Where Is the Center of Europe?

Czechoslovakia is a landlocked country in central Europe. It’s central, all right. The nation’s capital, Prague, is located at almost the geographical center of Europe.

This nation has three regions, two governments, and two languages. In the western part of the country is the region of Bohemia, the home of a Slavic people known as Czechs. In the central part of the country is Moravia, and in the eastern part is Slovakia. The Czechs and the Slovaks each have their own language, and each of’ these two regions has a government of its own!

Slavic people first entered this region in the sixth and seventh centuries. The Slovakia region was long ruled by Hungary, while Bohemia was long under the control of Austria. After World War 1, the new nation of Czechoslovakia was carved out of the defeated empire of Austria-Hungary.

Although a small nation, with a population of just 15 million, Czechoslovakia is today the world’s tenth largest producer of both steel and coal. It’s also the third largest producer of beer, in relation to its population, Czechoslovakia produces 40 gallons of beer per person each year! A kind of beer known as Pilsner originated in the Czechoslovakian city of Plzen.