Czechs
Czechs (deprecated Bohemia, Czech: Češi ) are an ethnic group. Your ethnonym is eponymous for the Czech Republic, where nearly ten million citizens have stated in the last census as " Czechs ". In addition, there are Czech minorities in the United States, Germany, Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Croatia, Austria, Romania, Poland and other countries of Europe and America.
Name
After a descent legend, the self-designation of the Czech people of the mythical leader Čech [ tschech ] is derived, which should have led the Czechs at the time of immigration to their new home. The oldest version of this legend handed down around 1120 the chronicler Cosmas of Prague in his Chronica Boemorum.
According to one theory, the word "Czech " depends ( Čech, [ tschech ] ) with today's word " Človek " ( [ tschlowjek ], man, compare today " tschelovek " in Russian ) together; the "ch" ( in Czech is "ch" as an independent letter and volume considered ) is an archaic suffix that denotes people. It is still occasionally used, for example, in words like " staroch " instead of " Stařeč " ( old man ) and " broke " instead of " Bratr " ( brother).
According to another theory to Czech passes, as well as from the axis, from the usual in this area own name originally nomadic peoples who called themselves Latinized Sacae while Človek with Slav ( Slovak ) to be brought into connection.
Furthermore, there's an ancient example of which later educational institutions in the naming of groups of people -oriented, as far as a connection to the name of one of the most ancient Etruscan towns of Chiusi, which was named by the Etruscans as Clevsi can be produced. Another indication provides the name of a village in Slovenia Klavže whose Italian name is Chiusa.
Ethnic groups
Ethnic groups within the Czech people are eg the Choden, the Moravians (ethnic group ) and the Czech Silesia.
Some members of the Moravians and Silesians see themselves like as a people, in the last census, held in 2001, however, known only to a minority: Only 380,000 people to the Moravian nationality, 11,000 people of Silesian Nationality (ie 3.7% and 0.1 % of the population of the Czech Republic ). The commitment to Moravian ( and Silesian ) Nationality is rather to be understood as an expression of the revived local patriotism after the communist centralism.
History
The Slavs have migrated into the second half of the 6th century and in the first half of the 7th century AD in what is now the Czech Republic (there were two waves of immigration). The various West Slavic tribes later merged into one people. The West Slavs formed initially in the 7th century the kingdom of Samo, the ( already often the Czechs scoring ) Moravians ( strain) formed in the 10th century Great Moravia. The direct predecessor of the Czech State probably originated at the end of the 9th century. He has become part of the Holy Roman Empire, yet he was largely independent by the year 1620 ( Battle of White Mountain ).
Your independence were the Czechs as an independent nation, first in 1918 with the Slovaks (Czechoslovakia), which was split from 1939 to 1945 in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the dependent of Germany Slovak Republic, 1948, again directed as a communist state in 1993 with the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia was finally split in two.
The Czech population was concentrated in a very long time exclusively on the present territory of the Czech Republic. From the 13th century, smaller Czech enclaves exist in the area of Zhytomyr and from about 1600 to Lviv (both located in what is now Ukraine ) as well as from the beginning of the industrial revolution to 1945 in Volhynia. In addition there are in the U.S. until today even more emigrants colonies. Since the expulsion of the German Bohemia and Deutschmährer ( who were recruited to Bohemia of Czech rulers, especially in the 13th century as settlers ) after the Second World War make Czechs also formerly mainly inhabited by Germans Sudetenland majority of the population.
Language
The Czechs speak the Czech language, a West Slavic language, which is closely related to the Slovak and Sorbian. It is written in Latin script.
Religion
Most Czechs ( at least living on the territory of the Czech Republic) are non-denominational. From a religious community belonging Czechs, most are Roman Catholic, and there are Protestants and the Czechoslovak Hussite Church.