After four years of instability John of Luxemborg got the Czech throne by a dynastic wedding. Under the rule of his son, Charles IV., the Czech Kingdom became the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Prague became the imperial resindence and during this period it flourished and grew. In 1348 Charles IV. founded the University, the New Town and he promoted the construction of the Charles Bridge and the St.Vitus Cathedral.
The first of the 15th century was marked by the Husic Movement. It was named after John Hus, rector of the University and a preacher, who tried to reform the Catholic Church. On 6th July 1415 he was burnt as a heretic in Constance. Jan Žižka was the leading representatives of the Husic Movement. He wasn’t defeated.
John of Poděbrady was the first king elected by Czech Estates and the Jagiellonian dynasty was established on the Czech throne after his rule.
In 1526 the throne gained the Habsburg. The Czech Kingdom became a part of the Austria Empire. At the end of the 16th century Prague became the seat of Rudolph II. who invited artists and scientists like Tycho de Brahe and Johanes Kepler.
On 8th November 1620 the Czech aristocracy was defeated by Ferdinand II. in the Battle of White Mountain. A few month later on 21st June 1621, 27 representatives of rebellion were executed in the Old Town Square. Then the period of re-catholicisation and germanisation started.
Nevertheless the 19th century brought a period of national revival, so when the First World War ended in 1918, the Czech nation was able to establish an independent state. The Czechoslovak Republic was proclaimed on 28th October 1918 and T.G. Masaryk became our first president.
During 2nd World War the country was occupied by Germans. As a result of this war we got under a domination of the Soviet Union when communists took over the power in the state on 25th February 1948.
In 1968 the reformist movement known as the "Prague Spring" led to a political crisis resulting in the intervention of Warsaw Pact troops on 21st August. The following period is called normalization and it lasted 21 years till the "Velvet revolution". On 17th November 1989 the revolution started operation of democratization in our society.
The following development led into the splitting both countries. On 1st January 1993 two new states appeared on the map of Europe - the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The first Czech president was Václav Havel and the second one is Václav Klaus.
