Moravians (ethnic group)
Encyclopedia
Moravians are the modern West Slavic
West Slavs
The West Slavs are Slavic peoples speaking West Slavic languages. They include Poles , Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Sorbs and the historical Polabians. The northern or Lechitic group includes, along with Polish, the extinct Polabian and Pomeranian languages...

 inhabitants of the historical land of Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

, the easternmost part of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, which includes the Moravian Slovakia
Moravian Slovakia
Moravian Slovakia or Slovácko is a cultural region in the southeastern part of the Czech Republic on the border with Slovakia and Austria, known for its characteristic folklore, music, wine, costumes and traditions...

. They speak the two main groups of Moravian dialects (the Central and the Eastern), the transitional Bohemian-Moravian dialect subgroup and standard Czech. This is in question, the Moravian language
Moravian language
Moravian is the form of the Czech language spoken in Moravia, a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic. While generally viewed as a regional variant of Czech, part of Moravians claim it to be a separate language....

 is a distinct language or Czech dialect.

Moravian nationality was declared for the first time in the population census of 1991. After the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

 a strong political movement to reinstate the Moravian-Silesian land (země Moravskoslezská in Czech, having been one of the four lands of Czechoslovakia between 1928 and 1949) was active in Moravia. Accordingly, the so far united Czech nationality was split in line with the historical division of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 into Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

, Moravia and Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia is an unofficial name of one of the three Czech lands and a section of the Silesian historical region. It is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in the Moravian-Silesian Region, with a section in the northern Olomouc Region...

 (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...

). Part of the Czech speaking inhabitants of Moravia declared Moravian nationality and part of the Czech speaking inhabitants of Czech Silesia declared Silesian nationality.

1,363,000 citizens of the Czech Republic declared Moravian nationality in 1991. However, the number dropped to 380,474 in the 2001 census – many persons previously declaring themselves as Moravians declared themselves again as Czechs in this census.

For far-off historical reasons, both the Czech expression for a Czech and that for a Bohemian are the same (Čech). Then theoretically it may not be clear which category is meant. This leads some people (politicians, etc.) to address Bohemians, Moravians and sometimes even Silesians
Silesians
Silesians , are the inhabitants of Silesia in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic. A small diaspora community also exists in Karnes County, Texas in the USA....

 in their speeches.

Southern and central Moravia is more religious than northern part and as a whole has more worshippers than Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

 or Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia
Czech Silesia is an unofficial name of one of the three Czech lands and a section of the Silesian historical region. It is located in the north-east of the Czech Republic, predominantly in the Moravian-Silesian Region, with a section in the northern Olomouc Region...

. Because of it Moravia is a bastion of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

 and the Christian democrats
Christian and Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party
The Christian and Democratic Union – Czechoslovak People's Party is a political party in the Czech Republic expressing Christian democratic views...

.

Only in the first years after the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...

 in 1989 did a few Moravian political parties seem to be able to gain some success in elections. However they lost much of their strength around the time of the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
The dissolution of Czechoslovakia, which took effect on 1 January 1993, was an event that saw the self-determined separation of the federal state of Czechoslovakia. The Czech Republic and Slovakia, entities which had arisen in 1969 within the framework of Czechoslovak federalisation, became...

 in 1993 when 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...

 peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
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