!!!Böhmen

Bohemia, until 1918 crownland (kingdom) of the Austrian-Hungarian 
monarchy. Area 51,948 km%%sup 2/% (1910); pop. 6,774,309 (62,9% 
Czechs, 37,1 % German-speaking); important agricultural and industrial 
country of the monarchy (textile production, glass, iron, food). The 
Bohemian Landtag had 242 members; Bohemia was represented in the Lower 
House of Parliament in Vienna by 110 deputies (1900).

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The name derives from the Celtic  Boii, who left the area at around 60 
B.C. In the 9%%sup th/% /10%%sup th/%  centuries, the tribe of the 
Czechs, who had settled around Prague, came into power and later named 
the country Czechia, ruled by the Přemyslid princes. Duke 
Wenceslas (d.935) was revered as the patron saint of the country. 
Bohemia became part of the German empire in the 11%%sup th/%  century; 
in 1114, the Duke became an imperial office holder, in the 
13%%sup th/%  century, he was made Elector. German-speaking 
immigration into Bohemia had already started by the 11%%sup th/%  
century, during the 13%%sup th/%  century, members of the German 
middle class, artisans and farmers moved to the Bohemian cities and 
the surrounding area. In 1182, the margravate of  Moravia also became 
part of Bohemia. In 1198, the dukes of Bohemia were created kings, 
Přzemysl  Otakar II extended his kingdom from Silesia to the 
Adriatic sea, but was defeated by  Rudolf I von Habsburg. After the 
Přzemyslid princes had died out in 1306, the Luxembourgs became 
kings of Bohemia (until 1437). During their reign, Silesia and the 
Lausitz (Lusatic) region were acquired. Under Karl IV, cultural life 
in Prague flourished (archbishopric in 1344, university in 1348, St 
Vitus's cathedral). From 1419-1433, the national Hussite movement 
devastated the country. After the reign of George of Podebrady, the 
kings of Bohemia were members of the Polish Jagellonian dynasty 
(1471-1526), followed by Ferdinand I, a Habsburg, who made Bohemia a 
hereditary kingdom in 1547. Emperor Rudolf II (1576-1612) ruled over 
the Holy Roman Empire from Prague. In 1618, the Defenestration of 
Prague triggered off the Thirty Years' War. After the battle on the 
White Mountain in 1620, the ruling order changed and absolutism was 
introduced with the Renewed Land Ordinance of 1627, which led to the 
anti-Habsburg sentiments that prevailed among the Czech population for 
a long time.

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During the 18%%sup th/%  century, Bohemia witnessed a cultural 
renaissance, with numerous lavish buildings, while at the same time, 
the lower classes lived in squalor; due to its geographical position 
right in the centre of Europe, the country was continually threatened 
by the antagonism between Austria and Prussia. In 1781, Joseph II 
abolished restrictions on the personal freedom of the peasants. The 
Romantic movement brought about a new surge of Czech nationalist 
sentiment, which became stronger in the 19%%sup th/%  century and led 
to a sharp division between the Czech and the German speaking 
population. These national conflicts resulted in many institutions 
being divided along language lines (major banks 1864-1868, University 
of Technology 1869, Prague University 1882); from 1867 onwards, the 
Czechs boycotted the Bohemian Landtag (until 1874/1878) and the 
Reichsrat (until 1879). The nationalist conflict became more and more 
acute, and eventually led to Bohemia turning away from the 
Austrian-Hungarian monarchy. During World War I, the state of 
emergency was declared in Bohemia; the army deserted in large numbers, 
and T.G. Masaryk formed an exile government in the USA. On October 28, 
1918, the Republic of Czechoslovakia (ČSR) was proclaimed.

!Literature
K. Bosl (ed.), Handbuch der Geschichte der boehmischen 
Laender, 4 vol., 1967-1974; Biographisches Lexikon der 
boehmischen Laender, 1986ff.; F. Prinz (ed.), Deutsche Geschichte im 
Osten Europas, Boehmen und Maehren, 1993.


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