The Czech Republic () (, short form in , ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe and a member state of the European Union. The country has borders with Poland to the north, Germany to the northwest and west, Austria to the south, and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague (), a major tourist destination. The country is composed of the historic regions of Bohemia and Moravia, as well as parts of Silesia. The Czech lands were under Habsburg rule from 1526, later becoming part of the Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary. The independent republic of Czechoslovakia was created in 1918, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire after World War I. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, disillusion with the Western response and occupation by the Red Army, the Communist party gained the majority in 1946 elections. Czechoslovakia was a Communist state from 1948 until the 1989 Velvet Revolution. On 1 January 199