Chronology

Earliest history of Bohemia

  • Bohemia = the core region of the Czech Republic, which is also composed of the historical regions Moravia (southeast) and Silesia (northeast).

  • Evidence of different cultures from Prehistoric times – Lower Paleolithic (6×1056\times 10^{5} years ago).

  • Lack of detailed historical evidence about events and rulers living in Bohemia until Maroboduus (30,BC−38,AD30{,}BC{-}38{,}AD) – from a Germanic tribe.

  • Venus of Dolní Věstonice, Moravia, (29,000−25,00029{,}000{-}25{,}000 BC).

The time of legends

  • cca 600 BC600\,BC – Celts who named the area Boiohaema.

  • 100 BC100\,BC – Germanic tribes (Maroboduus).

  • 600 AD600\,AD – Slavic tribes – CZECHS.

  • From 880 AD880\,AD – spread of Christianity with center in Prague.

  • Duke Bořivoj: the year 929/935 AD929/935\,AD – death of Saint Wenceslas in the context of early Christianization.

  • 973973 – the bishopric of Prague.

Crossing protection of the Vltava

  • River Vltava crossing: an important crossing protected by the fortress on the cliff above (Prague Castle).

  • Original crossing on rafts laid in the water.

  • Raft = "prah" (CZ).

  • PRAHA = Prague in the Early Middle Ages (9th–12th centuries).

Old trade routes and key towns (Via Imperii and related routes)

  • Odema, Hedeby, Wolip, Torun, Bydgoszcz, Brest, Orwich, Twich, Hollingstadt, Hamburg, Rostock, Wismar, Lübeck, Bardowick, Halle, Erfurt, via Imperii, Stettin, Bernau, Magdeburg, Wittenberg, Leipzig, Zwickau, Hof, Bamberg, Medemblik, Utrecht, Domburg, Antwerp, Emden, Bremen, Brunswick, Hannover, Deventer, Bruges, Brussels, Cologne, Duisburg, Mainz, Dover, Gent, Ypres, Aachen, Liège, Saint-Omer, Arras, Strasbourg, Telms, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Rouen, Paris, Orleans, Troyes, Bar-sur-Aube, Basel, via Imbeni, Görlitz, Prague, Linz, Regensburg, Augsburg, Innsbruck, Brenner Pass, Bolzano, Trento, Udine, via Regia, Breslau, Krakow, Ostrava, Lublin, Sandomierz, Moravian Gate, Kaschau, Brno, Bratislava, Vienna, Esztergom, Budapest, Székesfehérvár, ruck an den Mur, Freisach, LVIN, Pozarevac, Vidin, Belgrade, Niš, Tours, via Regia, pitores, Besançon, Dijon, Bern, Septimer Pass, Verona, Lausanne, St Bernard Pass, Aastad Turin, Milan, Pavia, Lyon, Venice, Chioggia, Parma, Bologna, Genoa, Savona, Cist Pass, Pisa, Fano, Florence, Seine, Ginignano, Nin, Zadar, Split, Ancona, Via Egnat, Klis Pass, opie, Ragusa, Morine Pass, Durres, Ortona, Trani.

  • Merchant routes, 11th–12th century AD.

Saint Wenceslas and the Přemyslid Dynasty

  • Saint Wenceslas: historical figure – Duke of Bohemia at the beginning of the 10th century; martyr and saint – killed by the servants of his brother Boleslav.

  • Known as a good Christian: modest, spreading Christianity, charitable work.

  • Praised soon after death, legends about miracles.

  • Founded the small church (rotunda) of Saint Vitus on the Prague Castle in 930 – core of today’s St. Vitus Cathedral.

  • Grandson of Duke Bořivoj I; Bořivoj’s son and Wenceslas’ father were baptized; family is among the oldest ruling lines from House Přemyslid we have evidence about.

  • There were at least 1414 different dukes in Czech lands; the Přemyslid dynasty proved most successful and laid the foundations of the Czech kingdom.

Czech lands as an important power in medieval Europe

  • In 1085 the Kingdom of Bohemia established – first king Vratislav I.

  • Vyšehrad Castle as a key fortress.

  • 12121212 – Golden Bull of Sicily.

  • 13061306 – end of the Přemyslid dynasty (death of Wenceslas III).

  • 13441344 – Archbishopric founded in Prague.

  • 13461346 – Charles IV, king of Bohemia.

  • 13551355 – Charles IV, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

  • 13781378 – Charles IV died; his son Wenceslas IV took power.

Around 1320 – Hradčany (Castle Town) founded

  • Hradčany Castle Town founded around 13201320.

  • 13481348 – New Town founded by Charles IV.

  • 13421342 – Judith Bridge destroyed by a flood.

  • 13571357 – New Stone Bridge commissioned by Charles IV.

  • 13551355 – Prague became capital of the Holy Roman Empire.

  • 14th Century foundations by Charles IV: university, churches, monasteries, important squares.

Religious wars in the Czech lands

  • 14151415 – Czech reformer Jan Hus executed as a heretic.

  • 1419−14361419{-}1436 – Hussite wars – many artworks destroyed, churches looted and burned.

  • Vladislaus II of Hungary (House Jagiellon) elected king of the Czechs.

  • 15261526 – Ferdinand I, Habsburg, elected as Czech king.

  • 15831583 – Rudolph II Habsburg moved his residence to Prague.

  • 16181618 – Prague Defenestration – 30 Years’ War.

  • 16201620 – final defeat of the Protestant movement in the Czech lands.

  • 16211621 – Old Town Execution.

The Great Fire of 1541

  • 15411541 – great fire destroyed large parts of Lesser Town, Hradčany and Prague Castle.

The Cities of Prague between 1348–1784

  • Old Town, Lesser Town, Hradčany (Castle Town), New Town, Jewish Ghetto.

  • All were independent cities with their own jurisdiction, tax system, guilds, etc.

  • Joseph II united all five cities into one City of Prague in 1784 as part of administrative reforms.

Time of the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution

  • Czech lands were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire with a center in Wien.

  • Czech language and culture were marginalized – official language German.

  • National Revival movement of the 19th century (one of many in Europe).

  • 17431743 – Marie Theresa (House Habsburg) crowned queen of the Czech kingdom.

  • 1740−17481740{-}1748 – War of the Austrian Succession.

  • 17801780 – Joseph II, emperor and king of Bohemia.

  • 18481848 – Pro-democratic revolution.

  • 18481848 – Franz Joseph I, emperor.

  • 1914−19181914{-}1918 – World War I.

Geopolitical context (maps and regions around Bohemia)

  • Ireland, Norway, Finland, Scotland, North Sea, Sweden, Livonia, Gotland, Ösel, Courland, etc. (illustrative map of Europe and surrounding regions during the era; Bohemia is shown among major powers).

  • Major surrounding areas include Prussia, Austria, Silesia, Moravia, Bavaria, Poland, Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire in broader context.

  • Key regional anchors: Bohemia in Central Europe; Moravia to the east; Silesia to the northeast.

  • Timeframe around 1748–1766 as depicted in the map context.

Prague districts and urban development after 1784

  • CASTLE, LESSER TOWN, HRADČANY, OLD TOWN, JOSEFOV, NEW TOWN, SMÍCHOV, HOLEŠOVICE, KARLÍN, ŽIŽKOV, VINOHRADY.

  • 19th–20th Century: after 1784 walls between the cities were demolished.

  • Industrial boom – people moved into the city.

  • 1848 – Jews allowed to move out of the Ghetto.

  • Railways introduced; several new bridges built.

  • New districts incorporated outside walls demolished.

  • 1922 – Project of Great Prague introduced.

  • 1884 – Holešovice, 1922 – Karlín, Smíchov, Vinohrady, Žižkov, etc.

Floods of the late 18th and 19th centuries

  • 1784 – Flood (as described in historical sources summarizing the catastrophe in Prague region).

  • 1890 – Floods (repeated impact in long-term urban planning and river management).

Independent Czechoslovak Republic (1918–1939)

  • October 28, 1918 – Czechoslovakia established with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk as the first president.

  • 1929 – The Great Depression (unemployment, housing crisis).

  • 1935 – Edvard Beneš became the second president.

  • September 1938 – Munich Agreement (handing over Sudetenland to Nazi Germany).

  • March 15, 1939 – Czechoslovakia occupied by Nazi Germany; Protectorate Bohemia and Moravia established.

War and the birth of Socialist Czechoslovakia

  • September 1941 – Reinhard Heydrich appointed the Protector.

  • May 27, 1942 – Heydrich assassinated during Operation Anthropoid by Czech and Slovak paratroopers.

  • May 1945 – Prague uprising and Red Army liberates the city.

  • May 1946 – election won by the Communist Party.

  • February 25, 1948 – Communists took power in Czechoslovakia.

  • 1958 – Brussels EXPO.

  • 1968 – Prague Spring and subsequent occupation of Czechoslovakia by the Warsaw Pact.

Prague uprising 1945

  • (Note: 14 February 1945 is listed separately on page 22; the Prague uprising occurred in 1945 as the broader event referenced here.)

Soviet occupation and its aftermath (1968)

  • 1968 – Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia following the Prague Spring.

Socialist Republic and its end

  • 1977 – Václav Havel and other dissenters articulated and disseminated Charter 77.

  • November 17, 1989 – Velvet Revolution started in Prague.

  • December 29, 1989 – Václav Havel elected president.

  • January 1, 1993 – The Czech Republic established (with the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia).