Czechs in Croatia
Encyclopedia
Czechs are one of the recognised minorities of Croatia. According to the census of 2001 there were 10,512 Czechs in Croatia, compromising 0.24% of total population. They are also called by their non-Czech neighbours Pemci.
especially around the cities of Daruvar
and Grubišno Polje
. They compromise 5.33% population of Bjelovar-Bilogora county
and 0.9% of Požega-Slavonia county
. They compromise a relative majority in Končanica
municipality and in villages like Veliki Zdenci, Mali Zdenci, Golubinjak etc. They can be also found in almost all major towns in Croatia.
in 1699, Slavonia changed hands from the Ottomans to Habsburgs, and the Muslim
population fled. This left great areas vacant, and Hasburgs started to colonize new lands with people from all parts of their Empire. The first Czechs arrived in Slavonia around 1750s, and were settled in Western Slavonia throughout the 19th century. In Croatia, they could buy from ten or more acres of arable land for price of 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) they sold in the Czech lands
. Czechs also settled other parts of Croatia such as Gorski kotar
, and bigger cities where they were praised as skilled workers and clerks, but were assimilated in two or three generations. One of these urban Czechs was August Šenoa
, Croatian writer and mayor of Zagreb
. Czechs soon found the need to culturally organise themselves, and in 1874 the first Česka Beseda (Czech word) was found in Zagreb. This is an organization that promotes Czech language and culture in Croatia, and organised the first theater play in Czech language
in the same year. In time Česke Besede were founded all across Croatia, and opened Czech libraries and Sport societies (Sokol
). In 1911 the first Czech newspaper started printing in Zagreb.
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, established after the First World War, was very to the Czech minority. This has been attributed to the cordial relations with Czechoslovakia
during the interwar period, and joint Slavic
roots. The first Czech school was open in 1922 in Daruvar, and first kindergarten in 1926 also in Daruvar. Czechs organized themselves politically and formed a Czech party which was active only in the first years of Kingdom. From 1922 the newspaper Jugoslavšti Čechoslovácí (Yugoslav Czechoslovaks) was printed in Duruvar. Czechs, just like Slovaks generally did not collaborate with the occupying powers during the World War II. Some of them left to Czechoslovakia after the war, but a number of them subsequently returned, as the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia
.
In Socialist, post World War II
Yugoslavia
Czechs enjoyed even greater rights, and more schools were opened. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, Czech areas were found near war operations and many Czechs participated in Croatian army. The Croatian constitution guarantees to have one joint Czech and Slovak representative in parliament.
In the elections of 2000
, 2003
, and 2007
, the Czech and Slovak representative was Zdenka Čunhil from the Croatian Peasant Party
.
, poetry, singing and Czech courses are the main activities of Beseda's. Some Beseda's even have theater groups, and the Czech Union prints their weekly magazine calles Jednota (Unity). They organize festivals of theater groups, festivals of Czech children song, Naše Jaro-festival of schoolchildren cultural activities, Vanočka- festival of younger folkdance groups and biennal manifestation Dožinky in Daruvar celebrating end of harvest
works. There are dozens of Czech primary schools and kindergartens and High School
in Daruvar has one Czech department.
There are also two industrial brands associated with Croatian Czechs; Zdenka cheese, produced in a factory in Veliki Zdenci dominatly Czech village and Staročeško (Old-Czech) beer
produced by a brewery
in Daruvar.
Geographic representation
Most Croatian Czechs live in Western SlavoniaSlavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
especially around the cities of Daruvar
Daruvar
Daruvar is a town in central Croatia, population 9,815 , total municipality population 13,243 ....
and Grubišno Polje
Grubišno Polje
-Demographics:In the 2001 census, the municipality had 7,523 inhabitants, with the following ethnic makeup:* 4,692 Croats* 1,356 Czechs* 872 Serbs* 228 Hungarians...
. They compromise 5.33% population of Bjelovar-Bilogora county
Bjelovar-Bilogora County
Bjelovar-Bilogora County is a county in central Croatia.The central town of Bjelovar was first mentioned in 1413, and it only gained importance when a new fort was built in 1756 to defend against the Ottoman invasions...
and 0.9% of Požega-Slavonia county
Požega-Slavonia County
Požega-Slavonia county is a Croatian county in western Slavonia. Its capital is Požega. Population: 85,831 .-Geography:The Požega-Slavonia county borders on the Bjelovar-Bilogora County in the northwest, Virovitica-Podravina County in the north, Osijek-Baranja County in the northeast,...
. They compromise a relative majority in Končanica
Koncanica
Končanica is a town and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. The population is 2,824 with 46.7% Czechs and 40.6% Croats ....
municipality and in villages like Veliki Zdenci, Mali Zdenci, Golubinjak etc. They can be also found in almost all major towns in Croatia.
| Municipality | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Končanica Koncanica Končanica is a town and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. The population is 2,824 with 46.7% Czechs and 40.6% Croats .... |
46.67% |
| Dežanovac Dežanovac Dežanovac is a village and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. There are 3,355 inhabitants. 54.4% of the population are Croats and 23.5% are Czechs.-References:... |
23.48% |
| Daruvar Daruvar Daruvar is a town in central Croatia, population 9,815 , total municipality population 13,243 .... |
18.90% |
| Grubišno Polje Grubišno Polje -Demographics:In the 2001 census, the municipality had 7,523 inhabitants, with the following ethnic makeup:* 4,692 Croats* 1,356 Czechs* 872 Serbs* 228 Hungarians... |
18.02% |
| Sirač Sirac Sirač is a settlement and municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. There are 2,546 inhabitants; 71% are Croats, 14% Serbs, and 10% Czechs... |
10.21% |
| Hercegovac Hercegovac Hercegovac is a village and a municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. As of 2001, there are 2,791 inhabitants, of which 87% are Croats.The population is distributed in 5 settlements:* Hercegovac - population 1,267* Ilovski Klokočevac - 172... |
9.60% |
| Veliki Grđevac | 4.76% |
| Lipik Lipik -Settlements:The settlements included in the administrative area of Lipik include:* Antunovac, population 365* Bjelanovac, population 10* Brekinska, population 126* Brezine, population 223* Bujavica, population 33* Bukovčani, population 16... |
3.52% |
| Pakrac Pakrac Pakrac is a town in western Slavonia, Croatia, population 4,852, total municipality population 8,482 . Pakrac is located on the road and railroad connecting the regions of Posavina and Podravina.-Name:... |
3.03% |
| Kaptol Kaptol Kaptol can refer to:* Kaptol, Zagreb, a district of Zagreb, Croatia* Kaptol , a settlement in Požega-Slavonia County, Croatia* Kaptol, Slovenia, a settlement in the Kostel municipality in Slovenia... |
2.49% |
| Lipovljani Lipovljani Lipovljani is a municipality in Croatian Slavonia in the Sisak-Moslavina county. It has a population of 4,101 , 85.7% which are Croats. Other notable minorities are Ukrainians , Slovaks , and Czechs... |
2.43% |
| Kutina Kutina Kutina is a small city in central Croatia, the largest settlement in the hilly region of Moslavina, in the Sisak-Moslavina county. The town proper has a population of 14,814 , while the total municipality population is 22,815.... |
1.53% |
| Garešnica Garešnica Garešnica is a town and municipality in Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Croatia. It is part of Moslavina. There are a total of 10,466 inhabitants . , 82% of the inhabitants are Croats.... |
1.34% |
| Dubrava Dubrava Dubrava, Dúbrava, Dubrawa or Dabrava is a toponym common in Slavic regions. Terminology is derived from an old Slavic word dub and it generally means "oak forest", "woods of dub". Oak was an important tree in Slavic mythology... |
1.13% |
| Kutjevo Kutjevo Kutjevo is a town in Slavonia, Croatia, located northeast of Požega. In the census of 2011, there were 6,168 people, 2,399 in the town itself. In the census of 2001, 96% of the population declared themselves Croats.... |
1.12% |
History
After the Treaty of KarlowitzTreaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...
in 1699, Slavonia changed hands from the Ottomans to Habsburgs, and the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
population fled. This left great areas vacant, and Hasburgs started to colonize new lands with people from all parts of their Empire. The first Czechs arrived in Slavonia around 1750s, and were settled in Western Slavonia throughout the 19th century. In Croatia, they could buy from ten or more acres of arable land for price of 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) they sold in the Czech lands
Czech lands
Czech lands is an auxiliary term used mainly to describe the combination of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia. Today, those three historic provinces compose the Czech Republic. The Czech lands had been settled by the Celts , then later by various Germanic tribes until the beginning of 7th...
. Czechs also settled other parts of Croatia such as Gorski kotar
Gorski kotar
Gorski kotar is the mountainous region in Croatia between Karlovac and Rijeka. Together with Lika and the Ogulin-Plaški valley it forms Mountainous Croatia. Because 63% of its surface is forested it is popularly called the green lungs of Croatia or Croatian Switzerland...
, and bigger cities where they were praised as skilled workers and clerks, but were assimilated in two or three generations. One of these urban Czechs was August Šenoa
August Šenoa
August Šenoa was a Croatian novelist, critic, editor, poet, and dramatist....
, Croatian writer and mayor of Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
. Czechs soon found the need to culturally organise themselves, and in 1874 the first Česka Beseda (Czech word) was found in Zagreb. This is an organization that promotes Czech language and culture in Croatia, and organised the first theater play in Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
in the same year. In time Česke Besede were founded all across Croatia, and opened Czech libraries and Sport societies (Sokol
Sokol
The Sokol movement is a youth sport movement and gymnastics organization first founded in Czech region of Austria-Hungary, Prague, in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner...
). In 1911 the first Czech newspaper started printing in Zagreb.
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, established after the First World War, was very to the Czech minority. This has been attributed to the cordial relations with Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
during the interwar period, and joint Slavic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
roots. The first Czech school was open in 1922 in Daruvar, and first kindergarten in 1926 also in Daruvar. Czechs organized themselves politically and formed a Czech party which was active only in the first years of Kingdom. From 1922 the newspaper Jugoslavšti Čechoslovácí (Yugoslav Czechoslovaks) was printed in Duruvar. Czechs, just like Slovaks generally did not collaborate with the occupying powers during the World War II. Some of them left to Czechoslovakia after the war, but a number of them subsequently returned, as the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
.
In Socialist, post World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
Czechs enjoyed even greater rights, and more schools were opened. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, Czech areas were found near war operations and many Czechs participated in Croatian army. The Croatian constitution guarantees to have one joint Czech and Slovak representative in parliament.
In the elections of 2000
Croatian parliamentary election, 2000
Elections for the Chamber of Representatives of the Croatian Parliament were held on January 3, 2000. These were the first elections to be held after the expiration of a full term of the previous Chamber....
, 2003
Croatian parliamentary election, 2003
-External links:*...
, and 2007
Croatian parliamentary election, 2007
Parliamentary elections to the Croatian Parliament were held on 25 November 2007 in Croatia and on 24 November and 25 November 2007 abroad. The campaign officially started on 3 November...
, the Czech and Slovak representative was Zdenka Čunhil from the Croatian Peasant Party
Croatian Peasant Party
The Croatian Peasant Party is a center and socially conservative political party in Croatia.-Austria-Hungary:The Croatian People's Peasant Party was formed on December 22, 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić. The party contested elections for the first time in the Kingdom of...
.
Culture
The Czechs are organised in 24 Česka Beseda's all across Croatia that form the Czech Union of Croatia, an organization that promotes Czech language and culture in Croatia. Folk danceFolk dance
The term folk dance describes dances that share some or all of the following attributes:*They are dances performed at social functions by people with little or no professional training, often to traditional music or music based on traditional music....
, poetry, singing and Czech courses are the main activities of Beseda's. Some Beseda's even have theater groups, and the Czech Union prints their weekly magazine calles Jednota (Unity). They organize festivals of theater groups, festivals of Czech children song, Naše Jaro-festival of schoolchildren cultural activities, Vanočka- festival of younger folkdance groups and biennal manifestation Dožinky in Daruvar celebrating end of harvest
Harvest
Harvest is the process of gathering mature crops from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper...
works. There are dozens of Czech primary schools and kindergartens and High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Daruvar has one Czech department.
There are also two industrial brands associated with Croatian Czechs; Zdenka cheese, produced in a factory in Veliki Zdenci dominatly Czech village and Staročeško (Old-Czech) beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
produced by a brewery
Brewery
A brewery is a dedicated building for the making of beer, though beer can be made at home, and has been for much of beer's history. A company which makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company....
in Daruvar.