Moravia

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Moravia
Morava
Historical country
Mikulov, a town in Moravia
Mikulov, a town in Moravia
Flag of Moravia
Flag
Coat of arms of Moravia
Coat of arms
Moravia (green and dark grey) in relation to the current regions of the Czech Republic
Moravia (green and dark grey) in relation to the current regions of the Czech Republic
Location of Moravia in Europe
Location of Moravia in Europe
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Country  Czech Republic
Established 8th century
Former capital Brno, before that Brno and Olomouc together
Largest city Brno
Area
 • Total 22,348.87 km2 (8,628.95 sq mi)
Population
 • Total 3,100,000
 • Density 140/km2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Moravia (Czech: Morava; German: <phonos file="Mähren.ogg">Mähren</phonos>; Polish: Morawy; Latin: Moravia) is a historical country in the Czech Republic and one of the historical Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. It was also one of the 17 former crown lands of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918 and one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1928. It has an area of over 20,000 km2 and about 3 million inhabitants.

It takes its name from the Morava river, which rises in the northern tip of the region and flows southward to the opposite end, being its major stream. Moravia's largest city and historical capital is Brno; before the Thirty Years' War, Olomouc was another capital.

Though officially abolished by an administrative reform in 1949, Moravia is still commonly acknowledged as a specific land in the Czech Republic. Moravian people are considerably aware of their Moravian identity and there is some rivalry between them and the Czechs from Bohemia. However, by nationality (or ethnicity), most of the Moravian Slavs recognize themselves as Czechs, not Moravians.

The historical Flag of Moravia[1][2]

Geography

Šance, part of the Moravian-Silesian Beskids
Mohelno steppe in autumn
Rolling hills of Králický Sněžník from Horní Morava, left Bohemian border

Moravia occupies most of the eastern part of the Czech Republic, including the South Moravian Region,[3] the Zlín Region, vast majority of the Olomouc Region, southeastern half of the Vysočina Region and parts of the Moravian-Silesian, Pardubice and South Bohemian regions.

Moravia borders Poland very shortly in the north, Czech Silesia in the northeast, Slovakia in the southeast, Lower Austria in the south(west) and Bohemia in the west. Its natural boundary is formed by the Sudetes mountains in the north, the Carpathians in the east and the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands in the west. The Thaya river meanders along the border with Austria and the tripoint of Moravia, Austria and Slovakia is at the confluence of the Thaya and Morava rivers. The northeast border with Silesia runs partly along the Moravice, Oder and Ostravice rivers. Between 1782–1850, Moravia (also thus known as Moravia-Silesia) also included a small portion of the former province of Silesia – the Austrian Silesia (when Frederick the Great annexed most of ancient Silesia (the land of upper and middle Oder river) to Prussia, Silesia's southernmost part remained with the Habsburgs).

Geologically, Moravia covers a transitive area between the Bohemian Massif and the Carpathians (from (north)west to southeast), or between the Danube basin and the North European Plain (from south to northeast). Its core geomorphological features are three wide vales (Czech: úval), namely the Thaya-Svratka Vale (Dyjsko-svratecký úval), the Upper Morava Vale (Hornomoravský úval) and the Lower Morava Vale (Dolnomoravský úval). The former two form the westernmost part of the Subcarpathia, the latter one is part of the Vienna Basin. The vales surround the low range of Central Moravian Carpathians. The highest mountains of Moravia are situated on its northern border in Hrubý Jeseník, the highest peak is Praděd (1490 m). Second highest are the Moravian-Silesian Beskids at the very east, with Smrk (1278 m), and then south from here Javorníky (1072). The White Carpathians along the southeastern border rise up to 970 m at Velká Javořina. The spacious, but moderate Bohemian-Moravian Highlands on the west reach 837 m at Devět skal.

The fluvial system of Moravia is very cohesive, as the region border is similar to the watershed of the Morava river, and thus almost the entire area is drained exclusively by a single stream. Morava's far biggest tributaries are Thaya (Dyje) from the right (or west) and Bečva (east). Morava and Thaya meet at the southernmost and lowest (148 m) point of Moravia. Small peripheral parts of Moravia belong to the catchment area of Elbe, Váh and especially Oder (the northeast). The watershed line running along Moravia's border from west to north and east is part of the European Watershed. For centuries, there has been plans to build a waterway across Moravia to join the Danube and Oder river systems, using the natural route through the Moravian Gate.

Geographic and historical Controversy

Some researchers found that old Moravia was a region in Serbia, having the center at Sirmium and not in Cehia. Methodius, the inventor of Cyrillic alphabet was appointed at Sirmium and not in North Danube Moravia[4]

Pre-history

Venus of Vestonice, the oldest surviving ceramic figurine in the world

Evidence of the presence of Homo dates back more than 600,000 years in the paleontological area of Stránská Skála.

Attracted by suitable living conditions, early modern humans settled in the region by the Paleolithic period. The Předmostí archaeological site in Moravia is dated to between 24,000 and 27,000 years old.[5][6] Caves in Moravský kras were used by Mammoth hunters. The oldest ceramic figure in the world (Venus of Dolní Věstonice)[7][8] was found in the excavation of Dolní Věstonice by Karel Absolon.[9]

History

Roman era

Around 60 BC, the Celtic Volcae people withdrew from the region and were succeeded by the Germanic Quadi. Some of the events of the Marcomannic Wars took place in Moravia in AD 169–180. After the war exposed the weakness of Rome's northern frontier, half of the Roman legions (16 out of 33) were stationed along the Danube. In response to increasing numbers of Germanic settlers in frontier regions like Pannonia, Dacia, Rome established two new frontier provinces on the left shore of the Danube, Marcomannia and Sarmatia, including today's Moravia and western Slovakia.

In the 2nd century AD, a Roman fortress[10][11] stood on the vineyards hill known as Burgstall/Hradisko (Hillfort), which is situated above the former village Mušov and above today's beach resort at Pasohlávky. During the reign of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the Xth Roman legion was assigned to control the Germanic tribes who had been defeated in the Marcomannic Wars.[12] In 1927, the archeologist Gnirs, with the support of president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, began research on the site, located 80 km far from Vindobona and 22 km to the south from Brno. The researchers found remnants of two masonry buildings, a praetorium[13] and a balneum ("bath"), including a hypocaustum. The discovery of bricks with the stamp of the Legio X Gemina and coins from the period of the emperors Antoninus Pius, Marcus Aurelius and Commodus facilitated dating of the locality.

Ancient Moravia

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Territory of the Great Moravia in the 9th century: area ruled by Rastislav (846–870) map marks the greatest territorial extent during the reign of Svatopluk I (871–894), violet core is origin of Moravia

A variety of Germanic and major Slavic tribes crossed through Moravia during the Migration Period before Slavs established themselves in the 6th century AD. At the end of the 8th century, the Moravian Principality came into being in present-day south-eastern Moravia, Záhorie in south-western Slovakia and parts of Lower Austria. In 833 AD, this became the state of Great Moravia[14] with the conquest of the Principality of Nitra (present-day Slovakia). Their first king was Mojmír I (ruled 830–846). Louis the German invaded Moravia and replaced Mojmír I with his nephew Rastiz who became St. Rastislav.[15] St. Rastislav (846–870) tried to emancipate his land from the Carolingian influence, so he sent envoys to Rome to get missionaries to come. When Rome refused he turned to Constantinople to the Byzantine emperor Michael. The result was the mission of Saints Cyril and Methodius who translated liturgical books into Slavonic, which had lately been elevated by the Pope to the same level as Latin and Greek. Methodius became the first Moravian archbishop, but after his death the German influence again prevailed and the disciples of Methodius were forced to flee. Great Moravia reached its greatest territorial extent in the 890s under Svatopluk I. At this time, the empire encompassed the territory of the present-day Czech Republic and Slovakia, the western part of present Hungary (Pannonia), as well as Lusatia in present-day Germany and Silesia and the upper Vistula basin in southern Poland. After Svatopluk's death in 895, the Bohemian princes defected to become vassals of the East Frankish ruler Arnulf of Carinthia, and the Moravian state ceased to exist after being overrun by invading Magyars in 906/7.

Třebíč, Romanesque St. Procopius Basilica 12th century
Řeznovice Romanesque temple S. Peter and Paul

Union with Bohemia

Bohemia and Moravia in the 12th century

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Boleslaus I, the Přemyslid ruler of Bohemia, took control over Moravia.[when?] Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland annexed Moravia in 999, and ruled it until 1019,[16] when the Přemyslid prince Bretislaus recaptured it. Upon his father's death in 1034, Bretislaus became the ruler of Bohemia. In 1055, he decreed that Bohemia and Moravia would be inherited together by primogeniture, although he also provided that his younger sons should govern parts (quarters) of Moravia as vassals to his oldest son.

Saint Wenceslas Cathedral, Olomouc. Metropolitical Church of Moravia. Seat of Archbishop of Olomouc

Throughout the Přemyslid era, junior princes often ruled all or part of Moravia from Olomouc, Brno or Znojmo, with varying degrees of autonomy from the ruler of Bohemia. Dukes of Olomouc often acted as the "right hand" of Prague dukes and kings, while Dukes of Brno and especially those of Znojmo were much more insubordinate. Moravia reached its height of autonomy in 1182, when Emperor Frederick I elevated Conrad II Otto of Znojmo to the status of a margrave,[17] immediately subject to the emperor, independent of Bohemia. This status was short-lived: in 1186, Conrad Otto was forced to obey the supreme rule of Bohemian duke Frederick. Three years later, Conrad Otto succeeded to Frederick as Duke of Bohemia and subsequently canceled his margrave title. Nevertheless, the margrave title was restored in 1197 when Vladislaus III of Bohemia resolved the succession dispute between him and his brother Ottokar by abdicating from the Bohemian throne and accepting Moravia as a vassal land of Bohemian (i.e., Prague) rulers. Vladislaus gradually established this land as Margraviate, slightly administratively different from Bohemia. After the Battle of Legnica, the Mongols carried their raids into Moravia.

Lands of Bohemian Crown in early the 14th century
Church of St. Thomas Brno, mausoleum of Moravian branch House of Luxembourg, ruler's of Moravia and old governor's palace – former Augustinian abbey.

The main line of the Přemyslid dynasty became extinct in 1306, and in 1310 John of Luxembourg became Margrave of Moravia and King of Bohemia. In 1333, he made his son Charles the next Margrave of Moravia (later in 1346, Charles become also the King of Bohemia). In 1349, Charles gave Moravia to his younger brother John Henry who ruled in the margraviate until his death in 1375, after him Moravia was ruled by his oldest son Jobst of Moravia who was in 1410 elected the Holy Roman King but died in 1411 (he is buried with his father in the Church of St. Thomas in Brno – the Moravian capital from which they both ruled). Moravia and Bohemia remained within the Luxembourg dynasty of Holy Roman kings and emperors (except during the Hussite wars), until inherited by Albert II of Habsburg in 1437.

After his death followed the interregnum until 1453; land (as the rest of lands of the Bohemian Crown) was administered by the landfriedens (landfrýdy). The rule of young Ladislaus the Posthumous subsisted only less than five years and subsequently (1458) the Hussite George of Poděbrady was elected as the king. He again reunited all Czech lands (then Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, Upper & Lower Lusatia) into one-man ruled state. In 1466, Pope Paul II excommunicated George and forbade all Catholics (i.e. about 15% of population) from continuing to serve him. The Hungarian crusade followed and in 1469 Matthias Corvinus conquered Moravia and proclaimed himself (with assistance of rebelling Bohemian nobility) as the king of Bohemia.

The subsequent 21-year period of a divided kingdom was decisive for the rising awareness of a specific Moravian identity, distinct from that of Bohemia. Although Moravia was reunited with Bohemia in 1490 when Vladislaus Jagiellon, king of Bohemia, also became king of Hungary, some attachment to Moravian "freedoms" and resistance to government by Prague continued until the end of independence in 1620. In 1526, Vladislaus' son Louis died in battle and the Habsburg Ferdinand I was elected as his successor.

Habsburg rule (1526–1918)

Habsburg Empire Crown lands - growth of the Habsburg territories and Moravia´s status
Administrative division of Moravia as crown land of Austria in 1893

The epoch 1526–1620 was marked by increasing animosity between Catholic Habsburg kings (emperors) and the Protestant Moravian nobility (and other Crowns') estates. Moravia,[18] like Bohemia, was a Habsburg possession until the end of World War I. In 1573 the Jesuit University of Olomouc was established; this was the first university in Moravia. The establishment of a special papal seminary, Collegium Nordicum, made the University a centre of the Catholic Reformation and effort to revive Catholicism in Central and Northern Europe. The second largest group of students were from Scandinavia.

Brno and Olomouc served as Moravia's capitals until 1641. As the only city to successfully resist the Swedish invasion, Brno become the sole capital following the capture of Olomouc. The Margraviate of Moravia had, from 1348 in Olomouc and Brno, its own Diet, or parliament, zemský sněm (Landtag in German), whose deputies from 1905 onward were elected separately from the ethnically separate German and Czech constituencies.

The oldest surviving theatre building in Central Europe, the Reduta Theatre, was established in 17th-century Moravia. Ottoman Turks and Tatars invaded the region in 1663, taking 12,000 captives.[19] In 1740, Moravia was invaded by Prussian forces under Frederick the Great, and Olomouc was forced to surrender on 27 December 1741. A few months later the Prussians were repelled, mainly because of their unsuccessful siege of Brno in 1742. In 1758, Olomouc was besieged by Prussians again, but this time its defenders forced the Prussians to withdraw following the Battle of Domstadtl. In 1777, a new Moravian bishopric was established in Brno, and the Olomouc bishopric was elevated to an archbishopric.[20] In 1782, the Margaviate of Moravia was merged with Austrian Silesia into Moravia-Silesia, with Brno as its capital. This lasted until 1850.[21]

20th century

Jan Černý, president of Moravia (governor) 1922–1926. Later also PM of Czechoslovakia

Following the break-up of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Moravia became part of Czechoslovakia. As one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia, it had restricted autonomy. In 1928 Moravia ceased to exist as a territorial unity and was merged with Czech Silesia into the Moravian-Silesian Land. After the German occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Moravia was divided – part was made an administrative unit within the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and the area with more ethnic Germans was absorbed by the German Third Reich.

In 1945 after the end of World War II and Allied defeat of Germany, Czechoslovakia expelled the ethnic German minority of Moravia to Germany and Austria. The Moravian-Silesian Land was restored with Moravia as part of it. In 1949 the territorial division of Czechoslovakia was radically changed, as the Moravian-Silesian Land was abolished and Lands were replaced by "kraje" (regions), whose borders substantially differ from the historical Bohemian-Moravian border, so Moravia politically ceased to exist after approx. 1116 years (833–1949) of its history. Although another administrative reform in 1960 implemented (among others) the North Moravian and the South Moravian regions (Severomoravský and Jihomoravský kraj), with capitals in Ostrava and Brno respectively, their joint area was only roughly alike the historical state and, chiefly, there was no land or federal autonomy, unlike Slovakia.

After the fall of the Soviet Union and the whole Eastern Block, the Czechoslovak Federal Assembly condemned the cancellation of Moravian-Silesian land and expressed "firm conviction that this injustice will be corrected" in 1990. However, after the breakup of Czechoslovakia into Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993, Moravian area remained integral to the Czech territory, and the latest administrative division of Czech Republic (introduced in 2000) is similar to the administrative division of 1949. Nevertheless, the federalist or separatist movement in Moravia is completely marginal.

The historical Bohemian-Moravian border has been preserved up to now only by the Czech Roman Catholic Administration, as the Ecclesiastical Province of Moravia correspond with the former Moravian-Silesian Land.

Gallery

Economy

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. An area in South Moravia, around Hodonín and Břeclav, is part of the Viennese Basin. Petroleum and lignite are found there in abundance. The main economic centres of Moravia are Brno, Olomouc and Zlín, plus Ostrava lying directly on the Moravian-Silesian border. As well as agriculture in general, Moravia is noted for its viticulture; it contains 94% of the Czech Republic's vineyards and is at the centre of the country's wine industry.

Arms industry

Moravia is also the centre of the Czech firearm industry, as the vast majority of Czech firearms manufacturers (e.g. CZUB, Zbrojovka Brno, Czech Small Arms, Czech Weapons, ZVI, Great Gun) are settled in Moravia. Almost all well-known Czech sporting, self-defence, military and hunting firearms come from Moravia. Also, Meopta rifle scopes are of Moravian origin.

Aircraft industry

The Zlín Region hosts several aircraft manufacturers, namely Let Kunovice (also known as Aircraft Industries, a.s.), ZLIN AIRCRAFT a.s. Otrokovice (former well-known name Moravan Otrokovice), Evektor-Aerotechnik and Czech Sport Aircraft. Sport aircraft are also manufactured in Jihlava by Jihlavan Airplanes/Skyleader.

Aircraft production in the region started in 1930s and there are signs of recovery in recent years and the production is expected to grow from 2013 onwards.[22]

Machinery industry

Machinery has been the most important industrial sector in the region, especially in South Moravia, for many decades. The main centres of machinery production are Brno (Zbrojovka Brno, Zetor, První brněnská strojírna, Siemens), Blansko (ČKD Blansko, Metra), Adamov (ADAST), Kuřim (TOS Kuřim), Boskovice (Minerva, Novibra) and Břeclav (Otis Elevator Company), together with a large number of other variously sized machinery or machining factories, companies or workshops spread all over Moravia.

Electrical industry

The beginnings of the electrical industry in Moravia date back to 1918. The biggest centres of electrical production are Brno (VUES, ZPA Brno, EM Brno), Drásov, Frenštát pod Radhoštěm and Mohelnice (currently Siemens).

Cities

Regional capitals
  • Brno
  • Jihlava (mostly in Moravia, northwestern outskirts lie in Bohemia)
  • Olomouc
  • Ostrava (central part in Moravia, most of the suburbs lie in Czech Silesia)
  • Zlín
Other important towns (in alphabetical order)

People

Male and female Moravian Slovak costumes worn during the Jízda králů ("Kings Ride") Festival held annually in the village of Vlčnov (southeastern Moravia)

The Moravians are generally a Slavic ethnic group who speak various (generally more archaic) dialects of Czech. Before the expulsion of Germans from Moravia the Moravian German minority also referred to themselves as "Moravians" (Mährer). Those expelled and their descendants continue to identify as Moravian. [23] Some Moravians assert that Moravian is a language distinct from Czech; however, their position is not widely supported by academics and the public.[24][25][26][27] Some Moravians identify as an ethnically distinct group; the majority consider themselves to be ethnically Czech. In the census of 1991 (the first census in history in which respondents were allowed to claim Moravian nationality), 1,362,000 (13.2%) of the Czech population identified as being of Moravian nationality (or ethnicity). In the census of 2001, this number had decreased to 380,000 (3.7% of the population).[28] In the census of 2011, this number rose to 522,474 (4.9% of the Czech population).[29][30]

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
9th c. 500,000 —    
13th c. 580,000 +16.0%
15th c. 650,000 +12.1%
1775 1,134,674 +74.6%
1800 1,656,397 +46.0%
1810 1,346,802 −18.7%
1820 1,443,804 +7.2%
1830 1,643,637 +13.8%
1840 1,703,995 +3.7%
1850 1,793,674 +5.3%
1878 2,103,847 +17.3%
1880 2,160,471 +2.7%
1890 2,285,321 +5.8%
1900 2,447,121 +7.1%
1910 2,693,027 +10.0%
1921 2,662,884 −1.1%
1930 2,827,648 +6.2%
1950 2,610,650 −7.7%
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Moravia historically had a large minority of ethnic Germans, some of whom had arrived as early as the 13th century at the behest of the Přemyslid dynasty. Germans continued to come to Moravia in waves, culminating in the 18th century. They lived in the main city centres and in the countryside along the border with Austria (stretching up to Brno) and along the border with Silesia at Jeseníky, and also in two language islands, around Jihlava and around Moravská Třebová. After the Second World War, Czechoslovakia almost fully expelled them in retaliation for Nazi German efforts to create a Greater Germanic Reich in Central Europe.

Moravians

Notable people from Moravia include (in order of birth):

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Old ethnic division of Moravians according to an encyclopaedia of 1878

Ethnographic regions

Moravia can be divided on dialectal and lore basis into several ethnographic regions of comparable significance. In this sense, it is more heterogenous than Bohemia. Significant parts of Moravia, usually those formerly inhabited by the German speakers, are dialectally indifferent, as they have been resettled by people from various Czech (and Slovak) regions.

The principal cultural regions of Moravia are:

See also

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. Not only here for the beer: Moravia, the Czech Republic's wine region. The Guardian 2011 [1]
  4. I. Boba, Moravia’s History Reconsidered a Reinterpretation of Medieval Sources: A Reinterpretation of Medieval Sources, Springer Science & Business Media, 2012
  5. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. Jonathan Jones: Carl Andre on notoriety and a 26,000-year-old portrait – the week in art. The Guardian 25 January 2013 [2]
  8. Moravia – Dolní Věstonice and Pavlov sites- Ice age Pompeii
  9. Oldest homes were made of mammoth bone. The Times 29.8. 2005
  10. Roman fortress/Hradisko in Mušov, Czech academy of sciences report
  11. Fortification Czech academy of sciences report
  12. Jaroslav Tejral: Roman troops movements to the north of Carnuntum, Archeological evidence. In: Limes XX (2009) Esdtudios sobre. Madrid Polifemo
  13. Praetorium, Czech academy of sciences report
  14. Florin Kurta. The history and archaeology of Great Moravia: an introduction. in: Early Medieval Europe 2009 volume 17 (3) [3]
  15. Reuter, Timothy. (1991). Germany in the Early Middle Ages, London: Longman, page 82
  16. The exact dating of the conquest of Moravia by Bohemian dukes is uncertain. Czech and some Slovak historiographers suggest the year 1019, while Polish, German and other Slovak historians suggest 1029, during the rule of Boleslaus' son, Mieszko II Lambert.
  17. There are no primary testimonies about creating a margraviate (march) as distinct political unit
  18. Evan Rail (23 September 2011).The Castles of Moravia. NYT 23.9. 2011 [4]
  19. Lánové rejstříky (1656–1711) (Czech)
  20. Catholic Encyclopedia. Moravia. on line [5]
  21. Jewish Encyclopedia. Moravia. on line [6]
  22. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. Bill Lehane: ČSÚ (Czech statistical office) plays down census disputes – Campaign want to include Moravian language in count (Moravian identity). The Prague Post 9. 3. 2011 20 [7]
  24. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. O spisovné moravštině a jiných „malých“ jazycích (Naše řeč 5, ročník 83/2000) (Czech)
  27. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

External links