History UsefulNotes / CzechRepublic

** Jessica Korda, golfer; winner of 6 LPGA Tour events (as of late September 2021)Â
** Nelly Korda, also a golfer; winner of 6 LPGA Tour events, including 1 major, as well as an Olympic gold medal at Tokyo 2020/21Â

* Several films about the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague and its horrific aftermath for the locals during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, including ''Film/HangmenAlsoDie'', ''Film/HitlersMadman'', ''Attentat'', ''Film/OperationDaybreak'', ''Lidice'', ''Film/{{Anthropoid}}'' and ''Film/TheManWithTheIronHeart''. Â

* All (or nearly all) Czech [[Main/CzechFilms films]] and [[Main/CzechLiterature literature]]. Duh.Â

The '''Czech Republic''' (Czech: ''Česká republika''), also known as Czechia (Czech: ''Česko'') and formerly as Bohemia, is a country in Central / Eastern Europe, with a population of 10.5 million people. Czech Republic was established in 1993 after the Velvet Divorce of Czechoslovakia; it comprises the historical countries of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Silesia. Even though it was formerly part of the Soviet Bloc (not the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Union]]), popular ideas about Eastern European countries largely don't apply. While the history of The20thCentury landed Czechia in the Communist bloc, located to the east side of the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, for many centuries before that it had far more cultural and political ties with Germany, Austria and other Western or Southern European countries than it did with countries further East, like UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}, UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} or UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}; and of course many centuries leave a more lasting mark on the country and culture than a couple of decades. For this reason, Czechs emphatically prefer the UsefulNotes/CentralEurope designation.Â
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* Milan Kundera, contemporary author, who effectively renounced his Czech status, not that anyone caresÂ

* Libuše Šafránková, actress, well-loved in a number of countries for her 1973 portrayal of CinderellaÂ

The '''Czech Republic''' ('''Czech:''' ''Česká republika''), also known as Czechia ('''Czech:''' ''Česko'') and formerly as Bohemia, is a country in Central / Eastern Europe, with a population of 10.5 million people. Czech Republic was established in 1993 after the Velvet Divorce of Czechoslovakia; it comprises the historical countries of Bohemia, Moravia, and parts of Silesia. Even though it was formerly part of the Soviet Bloc (not the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Union]]), popular ideas about Eastern European countries largely don't apply. While the history of The20thCentury landed Czechia in the Communist bloc, located to the east side of the UsefulNotes/IronCurtain, for many centuries before that it had far more cultural and political ties with Germany, Austria and other Western or Southern European countries than it did with countries further East, like UsefulNotes/{{Romania}}, UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} or UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}; and of course many centuries leave a more lasting mark on the country and culture than a couple of decades. For this reason, Czechs emphatically prefer the UsefulNotes/CentralEurope designation.Â
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** President: Miloš ZemanÂ

The Czech Republic has one of the densest railway networks in use in the world. [[Main/RailEnthusiast Trainspotting]] is a fairly popular hobby, usually involving photography; the other is complaining about the company České dráhy (Czech Railways). The quality of the tracks is, indeed, somewhat lacking behind Western Europe, but compared to e.g. the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates, like most of Europe the Czech Republic is a public transport paradise. A modern Czech train got a role in ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006''. Trains appear quite often in Czech films as well, e.g. in ''Film/CloselyWatchedTrains''.Â
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* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' was filmed there, where it [[CaliforniaDoubling stood in]] for Montenegro.Â
* The best-known version of the {{Golem}} legend is linked to Prague, as portrayed in the movie ''Film/TheGolem'' and countless other works.Â

* ''Film/MissionImpossible''Â

In the 1960s, the atmosphere slowly thawed, leading to a surge in culture. In 1968, a Slovak reformist, Alexander Dubček, came to power and started a short period of liberalization, the Prague Spring, which lasted a few months until other Warsaw Pact countries (except Romania) invaded the country. When the Czech army was told they were being invaded, they ran to fortify the Western border, because invasion from their allies was inconceivable. Popular protest, at first almost universal, slowly died down; [[SelfImmolation Jan Palach's 1969 attempt]] to rouse people did not have the desired effect.Â
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After World War II the Germans and Hungarians were expelled en-masse and Subcarpatian Ruthenia was annexed by the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]]. In 1948, the Communists seized power through a coup d'etat[[note]]An embarrassing moment in history, because it became possible through bad planning on the side of people who wanted to ''stop'' the growing communist power![[/note]], and dissident elements, including the Church(es), were quickly purged and subdued. Czechoslovakia was a founding member of Comecon (Soviet bloc economic organization) and the Warsaw Pact.Â
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After World War II the Germans and Hungarians were expelled en-masse and Subcarpatian Ruthenia was annexed by the Soviet Union. In 1948, the Communists seized power through a coup d'etat[[note]]An embarrassing moment in history, because it became possible through bad planning on the side of people who wanted to ''stop'' the growing communist power![[/note]], and dissident elements, including the Church(es), were quickly purged and subdued. Czechoslovakia was a founding member of Comecon (Soviet bloc economic organization) and the Warsaw Pact.Â
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Prague was comparatively untouched by the war. Czech people were not. Hundreds of thousands went to the [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust death camps]], and the Lidice massacre, one of the most notorious war crimes of the war, took place as revenge for the assassination of ''Reichsprotektor'' UsefulNotes/ReinhardHeydrich. As Slavs, Czechs were considered sub-human and useful only for labour by the Nazis. [[note]]For example, after an incident with students, all universities were closed and young people of certain age were all sent to work for the Reich. The International Students' Day was designated in memory of these events.[[/note]] The country's flourishing industry was put to work for the war machine, and as a result, later in the war, several industrial cities (like Plzeň and Brno) and their surroundings suffered from bombing raids by the Allies. Like in the rest of Nazi-controlled Europe, the previously numerous Jewish population was nearly exterminated. However, other Czechs were actively fighting on the Allied side outside of the country. For example, Czechoslovak pilots fought [[UsefulNotes/TheHomeFront with the RAF]] in [=WW2=], and there was a number of Real Life {{Ace Pilot}}s among them.Â
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A collection of a number of different ethnicities[[note]] (Czechs/Bohemians, Moravians, Slovaks, Germans, Hungarians, and Ukrainians, and several stateless minorities like Jews or Romani)[[/note]], Czechoslovakia was formed after the Treaty of Versailles, but its diversity made it unstable. While it was economically (and culturally!) successful and notably retained a democratic system when many European nation states formed after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI fell into various totalitarian practices, the Germans and Hungarians wanted the self-determination doctrines paraded by America but not delivered at Versailles. After World War I, people in other countries like Britain started to feel sorry for the Germans, who weren't maltreated in Czechoslovakia but didn't have any political autonomy. This sentiment was hijacked by UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and used as an excuse to annex the German-populated Sudetenland in autumn of 1938 which was given to Germany on the basis of the Munich Agreement, a pact signed by Germany, Italy and [[UsefulNotes/NevilleChamberlain the United Kingdom]], France - two of Czechoslovakia's closest allies at the time. This allowed UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler to step over the large border fortification system unscathed. He proceeded to take the rest of the Czech lands in March 1939, blatantly defying his previous assertion that Sudetenland was the only claim Germany would make on Europe. Slovakia split into a fascist state. War did not break out until Hitler moved on UsefulNotes/{{Poland}} later in 1939.Â

Another side effect of these events was the fact that at the end of the 18th century, Czech language was largely the language of peasants. Attempts to revitalise it and start a new Czech culture eventually, throughout the 19th century, led to attempts at greater political authonomy as well, which however did not materialise until independent Czechoslovakia was formed after UsefulNotes/WW1. During the war, many Czechs were forced to fight for Austria against their will, so when Czechoslovak legions were formed on the Allied side, naturally many Czech soldiers surrendered so they could join their national cause.[[note]]This started the 20th century trend of global events landing Czechs on the side they did not necessarily want to be.[[/note]]Â
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After yet another king died prematurely in 1526, the Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty succeeded on the Czech throne, and stayed there until 1918 [[note]]although the last couple of them didn't even bother being crowned Czech Kings specifically[[/note]]. The last time Prague was a cultural centre was during the reign of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Rudolf II]] (which is also the time when the famous legend of the {{Golem}} takes place). After more political (and religious) tensions, Czech people once again resorted to [[Main/DestinationDefenestration defenestration]] against officials in Prague in 1618, starting the UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar (which, unlike UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar between England and France, did indeed last thirty years). After another Czech [[Main/CurbStompBattle Famous Defeat]] in the Battle of White Mountain, the Habsburgs consollidated their power by proclaiming Catholicism as the only religion allowed in the country and all the Protestants who could afford to do so emigrated (often to Poland). This left the country without whole generations of intellectual elites and open to recatholisation and influx of foreign nobility. The following centuries were the period when chateaus and palaces were built, providing a different kind of wide choice of filming backdrops for future filmmakers.Â
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After yet another king died prematurely in 1526, the Austrian branch of the Habsburg dynasty succeeded on the Czech throne, and stayed there until 1918 [[note]]although the last couple of them didn't even bother being crowned Czech Kings specifically[[/note]]. The last time Prague was a cultural centre was during the reign of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Rudolf II]] (which is also the time when the famous legend of {{Golem}} takes place). After more political (and religious) tensions, Czech people once again resorted to [[Main/DestinationDefenestration defenestration]] against officials in Prague in 1618, starting the [[UsefulNotes/ThirtyYearsWar Thirty Years War]] (which, unlike [[UsefulNotes/TheHundredYearsWar the Hundred Years War]] between England and France, did indeed last thirty years). After another Czech [[Main/CurbStompBattle Famous Defeat]] in the Battle of White Mountain, the Habsburgs consollidated their power by proclaiming Catholicism as the only religion allowed in the country and all the Protestants who could afford to do so emigrated (often to Poland). This left the country without whole generations of intellectual elites and open to recatholisation and influx of foreign nobility. The following centuries were the period when chateaus and palaces were built, providing a different kind of wide choice of filming backdrops for future filmmakers.Â
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It was also during his reign that the first religious dissenters started working in the country; during the reign of Charles' son Václav, the most famous of them, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Hus Jan Hus]], gained prominency to such an extent that the Catholic church first excommunicated him and later (in 1415) burned him at the stake for [[Main/TheHeretic heresy]]. His Czech followers were not pleased with that turn of events. That displeasure eventually grew into full on [[Main/DestinationDefenestration armed rebellion against the Prague city council]]; Václav apparently had a stroke when he heard, his brother the Roman Emperor Sigismund was not welcome in the Czech lands anymore and the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussite_Wars Hussite Wars]] followed.Â
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With [[Main/TheUnsolvedMystery Václav III's murder in 1306]], there were only female Přemyslid heirs left, and with medieval politics being what they were, there was some fighting between their husbands before the reign settled with the Luxembourg dynasty. [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_IV,_Holy_Roman_Emperor Charles IV]], Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor, widely considered [[Main/TheGoodKing the greatest ruler]] of the Czech lands, was the second of that dynasty on the Czech throne. He founded the university in Prague and many other medieval monuments present in the country today, and made Prague into the cultural centre of the Holy Roman Empire.Â
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After the fall of Great Moravia at the beginning of the 10th century, the centre of power in the region shifted to Prague and the Přemyslid dynasty. There was the usual early medieval period of frequent infighting and dynastic disputes, interrupted by power wrangling with the neighbouring countries (especially Germany). The most famous ruler from this early period is St Wenceslas (''Václav'' in Czech), who was immortalised in the anglophone world by the song ''Good King Wenceslas'', but actually wasn't a king.Â
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Before there were Slavs, there were Germanic tribes, and before there were Germanic tribes, there were Celtic tribes, which is where the name Bohemia for the Western part of the country [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemia#Etymology originally comes from]]. And before the Celts, there was the closely related Knovíz Culture, which archeological forensics reveals to have been a CannibalTribe. The first Slavic consolidated state in the approximate area was [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Moravia Great Moravia]], which is where the name for Moravia comes from, more or less.[[note]]Not really, because it's actually the name of a river, ''Morava'', but, well, let's simplify things.[[/note]] It was the Slavs of Great Moravia that Cyril and Methodius created [[UsefulNotes/CyrillicAlphabet the not-yet-Cyrillic alphabet]] for. (And it hasn't been in use in the area for centuries.)Â
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