Its area of 22,623.41 km2[b] is home to about 3.0 million of the Czech Republic's 10.9 million inhabitants.[5] The people are historically namedMoravians, a subgroup ofCzechs, the other group being calledBohemians.[12][13] The land takes its name from theMorava river, which runs from its north to south, being its principal watercourse. Moravia's largest city and historical capital isBrno. Before being sacked by theSwedish army during theThirty Years' War,Olomouc served as the Moravian capital, and it is still the seat of theArchdiocese of Olomouc.[4] Until theexpulsions after 1945, significant parts of Moravia wereGerman speaking.
The region and former margraviate of Moravia,Morava, in Czech, is named after itsprincipal riverMorava.
The German name for Moravia isMähren, from the river's German nameMarch. This could have a different etymology, asmarch is a term used in the medieval times for an outlying territory, a border or a frontier (cf. Englishmarch). In Latin, the name Moravia was used.
Moravia occupies most of the eastern part of theCzech Republic. Moravian territory is naturally strongly determined, in fact, as theMoravariver basin, with strong effect of mountains in the west (de facto mainEuropean continental divide) and partly in the east, where all therivers rise.
Moravia occupies an exceptional position in Central Europe. All thehighlands in the west and east of this part of Europe run west–east, and therefore form a kind of filter, making north–south or south–north movement more difficult. Only Moravia with the depression of the westernmostOuter Subcarpathia, 14–40 kilometers (9–25 mi) wide, between theBohemian Massif and theOuter Western Carpathians (gripping themeridian at a constant angle of 30°)[clarification needed], provides a comfortable connection between theDanubian andPolish regions, and this area is thus of great importance in terms of the possible migration routes of large mammals[14] – both as regards periodically recurring seasonal migrations triggered by climatic oscillations in theprehistory, when permanentsettlement started.
The river system of Moravia is very cohesive[clarification needed], as the region's border closely follows the watershed of the Morava river, and thus almost the entire area is drained exclusively by a single stream. Easily the Morava's biggest tributaries are Thaya (Dyje) from the right (or west) andBečva (east). The Morava and the Thaya meet at the southernmost and lowest (148 m) point of Moravia. Small peripheral parts of Moravia belong to the catchment areas ofElbe,Váh and especiallyOder (the northeast). The watershed line running along Moravia's border from west to north and east is part of theEuropean Watershed. For centuries, there have been plans to build a waterway across Moravia tojoin the Danube and Oder river systems, using the natural route through theMoravian Gate.[15][16]
Attracted by suitable living conditions, early modern humans had settled in the region by thePaleolithic period. ThePředmostí archeological (Cro-Magnon) site in Moravia is dated to between 27,000 and 24,000 years old.[17][18] Caves inMoravian Karst were used bymammoth hunters.Venus of Dolní Věstonice, the oldest ceramic figure in the world,[19][20] was found in the excavation ofDolní Věstonice byKarel Absolon.[21] In November 2024 a new discovery was made on the outskirts of Brno, where bones of at least three mammoths were found along with other animals and human stone tools dating back 15,000 years.[22]
During the Bronze Age, people of various cultures settled in Moravia. Notably theNitra culture which emerged from the tradition of theNeolithicCorded Ware culture and was spread in western Slovakia (hence the name, derived from Slovakriver Nitra), eastern Moravia and southern Poland. The largest burial site (400 graves) of Nitra culture in Moravia was discovered inHolešov in the 1960s.[23]The most recent discovery unearthed 2 settlements and two burial grounds (with total 130 graves) nearOlomouc, one of them of the Nitra culture dating between the years 2100-1800 BC and was published in October 2024.[24] This discovery adds up to other Bronze Age discoveries such as a sword found near the city of Přerov, the sword was called ‘the Excalibur of the Late Bronze Age’.[25]
Around 60 BC, theCelticVolcae people withdrew from the region and were succeeded by theGermanicQuadi. Some of the events of theMarcomannic Wars took place in Moravia in AD 169–180. After the war exposed the weakness ofRome's northern frontier, half of theRoman legions (16 out of 33) were stationed along theDanube. In response to increasing numbers ofGermanic settlers in frontier regions likePannonia,Dacia, Rome established two new frontier provinces on the left shore of the Danube,Marcomannia andSarmatia, including today's Moravia and westernSlovakia.
In the 2nd century AD, aRoman fortress[26][27] stood on the vineyards hill known as German:Burgstall andCzech:Hradisko ("hillfort"), situated above the former villageMušov and above today's beach resort atPasohlávky. During the reign of the EmperorMarcus Aurelius, the10th Legion was assigned to control the Germanic tribes who had been defeated in the Marcomannic Wars.[28] In 1927, the archeologist Gnirs, with the support of presidentTomáš Garrigue Masaryk, began research on the site, located 80 km fromVindobona and 22 km to the south of Brno. The researchers found remnants of two masonry buildings, apraetorium[29] and abalneum ("bath"), including ahypocaustum. The discovery of bricks with the stamp of theLegio X Gemina and coins from the period of the emperorsAntoninus Pius,Marcus Aurelius andCommodus facilitated dating of the locality.
Territory ofGreat Moravia in the 9th century: area ruled by Rastislav (846–870) map marks the greatest territorial extent during the reign ofSvatopluk I (871–894), violet core is origin of Moravia.Saint Wenceslas Cathedral in Olomouc, seat ofbishops of Olomouc since the 10th century and the current seat of theArchbishopric of Olomouc, the Metropolitan archdiocese of Moravia
A variety of Germanic and majorSlavic tribes crossed through Moravia during theMigration 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 ofLower Austria. In 833 AD, this became the state ofGreat Moravia[30] with the conquest of thePrincipality of Nitra (present-day Slovakia). Their first king wasMojmír I (ruled 830–846).Louis the German invaded Moravia and replaced Mojmír I with his nephewRastiz who became St. Rastislav.[31] St. Rastislav (846–870) tried to emancipate his land from theCarolingian influence, so he sent envoys to Rome to get missionaries to come. When Rome refused he turned toConstantinople to theByzantine emperor Michael. The result was the mission ofSaints Cyril and Methodius who translatedliturgical books intoSlavonic, which had lately been elevated by the Pope to the same level as Latin and Greek. Methodius became the first Moravian archbishop, the first archbishop in Slavic world, 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 underSvatopluk I. At this time, the empire encompassed the territory of the present-dayCzech Republic andSlovakia, the western part of presentHungary (Pannonia), as well asLusatia in present-day Germany andSilesia and the upperVistula basin in southernPoland. After Svatopluk's death in 895, the Bohemian princes defected to become vassals of the East Frankish rulerArnulf of Carinthia, and the Moravian state ceased to exist after being overrun byinvading Magyars in 907.[32][33]
Following the defeat of the Magyars by EmperorOtto I at theBattle of Lechfeld in 955, Otto's allyBoleslaus I, thePřemyslid ruler ofBohemia, took control over Moravia.Bolesław I Chrobry of Poland annexed Moravia in 999, and ruled it until 1019,[34] when the Přemyslid princeBretislaus 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 byprimogeniture, although he also provided that his younger sons should govern parts (quarters) of Moravia as vassals to his oldest son.
Throughout the Přemyslid era, junior princes often ruled all or part of Moravia fromOlomouc,Brno orZnojmo, 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 EmperorFrederick I elevatedConrad II Otto of Znojmo to the status of amargrave,[35] immediately subject to the emperor, independent of Bohemia. This status was short-lived: in 1186, Conrad Otto was forced to obey the supreme rule ofBohemian dukeFrederick. 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 whenVladislaus III of Bohemia resolved the succession dispute between him and his brotherOttokar by abdicating from the Bohemian throne and accepting Moravia as a vassal land of Bohemian (i.e., Prague) rulers. Vladislaus gradually established this land asMargraviate, slightly administratively different from Bohemia. After theBattle of Legnica, theMongols carried their raids into Moravia.
The main line of thePřemyslid dynasty became extinct in 1306, and in 1310John of Luxembourg became Margrave of Moravia and King of Bohemia. In 1333, he made his sonCharles the next Margrave of Moravia (later in 1346, Charles also became the King of Bohemia). In 1349, Charles gave Moravia to his younger brotherJohn Henry who ruled in the margraviate until his death in 1375, after him Moravia was ruled by his oldest sonJobst of Moravia who was in 1410 elected the Holy Roman King but died in 1411 (he is buried with his father in theChurch of St. Thomas in Brno – the Moravian capital from which they both ruled). Moravia and Bohemia remained within theLuxembourg dynasty of Holy Roman kings and emperors (except during theHussite wars), until inherited byAlbert II of Habsburg in 1437.
After his death followed theinterregnum until 1453; land (as the rest of lands of the Bohemian Crown) was administered by thelandfriedens (landfrýdy). The rule of youngLadislaus the Posthumous subsisted only less than five years and subsequently (1458) the HussiteGeorge 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 Hungariancrusade followed and in 1469Matthias Corvinus conquered Moravia and proclaimed himself (with assistance of rebellingBohemian 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 whenVladislaus 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' sonLouis died in battle and the HabsburgFerdinand I was elected as his successor.
After the death of KingLouis II of Hungary and Bohemia in 1526,Ferdinand I ofAustria was elected King of Bohemia and thus ruler of theCrown of Bohemia (including Moravia). The epoch 1526–1620 was marked by increasing animosity between Catholic Habsburg kings (emperors) and the Protestant Moravian nobility (and other Crowns') estates. Moravia,[38] like Bohemia, was a Habsburg possession until the end ofWorld War I. In 1573 theJesuitUniversity 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 fromScandinavia.
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 ownDiet, 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, theReduta Theatre, was established in 17th-century Moravia.
In 1740, Moravia was invaded by Prussian forces underFrederick 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 wasbesieged by Prussians again, but this time its defenders forced the Prussians to withdraw following theBattle of Domstadtl. In 1777, a new Moravian bishopric was established in Brno, and the Olomouc bishopric was elevated to an archbishopric.[41] In 1782, the Margraviate of Moravia was merged withAustrian Silesia intoMoravia-Silesia, with Brno as its capital. Moravia became a separate crown land of Austria again in 1849,[42][43] and then became part ofCisleithanian Austria-Hungary after 1867. According to Austro-Hungarian census of 1910 the proportion of Czechs in the population of Moravia at the time (2,622,000) was 71.8%, while the proportion of Germans was 27.6%.[44]
Following the break-up of theAustro-Hungarian Empire in 1918, Moravia became part ofCzechoslovakia. 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 withCzech Silesia into the Moravian-Silesian Land (yet with the natural dominance of Moravia). By theMunich Agreement (1938), the southwestern and northern peripheries of Moravia, which had a German-speaking majority, were annexed byNazi Germany, and during the Germanoccupation of Czechoslovakia (1939–1945), the remnant of Moravia was an administrative unit within theProtectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.
In 1945 after the Allied defeat of Germany and the end of World War II, the German minority wasexpelled to Germany andAustria in accordance with thePotsdam Agreement. The Moravian-Silesian Land was restored with Moravia as part of it and towns and villages that were left by the former German inhabitants, were re-settled by Czechs,Slovaks and reemigrants.[49] 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 more than 1100 years (833–1949) of its history. Although another administrative reform in 1960 implemented (among others) the North Moravian and the South Moravian regions (Severomoravský andJihomoravský 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 theSoviet Union and the wholeEastern Bloc, the CzechoslovakFederal Assembly condemned the cancellation of Moravian-Silesian land and expressed "firm conviction that this injustice will be corrected" in 1990. However, after thebreakup of Czechoslovakia intoCzech Republic andSlovakia 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, thefederalist orseparatist movement in Moravia is completely marginal.
The centuries-lasting historical Bohemian-Moravian border has been preserved up to now only by theCzech Roman Catholic Administration, as the Ecclesiastical Province of Moravia corresponds with the former Moravian-Silesian Land. The popular perception of the Bohemian-Moravian border's location is distorted by the memory of the 1960 regions (whose boundaries are still partly in use).
Jan Černý, president of Moravia in 1922–1926, later also Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia
A general map of Moravia in the 1920s
In 1928, Moravia was merged into Moravia-Silesia, one of four lands of Czechoslovakia, together with Bohemia,Slovakia andSubcarpathian Rus.
The Czech automotive industry also played a significant role in Moravia's economy in the 20th century; the factories ofWikov inProstějov andTatra inKopřivnice produced many automobiles.
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 found in Moravia. Almost all the well-known Czech sporting, self-defence, military, and hunting firearms are made in Moravia.Meopta rifle scopes are of Moravian origin. Theoriginal Bren gun was conceived here, as were the assault rifles theCZ-805 BREN andSa vz. 58, and the handgunsCZ 75 andZVI Kevin (also known as the "MicroDesert Eagle").
Aircraft production in the region started in the 1930s; after a period of low production post-1989, there have been signs of recovery post-2010, and production is expected to grow from 2013 onwards.[51]
In recent years, Brno's economy has seen growth in the quaternary sector, focusing on science, research, and education. Notable projects include AdMaS (Advanced Materials, Structures, and Technologies) and CETOCOEN (Center for Research on Toxic Substances in the Environment).[59]
Brno (401,000 inhabitants) former land capital and nowadays capital ofSouth Moravian Region; industrial, judicial, educational and research centre; railway and motorway junction
Frýdek-Místek (54,000), twin-city lying directly on the old Moravian-Silesian border (the western part, Místek, is Moravian), in the industrial area around Ostrava
Prostějov (44,000), former centre of clothing and fashion industry, birthplace ofEdmund Husserl
Přerov (42,000), important railway hub and archeological site (Předmostí)
Moravian nationality, as declared by people in the 1991 censusMoravian Slovakkroje during theRide of the Kings festival held annually inVlčnov, southeastern Moravia
The Moravians are generally a Slavic ethnic group who speak various (generally more archaic) dialects ofCzech. Before the expulsion ofGermans from Moravia the Moravian German minority also referred to themselves as "Moravians" (Mährer). Those expelled and their descendants continue to identify as Moravian.[60] Some Moravians assert thatMoravian is a language distinct fromCzech; however, their position is not widely supported by academics and the public.[61][62][63][64] 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 some parts of Moravia (mostly in the centre and south), majority of the population identified as Moravians, rather than Czechs. In the census of 2001, the number of Moravians had decreased to 380,000 (3.7% of the country's population).[65] In the census of 2011, this number rose to 522,474 (4.9% of the Czech population).[66][67]
Moravia historically had a large minority ofethnic Germans, some of whom had arrived as early as the 13th century at the behest of thePřemyslid 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 twolanguage islands, around Jihlava and aroundMoravská Třebová. AfterWorld War II, the Czechoslovak government almost fullyexpelled them in retaliation for their support ofNazi Germany's invasion and dismemberment of Czechoslovakia (1938–1939) and subsequentGerman war crimes (1938–1945) towards the Czech, Moravian, and Jewish populations.
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.
^Bowlus, Charles R. (2009). "Nitra: when did it become a part of the Moravian realm? Evidence in the Frankish sources".Early Medieval Europe.17 (3):311–328.doi:10.1111/j.1468-0254.2009.00279.x.S2CID161655879.
^"Dodatek IV. Moravské enklávy ve Slezsku".Statistický lexikon obcí v republice Československé. Morava a Slezsko (in Czech). Prague: Státní úřad statistický. 1924. p. 138.
^abAntón, Mauricio; Galobart, Angel; Turner, Alan (May 2005). "Co-existence of scimitar-toothed cats, lions and hominins in the European Pleistocene. Implications of the post-cranial anatomy of Homotherium latidens (Owen) for comparative palaeoecology".Quaternary Science Reviews.24 (10–11):1287–1301.Bibcode:2005QSRv...24.1287A.doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.09.008.
^Klimo, Emil; Hager, Herbert (2000).The Floodplain Forests in Europe: Current Situation and Perspectives (European Forest Institute research reports). Leiden: Brill. p. 48.ISBN9789004119581.
^Velemínskáa, J.; Brůžekb, J.; Velemínskýd, P.; Bigonia, L.; Šefčákováe, A.; Katinaf, F. (2008). "Variability of the Upper Palaeolithic skulls from Předmostí near Přerov (Czech Republic): Craniometric comparison with recent human standards".Homo.59 (1):1–26.doi:10.1016/j.jchb.2007.12.003.PMID18242606.
^Spiesz, Anton; Caplovic, Dusan (2006).Illustrated Slovak History: A Struggle for Sovereignty in Central Europe. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers.ISBN978-0-86516-426-0.
^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.
^There are no primary testimonies about creating a margraviate (march) as distinct political unit
^Svoboda, Zbyšek; Fojtík, Pavel; Exner, Petr; Martykán, Jaroslav (2013)."Odborné vexilologické stanovisko k moravské vlajce"(PDF).Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169. Brno: Česká vexilologická společnost. pp. 3319, 3320.
^Pícha, František (2013)."Znaky a prapory v kronice Ottokara Štýrského"(PDF).Vexilologie. Zpravodaj České vexilologické společnosti, o.s. č. 169. Brno: Česká vexilologická společnost. pp. 3320–3324.
^Hans Chmelar:Höhepunkte der österreichischen Auswanderung. Die Auswanderung aus den im Reichsrat vertretenen Königreichen und Ländern in den Jahren 1905–1914. (=Studien zur Geschichte der österreichisch-ungarischen Monarchie. Band 14) Kommission für die Geschichte der Österreichisch-Ungarischen Monarchie, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1974,ISBN3-7001-0075-2, p. 109.
^Megargee, Geoffrey P.; Overmans, Rüdiger; Vogt, Wolfgang (2022).The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV. Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. pp. 207, 257, 259.ISBN978-0-253-06089-1.
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Dekan, Jan (1981).Moravia Magna: The Great Moravian Empire, Its Art and Time, Minneapolis: Control Data Arts.ISBN0-89893-084-7.
Poláček, Lumír (2014). "Great Moravian sacral architecture – new research, new questions".The Cyril and Methodius Mission and Europe: 1150 Years Since the Arrival of the Thessaloniki Brothers in Great Moravia. Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. pp. 66–73.ISBN978-80-86023-51-9. OS LG 2023-08-18.
Hlobil, Ivo, Daniel, Ladislav (2000),The last flowers of the middle ages: from the gothic to the renaissance in Moravia and Silesia. Olomouc/Brno,Moravian Galery, Muzeum umění OlomoucISBN9788085227406
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Svoboda, Jiří A. (1999),Hunters between East and West: the paleolithic of Moravia. New York: Plenum Press,ISSN0231-7494.
Absolon, Karel (1949),The diluvial anthropomorphic statuettes and drawings, especially the so-called Venus statuettes, discovered in Moravia New York, Salmony 1949.ISSN0231-7494.
Musil, Rudolf (1971),G. Mendel's Discovery and the Development of Agricultural and Natural Sciences in Moravia. Brno,Moravian Museum.
Šimsa, Martin (2009),Open-Air Museum of Rural Architecture in South-East Moravia.Strážnice, National Institute of Folk Culture.ISBN9788087261194.
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