Hlavac
Kaplan
Javurek
Herel-Langr
Gottwald
Czech history is convoluted, but it is no less than 1000 years old definitely, and perhaps as old as 1300 years old. What is
known is that about 600 AD it is hinted at in legend that a man named Czech led his tribe to where Prague is today and said
to his people: "We have found the promised land and we shall look no more." They haven't budged since.
Some where about 900 AD there was a woman named Libuse who was the heir to the throne of Czech. She married
someone named Premysl -- and founded the Premysl dynasty that lasted from 900 AD to 1306. Not a bad run for a family.
Except that there was also a place called the Margravate of Moravia, which morphed into the Great Moravian Empire, which
for the times was quite big. It lasted from about 800 AD to 1100 AD. Then it became part of the Dukedom of Bohemia,
which in turn became the Kingdom of Bohemia in about 1200 AD. In 1306 the last Premysl that could be found was dead
and the country needed a king. (Well, not really, but it was the Middle Ages, so they thought they did.) So they hired John
of Luxembourg. Then it got weird. But his son Vaclav, who became Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire brought the country to its height. He's the one who built the Charles Bridge (which wasn't named such until
1870, five hundred years or so after it was built.) And he started Charles University. And he built Karlstein, the most famous
of Czech castles. And he started St. Vitus, the Cathedral that soars out of the top of Hradcany, above the skyline of Prague.
So he's the guy who created the four Icons of the Czech Republic. He was, shall we say, a mucky-muck.
known is that about 600 AD it is hinted at in legend that a man named Czech led his tribe to where Prague is today and said
to his people: "We have found the promised land and we shall look no more." They haven't budged since.
Some where about 900 AD there was a woman named Libuse who was the heir to the throne of Czech. She married
someone named Premysl -- and founded the Premysl dynasty that lasted from 900 AD to 1306. Not a bad run for a family.
Except that there was also a place called the Margravate of Moravia, which morphed into the Great Moravian Empire, which
for the times was quite big. It lasted from about 800 AD to 1100 AD. Then it became part of the Dukedom of Bohemia,
which in turn became the Kingdom of Bohemia in about 1200 AD. In 1306 the last Premysl that could be found was dead
and the country needed a king. (Well, not really, but it was the Middle Ages, so they thought they did.) So they hired John
of Luxembourg. Then it got weird. But his son Vaclav, who became Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy
Roman Empire brought the country to its height. He's the one who built the Charles Bridge (which wasn't named such until
1870, five hundred years or so after it was built.) And he started Charles University. And he built Karlstein, the most famous
of Czech castles. And he started St. Vitus, the Cathedral that soars out of the top of Hradcany, above the skyline of Prague.
So he's the guy who created the four Icons of the Czech Republic. He was, shall we say, a mucky-muck.
Czech History at a glance.
Charles's son Vaclav was,
to put it charitably, a bad
king, mostly. But he was
tolerant. So tolerant that a
new religious belief arose. It
was led by Jan Hus (John
Goose; really) and was
very Anti-Catholic. The
Pope was not amused. So
he had Jan Hus burned at
the stake on July 6th,
1415 -- and that's, believe
it or not, where the phrase
"he cooked his own goose"
came from. He trusted the
Catholic bishops to give
him a fair hearing for his
views on church practice
and governance. The day
after he arrived at the
conference they threw him
in jail while they went to
find some fire wood. He
was Mr. Goose, he went to
the conference on his own
volition; hence he did it to
himself. After that there
near continuous war --
called the Hussite Wars,
then the 30 Years War,
then the Estates Rebellion,
then the Reformation itself
... well, there were so many
wars and battles that it is
hard to name them all.
Eventually, the Czechs lost
to the Catholics, at the
battle of The White
Mountain in 1620. But,
from 1415 to 1620 the
small nation of Czechs,
fighting for religious
freedom, fought the
combined armies of the
Catholic Nations of Europe,
and won almost every
battle, until the last
devastating one. That
brought in 300 years of
Austrian Hapsburg Catholic
repression and assimilation.
They almost succeeded in
wiping out the Czech
people, nation and
language.
to put it charitably, a bad
king, mostly. But he was
tolerant. So tolerant that a
new religious belief arose. It
was led by Jan Hus (John
Goose; really) and was
very Anti-Catholic. The
Pope was not amused. So
he had Jan Hus burned at
the stake on July 6th,
1415 -- and that's, believe
it or not, where the phrase
"he cooked his own goose"
came from. He trusted the
Catholic bishops to give
him a fair hearing for his
views on church practice
and governance. The day
after he arrived at the
conference they threw him
in jail while they went to
find some fire wood. He
was Mr. Goose, he went to
the conference on his own
volition; hence he did it to
himself. After that there
near continuous war --
called the Hussite Wars,
then the 30 Years War,
then the Estates Rebellion,
then the Reformation itself
... well, there were so many
wars and battles that it is
hard to name them all.
Eventually, the Czechs lost
to the Catholics, at the
battle of The White
Mountain in 1620. But,
from 1415 to 1620 the
small nation of Czechs,
fighting for religious
freedom, fought the
combined armies of the
Catholic Nations of Europe,
and won almost every
battle, until the last
devastating one. That
brought in 300 years of
Austrian Hapsburg Catholic
repression and assimilation.
They almost succeeded in
wiping out the Czech
people, nation and
language.
But we came back, roaringly so. And in 1917 Czechoslovakia was born out of the ashes of World War I. The "slovakia" part is
from, well Slovakia. And Slovakia had never been an independent nation. In fact, from about 1000 AD until 1917 it was tightly
controlled province of Hungary. With the two peoples now in one country they gave to the world perhaps the hardest to spell
name of any country on earth. This Czechoslovakia lasted until 1938, when the British Prime Minister gave the country to Hitler,
without really asking the Czechs and the Slovaks if that's what they wanted. So Hitler cut the nation into two -- and made
Bohemia and Moravia provinces of Germany and made Slovakia and independent country. That lasted until 1945, when the
whole was put back together again. In 1949 the communists took over and put the country into a deep dark sleep and
depression. Except for a brief awakening in the Spring of 1968, which was crushed by an invasion of the Good Socialist Republics
that surrounded Czechoslovakia. The newly repressed country lasted until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Then, in 1993, the two
got a Velvet Divorce. That's what it is called. And it is about the only country on earth that ever divided itself through a very
peaceful meeting in a very modern house in Brno. And so now there are two separate republics, the Czech and the Slovak.
There has never been a language called Czechoslovakian -- you either speak Czech or Slovakian, or both. They can understand
each other about as well as an American from Glasgow Mississippi can understand someone from Glasgow Scotland, which is, as
you can imagine, problematical. For me, I guess I'm 100% Czech, unless you count who knows what Huns, Tartars, Germans,
Swedes, Norse and other rampaging invaders that might have, um, had a hand in creating the next generation. That will
probably never be known. But for the most part, we can trace back to about the 1500s on some sides, and the 1700s and very
early 1800s on some others.
from, well Slovakia. And Slovakia had never been an independent nation. In fact, from about 1000 AD until 1917 it was tightly
controlled province of Hungary. With the two peoples now in one country they gave to the world perhaps the hardest to spell
name of any country on earth. This Czechoslovakia lasted until 1938, when the British Prime Minister gave the country to Hitler,
without really asking the Czechs and the Slovaks if that's what they wanted. So Hitler cut the nation into two -- and made
Bohemia and Moravia provinces of Germany and made Slovakia and independent country. That lasted until 1945, when the
whole was put back together again. In 1949 the communists took over and put the country into a deep dark sleep and
depression. Except for a brief awakening in the Spring of 1968, which was crushed by an invasion of the Good Socialist Republics
that surrounded Czechoslovakia. The newly repressed country lasted until the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Then, in 1993, the two
got a Velvet Divorce. That's what it is called. And it is about the only country on earth that ever divided itself through a very
peaceful meeting in a very modern house in Brno. And so now there are two separate republics, the Czech and the Slovak.
There has never been a language called Czechoslovakian -- you either speak Czech or Slovakian, or both. They can understand
each other about as well as an American from Glasgow Mississippi can understand someone from Glasgow Scotland, which is, as
you can imagine, problematical. For me, I guess I'm 100% Czech, unless you count who knows what Huns, Tartars, Germans,
Swedes, Norse and other rampaging invaders that might have, um, had a hand in creating the next generation. That will
probably never be known. But for the most part, we can trace back to about the 1500s on some sides, and the 1700s and very
early 1800s on some others.
| There are plenty of books and websites about the history of the Czech lands and its people. If you want to know more and can't find anything just ask me, and I'd be glad to direct you. |