English summary of the monograph published in Czech (2012): Podzemné vody České republiky - Regionální hydrogeologie prostých a minerálních vod. Introduction: The Czech Republic (Czechia) is situated in Central Europe, bordered by Germany in the west and northwest, Austria in the south, Poland in the northeast, and Slovakia in the east. The country covers approximately 79,000 km2, and has a population of more than ten million. The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague (Czech name: Praha) with 1.2 million inhabitants. The Czech Republic has no access to the sea and its elevation reaches 1,602 m a.s.l. at the highest point. The topography in the western part (Bohemia) is like a saucer, flat or gently undulating at the centre with mountains along its borders. The eastern part (Moravia and Silesia) is open to the south with the highest mountains situated to the north and northeast. The area lies within the temperate climatic zone: the mean long-term annual precipitation is 668 mm, with mean long-term monthly temperatures reaching their minimum in January (0.0 ) and maximum in July (17.4 C). The main rivers are the Vltava (Moldau) and the Labe (Elbe) in Bohemia and the Morava and the Odra (Oder) in Moravia and Silesia. The mean long-term total runoff of the rivers is 480 m3/s, representing 29% of the mean long-term precipitation. On average, groundwater contributes 43% of the total runoff.