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{{History of the Czech Republic}}

The '''history of the Czech lands''' – an area roughly corresponding to the present-day [[Czech Republic]] – starts approximately 800 years BCE. A simple chopper from that age was discovered at the Red Hill ({{langx|cs|Červený kopec}}) archeological site in [[Brno]].<ref name="Valoch">{{cite journal |last1=Valoch |first1=Karel |title=The oldest Palaeolithic industry in Europe |journal=Archeologické rozhledy |date=2011 |volume=LXIII |page=22 |url=https://www.arup.cas.cz/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/AR_2011_1_mr.pdf |access-date=2 February 2021}}</ref> Many different primitive cultures left their traces throughout the [[Stone Age]], which lasted approximately until 2000 BCE. The most widely known culture present in the Czech lands during the pre-historical era is the [[Únětice Culture]], leaving traces for about five centuries from the end of the Stone Age to the start of the [[Bronze Age]]. [[Celts]] – who came during the 5th century BCE – are the first people known by name. One of the Celtic tribes were the [[Boii]] (plural), who gave the Czech lands their first name ''Boiohaemum'' – Latin for ''the Land of Boii''. Before the beginning of the Common Era the Celts were mostly pushed out by Germanic tribes. The most notable of those tribes were the [[Marcomanni]] and traces of their wars with the [[Roman Empire]] were left in south Moravia.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Čornej |first1=Petr |title=Fundamentals of Czech history |date=1992 |publisher=Práh |location=Prague |isbn=80-901278-1-9 |page=4 }}</ref>

After the turbulent times of the [[Migration Period]], the Czech lands were ultimately settled by the [[Early Slavs|Slavic]] tribes. The year of 623 marks the formation of the first known state in the Czech lands,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Krejčíř |first1=Jaroslav |title=Czech history: chronological survey |date=1996 |publisher=INFOA |location=Dubicko |isbn=80-85836-27-0 |page=7}}</ref> when [[Samo]] united the local Slavic tribes, defended their lands from the [[Avars (Caucasus)|Avars]] to the east and – few years later – won the battle of Wogastisburg against the Franks invading the Czech lands from the west.<ref>Čornej 1992, pp. 4-5</ref>  The next state appearing in the Czech lands after the dissolution of the Samo's state was probably the [[Great Moravia]]. The center of its power lay in the area of Moravia and present-day western Slovakia. In 863, [[Cyril and Methodius]], two scholars from Greece, brought Christianity to the Great Moravia and established the first Slavic script – [[Glagolitic script|Glagolitsa]].<ref>Čornej 1992, pp. 6-7</ref> The Great Moravia fell during the [[Magyar tribes|Magyar]] invasion at the start of the 10th century.

A new state formed around the tribe of [[Premyslids]], who founded the Duchy of Bohemia. The duchy existed largely within the sphere of influence of the [[East Franconia]] and later the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. The duchy sided with the Roman Catholic Church during the [[East-West Schism]] and in 1212, the duke [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Ottokar I]] was granted the hereditary title of king for his service to the Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]. The Přemyslid dynasty died out at the start of the 14th century and was replaced by the [[Luxembourg dynasty]]. The most notable of the Luxembourg rulers was Charles IV, who was elected the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He established the Archbishopric of Prague and [[Charles University]], the first university north of the Alps and east of Paris. The start of the 15th century saw the rise of [[Proto-Protestantism|Proto-Protestantic]] sentiments in the Czech lands. The execution of [[Jan Hus]] sparked the [[Hussite Wars]] and the religious split that followed them. The [[Jagiellon dynasty]] ascended the Czech throne in 1471. They ruled for half a century before the king [[Louis II of Hungary|Louis Jagiellon]] died in the [[Battle of Mohács]] and the empty throne was given to the [[House of Habsburg]].

After the death of the Emperor [[Rudolf II of Habsburg]], the religious and political tensions grew, resulting in the [[Defenestrations of Prague#The 1618 Defenestration of Prague|Second Defenestration of Prague]], which sparked the [[Thirty Years' War]]. Many of the Czech nobles supported the Protestant side and were stripped of their properties as a result. Germanization and recatholicisation of the Czech lands followed. The spread of [[Romanticism]] during the late 18th century went hand in hand with the movement of the [[Czech National Revival]]. After 1848, the leading representatives of the Czech National Revival increased their political efforts to gain more autonomy for the Czech lands within the Habsburg Monarchy.

The start of [[World War I]] opened the possibility of gaining full independence and formation of a sovereign state. In the [[Cleveland Agreement]] of 1915, the Czech and Slovak representatives declared their goal of creating a common state, based on the right of a people to [[self-determination]]. After the capitulation of Austria-Hungary three years later, the [[Czechoslovak Republic]] became a reality. The so-called First Republic lasted for 20 years, cut short by the advent of the [[World War II]]. Following the end of World War II, the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]] took power in 1948, and Czechoslovakia became a member of the [[Eastern Bloc]]. In August 1968, armies of the [[Warsaw Pact]] invaded Czechoslovakia to prevent further attempts at the reformation of the Communist system. In November 1989, the Velvet Revolution replaced the Communist regime with a democratic [[Czech and Slovak Federative Republic]]. Three years later, Czech and Slovak representatives agreed to the [[Dissolution of Czechoslovakia]] and the formation of separate states. In 1999, the Czech Republic joined Nato and in 2004, became a member of the [[European Union]].

==Ancient times==

=== Stone Age ===
[[File:Vestonicka_venuse_edit.jpg|thumb|209x209px|[[Venus of Dolní Věstonice]], the oldest ceramic article in the world]]
A simple chopper – left by the ancestors of the present-day Homo Sapiens – dated to 800,000 BCE was uncovered in Red Hill in Brno. First evidence of human camps was found in [[Přezletice]] near Prague and in [[Stránská skála]] near Brno which dates to about 200,000 years after that.<ref name="Valoch"/> 
Stone tools were found in the [[Kůlna Cave]] in central Moravia, with the estimated age of 120,000 years. More stone tools and the skeletal remains of a [[Neanderthal]] man were found at the same site in a 50,000-year-old layer.<ref name="auto1">{{cite web |title=Archeology - The Kůlna Cave |url=https://visit.caves.cz/en/cave/sloupsko-susuvske-jeskyne/history |website=visit.caves.cz |publisher=Cave Administration of the Czech Republic |access-date=2 February 2021 |archive-date=5 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205131213/https://visit.caves.cz/en/cave/sloupsko-susuvske-jeskyne/history |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Human remains from 45,000 years ago were found in [[Koněprusy Caves]] in [[Zlatý kůň]] at [[Beroun District]].<ref>''Kay Prüfer'' et al. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-021-01443-x A genome sequence from a modern human skull over 45,000 years old from Zlatý kůň in Czechia], 07 April 2021</ref> Human remains from 30,000 years BCE were found in [[Mladeč caves]]<ref name="Wild 2006">{{cite book|last1=Wild|first1=Eva M.|display-authors=etal|editor1-last=Teschler-Nicola|editor1-first=Maria|title=Early Modern Humans at the Moravian Gate: The Mladeč Caves and their Remains|date=2006|publisher=[[Springer-Verlag]]|isbn=978-3-211-23588-1|chapter=Chapter 7: <sup>14</sup>C dating of early Upper Palaeolithic human and faunal remains from Mladeč}}</ref> [[mammoth]] tusks with complex engravings (again around 30,000 BCE) were found both in [[Pavlov (Břeclav District)|Pavlov]] and [[Předmostí u Přerova (archaeological site)|Předmostí at Přerov]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Svoboda |first1=Jiří |title=On landscapes, maps and Upper Paleolithic lifestyles in the central European corridor: the images of Pavlov and Předmostí |journal=Veleia |date=10 October 2017 |issue=34 |pages=67–74 |doi=10.1387/veleia.18074 |url=https://ojs.ehu.eus/index.php/Veleia/article/view/18074/17085 |access-date=2 February 2021|doi-access=free |hdl=10810/37322 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> making south Moravia one of the most important archeological areas in Europe.

The archeological site in Předmostí at Přerov represents the largest accumulation of human remains of the [[Gravettian]] culture,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Svoboda |first1=Jiří A. |title=The Gravettian on the Middle Danube |journal=PALEO. Revue d'archéologie préhistorique |date=30 December 2007 |issue=19 |pages=203–220 |doi=10.4000/paleo.607 |url=http://journals.openedition.org/paleo/607 |access-date=2 February 2021|doi-access=free }}</ref> 
known for creating so-called [[Venus figurines]]. One of such figurines is the famous [[Venus of Dolní Věstonice]] (29,000–25,000 BCE) found in [[Dolní Věstonice (archaeological site)|Dolní Věstonice]] in south Moravia along with many other artifacts from that time. Another Venus figurine is the [[Venus of Petřkovice]], found in what is today Ostrava. Remains of mammoth hunters from 22,000 BCE were also found in the aforementioned Kůlna Cave along with the remains of reindeer hunters and horse hunters, dated to about 10,000 years later.<ref name="auto1"/> Approximately between 5500 and 4500 BCE, people of the [[Linear Pottery culture]] resided in Czech lands. Their settlement was discovered in [[Bylany (archaeological site)|Bylany]] near Kutná hora. Their culture was succeeded by the [[Lengyel culture]], [[Funnelbeaker culture]] and [[Stroke-ornamented ware culture]], which coexisted in the Czech Lands during the end of the Stone Age.

===Copper Age and Bronze Age===
[[File:Urnfield sword.jpg|thumb|Bronze sword, [[Urnfield culture]], c. 1200 BC|140x140px]]

[[Corded Ware culture]] in the north and [[Baden culture]] in the south were the predominant cultures in the Czech Lands throughout the [[Chalcolithic Europe|Copper Age]]. The [[Bell Beaker culture]] represented the transition from the Copper Age to the [[Bronze Age Europe|Bronze Age]]. With the start of the Bronze Age, [[Únětice culture]] appeared. This culture got its name from a village near Prague, where the first discovery was made in the 1870s. Many of their burial mounds were uncovered, mostly in central Bohemia. It was followed by the Middle Bronze Age [[Tumulus culture]] from around 1600 BC. The [[Urnfield culture]] is blanket term for various Late Bronze Age cultures dating from c. 1300-800 BC who cremated their dead and buried the urns with their ashes. The [[Hallstatt culture]] was the last culture of the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age. The key archeological site of the Hallstatt culture in the Czech Lands is the [[Býčí skála Cave]], where a rare bronze statue of a bull was found. Many of these archeological sites were occupied by multiple cultures throughout the ancient times.

===Iron Age===
[[File:Stone_sculpture_of_celtic_hero.jpg|thumb|[[Mšecké Žehrovice Head|Stone sculpture of a Celtic man]], found in [[Mšecké Žehrovice]]|170x170px]]
[[File:Dacia_occupation_of_Pannonia_and_modern_day_Czechia.png|thumb|Dacian Influence over Bohemia]]
The area was settled by the [[Celts|Celtic]] tribes at the start of the Iron Age. The most prominent tribe in Bohemia were the [[Boii]] (plural), who gave the area the name of ''Boiohaemia'' (Latin for ''the land of Boii''), which later turned into Bohemia. Before the start of the 1st century CE, they were pushed out by various Germanic tribes ([[Marcomanni]], [[Quadi]], [[Lombards]]). Around 60 to 50 BC, the Dacian king [[Burebista]] established an empire that extended its reach into the lands of the Boii. The [[Dacia]]n occupation primarily affected modern-day [[Slovakia]] but also held sway over regions of present-day [[Czech Republic]] and [[Pannonia]]. Following Burebista's demise in 44 BC, his empire crumbled, liberating the lands of the Boii from Dacian rule.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Boii|title=Boii {{!}} people|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref> Traces of Roman army camps were found in south Moravia, most notably near [[Mušov]]. The winter camp in Mušov was built to house approximately 20,000 soldiers.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tejral |first1=Jaroslav |title=Opravte dějepis, Řím sahal až na Moravu |url=https://www.idnes.cz/zpravy/domaci/opravte-dejepis-rim-sahal-az-na-moravu.A000902001725domaci_ond |access-date=2 February 2021 |work=iDNES.cz |date=2 September 2000 |language=Czech}}</ref> The Romans were repeatedly at war with the Marcomanni tribe during the first two centuries CE. Germanic towns are described on the Map of Ptolemaios from the 2nd century, e.g. Coridorgis for Jihlava.

===Arrival of the Slavs===
The following centuries of what is known as the [[Migration Period|Great Migration]] once again changed the ethnic composition of the Czech Lands. In the 6th century, Slavic tribes, displaced by Langobard and Thuringian tribes began to move into the Czech Lands from the east. They fought with neighboring [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avars]] – Turko-Tartar nomads – who seized the [[Pannonia]] and frequently raided the Slavic lands and even the Frankish Empire.<ref>; Literature : Dušan Třeštík: "Počátky Přemyslovců. Vstup Čechů do dějin (530-935)" <nowiki>[</nowiki>''The beginnings of [[Přemyslids]]. The entrance of the Czechs in the History (530-935)''<nowiki>]</nowiki>, 1997, {{ISBN|80-7106-138-7}}.</ref>

===Samo's realm===
{{further|Samo}}
In 623 – according to the [[Chronicle of Fredegar]] – the Slavic tribes revolted against the oppression of the Avars. During this time, the Frankish merchant [[Samo]] allegedly came to the Czech lands with his entourage and joined with the Slavs to defeat the Avars. Thus the Slavs adopted Samo as their ruler. Later Samo and the Slavs came into conflict with the Frankish empire whose ruler [[Dagobert I]] wanted to extend his rule to the east. That led to the [[Battle of Wogastisburg]] in 631, in which the newly established Realm of Samo successfully defended its autonomy. The realm disintegrated after Samo's death.

==Medieval times==

===Great Moravia===
[[File:Great moravia svatopluk.png|thumb|Great Moravia during the reign of [[Svatopluk I]]]]
{{further|Great Moravia}}
The realm of Great Moravia probably was established in the area of today's Moravia and western Slovakia in the 830s. It saw the rise of the first ever Slavic literary culture in the [[Old Church Slavonic language]] and the creation of the [[Glagolitic alphabet]], the first alphabet dedicated to a Slavic language. Glagolitic was later simplified into the [[Cyrillic alphabet]] that is today used in Russia and many countries in eastern Europe and central Asia. Glagolitic was created by [[St. Cyril and St. Methodius]], who arrived in Great Moravia in 863 from [[Thessaloniki]] in [[Byzantine Empire]]. They were invited by the king [[Rastislav of Moravia|Rastislav]] who invited them to introduce literacy and a legal system to Great Moravia. His nephew and successor [[Svatopluk I]]'s diplomacy was oriented more towards Rome. Great Moravia was taken under the protection of the [[Holy See]] in 880 and six years after, he expelled the disciples of Methodius after their teacher's death. During his reign, Great Moravia's sphere of influence reached its peak. After his death, the realm was split among his sons and soon after fell to ruin due to infighting and constant [[Magyar tribes|Magyar]] raids during the start of the 10th century.

=== Duchy of Bohemia ===
{{further|Duchy of Bohemia}}
[[File:Duchy of Bohemia locator map (1029).svg|thumb|Duchy of Bohemia, around 1029]]
[[File:Saint WEnceslaus.jpg|left|thumb|197x197px|[[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Saint Wenceslas]], Czech prince]]
Bořivoj from Levý Hradec was the first known member of the [[Přemyslid]] dynasty. In 880, he moved his residence to Prague Castle, which laid the foundation of the city of Prague that emerged centuries later. He was a vassal to the kings of Great Moravia and was baptised during the christianisation of Great Moravia by St. Cyril and St. Methodius.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pánek |first1=Jaroslav |title=A history of the Czech lands |date=2009 |publisher=Charles University |location=Prague |isbn=978-80-246-1645-2 |page=69}}</ref> His son [[Spytihněv I, Duke of Bohemia|Spytihněv I]] together with the head of another major Bohemian tribe [[Witizla]] used the collapse of Great Moravia and in 895 swore allegiance to the East Frankish king [[Arnulf of Carinthia]]. Spytihněv's nephew [[Saint Wenceslaus|Wenceslaus]] (later proclaimed a saint by the Catholic Church) ruled from 921 and had to submit to the [[Saxon]] king [[Henry I of Germany|Henry I]] in order to maintain his ducal authority. He was murdered by his younger brother [[Boleslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|Boleslaus I]]. Boleslaus I expanded the Duchy of Bohemia eastwards conquering the lands of Moravia and Silesia and areas around [[Kraków]]. He stopped paying tribute to the Saxon king igniting a war which he lost and was forced to recognize Saxon [[suzerainty]] over the Duchy of Bohemia. The [[Bishopric of Prague]] was founded in 973 during the reign of his son [[Boleslaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Boleslaus II]]. The bishopric was subordinated to the [[Archbishopric of Mainz]].
[[File:Říp, rotunda svatého Jiří.jpg|left|thumb|192x192px|[[Rotunda of St. George (Říp Mountain)|Rotunda of St. George]] from the beginning of the 12th century on [[Říp|Mount Říp]]]]
In 1002, during the reign of the duke [[Vladivoj, Duke of Bohemia|Vladivoj]], the Duchy of Bohemia formally became a part of the [[Holy Roman Empire]].<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 85</ref> After a period of dynastic infighting, [[Oldřich, Duke of Bohemia|Oldřich]] took power. His son [[Břetislav I]] led many ambitious conquests and later revolted against the Holy Roman Emperor [[Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry III]] hoping to gain a full autonomy for the Duchy of Bohemia. Despite the initial success in [[Battle at Brůdek]], he could not withstand the second invasion of the imperial army and ultimately had to renounce all of his conquests save for Moravia and recognize Henry III as his sovereign. After Břetislav's death, the infighting among Přemyslids continued – a consequence of [[Agnatic seniority|seniority inheritance laws]].<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 83-84</ref> Among the more notable rulers belong ([[Vratislaus II of Bohemia|Vratislaus II]] and [[Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia|Vladislaus]]) who were awarded lifetime titles of kings by the Holy Roman Emperors for their services.

===Kingdom of Bohemia===
[[File:Karte Böhmen unter Ottokar II.png|thumb|180px|Territories ruled by [[Ottokar II of Bohemia]] in 1273]]
{{further|Kingdom of Bohemia|History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages}}

====Late Přemyslids====
[[File:WenceslausIImap-en.png|thumb|180px|Territory under the control of the [[Přemyslids]], c. 1301]]
[[File:Premyslovci premyslovci.jpg|left|thumb|228x228px|Czech kings [[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar II]], [[Wenceslaus II of Bohemia|Wenceslas II]] and [[Wenceslaus III of Bohemia|Wenceslas III]] from the [[Přemyslid dynasty]]]]
In 1212 [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Ottokar I]] was granted a hereditary title of the King of Bohemia by the Holy Roman Emperor [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]]. Thus began the [[Kingdom of Bohemia]], which lasted [[de iure]] until the end of World War I. His reign marked the start of the [[Ostsiedlung|German eastward colonization]], which over time significantly altered the language composition of the Czech Lands.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 98-101</ref> His son [[Wenceslaus I of Bohemia|Wenceslaus I]] had to deal with the [[Mongol invasion of Europe]] at the start of 1240s. He managed to defend Bohemia, but Moravian lands were heavily plundered.<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 107</ref> When the Duke of Austria [[Frederick II, Duke of Austria|Frederick II]] died in 1246 without male heirs, Wenceslaus I tried to secure the Austrian lands by marrying his eldest son Vladislaus to Frederick's niece [[Gertrude, Duchess of Austria|Gertrude]]. This plan failed because of Vladislaus's premature death in the year after. Wenceslaus I then decided for the invasion of Austria and he was successful. His successor, [[Ottokar II of Bohemia|Ottokar II]], continued the expansion of the realm. He gained more territory south of Austria and led two crusades against the pagan [[Old Prussians]]. He was hoping to gain the Imperial crown, but lost in the 1273 election to [[Rudolf I of Germany|Rudolf of Habsburg]], the first in a line of Habsburg emperors. Rudolf of Habsburg demanded that Ottokar II returns all of the lands he had acquired south of Bohemia. Ottokar refused and waged two wars against the emperor which ended with his death at the [[Battle on the Marchfeld|battlefield of Marchfeld]] in 1278.

The crown was passed to his 6-year-old son Wenceslaus II. [[Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel|Otto V, Margrave of Brandenburg]] ruled as a regent in his stead, later replaced by [[Záviš of Falkenstein]], who married Ottokar II's widow. In 1290, Wenceslaus II had Záviš beheaded for alleged treason<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 112</ref> and began ruling independently. Year later, [[Przemysł II]], the king of Poland, was murdered and Wenceslaus II gained the Polish crown for himself. At the end of the 13th century, huge deposits of silver were found in [[Kutná Hora]], which allowed him to start issuing vast amounts of silver coins called [[Prague groschen]]. In 1301, another neighbouring monarch died – [[Andrew III of Hungary]], the last male member of the [[Árpád dynasty]]. Wenceslaus II married his son Wenceslaus III to Andrew III's only daughter and had him crowned in [[Székesfehérvár]] as the King of Hungary. Four years later, Wenceslaus II died – only 33 years old – probably of [[tuberculosis]]. Wenceslaus III abandoned his claim to the Hungarian throne, seeing that his rule was only nominal. [[Władysław the Elbow-high]] challenged Wenceslaus III's rule in Poland and conquered Krakow in 1306. Before Wenceslaus III could start his retaliation campaign, he was murdered in [[Olomouc]] by unknown assassins.

====House of Luxembourg====
Wenceslaus III was the last male member of the main branch of Přemyslids. The Holy Roman Emperor [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VII]] of the [[House of Luxembourg]] married his son John to Wenceslaus III's sister [[Elizabeth of Bohemia (1292–1330)|Elisabeth]] and secured for him the Bohemian throne. [[John of Luxembourg]] was raised in Paris, did not speak any Czech and was widely unpopular among the Czech nobility. John never stayed long in the Czech lands, he traveled all across Europe and took part in multiple military conflicts. While crusading in Lithuania in 1336, John lost his eyesight due to [[ophthalmia]], which earned him the nickname John the Blind. A year later he took the side of King [[Philip VI, King of France|Philip VI of France]] in the [[Hundred Years' War]] and died in 1346 in the [[Battle of Crécy]]. His eldest son, [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]] succeeded him on the Bohemian throne.
[[File:Charles IV-John Ocko votive picture-fragment.jpg|left|thumb|276x276px|Emperor and King [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV. Luxembourg]]]]

Earlier in 1346, the [[Pope Clement VI]] declared the Emperor [[Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Louis IV]] a heretic and demanded a new [[1346 Imperial election|Imperial election]]. Charles IV was the pope's preferred candidate and he was crowned as the [[King of Romans]] in November 1346 in [[Bonn]]. Charles had been in charge of the administration of Czech Lands since 1333, due to his father's absence and health indisposition. Soon after his coronation as the King of Bohemia and the King of Romans, he settled in Prague and laid the foundations of the [[New Town, Prague|New Town]] expanding the capitol. In 1348 he founded the [[Charles University|University of Prague]], the first university north of Alps and east of Paris.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 132-133</ref> He also legally established the [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown]] (''Corona regni Bohemiae'' in Latin), meaning the core territories no longer belonged to a king or a dynasty but to the Bohemian monarchy (crown) itself. [[File:St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg|thumb|[[St. Vitus Cathedral]] in [[Prague Castle]], John of Luxembourg laid the foundation stone in 1344]]In 1355, Charles IV travelled to Rome where he was crowned the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He ruled as the Holy Roman Emperor for over 20 years and managed to secure the title of the King of Romans for his eldest son [[Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia|Wenceslaus IV]].
[[File:Czech-04005 - Jan Hus (32176732314).jpg|thumb|Monument to [[Jan Hus|Master Jan Hus]], a religious reformer and philosopher in [[Prague]]]]
Wenceslaus IV did not share the governance abilities of his father. In 1393, the torture and murder [[John of Nepomuk]] – vicar-general of the archbishop [[Jan of Jenštejn]] – sparked a noble rebellion.<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 143</ref> He was imprisoned for two years at [[Králův Dvůr]] and was only released after an intervention from his younger brother [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]], who had become the King of Hungary. In 1400, Wenceslaus IV was deposed as the Holy Roman Emperor, mainly due to his failure to address the [[Papal Schism]]. Two years later, Wenceslaus IV was briefly imprisoned again, this time by his brother Sigismund, who looted Moravia. After the death of [[Rupert, King of the Romans|Rupert]] – who had replaced Wenceslaus as the King of Romans – Wenceslaus IV competed with his brother Sigismund and his cousin [[Jobst of Moravia]] for the title of the King of Romans. He ultimately surrendered the title to Sigismund in exchange for keeping Bohemia. In 1414, Sigismund called the [[Council of Constance]], which finally resolved the Papal Schism. It also condemned the teaching of [[Jan Hus]], rector of the University of Prague and a popular church reformist. After Jan Hus refused to retract his teachings, he was burnt alive at stake, which prompted the [[Hussite Wars]]. The religious military conflicts stopped in 1434 with the battle [[Battle of Lipany]], but the religious tensions continued on. Although Sigismund became the titular King of Bohemia after Wenceslaus IV's death in 1419, it was not until 1436 that he was recognized by the Czech Estates and he died a year after.<ref>Krejčíř 1996, p. 43</ref>

====House of Habsburg====
After Sigismunds's death the title of the King of Bohemia went to his son-in-law [[Albert II of Germany|Albert]] from the [[House of Habsburg]], who died shortly after. The claim to the Lands of the Bohemian Crown was passed to his unborn son [[Ladislaus the Posthumous|Ladislaus]], who gained the nickname ''Posthumous''. He was raised at the court of his distant relative Emperor [[Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick III]]. Although he was crowned the King of Bohemia in 1453,<ref name="auto2">Krejčíř 1996, p. 45</ref> his regent [[George of Poděbrady]] continued to effectively rule Bohemia in his stead. Ladislaus died in Prague after fleeing a rebellion in Hungary, aged only seventeen. Many of his contemporaries suspected he was poisoned, but modern examinations of his skeleton proved he died of [[acute leukemia]]. With his death the [[Albertinian Line]] of the House of Habsburg ended.
[[File:Poděbrad.jpg|left|thumb|209x209px|King [[George of Poděbrady|George of Podebrady]], one of the first promoters of united Europe]]

====House of Poděbrady====
In 1458, the estates of Bohemia elected George of Poděbrady as the new King of Bohemia. He had a difficult role trying to maintain a fragile peace between the [[Catholic]] side and the [[Hussite]] side, for which he earned the nickname ''King of two peoples''.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 164-165</ref> Despite his efforts, he ultimately did not succeed and in 1465, the catholic nobles formed the [[Unity of Green Mountain]] and challenged his rule.<ref name="auto2"/> A year after, he was [[excommunication|excommunicated]] by the new [[Pope Paul II]], which gave a justification for the Hungarian king [[Matthias Corvinus]] to invade the Czech Lands and start the [[Bohemian–Hungarian War (1468–1478)|Bohemian–Hungarian War]]. <br>
[[File:Prag Vladislav-Saal.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Vladislaus Hall]] at the Prague Castle, built from 1490 to 1502 by [[Benedikt Rejt]]]]

====House of Jagiellon====
After the king George's death, the war was continued by [[Vladislaus II of Hungary|Vladislaus II]] from the [[House of Jagiellon]], who was offered the throne of Bohemia by George of Poděbrady himself. After ten years of fighting, the Bohemian-Hungarian War finally ended by signing of the [[Peace of Olomouc]] in 1479, in which [[Moravia]], [[Silesia]] and [[Lusatia]] were ceded to Matthias Corvinus for the rest of his life and both monarchs were allowed to use the title of King of Bohemia. In 1485, Vladislaus II confirmed right of all Bohemian noblemen and commoners to freely adhere either to [[Hussitism]] or [[Catholicism]] in the [[Religious peace of Kutná Hora|Peace of Kutná Hora]]. After Matthias Corvinus died in 1490, Vladislaus II was elected the King of Hungary and gained all the territories he ceded 30 years earlier. From then on he ruled from [[Buda]]. Although Vladislaus II was married three times, he only had two children late in his life: son [[Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia|Louis]] and daughter [[Anne of Bohemia and Hungary|Anne]]. Vladislaus II's two children married two children of the Holy Roman Emperor [[Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian I]] as a result of negotiations at the [[First Congress of Vienna]], tying the House of Jagiellon and the House of Habsburg together.

A year after that, in 1516, Vladislaus II died and his ten-year-old son Louis II became the king of both Hungary and Bohemia. In 1521 he refused to pay the agreed annual tribute to the new Ottoman sultan, [[Süleyman I]] and executed his ambassadors. War ensued, Belgrade fell to Ottoman hands the same year. In 1526, Louis II led his forces against Suleiman I in the [[Battle of Mohács]], which ended with a decisive defeat of the Hungarian army and Louis II drowned during his attempted retreat.<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 176</ref> He left no heirs and so the Lands of the Bohemian Crown were inherited by [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] from the House of Habsburg, as was agreed during the First Congress of Vienna.

==Part of Habsburg Monarchy==

===Protestantism===
{{further|History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1526–1648)}}
[[File:The Protestant Reformation.svg|thumb|The extent of the Protestant Reformation (1545–1620)]]
After the Battle of Mohács, the Ottomans were unsuccessful in their [[Siege of Vienna (1529)|Siege of Vienna in 1529]] and Ferdinand I managed to sign the [[Treaty of Constantinople (1533)|Treaty of Constantinopole]], postponing the Ottoman expansion attempts. Ferdinand and his brother [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] – who was the Holy Roman Emperor at the same time – had to deal with not only the Ottoman threat, but also with the [[Schmalkaldic League]] which formed in 1531 to advance the interests of [[Lutheran]] states in the Holy Roman Empire. Largely Protestant Czech nobility had a favorable view of the Schmalkaldic League's goals and so when in 1546 Ferdinand I ordered the Czech estates to raise their army and march against the Protestant [[Electorate of Saxony]] as part of the [[Schmalkaldic War]], they did so very reluctantly. The next year the Czech estates refused to gather an army again and rebelled, for which they were punished after the Schmalkaldic League decisively lost the [[Battle of Mühlberg]]. As a result, Ferdinand I managed to strengthen his position in the Land of the Bohemian Crown,<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 200</ref> limit city privileges and begin the process of recatholicization by inviting the [[Jesuit Order]] to Prague in 1556. <br>

[[File:Prager.Fenstersturz.1618.jpg|thumb|left|Copper engraving of the [[Second Defenestration of Prague]] from [[Theatrum Europaeum]] by [[Matthäus Merian]].]]

From 1599 to 1711, Moravia (a [[Lands of the Bohemian Crown|Land of the Bohemian Crown]]) was frequently [[Ottoman raids on Moravia|subjected to raids]] by the [[Ottoman Empire]] and its vassals (especially the [[Crimean Khanate|Tatars]] and [[Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711)|Transylvania]]). Overall, hundreds of thousands were enslaved whilst tens of thousands were killed.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Petra |last=Košťálová|editor-first1=Mateusz|editor-last1=Chmurski|editor-first2=Irina|editor-last2=Dmytrychyn|year=2022 |title=Contested Landscape: Moravian Wallachia and Moravian Slovakia. An Imagology Study on the Ottoman Border Narrative|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27185958 |journal=[[Revue des études slaves]] |volume=93 |issue=1 |doi=10.4000/res.5138|issn=2117-718X|publisher=OpenEdition|page=110|jstor=27185958 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

[[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]] succeeded Ferdinand I in 1562 and – like his father – ruled from Vienna. He approved [[Czech Confession]] (''Confessio Bohemica'' in Latin) – a new document confirming religious freedoms – replacing the older [[Compacts of Basel]], that did not take non-[[Utraquism|Utraquist]] Protestants into account. He also showed his religious tolerance by reaffirming the [[Statuta Judaeorum]] – a document providing legal protection for the [[Jews]] in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. His son Rudolf II succeeded him in 1576 and in 1583 he moved the royal court to Prague. Thanks to Rudolf's patronage of art, Prague became a major cultural hub of Europe during his reign. He was a reclusive ruler who preferred his hobbies to the daily affairs of the state. In 1605 Rudolf II was forced by his other family members to cede the rule of Hungary to his younger brother Archduke [[Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor|Matthias]] following the [[Bocskai Uprising]] after the [[Long Turkish War]]. The [[Brothers' Quarrel|differences of opinions]] between the two brothers ultimately resulted in Rudolf's imprisonment at the [[Prague Castle]] and all effective power was given into the hands of Matthias. After Rudolf II's death in 1612 the royal court moved back to Vienna. Matthias did not have any children – same as his brother Rudolf – and he died six years later, aged 62. <br>
[[File:Hinrichtung auf dem Altstädter Ring.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Old Town Square execution|Beheading of 27 Bohemian nobles]] at the [[Old Town Square]] in Prague, 1621 (contemporary illustration)]]
[[File:Jan Amos Comenius (Komensky) (1592-1670). Tsjechisch humanist en pedagoog. Als voorganger van de Moravische of Boheemse Broedergemeente verdreven en sedert 1656 gevestigd te Amsterdam Rijksmuseum SK-A-2161.jpeg|left|thumb|222x222px|[[John Amos Comenius]] (1592–1670), Czech philosopher and school reformer]]
He was succeeded by his cousin [[Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand II]], Archduke of Austria. The Diets of Bohemia confirmed Ferdinand's position as Matthias' successor only after he had promised to respect the [[Letter of Majesty]] – a document granting religious freedoms, signed by Rudolf II. eight years earlier. Ferdinand II did not share the religious benevolence of his predecessors. A year after he was crowned, he prohibited the construction of Protestant ecclesial buildings on royal land. That led to protests among the Protestant nobility – who saw it as a violation of the Letter of Majesty – and the [[Second Defenestration of Prague]] in 1618, which sparked the conflict that would become the [[Thirty Years' War]]. The [[Bohemian Revolt|revolting Bohemian estates]] then chose [[Frederick V of the Palatinate|Frederick V of Palatinate]] as their new king<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 224</ref> and gathered an army in preparation of war. They were joined by Lutheran nobility in Austria. Ferdinand II asked his Spanish relative [[Philip III of Spain|Philip III]] for help. Spanish army in the Netherlands made sure forces of [[Protestant Union]] could not join the revolt happening in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown and in Austria. After dealing with the Austrian rebels, Ferdinand II decisively defeated Frederick V at the [[Battle of White Mountain]], near Prague. Widespread confiscation of property followed, which was then sold to loyal nobles, often of foreign origin.<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 234</ref> Ferdinand II also had the 27 leaders of the revolt [[Old Town Square execution|publicly beheaded]]<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 233</ref> and strengthened the royal power over the estates. The Lands of the Bohemian Crown and especially [[Silesia]] were some of the territories that were hit the hardest by the devastating Thirty Years' War. The war continued even after Ferdinand II's death during the reign of [[Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand III]].

===Absolutism and National Revival===
{{further|History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1648–1867)}}

====Late Habsburgs====
[[File:Chram sv Mikulase interier oltar od vchodu.jpg|thumb|180px|[[Baroque]] [[St. Nicholas Church (Malá Strana)|St. Nicholas Church]] in [[Malá Strana]], built between 1704 and 1755]]
In 1648, the Thirty Years' War finally ended with the [[Peace of Westphalia]]. Ferdinand III continued the recatholicization and centralization policies of his father. After his death in 1657, he was succeeded by his only surviving son [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]]. During the [[Austro-Turkish War (1663–64)|fourth Austro-Turkish War]] in 1663 the Turkish army invaded Moravia before being stopped in the [[Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664)|Battle of Saint Gotthard]].<ref>Krejčíř 1996, p. 59</ref> Leopold continued waging wars with Ottomans and France throughout his long rule. He increased [[corvée]] to three days a week which caused the [[Peasant Revolt of 1680]].<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 244-245</ref> The infamous [[Northern Moravia witch trials|Losiny Estate Witch Trials]] took place between 1678 and 1696 resulting in almost 100 dead.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rozhlas.cz/toulky/vysila_praha/_zprava/141284|title=Hon na čarodějnice (Toulky Českou minulostí - Příspěvek)|last=Veselý|work=[[Czech Radio]]|date=14 November 2004|language=cs|access-date=15 August 2010}}</ref> More protests against the increased corvée occurred, but all in vain. In 1705, Leopold I's rule ended and his son [[Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph I]] succeeded him. Joseph I planned to enact many administrative reforms, most of which he did not get the chance to finish, due to his premature death of [[smallpox]]. One year before his death he issued [[letters patent]] ordering that all Romani people in the Lands of the Bohemian Crown had one of their ears cut off. If they returned after being expelled, all Romani men were to be hanged without a trial. Similar letters patents were published in other territories under his rule and led to mass killings of Romani people.<ref name="crowe">David Crowe (2004): A History of the Gypsies of Eastern Europe and Russia (Palgrave Macmillan) {{ISBN|0-312-08691-1}} p.XI p.36-37</ref> After Joseph I's premature death in 1711, the Austrian throne went to his younger brother [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles VI]]. <br>
[[File:Clementinum_baroque_library_7.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Library of [[Clementinum]], a former Jesuit College, built in 1722]]
[[File:Portrét Marie Terezie Rakouské.png|thumb|236x236px|Empress [[Maria Theresa]] (reignet 1740–1780)]]
Charles VI had no male heirs and with the [[Pragmatic Sanction of 1713]] he ensured that all the titles held by him could be inherited by a woman. Charles VI sought the other European powers' approval, which he gained in exchange for various concessions. Regardless, after her father's death, Maria Theresa had to defend her inheritance from the coalition of Prussia, Bavaria, France, Spain, Saxony and Poland in the [[War of Austrian Succession]], that broke out mere weeks after her coronation in 1740. She ultimately managed to defend her title, but paid for it with the loss of Silesia, which became a part of [[Prussia]]. That was the ended the unity of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. In 1757 during the [[Seven Years' War]], the Prussians invaded Bohemia again and laid siege to Prague, but subsequently lost the [[Battle of Kolín]] and were repelled. Maria Theresa was not able to regain Silesia and the war ended in a draw. She tried to follow the ideas of [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], she established compulsory secular primary schools,<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 271</ref> but also state censorship of books that were deemed to be against the Catholic religion. Because of her marriage to [[Francis Stephen of Lorraine]], all of her children were considered to be members of a new joint [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine]].

====House of Habsburg–Lorraine====
After the death of Maria Theresa's husband in 1765, her son [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] started to rule with her as a co-ruler and since 1780 as the sole ruler. He enforced many reforms, among the most notable are the abolition of [[serfdom]], [[Patent of Toleration]] expanding religious freedom and the dissolution of all monastic orders not involved in education, healthcare or science. As part of his centralization efforts, he also pressed for the expansion of German language to all territories under his rule. Both of his wives died relatively young of smallpox and because he had no sons, he was succeeded by his younger brother [[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold II]]. Although Leopold II only ruled for two years, he spent several weeks in Prague in 1791 and he let himself be crowned the King of Bohemia.<ref name="auto">Krejčíř 1996, p. 73</ref> The first Czech Industrial Exhibition was prepared in honor of his visit in [[Clementinum]]<ref name="auto"/> and the Czech Estates commissioned an [[La clemenza di Tito|opera]] from [[Mozart]] for the occasion. Leopold II was succeeded by [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]], the first-born of his 12 sons. <br>
[[File:Europe 1815 map en.png|thumb|left|Europe after the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815]]
[[File:Bozena Nemcova black.jpg|thumb|248x248px|Writer [[Božena Němcová]]]]
In 1805, [[Napoleon]]'s army attacked Austria and defeated the Austrian and Russian army in the decisive [[Battle of Austerlitz]] in south Moravia. In the [[Peace of Pressburg (1805)|Peace of Pressburg]], Francis I lost many of his territories and soon after, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved, replaced by the [[Confederation of the Rhine]]. Following the end of [[Napoleonic Wars]], the [[Congress of Vienna]] reinstated the Austrian Empire as one of the Great Powers of Europe in 1815. Francis I was a proponent of conservatism and his policies suppressed all of the emerging liberal and nationalist movements in his Empire.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 284-285</ref> He was the first of Austrian monarchs to widely utilize the secret police and he increased censorship. His son [[Ferdinand I of Austria|Ferdinand I]] became the Austrian Emperor after him. Because of his frequent seizures, he was not capable of ruling and the actual executive power was held by the Regent's Council. In 1836, one year after his succession, he was crowned the King of Bohemia under the name of Ferdinand V. <br>
[[File:Pietzner, Carl (1853-1927) - Emperor Franz Josef I - ca 1885.jpg|left|thumb|261x261px|Emperor [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Francis Joseph I]]. (reigned 1848–1916)]]
Throughout the 19th century, the nationalist tendencies and movements in the Czech lands known as the [[Czech National Revival]] slowly grew, led by activists such as linguists [[Josef Dobrovský]] and [[Josef Jungmann]], historian and politician [[František Palacký]] or writer [[Božena Němcová]] and journalist [[Karel Havlíček Borovský]]. The efforts of the Czech National Revival first peaked during the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|revolutions of 1848]]. Ferdinand I was forced to abdicate and his successor was his young nephew [[Franz Joseph I of Austria|Francis Joseph I]]. When he – after losing the [[Second Italian War of Independence|war with Italy]] in 1859 – also lost the [[Austro-Prussian War|war with Prussia]] in 1866, the Hungarian representatives forced Francis Joseph I to end his absolutist rule over Hungary in the [[Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867]]. The Czech representatives who hoped for a similar increase in autonomy were left out and the Czech lands remained firmly under the control of Austria.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 336-337</ref>

====Austria-Hungary====
{{further|History of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (1867–1918)}}
[[File:Národní divadlo z ostrova 1.jpg|thumb|272x272px|The [[National Theatre (Prague)|National Theater]] from 1881]]
The newly formed [[Real union]] of [[Austria-Hungary]] lasted for the next half-a-century. The policies suppressing the National Revival in the Czech lands under the Austrian government continued, as well as the suppression of the [[Ľudovít Štúr#Slovak national movement|Slovak National Revival]] under the Hungarian government. The end of the 19th century also was a time of a demographic boom and a rapid urbanization.<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 351</ref> Population in centers of industry doubled or tripled within a few decades. At the start of the 20th century, Austria's unilateral annexation of Bosnia in 1908 caused the [[Bosnian Crisis]] and prompted the eventual assassination of [[Franz Ferdinand|Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]], sparking the [[World War I]] in 1914. Many of the Czech nationalists saw the war as an opportunity for gaining full independence from the Austria-Hungary. Desertion among the Czech conscripts was commonplace and [[Czechoslovak Legion]]s were formed to fight for the side of [[Entente Powers]].<ref>Pánek 2009, p. 380</ref> In the [[Cleveland Agreement of 1915]], the Czech and Slovak representatives declared their goal of creating a common state, based on the right of a people to [[self-determination]]. When the World War I ended in 1918, the Kingdom of Bohemia officially ceased to exist and a new democratic republic of [[Czechoslovakia]] took its place.

==Modern times==
[[File:Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk 1925.PNG|left|thumb|261x261px|[[Tomáš Masaryk|Tomas Garrigue Masaryk]], philosopher, Czechoslovak president in the years 1918–1935]]

===Czechoslovakia===
{{further|History of Czechoslovakia|History of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938)}}
[[File:Czechoslovakia01.png|thumb|250px|The [[First Czechoslovak Republic]] (1918–1938)]]
The republic of Czechoslovakia was declared in October 1918. It was a democratic presidential republic. In 1920, its defined territory was not inhabited only by Czechs and Slovaks, it contained significant populations of other nationalities: Germans (22.95%), Hungarians (5.47%) and [[Ruthenians]] (3.39%). The [[Great Depression]] starting at the end of 1920's together with the rise of the National Socialist Party in neighbouring Germany during the 1930s caused increasing tensions between the different nationalist groups in Czechoslovakia. In foreign relations the newly established republic relied heavily on its western allies of Great Britain and France.<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 420–421</ref> That proved to be a mistake as in 1938, both allied countries agreed to Hitler's demands and co-signed the [[Munich Treaty]], stripping the Czechoslovakia of its borderlands, leaving it indefensible.<ref>{{cite book |last=Preclík |first=Vratislav |title=Masaryk a legie |year=2019 |location=Karviná |isbn=978-80-87173-47-3 |pages=17–25, 33–45, 70–96, 100–140, 159–184, 187–199 |edition=1st |language=cs}}</ref>

===German protectorate===
{{further|German occupation of Czechoslovakia|Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia|Czech resistance to Nazi occupation}}
[[File:Lidice, pomník lidických dětí (8).jpg|thumb|Monument to the village of [[Lidice]] murdered by the Nazis]]
After giving up [[Sudetenland]], the [[Second Czechoslovak Republic]] lasted only half-a-year before its full dismemberment before the start of World War II. The [[Slovak Republic (1939–1945)|Slovak Republic]] declared its independence from Czechoslovakia and became Germany's [[client state]], while two days later the German [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] was proclaimed. During World War II – given the high level of industrialization of pre-war Czechoslovakia – the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] served as a major hub of military production for Germany. The oppression of ethnic Czechs increased after the [[Operation Anthropoid|assassination]] of [[Reinhard Heydrich]] by members of the [[Czech resistance to Nazi occupation|Czech resistance]] in 1942. After Germany's defeat in 1945, the vast majority of ethnic Germans were [[Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia|forcefully deported]] from Czechoslovakia.

===Rule of the Communist Party===
{{further|Beneš decrees|Expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia|History of Czechoslovakia (1945–1948)|Czechoslovak Socialist Republic|History of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992)}}
[[File:10 Soviet Invasion of Czechoslovakia - Flickr - The Central Intelligence Agency.jpg|thumb|Russian occupation in 1968]]
[[File:Vaclav Havel cropped.jpg|left|thumb|231x231px|[[Václav Havel]], playwright, dissident and president from 1989 to 2003]]
In February 1948, the [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]] seized power in a coup d'état. [[Klement Gottwald]] became the first communist president. He nationalized the country's industry and collectivized its farms to form [[Sovkhoz]]s inspired by the Soviet model. Czechoslovakia thus became a part of the [[Eastern Bloc]]. Attempts at a reformation of the political system during the [[Prague Spring]] of 1968 were ended by the invasion of armies of the [[Warsaw Pact]].<ref>Pánek 2009, pp. 552-554</ref> The Czechoslovakia remained under the rule of the Communist Party until the [[Velvet Revolution]] of 1989.

===Post-Cold War===
{{further|Czech Republic}}
One of the leaders of the [[dissent]], [[Václav Havel]] became the first president of the democratic Czechoslovakia. Slovakia's demands for sovereignty were fulfilled at the end of 1992, when the representatives of Czechs and Slovaks agreed to split the Czechoslovakia into the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The official start of the current Czech Republic was set on 1 January 1993.<ref>Krejčíř 1996, p. 123</ref> The Czech Republic became a member of [[NATO]] in 12 March 1999, and the [[European Union]] in 1 May 2004.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://factsmaps.com/eu-nato-schengen-eurozone-member-states-in-europe/|title=EU, NATO, Schengen and Eurozone member states in Europe|date=October 13, 2018}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Lech, Czech and Rus]]
* [[Czech Silesia]]
* [[Politics of the Czech Republic]]
* [[Communist Party of Czechoslovakia]]

'''Lists:'''
* [[List of presidents of Czechoslovakia]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Czechoslovakia]]
* [[List of presidents of the Czech Republic]]
* [[List of prime ministers of the Czech Republic]]
* [[List of rebellions in the Czech Republic]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{See also|List of Slavic studies journals}}
* Hochman, Jiří. ''Historical dictionary of the Czech State'' (1998)
* Heimann, Mary. 'Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed' 2009 {{ISBN|0-300-14147-5}}
* Lukes, Igor. 'Czechoslovakia between Stalin and Hitler', Oxford University Press 1996, {{ISBN|0-19-510267-3}}
* Skilling Gordon. 'Czechoslovakia's Interrupted Revolution', Princeton University Press 1976, {{ISBN|0-691-05234-4}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|History of the Czech Republic}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031231001400/http://archiv.radio.cz/history/history00.html Czech description read Radio Prague online history] - short text
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02612b.htm History of Bohemia until 1914] – from Catholic and German point of view
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10561a.htm History of Moravia until 1914] – from Catholic and German point of view
* [http://www.iansa.eu History and archaeology of Czech Republic and central Europe] – Czech published academic journal (in English)

{{Czech lands|state=collapsed}}
{{Czechoslovakia timeline|state=collapsed}}
{{Czech Republic topics}}
{{History of Europe}}
{{European history by country}}

[[Category:History of the Czech lands| ]]
[[Category:Prehistory of the Czech lands| ]]
[[Category:Bohemistics]]