Czechoslovakia [antikvár]

HISTORYCzechoslovakia has ample archaeological evidence of habitation from prehistoric times; important Upper Palaeolithic finds (40,00014,000 B. C.) are still being recorded. In the period between 400 B. C. and 100 A. D. the Celts inhabited the land, forming large and small settlements, so-called oppida: the most important excavations are at Zavist near Prague, Stradonice near Nizbor, Hrazany near Slapy and Trisov near Cesky Krumlov. One of the Celtic tribes, the Boi, gave part of Czechoslovakia its name Bohemia from Boiohemum. The Celts were driven out by Germanic tribes towards the end of the 4th century. The first Slav settlers came in the 5th century and by the 9th century the tribes had united and formed an advanced state organization, known as the Great Moravian Empire. At this time the Slavs adopted Christianity through Constantine (Cyril) and Methodius (Metodej), who also gave the country its first alphabet and written language. The Magyar invasion at the beginning of the 10th century put an end to the Great Moravian Empire, this resulting in the division of the Slav population into two parts, the Czech Lands and Slovakia. This division has lasted a thousand years and both countries have preserved their own cultural identity and maintained mutual ties.At the turn of the 10th century the Pfemyslid dynastic rule extended over Bohemia and later over Moravia. This was the period of the prosperous Czech independent feudal state. By the 12th and 13th centuries the Pfemyslid dynasty was the most serious obstacle to the expansionist policies of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germans. But a historic opportunity arose when there remained only a female Pfemyslid successor to the throne. Eliska Pfemyslid married John of Luxembourg who annexed the Czech Lands to the German Empire and through skilful dynastic policy ensured for their son, Charles IV, the title of King of the Germans (1346) and ultimately, in 1355, Holy Roman Emperor.The political prestige of the Kingdom of Bohemia was based on its economic prosperity, which in turn gave rise to brilliant cultural development. In 1344 the Prague Bishopric was elevated to the status of an Archbishopric and in 1348 the first university in Central Europe Charles University was founded in Prague.Under Wenceslas IV (13781419), royal authority declined sharply and the political importance of the Bohemian state diminished. By the end of the 14th century, the concentration of power and wealth in the hands of the Church and a small number of feudal families gave rise to discontent. Sharp criticism was at first directed against the Church and its power, but soon turned into a widely based reform movement. Scholars at Charles University helped spread the movement to some noble families and the burghers, but it was the broad masses of serfs who were inflamed by the sermons of the priests. The greatest figure of the reform movement was John Huss. In 1415 the Roman Catholic Church attempted to halt the reform movement by condemning John Huss to be burnt at the stake. However, John Huss's martyrdom at Constance stimulated the reform movement which swelled into a revolution, led in Prague by Jan Zelivsky. The powerful revolutionary movement (14191434) also produced remarkable strategists, the two most famous being Jan Zizka of Trocnov and Prokop Holy. The Hussites formed an army of crusaders whose military tactics were copied by armies of the whole of Europe.