The Czech lands or the Bohemian lands
(, ) is a historical-geographical term which denotes the three
historical region
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
s of
Bohemia,
Moravia, and
Czech Silesia out of which
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, and later 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
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
, were formed. Together the three have formed the Czech part of Czechoslovakia since 1919, and the Czech Republic since 1 January 1993.
In a historical context, Czech texts use the term to refer to any territory ruled by the
Kings of Bohemia, i.e., the
lands of the Bohemian Crown (') as established by Emperor
Charles IV in the 14th century. This includes territories like the
Lusatias (which in 1635 fell to
Saxony) and the whole of
Silesia, which at the time were all ruled from
Prague Castle. Since the conquest of Silesia by the
Prussian king
Frederick the Great in the
First Silesian War in 1742, the remaining lands of the Bohemian Crown—Bohemia, Moravia and
Austrian Silesia—have been more or less co-extensive with the territory of the modern-day Czech Republic.
Alternative names
The term Czech lands has been used to describe different things by different people. While the Czech name of Bohemia proper is ''Čechy'', the adjective ''český'' refers to both "Bohemian" and "Czech". The non-auxiliary term (i.e. the term used in official Czech geographical terminology lists) for the present-day Czech lands (i.e. Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia) is ''Česko'', documented as early as 1704.
During the period of the First and Second Czechoslovak Republics, the Czech lands were frequently referred to as ''Historical lands'', in particular when mentioned together with
Slovakia
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
(which was never an autonomous historical region within the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
).
History
The Bohemian lands had been settled by Celts (
Boii) from 5th century BC until the 2nd century AD, and then by various Germanic tribes (
Marcomanni,
Quadi
The Quadi were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people during the Roman era, who were prominent in Greek and Roman records from about 20 AD to about 400 AD. By about 20 AD they had a kingdom centred in the area of present-day western Slovakia, north ...
,
Lombards and others) until they moved on to the west during the
Migration Period (1st–5th century). At the beginning of the 5th century the population decreased dramatically and, according to
mythology, was led by a chieftain named ''Čech''. The first
Western Slavs came in the second half of the 6th century. In the course of the decline of the
Great Moravian realm during the
Hungarian invasions of Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries, the Czech
Přemyslid dynasty established the
Duchy of Bohemia. Backed by the
East Frankish kings, they prevailed against the reluctant Bohemian nobility and extended their rule eastwards over the adjacent
Moravian lands.
In 1198, Duke
Ottokar I of Bohemia received the royal title by the
German anti-king Philip of Swabia. Attached to his
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...
was the
Margraviate of Moravia established in 1182 and
Kłodzko Land, the later
County of Kladsko. From the second part of the 13th century onwards,
German colonists ("
German Bohemians"), who had already been living in Prague since the early 12th century, settled in the mountainous border area on the basis of the king's invitation during the ''
Ostsiedlung''.
The Silesian lands north of the
Sudetes mountain range had been ruled by the Polish
Piast dynasty from the 10th century onwards. While Bohemia rose to a kingdom, the
Silesian Piasts alienated from the fragmenting
Kingdom of Poland. After in 1310 the Bohemian crown had passed to the mighty
House of Luxembourg, nearly all
Silesian dukes pledged allegiance to King
John the Blind, and in 1335 the Polish king
Casimir III the Great officially renounced Silesia via the
Treaty of Trentschin. King John had also acquired the lands of
Bautzen and
Görlitz (later
Upper Lusatia
Upper Lusatia (, ; , ; ; or ''Milsko''; ) is a historical region in Germany and Poland. Along with Lower Lusatia to the north, it makes up the region of Lusatia, named after the Polabian Slavs, Slavic ''Lusici'' tribe. Both parts of Lusatia a ...
) in 1319 and 1329. His son and successor Charles IV, also
King of the Romans since 1346, incorporated the Silesian and Lusatian estates into the Bohemian Crown and upon his coronation as
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
confirmed their indivisibility from and affiliation with the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
.
In 1367 Emperor Charles IV also purchased the former
March of Lusatia (
Lower Lusatia) in the northwest. However, during the
Thirty Years' War both Lusatias passed to the Electorate of Saxony by the
Peace of Prague. After the Bohemian Crown (
Crown of Saint Wenceslas) passed to the
House of Habsburg in 1526, the Bohemian
crown lands together with the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
and the
Austrian "hereditary lands" became part of the larger
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...
. In 1742 the Habsburg queen
Maria Theresa lost the bulk of Silesia to Prussia in the
First Silesian War, part of the
War of the Austrian Succession.
Duchy of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire in 11th century.svg, The Czech state in form of Duchy of Bohemia (green) in 11th century, within the Holy Roman Empire (light green).
Locator Lands of the Bohemian Crown within the Holy Roman Empire (1618).svg, Czech lands in form of Lands of the Bohemian Crown (red) in the 17th century, within Holy Roman Empire
Coats of arms
The coat of arms of the Czech Republic incorporates those of the three integral Czech lands: Bohemia proper, Moravia, and Czech Silesia. The arms of Bohemia originated with the Kingdom of Bohemia, like those of Moravia with the Moravian margraviate. The arms of Czech Silesia originated as those of all of the historical region of Silesia, much of which is now in
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 ...
.
Small coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg, Bohemia, also used as the Lesser coat of arms of the modern Czech Republic
Znak Moravy.svg, Moravia
Znak Slezska.svg, Silesia
Coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg, Greater coat of arms of the present-day Czech Republic
See also
*
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia
*
Kłodzko Land
*
Inquisition in the Czech lands
References
Sources
*
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.
.
Historical regions in the Czech Republic
Geography of the Czech Republic
History of Bohemia
History of Czech Silesia
History of Moravia
Subdivisions of Austria-Hungary
Crown land
Boii
Bohemia under Habsburg rule