Czechs of Croatia
Coat of arms of the Czechs in Croatia
|
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 9,641 (2011) | |
| Languages | |
| Croatian, Czech | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Slovaks |
Czechs are one of the recognised minorities of Croatia. According to the census of 2011 there were 9,641 Czechs in Croatia, comprising 0.22% of total population. They are also called by their non-Czech neighbours Pemci.
Most Croatian Czechs live in Western Slavonia especially around the cities of Daruvar and Grubišno Polje. They comprise 5.25% of population of Bjelovar-Bilogora County and 0.83% of Požega-Slavonia County. They comprise a relative majority in Končanica municipality and in villages like Veliki Zdenci, Mali Zdenci, Golubinjak etc. They can be also found in almost all major towns in Croatia.
As of 2009[update], Czech language is officially used in one municipality and five other settlements in Croatia, according to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Slavonia changed hands from the Ottomans to Habsburgs, and the Muslim population fled. This left great areas vacant, and Hasburgs started to colonize new lands with people from all parts of their Empire. The first Czechs arrived in Slavonia around the 1750s, and were settled in Western Slavonia throughout the 19th century. In Croatia, they could buy from ten or more acres of arable land for price of 1-acre (4,000 m2) they sold in the Czech lands. Czechs also settled other parts of Croatia such as Gorski kotar, and bigger cities where they were praised as skilled workers and clerks, but were assimilated in two or three generations. One of these urban Czechs was August Šenoa, Croatian writer and mayor of Zagreb. Czechs soon found the need to culturally organise themselves, and in 1874 the first Česka Beseda (Czech word) was found in Zagreb. This is an organization that promotes Czech language and culture in Croatia, and organised the first theater play in Czech language in the same year. In time Česke Besede were founded all across Croatia, and opened Czech libraries and Sport societies (Sokol). In 1911 the first Czech newspaper started printing in Zagreb.
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Wikipedia