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History of Czech Republic

The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe.. 7 eras, 833 CE to today.

Great Moravia, 833 CE–907 CE Draft, not yet reviewed

Great Moravia was the first major state that was predominantly West Slavic to emerge in Central Europe. It was centered on the Morava River, and its core covered today's Moravia in the eastern Czech Republic and adjacent western Slovakia. Moravia reached its largest territorial extent under Prince Svatopluk I, who ruled from 870 to 894. Internal conflicts after Svatopluk's death contributed to the fall of Great Moravia, which was overrun by the Hungarians.

Seat of power: Mikulčice

Duchy of Bohemia, 870 CE–1198 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Duchy of Bohemia was formed around 870 by Czechs as part of the Great Moravian realm. Bohemia separated from disintegrating Great Moravia after Duke Spytihněv swore fealty to the East Frankish king Arnulf in 895. In 1002, Duke Vladivoj was given the Duchy of Bohemia as a fief by King Henry II of Germany, and what had been a fully sovereign duchy became part of the Holy Roman Empire. The Duchy of Bohemia was raised to a hereditary Kingdom of Bohemia, when Duke Ottokar I ensured his elevation by the German king Philip of Swabia in 1198.

Seat of power: Prague

Rulers

Kingdom of Bohemia, 1198–1918 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Kingdom of Bohemia was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe and the predecessor state of the modern Czech Republic. The kingdom was established by the Přemyslid dynasty in the 12th century from the Duchy of Bohemia. It was later ruled by the House of Luxembourg, the Jagiellonian dynasty, and from 1526 the House of Habsburg and its successor, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Bohemia retained its name and formal status as a separate Kingdom of Bohemia until 1918, known as a crown land within the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Seat of power: Prague

Rulers

First Czechoslovak Republic, 1918–1938 Draft, not yet reviewed

The First Czechoslovak Republic was the first Czechoslovak state, which existed from 1918 to 1938, a union of ethnic Czechs and Slovaks. The independence of Czechoslovakia was proclaimed on 28 October 1918 in Prague. After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only functioning democracy in Central Europe, organized as a parliamentary republic. Czechoslovakia was forced to cede its Sudetenland region to Germany on 1 October 1938 as part of the Munich Agreement.

Seat of power: Prague

Rulers

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, 1939–1945 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the German occupation of the Czech lands. The protectorate remained nominally autonomous and had a dual system of government, with German law applying to ethnic Germans while other residents had the legal status of Protectorate subjects and were governed by a puppet Czech administration. The Protectorate administration became deeply involved in the Holocaust in Bohemia and Moravia. The state's existence came to an end with the surrender of Germany to the Allies in May 1945.

Seat of power: Prague

Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, 1948–1990 Draft, not yet reviewed

The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was the Czechoslovak state from 1948 until 1989, when the country was under communist rule, and was regarded as a satellite state in the Soviet sphere of interest. In the coup d'état of February 1948, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia seized power with the support of the Soviet Union. On 20 and 21 August 1968, the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact jointly invaded the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. In late 1989, the Velvet Revolution forced the Communist leadership to resign.

Seat of power: Prague

Rulers

Czech Republic, 1993 to today Draft, not yet reviewed

In November 1989, Czechoslovakia again became a liberal democracy through the Velvet Revolution. On 31 December 1992, the country peacefully split into the independent countries of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999, the European Union in 2004, and the Schengen Area in 2007. In January 2023, retired general Petr Pavel won the presidential election, succeeding Zeman.

Seat of power: Prague

Rulers

Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.