Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
his people a near-mythical, King Arthur-type cultural standard-
bearer.) Much of Prague's history and architecture (including
the famous Charles Bridge, Charles University, and St. Vitus
Cathedral) can be traced to this man's rule. Under Charles IV, the
Czech people gained esteem among Europeans.
Jan Hus and Religious Wars
Jan Hus (c. 1370-1415) was a local preacher and professor who got
in trouble with the Vatican a hundred years before Martin Luther.
Like Luther, Hus preached in the people's language rather than
Latin. To add insult to injury, he complained about Church cor-
ruption. Tried for heresy and burned in 1415, Hus became both a
religious and a national hero. While each age has defined Hus to
its liking, the way he challenged authority while staying true to
himself has long inspired and rallied the Czech people. (For more
on Hus, see the sidebar on page 54.)
Inspired by the reformist ideas of Jan Hus, the Czechs rebelled
against both the Roman Catholic Church and German political
control. This burst of independent thought led to a period of reli-
gious wars, and ultimately the loss of autonomy to Vienna. Ruled
by the Habsburgs of Austria, Prague stagnated—except during the
rule of King Rudolf II (1552-1612), a Holy Roman Emperor. With
Rudolf living in Prague, the city again emerged as a cultural and
intellectual center. Astronomers Johannes Kepler, Tycho Brahe,
and other scientists flourished, and much of the inspiration for
Prague's great art can be attributed to the king's patronage.
Not long after this period, Prague entered one of its darker
spells. The Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) began in Prague when
Czech Protestant nobles, wanting religious and political auton-
omy, tossed two Catholic Habsburg officials out of the window
of the castle. (This was one of Prague's many defenestrations—a
uniquely Czech solution to political discord, in which offend-
ing politicians were thrown out the window.) The Czech Estates
Uprising lasted for two years, ending in a crushing defeat of the
Czech army in the Battle of White Mountain (1620), which
marked the end of Czech freedom. Twenty-seven leaders of
the uprising were executed (today commemorated by crosses on
Prague's Old Town Square—see page 52), most of the old Czech
nobility was dispossessed, and Protestants had to leave the coun-
try or convert to Catholicism. Often called “the first world war”
because it engulfed so many nations, the Thirty Years' War was
particularly tough on Prague. During this period, its population
dropped from 60,000 to 25,000. The result of this war was 300
years of Habsburg rule from afar, as Prague became a German-
speaking backwater of Vienna.
