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City Guide - Prague - History | ||
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History c. 400BC The Celtic Boii tribe occupies Bohemia c. AD700 West Slavic tribes settle in the region 863 Cyril and Methodius introduce Christianity to Bohemia 1245 Jewish ghetto is constructed 1346 Charles (Karel) IV becomes Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia 1348 Charles IV founds Charles University, in Prague, the first in Eastern Europe 1352 Construction of St Vitus Cathedral begins under Swabian architect Peter Parler 1357 Construction of the Charles Bridge begins 1378 Death of Charles IV 1403 Jan Hus, Rector of Charles University, begins preaching against Church corruption 1415 Hus, convicted of heresy and excommunicated, is burnt at the stake at Constance 1419-34 Hussite Wars during which they repel all attacks; considerable religious freedom is finally granted by the Pope 1526 Hapsburg rule begins under Ferdinand I 1618 The Thirty Years War begins with the defenestration of two Catholic councillors 1648 The Thirty Years War ends on Charles Bridge as the Czechs repel the Swedes 29 Oct 1787 Mozart conducts the premiere of Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in Prague 1848 Populist revolutions sweep Europe; Prague rebellion is crushed by Austrian troops 28 Oct 1918 Czechoslovakia becomes an independent nation with Tomás¢ Masaryk as first President 1938 Chamberlain, Deladier, Mussolini and Hitler sign the Munich Agreement, ceding the Sudetenland to Germany without the consent of Czechoslovakia Oct 1938 German troops occupy the Sudetenland March 1939 German troops occupy the rest of Czechoslovakia; Slovakia becomes a Nazi puppet state 5-9 May 1945 Prague uprising; the city is occupied by the Red Army 1946 First post-war elections; Communists are the largest party with 36% of the vote Feb 1948 Klement Gottwald leads a Moscow-backed coup d'état and becomes President 5 Jan 1968 Alexander Dubc¢ek becomes First Secretary and introduces humanistic reforms 28 Aug 1968 Prague Spring crushed by invasion of Warsaw Pact troops 16 Jan 1969 Jan Palach sets himself alight in protest at 'normalisation' imposed by Moscow Dec 1976 Charter 77 formed by playwright and dissident Václav Havel to monitor human rights offences Nov 1989 The 'Velvet Revolution' - student demonstrations become a full-scale revolution of passive resistance and the Communist government falls 1990 Václav Havel is elected President 1 Jan 1993 The 'Velvet Divorce' - Slovakia becomes an independent country |