Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
History
While modern-day visitors still tend to see the Czech Republic as part of 'Eastern
Europe' or a former member of the Soviet bloc, for over a thousand years, the
kingdoms of Bohemia and Moravia stood at the very heart of European affairs.
Indeed, for much of the 14th century, under Emperor Charles IV, Prague was the
seat of the Holy Roman Empire - in effect, the capital of Europe. Later, in the 16th
century under Rudolf II, Prague served as the centre of the sprawling Habsburg
empire, overseeing territories as far-flung as modern-day Italy and Poland.
THE EARLY YEARS WITH THE CELTS
There's been human habitation on the territory of the modern-day Czech Republic for
some 600,000 years, with permanent communities since around 4000 BC, but it's the
Celts, who came to the area around 500 BC, that arouse the most interest. The name
'Bohemia' for the western province of the Czech Republic derives from one of the
most successful of these Celtic tribes, the Boii. Traces of Boii culture have been found
as far away as southern Germany, leading some archaeologists to posit a relation
between Celts here and those in France, and possibly even further afield to tribes in the
British Isles.
IN COME THE SLAVS
It's unclear what prompted the great migration of peoples across Europe in the 6th and
7th centuries, but during this time large populations of Slavs began arriving in central
Europe, driving out the Celts and pushing German tribes further to the west. The new-
comers established several settlements along the Vltava, including one near the present
site of Prague Castle and another upriver at Vyšehrad.
It was a highly unstable time, with the new arrivals themselves under threat from in-
coming peoples such as the Avars. A Frankish trader named Samo briefly succeeded in
uniting the Slavs to repel the Avars, but the Slavs quickly resumed their squabbling.
READING UP ON CZECH HISTORY
Prague and the Czech Republic are not lacking in well-written historical accounts
in English. Some of the best of these include:
