The territory was first inhabited sometimes around year 500 A.D. by Slavonic Tribes. The first Slavonic state was called after a rich businessman Samo. The Samo's Empire was founded in 623. With further development and uniting of Slavonic tribes, the early mightyfeudal Great Moravian Empire was formed in 9th century. After its disintegration, state activities were concentrated in the Czech Lands where in the 9th century power was taken over by the Czech tribe headed by the Premyslid family. The first historically documented prince Borivoj I. ruled over the territory of the Czech Lands and over a considerable part of Great Moravia.
The Czech princes and later the Czech kings played an important role in central Europe. When the Premyslid dynasty had died out by the sword in 1306 and, after several years of instability, the Czech throne went by way of dynastic wedding to the Luxemburgs, and the Czech Kingdom became also the center of the Holy Roman Empire mainly during the reign of the Charles IV. and his son Wenceslas IV. Nevertheless it was a kingdom quite independent of the Holy Roman Empire, and was ruled by a king, the most important of the seven electors of the emperors. During the reign of Charles IV. (1346-1378), Prague grew into one of the largest European cities of that era, and was a significant center of education, architecture and the arts. In 1348 one of the oldest universities in the world The Charles University was found. In 1357 the most famous bridge in Prague The Charles Bridge was built.
The first part of the 15th century is marked by Hussite Movement (1419-1437). It was named after a professor, dean and later rector of Charles University Jan Hus (John Huss), who was accused by the Church council in Constance of being a heretic and was burnt on a stake in 1415. The leading representatives of Hussite Movement were Jan Zizka and Prokop Holy. Zizka as a hussite leader was never defeated. Prokop Holy , in victorious battles, fought off crusaders of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire and was also a prominent Hussite diplomat.
After the reign of King Jiri of Podebrady--who is known for his appeal to other European kings to make a treaty securing peace, but the world was not quite ready for that kind of idea--and after the period of the rule of Jagillonian dynasty on the Czech nation throne there came the period of the Hapsburg dynasty. The rulers tried to oppress the Czech nation in favor of the Germans and Romans Catholic church, but were not successful until the Battle on the White Mountain in 1620, where Czech were defeated, followed by 300 years of endeavors to eradicate Czech statehood and national life--through germanization and the liquidation of Czech literature and culture, and re-catholization.
Nevertheless the 19th century brought a time of national revival, so when World War I. ended in 1918, the Czech nation was able to take its fate into own hands in the newly established Czech Republic on 28th October 1918 and later joined by Slovaks to form Czechoslovakia. Though this was destroyed by the German occupation (1939-1945) it appeared again after the World War II. In the elections in 1948 the Communist Party gained the power. They were supported and directed by the Soviet Union. The people tried to change this in 1968 during the "Prague Spring" but in September 1968 the soldiers of Soviet Union and the other countries of Warsaw pact crossed the borders of Czechoslovakia and occupated it. The "normalization" --process where everybody was forced to support communist ides--lasted for 21 years. November 17th, 1989, the Day of Students, there was a demonstration held in Prague. The students got beat and the "Velvet Revolution" started. The communist were gone and in 1990 there were first free elections. The following development led to the splitting of the republic, and in 1993 January 1st two new countries appeared--The Czech Republic comprising the original countries of the Czech Crown, Bohemia, Moravia, and a part of Silesia-- and the Slovak Republic.
17th November has been known as the day of students since 1939. In that year all universities where shut down by German occupiers and some students were killed. In 1989 it was the 50th anniversary and students remembering the Day of the Students went to the streets of Prague. After putting fowers on the graves of the students killed in 1939 by the Germans, the demonstration was supposed to be over. But the students realized that this day might be the right chance to go out in the streets and protest against the governing communist party. So the crowd went down from Vysehrad cemetery and headed for Vaclavske namesti (Wenceslas square). But the demonstrans were stopped by police before they ever came there. The police surrounded the crowd in the Narodni Trida and told students to leave. But there was no way out through the rows of policemen. The students started to sing songs about freedom. The crowd of policemen in white helmets waited for the orders. The orders came and the policemen started to beat the students. Many of them were hurt, but no one was killed. The next day students, artists, actors and many other people started a strike. Under the pressure the Communist gov’t resigned. On December 29th Vaclav Havel became the 1st president of Czechoslovak Federal Republic. The country got rid of communism and became democratic. This almost peaceful revolution was then named The Velvet Revolution, probably because nobody was killed.
In 1990 there were 1st free elections and the Civic Forum won. The country started to change the old economics, industry and trade.
1. Jan. 1997 Vaclav Havel's Speech
The president Vaclav Havel gave his usual New Year's speech that was shorter then ever before. He was very weak after a difficult operation, when a tumor with a part of his lung was removed not long ago. His main message was:" I would like to ask you only for one thing, that you won't accept everything disgusting, acrid, unfair and reppelent that you meet in your public life as something that just has to be."
1. Jan. 1997 Twentieth anniversary of Charta 77
Charta 77 (charter 77) was written twenty years ago. The text warned about the tampering of Human rights in the comunist Czechoslovakia. Most of the signers of Charta 77 were put into the prison for ideas against comunism
7. Jan. 1997 The first women in Czech Government
Vlasta Parkanova, as the first and only women in the Czech government, became new Attorney General. The previous Attorney General Jan Kalvoda resigned after a scandal with using a university title he never had.
21. Jan. 1997 Czech-German Declaration
Helmut Kohl and the Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus signed the Czech-German Declaration in Prague. The declaration was supposed to end the quarells between Czech and Germans about the past and help to develop future relations between both countries.
28. Jan. - 28. Feb. 1997 Teacher's Strike
Between those dates the teachers held strikes for higher wadges. The teachers were asking for 18.9% grow of the wadges compare to year 1996. The government refused to pay more to the teachers.
3. Feb. - 8. Feb. 1997 The Strikes on the Railway
At the midnight between the 3rd and 4th Febuary the strike on the Czech rails begun. The strikers wanted the government to pay more attention to where the money for the developement of the railway system goes. The strike ended Febuary 8th when the agreement with the government was signed.
27. Feb. 1997 Czech Republicans Accused
Miroslav Sladek, leader of the Republican Party in the Czech Republic was accused of rasicsm and proclamations againts Germans when the Czech-German Declaration was signed.
22. Mar. - 23. Mar. 1997 New President of ODA
On a conference in Most the political party ODA elected new leaders of their party. The new president of ODA became Michael Zantovsky, who replaced Jan Kalvoda. Very shortly after Zantovsky was elected a new faction called Right Faction was formed inside of the ODA. This faction criticised the government, but the hope for the growth of election preferences didn't come true. This led to resigning of Zantovsky in November 1997 and his place was taken by Jan Skalicky.
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