Czech Lands

The Czech lands (Czech: České země) are the three historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Czech Silesia, which together have formed the Czech Republic since 1 January 1993.

In a historical context, Czech texts use the term to refer to any territory ruled by the Kings of Bohemia, i.e., the lands of the Bohemian Crown (země Koruny české) as established by Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century. This would include territories like the Lusatias (which in 1635 fell to Saxony) and the whole of Silesia, all ruled from Prague Castle at that time. After the conquest of Silesia by the Prussian king Frederick the Great in 1742, the remaining lands of the Bohemian Crown—Bohemia, Moravia and Austrian Silesia—have been more or less co-extensive with the territory of the modern-day Czech Republic.

The term Czech lands has been used to describe different things by different people. While the Czech name of Bohemia proper is Čechy, the adjective český refers to both "Bohemian" and "Czech". The non-auxiliary term (i.e. the term used in official Czech geographical terminology lists) for the present-day Czech lands (i.e. Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia) is Česko, documented as early as in 1704 (the latin sources mentioning the expression, and its meaning at that time, i.e. just for Bohemia).

The Czech lands had been settled by Celts (Boii) from 5th BC until 2nd AD, then by various Germanic tribes (Marcomanni, Quadi, Lombards and others) until they moved on to the west during the Migration Period (1st-5th century). At the beginning of the 5th century the population decreased vigorously and the first Western Slavs came in the second half of the 6th century, according to mythology led by a chieftain Čech. In the course of the decline of the Great Moravian realm during the Hungarian invasions of Europe in the 9th and 10th century, the Czech Přemyslid dynasty established the Duchy of Bohemia. Backed by the East Frankish kings, they prevailed against the reluctant Bohemian nobility and extended their rule eastwards over the adjacent Moravian lands.

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