern Bloc communist state following a coup d'état in 1948. Attempts to liberalize the government and economy were suppressed by a Soviet -led invasion of the country during the Prague Spring in 1968. In November 1989, the Velvet Revolution ended communist rule in the country and restored democracy . On 31 December 1992, Czechoslovakia

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