Kingdom of Bohemia

Kingdom of Bohemia
  • České království (Czech)
  • Königreich Böhmen (German)
  • Regnum Bohemiae (Latin)
1198–1918
Medieval, royal shield of the King of Bohemia as imperial Elector and Arch-Cupbearer:[2][3]
The Kingdom of Bohemia (dark red) with other Bohemian Crown lands (light red) within the Holy Roman Empire (1618)
The Kingdom of Bohemia (dark red) with other Bohemian Crown lands (light red) within the Holy Roman Empire (1618)
The Kingdom of Bohemia (red) within Austria-Hungary (1914)
The Kingdom of Bohemia (red) within Austria-Hungary (1914)
Status
Capital
and largest city
Prague
Common languages
Religion
GovernmentFeudal monarchy
Absolute monarchy
Parliamentary monarchy
King 
• 1198–1230
Ottokar I (first)
• 1916–1918
Charles III (last)
History 
• Kingdom established
1198
• Hereditary royal title confirmed
26 September 1212
• Inauguration of the Luxembourg dynasty
December 1310
• Became main part of the Crown of Bohemia
7 April 1348
25 December 1356
16 December 1526
• Renewed Land Ordinance imposed hereditary Habsburg succession to throne
10 May 1627
• Crown of Bohemia de facto dissolved
1 May 1749
• Dissolution of Austria-Hungary
31 October 1918
Population
• Around 1400[5][6]
Approximately 2 million
Currency
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Duchy of Bohemia
Duchy of Silesia
Duchy of Jawor
Duchy of Brzeg
Egerland
First Czechoslovak Republic
Today part ofCzech Republic
Germany
Poland
Slovakia

The Kingdom of Bohemia (Czech: České království),[a] sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom,[8][9][a] was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the predecessor state of the modern Czech Republic.

The Kingdom of Bohemia was an Imperial State in the Holy Roman Empire. The Bohemian king was a prince-elector of the empire. The kings of Bohemia, besides the region of Bohemia itself, also ruled other lands belonging to the Bohemian Crown, which at various times included Moravia, Silesia, Lusatia, and parts of Saxony, Brandenburg, and Bavaria.[citation needed]

The kingdom was established by the Přemyslid dynasty in the 12th century by the Duchy of Bohemia, later ruled by the House of Luxembourg, the Jagiellonian dynasty, and from 1526 the House of Habsburg and its successor, the House of Habsburg-Lorraine. Numerous kings of Bohemia were also elected Holy Roman Emperors, and the capital, Prague, was the imperial seat in the late 14th century, and again at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries.

Shortly before the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the kingdom became part of the newly proclaimed Habsburg Austrian Empire, and subsequently the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867. Bohemia retained its name and formal status as a separate Kingdom of Bohemia until 1918, known as a crown land within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and its capital Prague was one of the empire's leading cities. The Czech language (called the Bohemian language in English usage until the 19th century)[10] was the main language of the Diet and the nobility until 1627 (after the Bohemian Revolt was suppressed). German was then formally made equal with Czech and eventually prevailed as the language of the Diet until the Czech National Revival in the 19th century. German was also widely used as the language of administration in many towns after the Germans immigrated and populated some areas of the country in the 13th century. The royal court used the Czech, Latin, and German languages, depending on the ruler and period.

Following the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, both the Kingdom and Empire were dissolved. Bohemia became the core part of the newly formed Czechoslovak Republic.

  1. ^
    From the Roll of Arms of Austria-Hungary in Ströhl's Wappenrolle Österreich-Ungarns (1890), Tafel III. Ungarn, Böhmen, Dalmatien, Kroatien.
    Hugo Gerhard Ströhl: Wappenrolle Österreich-Ungarns. Erste Auflage, Wien 1890, S. VIII.
  2. ^
    Page from an armorial showing the arms of Emperor Frederick III, c. 1415–1493.
  3. ^
    Page from an armorial showing arms of Kaiser Maximilian I c. 1508–1519
  4. ^ Horák, Záboj (2017). Religion and Law in the Czech Republic. Kluwer Law International B.V. p. 277. ISBN 978-9041187789.
  5. ^ Brady, Thomas A.; Brady, Thomas A. Jr. (2009). German Histories in the Age of Reformations, 1400–1650. Cambridge University Press. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-521-88909-4. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2021. The Luxemburg project halted under Charles IV's elder son, Wenceslas (r. 1363–1419 in Bohemia, 1376–1400 in Germany), who inherited a Bohemian kingdom endowed with a population of some 2 million
  6. ^ Fudge, Thomas A. (2018). The Magnificent Ride: The First Reformation in Hussite Bohemia. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-88633-8. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 15 July 2021. Around 1400 the population of Bohemia was about 2 million
  7. ^ Czech denarius Archived 6 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine. National Library of the Czech Republic.
  8. ^ Bradshaw, George (1867). Bradshaw's illustrated hand-book to Germany. London. p. 223. Retrieved 12 July 2014.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  9. ^ Chotěbor, Petr (2005). Prague Castle : Detailed Guide (2nd complemente ed.). Prague: Prague Castle Administration. pp. 19, 27. ISBN 80-86161-61-7.
  10. ^ Šitler, Jiří (12 July 2016). "From Bohemia to Czechia". Radio Prague. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.


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