The Czech Republic is still all things to all people. From the pulsing
capital Prague to the back-in-time villages of Moravia, from toiling
up mountains to lounging in spas, from the world-famous Pilsner to the
strains of Smetana and Dvorak, there's an experience to suit every taste.
Stunning architecture is not limited to Prague - there are plenty of
Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque facades in other towns. Among the richest
are Kutná Hora in Central Bohemia; Cheb, Loket and Domažlice in western
Bohemia; Olomouc in northern Moravia; and Tela and Kromeříž in southern
Moravia.
Cyclists will appreciate the undulating Bohemian plateau, drained by
the Vltava, the republic's longest river, and its parent river, the
Labe, and dotted with castles and modest villages. A natural pathway
through Moravia is the 'Moravian Gate', the linked valleys of the Morava,
Beava and Odra rivers, the only lowland corridor across the Czech Republic.
Though this is the most densely populated part of the republic, the
hills to both sides offer some of its most peaceful travelling.
The arrival of the Slavs in the 5th and 6th centuries saw the beginning
of the Czechs' chequered history. Its tribes adopted Christianity and
united in the short-lived Great Moravian Empire (830-906), which came
to include western Slovakia, Bohemia, Silesia, and parts of eastern
Germany, south-eastern Poland and northern Hungary. Towards the end
of the 9th century, the Czechs seceded to form the independent state
of Bohemia.
Prague Castle was founded in the 870s by Prince Borivoj as the main
seat of the Premysl dynasty, though the Premysls failed to unite the
squabbling Czech tribes until 993. In 950, the German King Otto I conquered
Bohemia and incorporated it into his Holy Roman Empire. In 1212, the
pope granted the Premsyl prince Otakar I the right to rule as king.
His son and successor Otakar II tried to claim the title of Holy Roman
Emperor as well as king of the Czechs, but the imperial crown went to
Rudolph Hapsburg. Strong rule under the Hapsburgs brought with it Bohemia's
Golden Age. Prague grew into one of Europe's largest and most important
cities, and was ornamented with fine Gothic landmarks.
The late 14th and early 15th centuries witnessed an influential Church-reform
movement, the Hussite Revolution, led by the Czech Jan Zizka, who was
inspired by the teachings of Jan Hus. The spread of Hussitism had threatened
the Catholic status quo all over Europe. In 1420 combined Hussite forces
successfully defended Prague against the first of a series of anti-Hussite
crusades, which had been launched by authority of the pope. Though they
were up against larger and better equipped forces, the Hussites repeatedly
went on the offensive and raided deep into Germany, Poland and Austria.
In 1526 the Czech kingdom again came under control of the Catholic Hapsburgs.
On 23 May 1618, the Bohemian Estates, protesting against both the Hapsburgs'
failure to deliver on promises of religious tolerance and the loss of
their own privileges, ejected two Hapsburg councillors from an upper
window of Prague Castle (they survived with minor injuries). This famous
'defenestration' sparked off the Thirty Years' War. The Czechs lost
their rights and property and almost their national identity through
forced Catholicisation and Germanisation, and their fate was sealed
for the next three centuries.
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