1. History of the Czech Republic

2. Early settlement
around 400 BC – Celtic tribes inhabited our land (the land got its
name after one of these tribes - Bohemia)
5th century – Slavonic tribes came
farmers, merchants, weaved cloths
spoke with one language = proto-slavonic language
first Slavonic state – Samo’s Empire (founded in 623)
9th century - Great Moravian Empire established
Christianity spread - Cyril and Methodius (Christian missionaries, influenced cultural development of all Slavs)

3. 10th century – disintegration of Great Moravian Empire
Bohemia and Moravia started developing independently
the power was taken by the Premyslid family

4. The Premyslid Dynasty
first royal dynasty reigned in Bohemia and Moravia (until C14)
first historically documented Czech prince - Borivoj I - ruled over the Czech Lands and part of Great Moravia (his wife – Ludmila – first Czech saint, grandmother of St. Wenceslaus)
Wenceslaus I
well-educated, established St. Vitus Cathedral
935 - murderd by his brother in Stara Boleslav
became patron saint of the Czech state
1306 – the Premyslids died out by the sword

5. The House of Luxembourg – 1306 – 1437
the throne went by way of the dynastic wedding to the Luxembourgs
the Czech kingdom became also the centre of the Holy Roman Empire
kings Charles IV, Wenceslas IV

6. The Hussite movement (1419 - 1437)
fights between the Hussites and various
European monarchs
they were against the principles of the
Catholic church
beginning of European reformation
named after John Huss – priest, reformer,
philosopher, professor, dean and later rector of Charles
University
1415 – tried by the Church council in Constance and burnt
at the stake as a heretic
other leaders – Jan Žižka, Prokop Holý

7. The Habsburg dynasty (1526 - 1918)
strong European dynasty coming form Austria, the dynastic capital - Vienna
oppression of the Czech nation
Bohemia became part of Austria-Hungary

8. Rudolph II, Holy Roman Emperor
the only from the Habsburg family who seated in Prague
supported art and science (astrologers, alchemists, painters, sculptors,...)

9. The Battle of White Mountain (1620)
was an early battle in the Thirty Years' War
difficult religious situation
the battle marked the end of the Bohemian period of the Thirty Years' War and decisively influenced the fate of the Czech lands for the next 300 years, germanization

10. the result of the 1620 battle brought two centuries of
re-catholicization of the Czech lands and the decline of
the Czech-speaking aristocracy
18th – 19th century - Czech National Revival
cultural movement (took part in the Czech lands during C18 and 19)
the purpose - to revive Czech language, culture and national identity
the most prominent figures - Josef Dobrovský and Josef Jungmann
some people referred to the 17th and 18th century in the Czech lands as the Dark Age

11. 20th century 1914-1918 – 1st World War
- the Czechoslovak Republic was established
(28th October, 1918)
1939 – 1945 – 2nd World War
- German occupation
1948 – the power was taken over by the Communists directed
by the Soviet Union

12. 20th century November 17th, 1989 – Velvet Revolution
- the end of the Communist rule
- students’ demonstrations
1993 – splitting of the Czechoslovak Republic
2004 – the Czech Republic joined the EU

13. Outstanding people from the Czech history

14. Charles IV ( )
was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia who also became Holy Roman Emperor
received French education and was literate and fluent in five languages
Prague became his capital, and he rebuilt the city on the model of Paris, establishing the New Town of Prague
he founded the University of Prague, which was named after him and it was the first university in Central Europe

15. John Amos Comenius (1591 - 1670) a Czech teacher, educator and writer
considered the father of modern education
first introduced pictorial textbooks, written in native language instead of Latin
applied effective teaching methods
supported lifelong learning and development of logical thinking by moving from dull memorization
presented and supported the idea of equal opportunity for poor children
opened doors to education for women
lived and worked in many different countries in Europe

16. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (1850- 1937)
the first president of the Czechoslovac Republic in 1918
politician, sociologist, philosopher
eager advocate of Czechoslovak independence during WW1
became Professor of Slavic Research at King's College in London
re-elected as president three times
Czechoslovakia became the
strongest democracy in central
Europe

17. Václav Havel ( )
Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician
he ninth and last president of Czechoslovakia (1989–1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (1993–2003)
he wrote more than 20 plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally
was one of the signatories of the Charter 77 manifesto
he received number of state awards from all over the world (e.g.: US Presidential Medal of Freedom, Decoration for Science and Art – Austria, Gandhi Peace Prize – India,…)