
The border between the Czech Republic and Germany (; ) is the
international border between the
Czech Republic
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 south ...
and
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
. It forms a
arc extending from the
tripoint
A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...
with
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
at the south to the tripoint with
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
at the north.
Rivers
Several rivers cross this border, or form portions of it. These include:
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Chamb
The Chamb () is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a right tributary of the Regen (river), Regen River. It flows through Bavaria and Plzeň Region. It is long.
Etymology
The name is derived from the Celtic word ''kambos'', which transla ...
()
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Pfreimd ()
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Wondreb ()
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Ohře
The Ohře (), also known in English and German as Eger (), is a river in Germany and the Czech Republic, a left tributary of the Elbe River. It flows through the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia in Germany, and through the Karlovy Vary Region ...
()
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Mže ()
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White Elster
The White Elster (, ) is a river in central Europe. It is a right tributary of the Saale. The source of the White Elster is in the westernmost part of the Czech Republic, in the territory of Hazlov. After a few kilometres, it flows into easte ...
()
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Natzschung ()
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Flöha ()
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Wild Weißeritz ()
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Müglitz ()
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Biela ()
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Elbe
The Elbe ( ; ; or ''Elv''; Upper Sorbian, Upper and , ) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Republic), then Ge ...
()
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Spree ()
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Mandau ()
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Lusatian Neisse
The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe. (, )
History
The border comes from the border of the Lands of the
Bohemian Crown, which later became the border between the German Empire and the Austrian Empire.
In the period 1945–1990, the West German–
Czechoslovak border formed part of the
Iron Curtain
The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
and was heavily fenced and strictly guarded.
The Czech Republic joined the
Schengen Area
The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...
in 2007. This meant that all passport checks were removed along the border in December 2007. The limitations on Czechs working in Germany expired in April 2011.
See also
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Czechoslovakian border fortifications during the Cold War
The protection of borders between the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic (CSSR) and several of the capitalist countries of Western Europe, namely with Germany and Austria, in the Cold War era and especially after 1951, was provided by special troo ...
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Czech Republic–Germany relations
Notes
Further reading
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External links
Border lines Germany – Czech Republic(railways)
European Union internal borders
Borders of the Czech Republic
Borders of Germany
International borders
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