Czech history dates from the 4th century B.C. when the boii settlers came aground. This was followed by the Slavs tribe in 6th century B.C. and the arrival of Samo, a Frankish merchant in the 7th century. Around 830, the Great Moravian Empire came into formation. Under the rule of Slavic leader Mojmir, the empire expanded its reign from the Morava River to areas including present day Slovakia; Southern Poland and Western Hungary. The Great Moravian Empire reign came to an end in 907.
For much of the 9th century, Czech was ruled by the Premyslid Dynasty. During this time, the first Prague castle was created in 880. In 1085, Prague received its first royal king with the crowing of Vratislav II. During the reign of King Vratislav II, Czech underwent rapid expansion and growth. The Premyslid Dynasty came to an end in 1306 with the death of its last member, Wenceslas III.
The growth that began with the Premyslid Dynasty continued under the reign of John of Luxembourg. He ruled over the region from 1310 to 1346. This was followed by the beloved “father of Czech nation” Charles IV. His reign is considered to be Czech’s golden age of history. This is when the country experienced becoming the most prosperous area of central Europe. Wenceslas IV, son of Charles IV, took over reign when his father’s term ended. He remained in rule for much of the 15th century.
From 1415 to 1790, the Czech Republic underwent many turbulent times. There was the first defenestration of Prague in 1419 when Hussites threw seven counsellors out of a town building window. This was the start of the religious wars in which many artefacts and literature was destroyed. The second period of Prague’s golden age of history came about with the reign of Rudolf II, holy Roman Emperor, in 1576. Obsessed with art and magic, King Rudolf earned Prague the nickname of “Magic Prague”.
The Battle of the White Mountain occurred in 1620 when Protestants were defeated by the Habsburgs. This battle resulted in the 30 years war that saw the banning of all religions except for Catholic. Czech language and national consciousness were suppressed for the next 150 years, earning this era the title of the Dark Age. The National Revival movement began at the end of the 18th Century. Part of this revival saw the opening of the national theatre in 1883 and the national museum in 1890.
The 19th century brought about the Industrial Revolution. In 1918, the joint forces of Czech lands and Slovakia formed the establishment of present day Czechoslovakia and named Prague the capital of the newly formed country. 1945 to 1989 is referred to as the Czech Communist Era. During this time, nationwide nationalization of industry and economy were placed in the hands of the Communist Party. From 1968 to 1980, a “normalization” period occurred where attempts were made to return the Czech Republic to the status it maintained before the Communist Era.
Present day Czech Republic saw an end to the Communist Era in 1989 when the Berlin Wall came down. This is referred to as the Velvet Revolution Period. Since that time, the country’s first democratic elections have been held. Czechoslovakia has peacefully split into two separate nations, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. In 2004, the Czech Republic joined the European Nation with ten other countries.