Capital : Prague
The area north of the River Danube was towards the edge of the
major Celtic settlement. It was never really part of the Roman
Empire, with the Iazyges and Samatians remaining independent.
During the mass migration of Germanic tribes after the influence
of Rome was removed in the C5th AD, it was settled by, among others,
the Rugii, Slavs and Sueves. The territory called Bohemia on the
border of the Frankish Empire covered part of the same area and
was in the path of the Magyar invasions after they had based themselves
in the Hungarian plain in the C9th and C10th.
Bohemia grew in status under the Premyslid family, emerging as
a political unit under Boleslav I (929-67), but the nobility willingly
became vassals of Germany in 950 when they were threatened by
the Hungarians and there was a brief Polish occupation under Boleslaw
Chobry in 1003-4. The Kingdom of Bohemia had included Moravia
for some time, but it was Ottocar II in the C13th who set out
to build a state reaching as far as the Adriatic, including Austria.
His policies were unpopular with his nobles and he was defeated
and died in 1278 leaving a way in for the Habsburgs to take power
in Austria. The Premyslid dynasty was extinct by 1306 but under
Charles IV in the C14th, Bohemia rose again to take control of
Brandenburg, Lusatia, Silesia and the Upper Palatinate.
Social and religious unrest begun under Charles IV's son, Wenceslaus,
weakened the power of the crown. The reformer, Jan Hus, was condemned
and burned in 1415 and the resulting Hussite wars developed an
anti-German slant. By the mid-C16th, the whole kingdom was part
of the Austrian Habsburg dominions. The long religious struggle
between Catholics and Protestants came to a head with Holy Roman
Emperor Frederick II defeating the Bohemian Protestants in 1618-21.
(Catholicism was now the only religion allowed in Bohemia and
Moravia).
Although the Czechs tried to gain autonomy within it in the C19th,
Bohemia remained part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until after
the First World War when the new state of Czechoslovakia was formed.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, a general election in June
1992 brought out tensions between the Czech and Slovak populations
and at the end of the year, the country divided peacefully into
two new states, the Czech Republic (the old kingdom of Bohemia
or Cechy) to the west and Slovakia to the east.
For first names and diminutives see Czechoslovakia.
| Ajnik | Babka | Bajerle | Ballok | Bartova | Bejbl |
| Benesova | Berger | Bialy | Brodsky | Brozobohaty | Ceka |
| Cenkova | Chiba | Chladkova | Chyba | Csiba | Damasek |
| Damm | Dosedel | Drulkak | Dvorak | Dyrlik | Dzmura |
| Formanova | Frydeck | Fuchsova | Gajarsky | Geitler | Gersi |
| Grof | Hajna | Haltuch | Hollaczek | Ivanic | Janku |
| Jasny | Jenis | Jez | Kadlek | Kalenda | Kasparkova |
| Kerbr | Korbel | Kotik | Kotulek | Kouba | Krautwormowa |
| Krecek | Kresek | Kriz | Kubik | Kuka | Kuklincao |
| Kulovana | Kusnjer | Kwasnicki | Kwiatkowski | Latal | Machacek |
| Machek | Maier | Martincova | Maruska | Masaryk | Melicharov |
| Mensik | Menzel | Miklosko | Miller | Moldovan | Neckar |
| Nedved | Nemec | Nemecek | Novotny | Padrnos | Pekar |
| Poborsky | Podebrady | Pokoj | Poloinsky | Popowniak | Prachal |
| Prokop | Rab | Rada | Satoransky | Sawilla | Schafaczek |
| Sebrle | Sibera | Skoch | Slehobr | Smicer | Soukop |
| Srnicek | Sronkova | Stitny | Sturdza | Suchcripa | Suchopcek |
| Suchovska | Svorada | Szeszavny | Tanda | Tchiba | Tesnohledek |
| Trajbold | Trinerstahc | Tschetter | Turczany | Vacek | Vondracek |
| Vraciu | Vydra | Woboda | Wodnicki | Zawilla | Zelenohorska |
| Zizka | Zmelik | Zubaty |
| Name | Dates | Relationship | Spouse |
| Borivoj I | c 875 | Ludmilla | |
| Spytihnev | c 895 | son of Borivoj I | |
| Vratislav I | c 920 | Dragomira | |
| Wenceslas | -929 | ||
| Boleslav I | 929- | brother of Wenceslas | |
| Wenceslas | -967 | son of Boleslav I? | |
| Boleslav II the Pious | 967-99 | son of Wenceslas | |
| Boleslav III | 999-1003 dep | ||
| Vladivoj | 1003 | brother of Boleslav of Poland | |
| Jaromir | 1004-12 dep | ||
| Oldrich | 1012-34 | ||
| Bratislav I | 1034-55 | son of Oldrich | |
| Spytihnev II | 1055-61 | ||
| Vratislav II | 1061-92 | brother of Spytihnev II | |
| Conrad | 1092 | brother of Vratislav II | |
| Bratislav II | 1092-1100 | son of Vratislav II | |
| Borivoj | 1100-7 | brother of Bratislav II | |
| Svatopluk | c 1109 | ||
| Vladislav I | 1111-25 | brother of Borivoj | |
| Sobeslav | c 1125-40 | brother of Vladislav I | |
| Vladislav II | 1140-73 abd | son of Vladislav I | |
| Frederick | 1173- | ||
| Henry Bretislav | 1193-7 | Bishop of Prague | |
| Vlasislav Henry | 1197 abd | ||
| Premysl Ottokar I | 1197-1230 | ||
| Wenceslas I | 1216-53 | ||
| Premysl Ottokar II | 1253-78 | ||
| Wenceslas II | 1278-1305 | son of Ottokar II | |
| Wenceslas III | 1305 Last Premysl | son of Wenceslas II |
| Rudolf | 1305-7 | son of HRE Albert | |
| Henry of Carinthia | 1307-10 | ||
| John the Blind | 1311-46 | son of HRE Henry VII | Elizabeth, daughter of Wenceslas II |
| Charles IV HRE | 1346-78 | ||
| Wenceslas IV | 1378-1419 | son of Charles | |
| Sigismund HRE Hung | 1419- | brother of Wenceslas IV | |
| Korybut | -1427 | ||
| George of Podebrady | 1458?-71 | ||
| Vladislav/Ladislas II | 1471-1516 | ||
| Louis II (Hung) | 1516-26 | killed at Mohacz | Mary of Austria |
| Ferdinand of Austria | 1526- | ||
| Rudolf (II HRE) | -1611 dep | ||
| Matthias | 1611- | brother of Rudolf II | |
| Frederick 'Winter King' | 1619-20 5 weeks | V, Elector Palatine | Elizabeth, daughter of Charles I of England |
| Mojmir | c 845 | ||
| Rostislav | 845-70 dep | ||
| Svatopulk | 870-94 | nephew Rostislav | |
| Mojmir + Svatopulk II | 894- | sons of Svatopulk | |
| Conrad Otto | 1182- | awarded by Frederick | |
Return to Eastern European Names index
This collection of names compiled by Kate Monk. Copyright January
1997, Kate Monk. Last updated January, 98. Copies may be made
for personal use only.