Culture and Customs of the Czech Republic

Arts, Crafts, and Architecture

Arts

Crafts

Architecture

Museums

Customs and Traditions

Local Traditions

Etiquette

Dress and Behavior

Sensitive or Taboo Topics

Languages

Czech is the country's official language and is spoken by 96% of the population. It belongs to the Slavic language family, alongside Slovak, Polish, Serbian, Russian, Croatian, and Bulgarian. While the alphabet used is Latin, the Czech writing system is characterized by extensive use of accents, which can change the meaning of a word and make decoding them not always straightforward.

Among minority languages, Slovak, Polish, and Romani are spoken locally by a small portion of the population. As for foreign languages, English and German are widely spoken, as is Russian among older generations. French, however, is spoken by very few people.

Phrasebook

A few useful local words and expressions to know while traveling:

Festivals and Celebrations

Public Holidays

January 1: Day of the Restoration of the Czech State and New Year’s Day

Easter Monday

May 1: Labor Day

May 8: Liberation from Fascism Day

July 5: Day of Slavic Missionaries Cyril and Methodius

July 6: Day of the Burning of Jan Hus (1415)

September 28: Czech Statehood Day

October 28: Day of the Creation of Independent Czechoslovakia (1918)

November 17: Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day

December 24–26: Christmas