Jana Hrabcova CyMe.jpg q the Slavic state in the 9th century situated mostly in Moravia ž q cultural development resulted from the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius ž žthe centre of the duchy in Bohemia žPrague the capital city ž the Kingdom of Bohemia since the end of 12th century ž ž http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/81/WenceslausIImap-cs.png/290px-WenceslausIIm ap-cs.png žFrom 1310 till 1437 žCharles IV žthe king of Bohemia (1346–1378) and Holy Roman Emperor (1355–1378) žthe most important and the best known Bohemian king ž1356 - The Golden Bull – the basic law of the Holy Roman Empire žPrague became his capital, and he rebuilt the city on the model of Paris, establishing the New Town of Prague (Nové Město), Charles Bridge, and Charles Square, Karlštejn Castle etc. ž1348 – he founded the University of Prague, later named after him, the first university in Central Europe ž Karel_IV._na_web_ISJ.jpg 01-karlstejn-pohled.jpg žReadings: ž ž Charles IV (autobiography), edited by Balázs Nagy, Frank Schaer (2001): Autobiography of Emperor Charles IV; And, His Legend of St. Wenceslas: Karoli IV Imperatoris Romanorum Vita Ab Eo Ipso Conscripta; Et, Hystoria Nova de Sancto Wenceslao Martyre, Published by Central European University Press. ž žreligious struggles žMaster Jan Hus – became one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation žclergyman, preacher and Professor of Prague University žwanted to reform the Catholic Church žhe was protesting against clerical abuses, especially the sale of indulgences (paying for forgivness of the sins during the confession) žhe also declared that the clergy should live according to the Bible, in poverty, without property and a secular power žthe mortal sins should be prohibited and punished žhe also proclaimed that the believers should understand the Holy Writ so it should be proclaimed in the national languages ž žMaster Jan Hus was sentenced to death was burnt to death in 1415 at the Council of Constance ž http://forum.valka.cz/files/up_len_.jpg žthe Bohemian people blamed Emperor Sigismund for Hus´ death so they did not want him to become the king of Bohemia atlthough the was Charles IV´s son žHus´s followers were called the Hussites; (Men of the Chalice - the symbol of Hussites movement) žSigismund organized five crusade campains against Hussites but all the campains were unsuccesfull žalmost 15 years of religious struggles and wars – the country was destroyed and plundered žthe moderate Hussites wanted to finish the warfare so they united with Catholics and destroyed the radical Hussites at the battle of Lipany in May 1434 žafter that both the religions – the Catholic and the Hussite became legal in Bohemia and two churches were formed ž1436 – Sigismund was accepted as the King of Bohemia, but he died only one year after that ž žafter Sigismund´s death, a Bohemian nobleman and the leader of Hussites George (Jiří) of Kunštát and Poděbrady (1458–1471) was elected a king ž žhe suggested something what could be considered as a proposal of latter European Union ž žhe tried to prevent isolation of hussite Bohemia in catholic Europe, so he proposed a treaty among all Christian powers, the member states should pledge to settle all differences by exclusively peaceful means and fight altogether against Osman Turks who were threatening Central Europe ž •Readings: ž Doležalová, Eva – Pánek, Jaroslav (2011): Confession and nation in the era of reformations: Central Europe in comparative Perspective). Prague. ž ž ž ž ž1526 – 1918 žFerdinand I (1526–1564) žThe key events during his reign were: othe contest with the Ottoman Empire, whose great advance into Central Europe began in the 1520s othe contest with the protestant Reformation, which resulted in several wars of religion žThe Habsburg rule brought the re-introduction of the Roman Catholic faith, centralization and the construction of a multi-national empire. The Habsburgs included the Crownlands of Bohemia in their monarchy, and they remained a part of the Habsburg empire until 1918 ž žFerdinand I žAnne of Hungary and Bohemia 303px-Hans_Bocksberger_der_Aeltere_001.jpg 220px-Hans_Maler_-_Queen_Anne_of_Hungary_and_Bohemia_-_WGA13895.jpg 800px-Growth_of_Habsburg_territories.jpg žleft Vienna for Prague, Bohemian capital grew into an important center of European culture žThe Czech Estates forced Rudolph II to issue a decree - so called "Maiestatus" - proclaiming freedom of religious confession ždue to many artist and scientist and the development of culture and natural sciences it was called „the Golden Prague“ žRudolph also supported natural philosofers such as the the astronomers Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler, also Giordanno Bruno spent some time in Prague when he was on the run from the inquisition žRudolph also patronated occult sciences, many alchymists stayed in Prague during his reign •Interesting web site: http://english.habsburger.net/ ž ž ž žRudolph loved collecting paintings and was also patron of many contemporary artists – e.g. Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Bartolomeus Spranger, Hans von Aachen, Adrian de Vries and many others ž 488px-Arcimboldovertemnus.jpeg žThe Emperor Ferdinand II tried to limit the freedom of religious confession and his efforts sparked a civil war between the Estates and the Catholic Emperor which later spread into Europe under the name of the Thirty Years' War ž ž1618 – The so-called Defenestration of Prague – the unpopular king´s representatives in Bohemia (the governors) were thrown out of a window of the Prague Castle Defenestration-prague-1618.jpg žThe Czechs elected an independent king Frederick V. žThe Estates were defeated in 1620 at the Battle of the White Mountain and the Kingdom of Bohemia lost its independence for the following almost 300 years žthe Catholic faith was declared to be the only permitted creed in the country žThe period of the Thirty Years' War brought political disorder and economic devastation to Bohemia which had far-reaching consequences on the future development of the country. ž ž žThe throne of Bohemia became hereditary in the Habsburg dynasty and the most important offices were transferred permanently to Vienna žFerdinand II issued an edict, which ordered all non-Catholic noblemen to convert or to emigrate – so the large wave of emmigration succeeded žthe hussite or protestant inhabitansts were often violently forced to convert žtightening of serfdom žGerman soon became the first language of the country ž ž ž žUnsuccesful siege of Brno by swedish army in 1645 783px-Veduta_z_obléhání_Brna_Švédy_v_roce_1645.jpg žall European states participated on the Thirty Years´ War – directly or indirectly žthe Peace of Westphalia finished The Thirty Years´War – series of peace treaties signed between May and October of 1648 žReadings: •Grafton, Anthony(2001): Thirty Years War. New York Review of Books. •Duchhardt, Heinz : Münster/Osnabrück as a Short-Lived Peace System. In: Goudoever, Albert P. van (ed.) (1993): Great Peace Congresses in History 1648–1990. Utrecht. Pp 13–19. ž ž