Some Historical Dates in Bohemia, Moravia and German-speaking Sudetenland (S. Bier 4.4.2017)
| ≈ 1100 – 1806 | Holy Roman Empire German Nation (Loose confederation of states from the 10th century – August 6, 1806 Foundation of the Rhine Confederation) | |
| 921-929 or 935 | Wenzel I (Vaclav), Přemyslide, Christian(?) Bohemian Duke recognizes the supremacy of the the East Franconian King Henry I | |
| 935 – 972 | Boleslaw I, Přemyslide, Duke of Bohemia, centralized state in Bohemia and Moravia | |
| 1029 | Duke Břetislav von Bohemia (*≈ 1005 – 10.01.1055) Conquered Moravia from the Poles. | |
| 1034 – 1055 | Břetislav I, (*≈ 1005-1055) Duke of Bohemia and Regent of Moravia. | |
| 1061 – 1092 | Vratislav II (*1035 – 14.01.1093) Herzog and from 1085 Vratislav I, King of Bohemia. | |
| 1167 | The Abbot of the Cloisters in Chappa (Knappendorf east of Wildenschwert / Knapovec ) received a decree to direct the settlement of the crown into units in an orderly fashion. In order to cultivate and populate the approximately 30 km wide border-forest between Bohemia and Moravia, the monks, peasants and craftsmen were summoned to the land by secular and ecclesiastical rulers. These pioneers founded villages and German cities under German law. (Magdeburg, Nuremberg). Thus, the German-speaking Sudetenland was not a conquest of war, but rather a land grant. The village of Ketzeldorf is mentioned in Bishop’s documents 1347; 1349; 1350; 1361; 1398 as Cunzdorf and in 1412 for the first time as Kecendorf. | |
| 1174 | Decree of Bohemian Duke Sobieslav II. (1173-1178), The Germans are under his protection and can be according to German laws in Bohemia be known as „Free German people.“ Communities are founded under Magdeburg and Nuremberg law. | |
| 1198 | Ottokar I. (≈1155 -15.12.1230) King of Bohemia in the Holy Roman Empire.. 1182 Moravia becomes a Margravate. | |
| 1216 – 1253 | Wenzel I (*1205 – 23.09.1253), elected King of Bohemia in 1216 (Hereditary title) | |
| 1229 | The Kingdom of Bohemia and the Margravate of Moravia are politically united. | |
| 1241 | First Mongol invasion under Batu Kahn. | |
| 1245 – 1281 | Bruno von Schaumburg (*≈1205-17.02.1271); Bishop of Olmütz. He was only allowed to enter the city for the first time in 1247. Wenzel I, Ottokar II and the Bishop pursued expansion policies that promoted the settlement of Germans. | |
| 1273 | Rudolf I (*01.03.1218-15.7.1291) of Habsburger ancestry, was suprisingly elected by the electors as King of the Roman Empire thus founding the Habsburg Dynasty, inclduing Bohemia and Moravia, in the Holy Roman Empire | |
| 1253 – 1278 | Ottokar II (*≈1233 – 26.08.1278) King of Boehmia, 1251 Margrave of Moravia is captured while fleeing after losing the battle against Rudolf I on the battlefield near Dürnkrut and is murdered on August 26, 1278. The mighty Bohemian King also desiired to be the German King and Emperor. | |
| 1278/83-1305 | Wenzel II, King of Bohemia (*17.09.1271-21.06.1305; A signficant writer of German songs.) | |
| 1355 | Karl IV. (*14.5.1316 Prague- 29.11.1378), 1346 Roman-German King; 1347 King of Bohemia; 1355 Roman-German Emperor, Prague becomes the capitol city of the Roman-German Empire; 1348 Founding of the Karls-University in Prague. | |
| 1409 | Prof. Jan Hus sends the German scholars in the Prague University away (mostly to Leipzig and Erfurt). | |
| 06.07.1415 | Johannes Hus (1369 – 1415), the Bohemian reformer, is burned at the stake in Constance. | |
| 1419 – 1436 | Hussite wars (A religious war and the beginning of hostility towards the Germans and the foundation of the first Czech national state.) | |
| 1526 – 1918 | The areas of the Wenzelskrone (Bohemia/Moravia) lie in the dominion of the Habsburgs 1529 – 1st Turkish invasion. | |
| 1575 – 1611 | Rudolf II. Emperior of the Holy Roman Empire German Nation and Bohemian King, Prague is again residence city (capitol). | |
| 23.05.1618 | Second Prague defenistration. (Second imperial Court Counselor (Governor) and a scribe were appointed by Bohemia.) Protestants were thrown out of a window in the Prague Castle. After 1612 German Emperor Matthias (* 24.02.1557-20.03.1619) resided in Vienna. | |
| 1618 – 1648 | 30- year War (Several armies of the Emperor, Protestants, Swedes, etc., came through Schönhengstgau.) | |
| 1619 – 1637 | Ferdinand II. German Emperor (*9.7.1578-15.2.1637) Also from 1617 Bohemian King and 1619 German Emperor. | |
| 1619 – 1620 | Friedrich V., 16.8.1596-29.11.1632 Elector of the Palatinate and Bohemian King (Is the leader of the Bohemian Protestants; there are two Bohemian kings.) | |
| 08.11.1620 | Battle of Weißenberg (White Mountain) near Prague. Bohemian Protestants. Troops under Friedrich V. were crushed. | |
| 25.02.1634 | General of the Imperial Army, Albrecht of Wallenstein, is assassinated at the behest of the emperor in Eger. | |
| 1683 | The Turks besiege Vienna for the second time and are forced to withdraw at the Battle of Kahlenberg. | |
| 1713 | Emperor Karl VI. Institutes the „Pragmatic Sanction“ allowing for female sucession if there are no male descendants. | |
| 1745 – 1765 | Franz I. German Emperor (*08.12.1708 -18.08.1765) His wife is Maria Theresa, who is called Empress. | |
| 1740/45 – 1780 | Maria Theresia (*13.05.1717-29.11.1780), Queen of Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia and German Empress. | |
| 1804 – 1918 | Austrian Empire, Franz II, last Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (until 1806) and in 1804 became Emperor Franz I. of Austria. (The Danube Monarchy of the Habsburgs is a multi-ethnic state 11.08.1804 – 11.11.1918). The Kingdom of Bohemia and Moravia were included. | |
| 02.12.1805 | Three emperor battle of Austerlitz (Czechs, Slavs, East Brno/Moravia; Napoleon(France.), Czar Alexander (Russia). Franz I (are?) not present. | |
| 1866 | Prussian-Austrian War. The Austrians lost the decsive battle at the 03.07.1866 near Hradec (near the village of Sadova). As the Prussians advanced to Hollabrunn (45 km before Vienna), the two armies traversed Schönhengstgau seveal times. | |
| 1871 – 1918 | German Empire, Wilhelm I is also the Prussian King (18.01.1871 – 09.11.1918,) Previously, only many small German states existed. | |
| 1848 – 1916 | Franz Josef I. Emperor of Austria (*18.08.1830-21.11.1916), Elizabeth (Sisi) was his consort from 24.04.1854. | |
| 1914 – 1918 | First World War (28.07.1914 – 11.11.1918 truce) | |
| 28.10.1918 | Proclamation of the First Czechosolvakian Republic in Prague. (First President: Tomaš Garrigue Masaryk) | |
| 1918 / 1919 | Occupation of the German-speaking Sudetenland by the Czech military. | |
| 10.09.1919 | Peace Treaty of St. Germain (Without the participation of representatives of Austria-Hungary.) The following ethnic groups lived in the new Czech state in 1919: 48.5% Czech; 27.5% German: 14.9% Slovaks; 6% Hungarian und 2% other. | |
| 1935 | Edvard Benesch becomes sucessor president after President Masaryk resigns (1935 – 05.10.1938) | |
| 29.09.1938
(30.09.1938) |
Munich Convention (Annexation of German-occupied border areas of Czechoslovakia into the German Reich (Realm or Empire). (After the invasion by German troops the roads are changed from driving on the left to driving on the right.) | |
| 15.03.1939 | German troops invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. | |
| 1939 – 1945 | Second World War (01.09.1939 – 08.05.1945 Capitulation) End of the German Reich. | |
| 1945 – 1947 | Explusion of about 3.5 Million Sudeten and Carpathian Germans from Czechoslovakia. | |
| 1945 | Establishment of the government of Sdeněk Fierlinger (Prime Minister) in Prague on behalf of Edvard Benesch. | |
| 19.06.1946 | Edvard Benesch is confirmed as president of the second Czechoslovak Republic. |
Brief chronology of the settlement and life in Schönhengstgau/Sudetenland (22.03.2017)
| Before Christ | The Buoys, a tribe of the Celts, occupy parts of Bohemia. The name Bohemia is derived from Buoyr. |
| Ca. 3rd-9th Century | The Germanic tribe of the Marcomanni settles in Bohemia and the Germanic tribe of the quads in Moravia. |
| From the 5th Century | Slavic tribes (Přemyslid, Slavnikinger, etc.) continue westwards, including into Bohemia and Moravia. The name Moravia derives from the Celtic name of the River March (Czech. Morava). |
| 623 – 656 | Reich (Empire) of Samo-first state structure of immigrant Slavs |
| In the 9th Century | Přemyslid becomes Bohenia. Local princes. The foundation stone for the Prague castle is laid at the end of the 9th century |
| 921 – 935 | Wenzel (the Holy) (*903–935) is a western oriented Bohemian Duke. Murdered (assasinated)on 28.09.935 |
| 935 – 972 | Boleslav I. (the cruel), Established hegemony over surrounding areas during his rule. |
| 1061 – 1092 | Vratislav II. (*≈1035-14.01.1093) Bohemian duke and after 1085 Bohemian King Vratislav I |
| 1167 | The abbot of the monastery in Chappa’ai (Gossensaß, eastern Wildenschwert) is decreed to organize the Crown’s wilderness in an orderly fashion. In 1182 Moravia becomes a margravate. |
| Decree of 1174 | Duke Sobislaw II. (1173–1178) „I Sobislaw II, Duke of Bohemia, make known to all present and those in the future that I take the Germans into my favor and protection, as they have enjoyed since the times of my grandfather, King Wratislaw II“ He then adds „Know that the Germans are free people.“ |
| 1229 | Wenzel I. (*1205 – 23.09.1253) King of Bohemia receives the Margravate of Moravia as a fiefdom from the German Empire. |
| 1245 – 1285 | Bruno von Schaumburg is the Bishop of Olmütz (*≈1205-17.02.1281). He is a patron of German settlements. |
| 1253 – 1278 | King Ottokar II. (*1233–1278) summons more Germans into the country.. Murdered 26.08.1278 after the battle on the Marchfeld. |
| 12th until the 13th Century | Settlement of the approximately 30 km wide border forest (Bohemian-Moravian wilderness) between Bohemia and Moravia. The German settlers came from Franconia as well as from Thuringia and Silesia. The land was located and surveyed on behalf of the landlords (nobility, churches) into settlments. Each settler received 1 hoof (Hube = Lahne)[1] of land. These were granted depending on the quality of the soil 96 to 115 Metzen (18.41 – 22.06 ha).[2] The locator received an additional hoof and other facilities for each 10-th hoof. The lower court was transferred to him, and this led to him becoming a hereditary judge. An elected community head replaced this system in 1851. The settlers did not need to pay dues to the landlords for 15 – 20 years. The settlements were entirely German and remained almost so until 1945. |
| Local Establishments | First documented mentions of certain places: Abtsdorf 1248; Hermersdorf 1266; Ketzelsdorf 1347; Dittersdorf 1347,
Zwittau 1256, Mährisch Lotschnau 1320, Mährisch Trübau 1267, Greifendorf 1270, Rothmühl 1291; Mohren 1320 |
| 1273 | Rudolf I. (*01.03.1218-+15.07.1291) The king of the German Empire is elected from the Habsburg dynasty. |
| 1419 – 1436 | Hussite wars.. Sectarian wars between Prostetants and Cahtolics. Begining of hostility towards the Germans. |
| 1526 – 1806/1918 | The areas of the Kingdom of Wenceslas (Bohemia and Moravia) belong to the German Reich or to the Austrian Empire. |
| 1745 – 1765 | Franz I. German Emperor (*13.05.1717 – 29.11.1780). His wife, Maria Theresia (*13.05.1717 – 29.11.1780) is named empress as she also conducts government business. . |
| 1740/45 – 1780 | Maria Theresia, Queen of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, German Empress. |
| 1747 | Theresian land register. Patent from 05.07.1747. Earlier descriptions (from 1722) of the rural and dominioned lands (subject/farmer and Manor Country) are revised and simplified for the sake of fairer taxation. |
| 1784 | Emperor Josef II. Arranges in 27.07.1984 to create the Josefenian land registers. The goal was to tax farmers and land owners equally. . |
| 1792 – 1806 | Emperor Franz II of the German Reich became German Emperor in 1806 and alread as of 1804 Emperor Franz I. of Austria. |
| 1817 | Emperor Franz I. of Austria: Decree leading to the establishment of the Franciscan land register. |
| 1874 | Decree on the establishment of land registers in the Empire of Austria. (The name Austria (Österreich) comes from the German for eastern reich (Ostreich)) |
| 1770 | Imperial Patent of 10.03.1770 to desgnate buidlings with conscription numbers. These numbers also provide information about the year of the construction permit or the year of construction. Streets so designated did not have sequential numbering. The numbering was required to begin at the church. The number 1 should receive the probate. (In Ketzelsdorf: Freisassenhof/Probate Lamatsch had no. 1 until 1945). This type of numbering can still be seen today (2017) in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. |
| 1774 | Decree of 06.12.1774 establishing general compulsory education from the age of 6 as of the first of September. |
| 1835 – 1848 | Emperor Ferdinand I. (*19.04.1793 – 29.06.1793) steps down in favor of Franz Josef in 1848. |
| 1835 | First law in the Austro-Hungarian Emprie/Monarchy. For example, door and window sizes are set by law. |
| 1848 – 1916 | Franz Josef (*18.08.1830 – 21.11.1916) Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary; Elisabeth (Sisi) is his wifes as of 24.04.1854. |
| 1848 | Hans Kudlich (*25.10.1823 in Lobenstein/Silesia + 10.11.1917 USA), as the youngest member of the Reichstag in Vienna introduces legislation for the emancipation of the peasants from tithing, indenturing and all conditions of subservience. Patial success was achieved with the emancipation law of Sept. 9, 1848. He is considered as a liberator of the farmers. Escaped to America. . |
| 1869 | Reich law. Compulsory years of education are increased from six to eight years. The educational system is now entirely under the control of the state. |
| 1914 – 1918 | First World War (28.07.1914-11.11.1918 Truce), Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28.06.1914. |
| 1918 | 28.11.1918 Proclamation of the first Czechoslovakian in Prague. (First President – Tomaš Garrigue Masaryk)
Population: 46% Czechs, 13% Slovaks, 28% Germans, 8% Magyars (Hungarians), 3% Ukrainians and 2% other. |
| 1918 / 1919 | Occupation of the German-speaking Sudetenland by the Czech Republic military 29.11.1918 Massacre (5 dead) in Mähr. Trübau |
| 05.03.1919 | Monetary reform; Austrian bank notes are stamped with denominations of Czech crowns. New coins are available only after 1922. |
| 30.01.1920 (Law) | And regulation (9.7.1921) of the Czechoslovakian Republic: Each municipality is required to create a community memorial. |
| 1935 | Edvard Benesch succeeds Masaryk, who resigned, as President (until 05.10.1938) |
| 14.03.1938 | The reunification of Austria with the German Reich by law. |
| 29.09.1938 | Munich Accord cedes the border areas of Czechoslovakia with ethnic German inhabitants to the German Reich. German troops march into these areas from Oct. 1 to Oct. 10. Driving on the left is changed to driving on the right. |
| 15.03.1939 | German troops invade the rest of Czechoslovakia. |
| 1941 | The Reich Governor declares that religious education is entirely voluntary as of 24.06.1941. |
| 1939 – 1945 | Second World War (01.09.1939 – 08.05.1945 Surrender), End of the German Reich |
| 1945 | The „savage explusion“ of the German population begins in the district of Zwittau/Svitavy (Bohemia) on July 28. The inhabitants of Ketzelsdorf, Dittersdorf, Hohenfeld, Abtsdorf, Überdörfel, etc., were forcibly assembled in the courtyard of a clothing factory in Abtsdorf. On July 29 up to 80 people were forced into an open cattle or coal car in a train that set off in an unknown direction. The people were put under guard until they reached the German border and were not provided food or water. After five days of traveling the train reached the Neisse River (the Czech-German border). Here most people climbed out of the train, not at a train station but rather in an unrecognizable expanse of destruction. |
| 17.07. – 03.08.1945 | Potsdam Conference Agreement. The expulsion of Germans from many European countries is sanctioned. |
| 19.06.1946 | Edvard Benesch is confirmed as president of the second Czechoslovak Republic. |
Authored by Stephan Bier, Berlin, Germany. Translated from the German by John McSweeny with the assistance of Sybelle Weck-Schwarz, Toledo, Ohio, USA, 2017.
[1] A „hoof“ (Hufe) is an archaic land measurement that refers to as much land as could be worked with one plough by one family, and sustain the family. Consequently, the size differed according to the richness of the soil etc. Serfs only had lease of the land, which led to the name “Lahn” (from “Lehen,“ or fief).
[2] A „Metz“ is another archaic unit of measurement for land. The equivalent is given in parentheses in “Hektar” (ha.). One Hektar = 10,000 square meters.