View source for Czechs

{{Short description|West Slavic ethnic group}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Refimprove|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Czechs
| regions          = 
| image            = Map of the Czech Diaspora in the World.svg
| tablehdr         = ''Significant [[Czech diaspora|diasporic]] populations in:''
| population       = {{circa|'''10–12 million'''}}<br />(including [[Moravians]] and Czech [[Silesians]])
| popplace         = <span style="display:block; text-align:left;">{{CZE}}{{nbsp|9}}6,732,104<ref group="nb">This number is a lower estimate, as 2,742,669 people opted out declaring ethnicity in 2011, vast majority of whom were ethnic Czechs as the figure from the 2001 census would suggest, where there were 9.25 million Czechs, excluding [[Moravians]] (9.8 million with them included).</ref>-9,246,784</span>
| region1          = {{nowrap|{{USA}}}}
| pop1             = 1,462,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on|title=2004 survey|publisher=United States Bureau of Statistics|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200211183222/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_DP2&-ds_name=ACS_2004_EST_G00_&-_lang=en&-_sse=on|archive-date=11 February 2020}}</ref>
| region2          = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop2             = 210,000<ref name="Destatis2024">{{cite web |url=https://www.destatis.de/EN/Themes/Society-Environment/Population/Migration-Integration/Tables/migrant-status-selected-countries.html |title=Population with a migrant background by selected countries of birth |publisher=Destatis |date=2025-05-01 |access-date=2025-09-15}}</ref>
| region3          = {{CAN}}
| pop3             = 104,580<ref>{{cite web |title=Data tables, 2016 Census: Ethnic Origin (279), Single and Multiple Ethnic Origin Responses (3), Generation Status (4), Age (12) and Sex (3) for the Population in Private Households of Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2016 Census - 25% Sample Data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110528&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=120&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |website=[[Statistics Canada]] |date=17 June 2019 |access-date=23 October 2022 |archive-date=26 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026161129/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=110528&PRID=10&PTYPE=109445&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2017&THEME=120&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region4          = {{SVK}}
| pop4             = 45,711–89,000<ref>{{Cite web |title=SODB2021 - Obyvatelia - Základné výsledky |url=https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/struktura-obyvatelstva-podla-narodnosti/SR/SK0/SR |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www.scitanie.sk |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531025903/https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/struktura-obyvatelstva-podla-narodnosti/SR/SK0/SR |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=SODB2021 - Obyvatelia - Základné výsledky |url=https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/struktura-obyvatelstva-podla-dalsej-narodnosti/SR/SK0/SR |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www.scitanie.sk |archive-date=15 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715111536/https://www.scitanie.sk/obyvatelia/zakladne-vysledky/struktura-obyvatelstva-podla-dalsej-narodnosti/SR/SK0/SR |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ONU-MPI, 2019"/>
| region5          = {{AUT}}
| pop5             = 65,000<ref name="ONU-MPI, 2019">{{cite web |url=https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination |title=Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination |author=United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs |website=Migration Policy Institute |year=2019 |access-date=22 May 2021 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319075252/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region6          = {{GBR}}
| pop6             = 45,000<ref name="ONS2013">{{cite web|url=http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality/revisions-to-population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality---calendar-years-2004-to-2013/country-of-birth-and-nationality-tables--2013.xls|title=Table 1.3: Overseas-born population in the United Kingdom, excluding some residents in communal establishments, by sex, by country of birth, January 2013 to December 2013|publisher=[[Office for National Statistics]]|date=2 July 2015|access-date=20 July 2015|archive-date=19 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160119103407/http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/migration1/population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality/revisions-to-population-by-country-of-birth-and-nationality---calendar-years-2004-to-2013/country-of-birth-and-nationality-tables--2013.xls|url-status=live}} Figure given is the central estimate. See the source for 95 per cent [[confidence interval]]s.</ref>
| region7          = {{ARG}}
| pop7             = 40,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mzv.cz/buenosaires/cz/vzajemne_vztahy/krajane_v_argentine_paraguayi_a_uruguayi/cesti_krajane_v_argentine_historie_a.html|title=Čeští krajané v Argentině - historie a současnost|date=11 October 2009|publisher=Velvyslanectví České republiky v Buenos Aires|language=Czech|access-date=12 January 2014|archive-date=24 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220324185838/https://www.mzv.cz/buenosaires/cz/vzajemne_vztahy/krajane_v_argentine_paraguayi_a_uruguayi/cesti_krajane_v_argentine_historie_a.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region8          = {{AUS}}
| pop8             = 23,000<ref name="Joshua Project">{{cite web |url=https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11458 |title=Czech people |author=Joshua Project |access-date=27 May 2021 |archive-date=26 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526024936/https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/11458 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| region9          = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| pop9             = 16,000<ref name="Joshua Project"/>
| region10         = {{FRA}}
| pop10            = 15,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/republique-tcheque/presentation-de-la-republique-tcheque/|title=Présentation de la République tchèque|access-date=18 January 2020|archive-date=22 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322023005/https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/dossiers-pays/republique-tcheque/presentation-de-la-republique-tcheque/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region11         = {{RUS}}
| pop11            = 11,000<ref name="ONU-MPI, 2019"/>
| region12         = {{ITA}}
| pop12            = 11,000<ref name="ONU-MPI, 2019"/>
| region13         = {{ISR}}
| pop13            = 8,000<ref name="ONU-MPI, 2019"/>
| region14         = {{BRA}}
| pop14            = 5,000<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090126010348/http://epoca.globo.com/edic/214/soci1a.htm Czech in Brazil]</ref>
| region15         = {{ROU}}
| pop15            = 2,477<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://incont.stirileprotv.ro/infografice/evolutia-comunitatilor-etnice-in-romania-judetul-unde-sunt-cei-mai-putini-romani-12-6-din-populatia-totala.html|title=Evolutia comunitatilor etnice in Romania. Judetul unde sunt cei mai putini romani, 12,6% din populatia totala. Cine se afla la polul opus|access-date=18 September 2021|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120081559/https://incont.stirileprotv.ro/infografice/evolutia-comunitatilor-etnice-in-romania-judetul-unde-sunt-cei-mai-putini-romani-12-6-din-populatia-totala.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| region16         = {{POR}}
| pop16            = 736
| ref16            = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sef.pt/pt/Documents/RIFA2022%20vF2a.pdf|title=Sefstat}}</ref>
| region17         = {{KOR}}
| pop17            = 518
| ref17            = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://viewer.moj.go.kr/skin/doc.html?rs=/result/bbs/227&fn=temp_1729503242804100|title=2024년 9월 출입국외국인정책 통계월보}}</ref>
| region18         = {{UKR}}
| pop18            = 5,917-11,000{{cn|date=June 2025}}
| langs            = [[Czech language|Czech]]
| rels             = Traditionally [[Christianity|Christian]]<br />(Majority [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]],<ref name=Censuses>Official census data from the [[Czech Statistical Office]]:
* {{cite web|title=Obyvatelstvo podle náboženského vyznání a pohlaví podle výsledků sčítání lidu v letech 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991 a 2001|trans-title=Population by denomination and sex: as measured by 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991 and 2001 censuses|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/2008edicniplan.nsf/engt/24003E05ED/$File/4032080119.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110221195344/https://www.czso.cz/csu/2008edicniplan.nsf/engt/24003E05ED/$File/4032080119.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2011}}
* {{cite web|title=Obyvatelstvo podle náboženské víry a pohlaví podle výsledků sčítání lidu v letech 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991, 2001 a 2011|trans-title=Population by religious belief and sex by 1921, 1930, 1950, 1991, 2001 and 2011 censuses|url=https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/32846217/130055160118.xlsx/8da2b875-fd8c-4a7a-b697-4735cdeaf7f5?version=1.0|access-date=22 August 2020|archive-date=17 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170117194829/https://www.czso.cz/documents/10180/32846217/130055160118.xlsx/8da2b875-fd8c-4a7a-b697-4735cdeaf7f5?version=1.0|url-status=live}}
** {{cite web|title=2011 Census: Population by religious belief and by regions|url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_2_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_regions/$File/PVCR072_ENG.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131104224923/http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_2_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_regions/$File/PVCR072_ENG.pdf|archive-date=4 November 2013}}
** {{cite web|title=2011 Census: Population by religious belief and by municipality size groups|url=http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/$File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221184947/http://www.czso.cz/sldb2011/eng/redakce.nsf/i/tab_7_1_population_by_religious_belief_and_by_municipality_size_groups/$File/PVCR071_ENG.pdf|archive-date=21 February 2015}}</ref> minority [[Protestantism|Protestant]] and [[Czech and Slovak Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]])<br />Predominantly [[irreligious]] <br />(particularly [[Atheist]] and [[Agnostic]])<ref>{{cite web|title=Náboženská víra|url=https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/nabozenska-vira|work=Census 2021|publisher=[[Czech Statistical Office]]|language=cs|access-date=26 September 2022|archive-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122135853/https://www.czso.cz/csu/scitani2021/nabozenska-vira}}</ref>
| related          = Other [[West Slavs]]<br />([[Moravians]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Chodové]], [[Slovaks]], [[Silesians]] and [[Sorbs]])
| native_name      = {{langx|cs|Češi}}
| native_name_lang = cs
}}

The '''Czechs''' ({{langx|cs|Češi}}, {{IPA|cs|ˈtʃɛʃɪ|pron}}; singular '''Czech''', masculine: ''Čech'' {{IPA|cs|ˈtʃɛx|}}, singular feminine: ''Češka'' {{IPA|cs|ˈtʃɛʃka|}}), or the '''Czech people''' ({{lang|cs|Český lid}}), are a [[West Slavs|West Slavic]] [[ethnic group]] and a [[nation]] native to the [[Czech Republic]]<ref name="Czech Republic History">{{cite web |last1=Gawdiak |first1=Ihor |title=Czech Republic: Early History: First Political Units |url=http://countrystudies.us/czech-republic/4.htm |website=Country Studies |publisher=U.S. Library of Congress |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-date=15 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200815174257/http://countrystudies.us/czech-republic/4.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Central Europe]], who share a common [[Bohemia|ancestry]], [[Czech culture|culture]], [[History of the Czech lands|history]], and the [[Czech language]].

Ethnic Czechs were called '''Bohemians''' in [[English language|English]] until the early 20th century,<ref name="The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown">{{cite book |last1=Agnew |first1=Hugh |title=The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown |date=2013 |publisher=Hoover Press |isbn=978-0-8179-4493-3 |page=442 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vxaq_7TSWI4C |access-date=27 May 2020 |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928201250/https://books.google.com/books?id=Vxaq_7TSWI4C |url-status=live }}</ref> referring to the former name of their country, Bohemia, which in turn was adapted from the late [[Iron Age]] tribe of Celtic [[Boii]]. During the [[Migration Period]], West Slavic [[Bohemians (tribe)|tribes]] settled in the area, "assimilated the remaining Celtic and Germanic populations",{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} and formed a principality in the 9th century, which was initially part of [[Great Moravia]], in form of [[Duchy of Bohemia]] and later [[Kingdom of Bohemia]], the predecessors of the modern republic.

The [[Czech diaspora]] is found in notable numbers in the [[Czech American|United States]], [[Germany]], [[Czech Canadian|Canada]], [[Slovakia]], [[Austria]], the [[Czech British|United Kingdom]], [[Czechs in Argentina|Argentina]], [[Czech Australian|Australia]], [[Switzerland]], [[France]], [[Russia]], [[Italy]], [[Czech diaspora in Israel|Israel]], [[Czech Brazilians|Brazil]], and [[Czechs of Romania|Romania]] among others.

== Ethnology ==
{{See also|Name of the Czech Republic}}
The Czech ethnic group is part of the [[West Slavs|West Slavic]] subgroup of the larger Slavic ethno-linguistical group. The West Slavs have their origin in early Slavic tribes which settled in Central Europe after [[East Germanic tribes]] had left this area during the [[migration period]].<ref>{{cite book|last1= Kobyliński|first1= Zbigniew|chapter= The Slavs|editor1-last= McKitterick|editor1-first= Rosamond|editor1-link= Rosamond McKitterick|title= The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 1, C.500-c.700|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C|volume= 1, C.500-c.700|publisher= Cambridge University Press|date= 1995|page= 531|isbn= 978-0-521-36291-7|access-date= 28 February 2017|archive-date= 28 September 2023|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230928201330/https://books.google.com/books?id=JcmwuoTsKO0C|url-status= live}}</ref> The West Slavic tribe of Czechs settled in the area of [[Bohemia]] during the migration period, and assimilated the remaining Celtic and Germanic populations.<ref name="Historical Dictionary of the Czech State" /> In the 9th century the [[Duchy of Bohemia]], under the [[Přemyslid dynasty]], was formed, which had been part of [[Great Moravia]] under Svatopluk I. According to [[Slavic mythology|mythology]], the founding father of the Czech people was [[Forefather Čech]], who according to legend brought the tribe of Czechs into its land.

The Czechs are closely related to the neighbouring [[Slovaks]] (with whom they constituted [[Czechoslovakia]] 1918–1939, 1945–1992). The [[Czech–Slovak languages]] form a dialect continuum rather than being two clearly distinct languages.<ref name="KamusellaNomachi2016">{{cite book|author1=Tomasz Kamusella|author2=Motoki Nomachi|author3=Catherine Gibson|title=The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=01LeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA140|date=29 April 2016|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-1-137-34839-5|pages=140–|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-date=28 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928201250/https://books.google.com/books?id=01LeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA140#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> Czech cultural influence in Slovak culture is noted as having been much higher than the other way around.{{sfn|Berger|2003}} Czech (Slavic) people have a long history of coexistence with the Germanic people. In the 17th century, German replaced Czech in central and local administration; upper classes in Bohemia and Moravia were Germanized, and espoused a political identity (''{{lang|de|Landespatriotismus}}''), while Czech ethnic identity survived among the lower and lower-middle classes.<ref name="Fishman2001">{{cite book|author=Joshua A. Fishman|title=Handbook of Language & Ethnic Identity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ay0FmRjOLWMC&pg=PA320|date=25 January 2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-976139-5|pages=320–}}</ref> The [[Czech National Revival]] took place in the 18th and 19th centuries aiming to revive Czech language, culture and national identity.  The Czechs were the initiators of [[Pan-Slavism]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Hans Kohn|title=Pan-Slavism: its history and ideology|url=https://archive.org/details/panslavismitshis00kohn|url-access=registration|year=1953|publisher=University of Notre Dame Press}}</ref>

The Czech ethnonym (archaic ''{{lang|cs|Čechové}}'') was the name of a Slavic tribe in central Bohemia that subdued the surrounding tribes in the late 9th century and created the Czech/Bohemian state. The origin of the name of the tribe itself is unknown. According to legend, it comes from their leader [[Lech, Czech, and Rus|Čech]], who brought them to Bohemia. The exact etymology of ''Čech'' is uncertain, with most common derivation relating it to the root ''čel-'' (member of the people, kinsman).<ref>{{cite journal | url=http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320 | publisher=The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic | title=Původ jména Čech | trans-title=Origin of the name ''Čech'' | first=Jaromír | last=Spal | journal=Naše řeč (Our Speech) | pages=263–267 | volume=36 | issue=9–10 | year=1953 | language=cs | access-date=11 October 2012 | archive-date=9 December 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121209232303/http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=4320 | url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Cmejrkova2010">{{cite journal |last1=Čmejrková |first1=Světla |last2=Daneš |first2=František |year=2010 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2010_num_88_3_7799 |title=Czech |journal=[[Revue Belge de Philologie et d'Histoire]] |volume=88 |issue=3 |page=692 |doi=10.3406/rbph.2010.7799 |quote=The origin of the ethnonym ''Čech'' (''Česi'' or ''Čechové'' in plural) is not entirely clear.}}</ref><ref name="Dickins2011">{{cite journal |last1=Dickins |first1=Tom |year=2011 |url=https://wlv.openrepository.com/bitstream/handle/2436/621187/The%20Czech-Speaking%20Lands.pdf;jsessionid=3DD8A34AAC4E0F9B90130B3D79CE25CA?sequence=1 |title=The Czech-Speaking Lands, their Peoples and Contact Communities: Titles, Names and Ethnonyms |journal=[[The Slavonic and East European Review]] |volume=89 |issue=3 |page=402 |quote=As Spal has observed, the origin of ''Čech'' (Bohemian) is far from clear, but amongst the more plausible explanations is that it has the root ''čel'', as in ''čeleď'' (family), and also ''člověk'' (person).}}</ref><ref name="Rejzek2012">{{cite book |last=Rejzek |first=Jiří |date=2012 |orig-date=2001 |title=Český etymologický slovník |trans-title=Czech etymological lexicon |language=cs |location=Voznice |publisher=Leda |isbn=978-80-7335-296-7 |page=111}}</ref> The Czech ethnonym was adopted by the Moravians in the 19th century.<ref name="Kamusella2008">{{cite book|author=T. Kamusella|title=The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JzkWDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA501|date=16 December 2008|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan UK|isbn=978-0-230-58347-4|pages=501–}}</ref>

== Genetics ==
{{Further|Genetic history of Europe}}Czechs, like most Europeans, largely descend from three distinct lineages:<ref name="Indo-European"/> Mesolithic [[hunter-gatherer]]s, descended from a [[Early European modern humans|Cro-Magnon]] population that arrived in Europe about 45,000 years ago,<ref>{{cite news |first=Andrew |last=Curry |title=The first Europeans weren't who you might think |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/first-europeans-immigrants-genetic-testing-feature |work=National Geographic |date=August 2019 |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=6 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230306235330/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/first-europeans-immigrants-genetic-testing-feature }}</ref> [[Early European Farmers|Neolithic farmers]] who migrated from [[Anatolia]] during the [[Neolithic Revolution]] 9,000 years ago,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gibbons |first1=Ann |title=Thousands of horsemen may have swept into Bronze Age Europe, transforming the local population |journal=Science |date=21 February 2017 |url=https://www.science.org/content/article/thousands-horsemen-may-have-swept-bronze-age-europe-transforming-local-population |access-date=4 March 2023 |archive-date=25 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925154535/https://www.science.org/content/article/thousands-horsemen-may-have-swept-bronze-age-europe-transforming-local-population |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[Yamnaya culture|Yamnaya]] [[Western Steppe Herders|steppe pastoralists]] who expanded into Europe from the [[Pontic–Caspian steppe]] in the context of [[Indo-European migrations]] 5000 years ago.<ref name="Indo-European">{{Cite journal|last1=Haak |first1=Wolfgang |last2=Lazaridis |first2=Iosif |last3=Patterson |first3=Nick |last4=Rohland |first4=Nadin |last5=Mallick |first5=Swapan |last6=Llamas |first6=Bastien |last7=Brandt |first7=Guido |last8=Nordenfelt |first8=Susanne |last9=Harney |first9=Eadaoin |last10=Stewardson |first10=Kristin |last11=Fu |first11=Qiaomei |date=11 June 2015 |title=Massive migration from the steppe was a source for Indo-European languages in Europe |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=522 |issue=7555 |pages=207–211 |doi=10.1038/nature14317 |issn=0028-0836 |pmc=5048219 |pmid=25731166 |bibcode=2015Natur.522..207H |arxiv=1502.02783}}</ref>

The population of the Czech lands has been influenced by different [[Pre-modern human migration|human migrations]] that wide-crossed Europe over time. In their [[Y-DNA haplogroup]]s, which are inherited along the male line, Czechs have shown a mix of Eastern and Western European traits. Studies on 1750 and 257 samples found out frequenices of [[Haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA)|R1a]] (34.2-36.94%), [[Haplogroup R1b (Y-DNA)|R1b]] (24.78%-28.0%), [[Haplogroup I-M438|I2]] (11.3%), [[Haplogroup I-M253|I1]] (8.33%), [[Haplogroup E (Y-DNA)|E]] (5.1-6.63%), [[Haplogroup G (Y-DNA)|G]] (5.1%), [[Haplogroup J2 (Y-DNA)|J2]] (3.5%), [[Haplogroup J1 (Y-DNA)|J1]] (0-2%), and [[Haplogroup N (Y-DNA)|N]] (1.6%).<ref name="Luca2007">{{cite journal | last1 = Luca | first1 = F. | last2 = Di Giacomo | first2 = F. | last3 = Benincasa | first3 = T. | display-authors = et al | year = 2007 | title = Y-Chromosomal Variation in the Czech Republic | url = https://art.torvergata.it/bitstream/2108/35058/1/Luca_AJPA_2007.pdf | journal = American Journal of Physical Anthropology | volume = 132 | issue = 1 | pages = 132–139 | doi = 10.1002/ajpa.20500 | pmid = 17078035 | bibcode = 2007AJPA..132..132L | hdl = 2108/35058 | hdl-access = free | access-date = 3 September 2019 | archive-date = 31 July 2022 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220731080604/https://art.torvergata.it/bitstream/2108/35058/1/Luca_AJPA_2007.pdf | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Zastera2010">{{cite journal | last1 = Zastera | first1 = Jan | last2 = Roewer | first2 = Lutz | last3 = Willuweit | first3 = Sascha | display-authors = et al | year = 2010 | title = Assembly of a large Y-STR haplotype database for the Czech population andinvestigation of its substructure | url = https://www.researchgate.net/publication/41848265 | journal = Forensic Science International: Genetics | volume = 4 | issue = 3 | pages = e75–78 | doi = 10.1016/j.fsigen.2009.06.005 | pmid = 20215022 }}</ref><ref name="Kushniarevich2015">{{cite journal|author=A. Kushniarevich|year=2015|title=Genetic Heritage of the Balto-Slavic Speaking Populations: A Synthesis of Autosomal, Mitochondrial and Y-Chromosomal Data|journal=[[PLOS One]]|volume=10|issue=9|article-number=e0135820|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0135820|pmid=26332464|pmc=4558026|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1035820K|display-authors=etal|doi-access=free}}</ref> The haplogroup R1a is predominantly represented by its more Western Slavic clade R1a-M458 (>30%) as more Eastern Slavic clade R-M558 is in a small minority (<6%).<ref name="Kushniarevich2015"/><ref>{{Citation |last1=Underhill |first1=Peter A. |year=2015 |title=The phylogenetic and geographic structure of Y-chromosome haplogroup R1a |journal=European Journal of Human Genetics |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=124–131 |doi=10.1038/ejhg.2014.50 |pmid=24667786 |pmc=4266736}}</ref> Based on haplotype similarity, Czechs are most similar to neighboring [[Slovaks]], but although "a sharp genetic border was found between Poland and Germany, the frequency distribution of haplotypes in the Czech Republic and its neighbours resembles far more a smooth cline than a sharp border".<ref name="Zastera2010"/><ref name="Kushniarevich2015"/> A [[mtDNA]] study of 179 individuals from Western Bohemia showed that 3% had East Eurasian lineages that perhaps entered the gene pool through admixture with Central Asian nomadic tribes in the early Middle Ages.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Malyarchuk|display-authors=et al|title=Mitochondrial DNA Variability in the Czech Population, with Application to the Ethnic History of Slavs|journal=Human Biology|volume=78|issue=6|doi=10.1353/hub.2007.0014|pmid=17564247|year=2006|pages=681–695|s2cid=18334288}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Duchy of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire in 11th century.svg|thumb|[[Duchy of Bohemia]], the early form of the Czech state pictured in the 11th century within the [[Holy Roman Empire]]]]

The population of the Czech Republic descends from diverse peoples of [[Slavs|Slavic]], [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] origin.<ref name="Research shows only one third of Czechs have Slavic roots – press">{{cite news |title=Research shows only one third of Czechs have Slavic roots |url=https://brnodaily.com/2017/10/27/breaking-news/research-shows-only-one-third-of-czechs-have-slavic-roots-press/ |access-date=27 May 2020 |agency=Czech News Agency (ČTK) |website=Brno Daily |date=27 October 2017 |archive-date=27 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127063141/https://www.brnodaily.com/2017/10/27/breaking-news/research-shows-only-one-third-of-czechs-have-slavic-roots-press/ }}</ref><ref name="Historical Dictionary of the Czech State" /><ref name="RadioPrague2007" /><ref>Bohemia and Poland. Chapter 20.pp 512-513. [in:] Timothy Reuter. The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 900 – c. 1024. 2000</ref> Presence of West Slavs in the 6th century during the [[Migration Period]] has been documented on the Czech territory.<ref name="Historical Dictionary of the Czech State" /> Slavs [[Slavic settlement of the Eastern Alps|settled]] in [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]] and [[Austria]] sometime during the 6th or 7th centuries,<ref>The exact dating of Slavic settlement is a matter of dispute amongst scholars. See e.g. Curta ("The Slavs in Bohemia: A Response to my critics; 2009") who favours a 7th-century settlement versus Nada Profantova, who argues a 6th-century settlement</ref> and "assimilated the remaining [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]] populations".<ref name="Historical Dictionary of the Czech State" /><ref>Jaroslav Jirik "Bohemian Barbarians. Bohemia in late Antiquity", in ''Neglected Barbarians'' Brepols 2010{{page needed|date=February 2017}}</ref> According to a popular [[mythology|myth]], the Slavs came with [[Forefather Čech]] who settled at the [[Říp]] Mountain.

During the 7th century, the Frankish merchant [[Samo]], supporting the Slavs fighting against nearby settled [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]], became the ruler of the first known Slav state in Central Europe, [[Samo's Empire]]. The principality [[Great Moravia]], controlled by the [[House of Mojmir|Moymir dynasty]], arose in the 8th century and reached its zenith in the 9th (during the reign of [[Svatopluk I of Moravia]]) when it held off the influence of the Franks. Great Moravia was Christianized, the crucial role played [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] mission of [[Cyril and Methodius]]. The [[Duchy of Bohemia]] emerged in the late 9th century. In 880, [[Prague Castle]] was constructed by [[Borivoj I, Duke of Bohemia|Prince Bořivoj]], founder of the [[Přemyslid dynasty]] and the city of [[Prague]] was established. [[Vratislaus II of Bohemia|Vratislav II]] was the first Czech king in 1085 and the duchy was raised to a hereditary [[Monarchy|kingdom]] under [[Ottokar I of Bohemia|Ottokar I]] in 1198.

The second half of the 13th century was a period of advancing [[German diaspora|German immigration]] into the [[Czech lands]]. The number of Czechs who have at least partly German ancestry today probably runs into hundreds of thousands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/27184|title=Ethnic German Minorities in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia|website=Radio.cz|date=23 April 2002|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=26 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126093018/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/27184|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Habsburg]] Monarchy focused much of its power on religious wars against the Protestants. While these religious wars were taking place, the Czech estates revolted against Habsburg from 1546 to 1547 but were ultimately defeated.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/all-about-czech-history/the-habsburg-monarchy-and-rudolph-ii/|title=The Habsburg Monarchy and Rudolph II|website=Czech.cz|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-date=10 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010121551/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/all-about-czech-history/the-habsburg-monarchy-and-rudolph-ii/}}</ref>
{{Czechs}}
[[File:Ottův slovník naučný - 17 České kroje - 2.jpg|thumb|Czech traditional costumes]]
[[Defenestrations of Prague]] in 1618, signaled an open revolt by the Bohemian estates against the Habsburgs and started the [[Thirty Years' War]]. After the [[Battle of White Mountain]] in 1620, all Czech lands were declared hereditary property of the Habsburg family. The German language was made equal to the Czech language.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Czech patriotic authors tend to call the following period, from 1620 to 1648 until the late 18th century, the "Dark Age". It is characterized by devastation by foreign troops; [[Germanization]]; and economic and political decline. It is estimated that the population of the [[Czech lands]] declined by a third.{{sfn|Agnew|2004|p=72}}

The 18th and 19th century is characterized by the [[Czech National Revival]], focusing to revive Czech culture and national identity.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Since the turn of the 20th century, Chicago is the city with the third largest Czech population, after [[Prague]] and [[Vienna]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|first=Alicia|last=Cozine|url=http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/153.html|title=Czechs and Bohemians|encyclopedia=The Electronic Encyclopedia of Chicago|date=2005|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053804/https://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/153.html|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/3586 Czech and Slovak roots in Vienna] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221406/http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/3586 |date=12 May 2014 }}, wieninternational.at</ref>

During World War I, [[Czechoslovak Legions]] fought in France, Italy and Russia against the [[Central Powers]]. In 1918 the independent state of [[Czechoslovakia]] was proclaimed. Czechs formed the leading class in the new state emerging from the remnants of the [[Austria-Hungary|Austrian-Hungarian Monarchy]]. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-10-27 |title=On This Day, in 1918: the Independence of Czechoslovakia Was Proclaimed |url=https://praguemorning.cz/independence-of-czechoslovakia-1918/ |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-16 |website=Prague Morning |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Birth of Czechoslovakia |url=https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/birth-czechoslovakia |url-status=live |access-date=2025-11-16 |publisher=Rudolph, Joseph R., Jr. @EBSCO |language=en}}</ref> 

After 1933, Czechoslovakia remained the only democracy in central and eastern Europe. However, in 1938 the [[Munich Agreement]] severed the [[Sudetenland]], with a considerable Czech minority, from Czechoslovakia, and in 1939 the [[Nazi Germany|German Nazi regime]] established the [[Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia]] for ''[[Second Czechoslovak Republic|Resttschechei]]'' (the rump Czech state<ref>Gruner, Wolf. 2015. Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. In: Wolf Grüner & Jörg Osterloh (eds.), ''The Greater German Reich and the Jews: Nazi Persecution Policies in the Annexed Territories 1935–1945'', pp. 99–135. Transl. Bernard Heise. New York: Berghahn, p. 103.</ref><ref>Ramsden, John. 2002. ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century British Politics''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. 450.</ref><ref>Rothschild, Joseph. 1974. ''East Central Europe between the Two World Wars.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 366.</ref>). [[Emil Hácha]] became president of the protectorate under Nazi domination, which only allowed pro-Nazi Czech associations and tended to stress ties of the Czechs with the Bohemian [[Germans]] and other parts of the German people, in order to facilitate assimilation by [[Germanization]]. In [[Lidice]], [[Ležáky]] and [[Luká|Javoříčko]] the Nazi authorities committed [[war crime]]s against the local Czech population. On 2 May 1945, the [[Prague Uprising]] reached its peak, supported by the [[Russian Liberation Army]]. The post-war [[expulsion of Germans from Czechoslovakia]] and the immediate reprisals against Germans and Nazi collaborators by [[Czech resistance]] and the Czechoslovak state authorities, made Czechs—especially in the early 1950s—settle alongside Slovaks and [[Romani people]] in the former lands of the [[Sudeten Germans]], who had been deported to [[East Germany]], [[West Germany]] and [[Austria]] according to the [[Potsdam Conference]] and [[Yalta Conference]].

The [[Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia]] in 1968 was followed by a wave of emigration, unseen before and stopped shortly after in 1969 (estimate: 70,000 immediately, 300,000 in total),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britskelisty.cz/9808/19980821h.html|title="Day when tanks destroyed Czech dreams of Prague Spring" (''Den, kdy tanky zlikvidovaly české sny Pražského jara'') at Britské Listy (British Letters)|website=Britskelisty.cz|access-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928050554/http://www.britskelisty.cz/9808/19980821h.html|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> typically of highly qualified people.

Tens of thousands of Czechs had repatriated from [[Volhynia]] and [[Banat]] after World War II. Since the 1990s, the Czech Republic has been working to repatriate [[Romania]] and [[Kazakhstan]]'s ethnic Czechs.<ref>[http://www.radio.cz/en/article/61781 The Czech ethnic minority in Romania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219224422/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/61781 |date=19 December 2008 }}, 29 December 2004 – Radio Prague</ref><ref>[http://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/10/31/home-stretch.php Government completes 13-year program to integrate Kazakh Czechs] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220116195934/https://www.praguepost.com/articles/2007/10/31/home-stretch.php |date=16 January 2022 }}, The Prague Post, 31 October 2007</ref>

== Notable people ==
[[File:Map of Czech language.svg|thumb|Areas where [[Czech language]] is spoken]]
{{See also|List of Czechs}}

=== Historical figures ===
The last five Přemyslids were kings: [[Ottokar I of Bohemia]], [[Wenceslaus I of Bohemia]], [[Ottokar II of Bohemia]], [[Wenceslaus II of Bohemia]] and [[Wenceslaus III of Bohemia]]. The most successful and influential of all Czech kings was [[Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles IV]], who also became the [[Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech-history/king-charles-IV.html|title=Charles IV (Karel IV.) – Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor|website=Myczechrepublic.com|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402073527/http://www.myczechrepublic.com/czech-history/king-charles-IV.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Luxembourg dynasty]] represents the heights of Czech (Bohemian) statehood territorial and influence as well as advancement in many areas of human endeavors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.travel.cz/guide/263/index_en.html|title=Travel guide – Luxembourg dynasty (1310–1378) – accommodation in hotels and apartments – Travel.cz|website=Travel.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=5 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105034105/http://www.travel.cz/guide/263/index_en.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Many people are considered national heroes and cultural icons, many national stories concern their lives. [[Jan Hus]] was a religious reformist from the 15th century and spiritual father of the [[Hussite]] Movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/margin/hus2.htm|title=Jan Hus|website=2.kenyon.edu|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523180117/http://www2.kenyon.edu/projects/margin/hus2.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jan Žižka]] and [[Prokop the Great]] were leaders of hussite army, [[George of Poděbrady]] was a hussite king. [[Albrecht von Wallenstein]] was a notable military leader during the Thirty Years' War. The ''teacher of nations'' [[John Amos Comenius|Jan Amos Komenský]] is also considered a notable figure in Czech history.<ref>[http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/McMahonComenius.htm Jan Amos Comenius<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080115005439/http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/McMahonComenius.htm |date=15 January 2008 }}</ref> [[Joseph Radetzky von Radetz]] was an Austrian general staff during the later period of the Napoleonic Wars. [[Josef Jungmann]] is often credited for expanding the modern Czech language, and preventing its extinction.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.vitejte.cz/objekt.php?oid=4378&j=en |title = VITEJTE.CZ: Josef Jungmann (1773-1847), Josef Jungmann (1773-1847), Jo… |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070801121954/http://www.vitejte.cz/objekt.php?oid=4378&j=en |archive-date=1 August 2007 }}</ref> The most famous Czech historian was [[František Palacký]], often-called "father of nation".

=== Modern politicians ===
One of the most notable figures are founders of Czechoslovakia, modern state of independence of Czech and Slovak nations, Presidents [[Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk]] and [[Edvard Beneš]], who was also leader of exile government in [[World War II]]. [[Ludvík Svoboda]] was a head of the Czechoslovak military units on the Eastern Front during the World War II (later president of [[Czechoslovakia]]). The key figures of the Communist regime were [[Klement Gottwald]], [[Antonín Zápotocký]], [[Antonín Novotný]] (and Slovak [[Gustáv Husák]]), the most famous victims of this regime were [[Milada Horáková]] and [[Rudolf Slánský]]. [[Jan Palach]] committed self-immolation as a political protest against the end of the [[Prague Spring]] resulting from the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia by the [[Warsaw Pact]] armies.

Another notable politician after the fall of the communist regime is [[Václav Havel]], last President of Czechoslovakia and first [[List of presidents of the Czech Republic|President of the Czech Republic]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vhavel.htm |title=Václav Havel |website=Books and Writers (kirjasto.sci.fi) |first=Petri |last=Liukkonen |publisher=[[Kuusankoski]] Public Library |location=Finland |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104053608/http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/vhavel.htm |archive-date=4 January 2008 }}</ref> The first directly elected president is [[Miloš Zeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36022|title=VACLAV HAVEL|website=Radio.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=24 June 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090624031536/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/36022|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Czech Republic has had multiple [[List of Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic|Prime Ministers]], the first of which were future presidents [[Václav Klaus]] and [[Miloš Zeman]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.vlada.cz/cz/clenove-vlady/historie-minulych-vlad/rejstrik-predsedu-vlad/default.htm|title=Rejstřík předsedů vlád|website=Vlada.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=19 June 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120619000424/http://www.vlada.cz/cz/clenove-vlady/historie-minulych-vlad/rejstrik-predsedu-vlad/default.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Other Prime Ministers of the Czech Republic were conservative politicians, such as [[Mirek Topolánek]], [[Petr Nečas]], and social democratic such as [[Vladimír Špidla]], [[Jiří Paroubek]], [[Bohuslav Sobotka]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/29360|title=Radio Prague – Milos Zeman – outgoing prime minister|website=Radio.cz|date=19 June 2002|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=26 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126093023/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/29360|url-status=live}}</ref>

Diplomat [[Madeleine Albright]] was of Czech origin and spoke Czech. Other well-known Czech diplomats were [[Jan Masaryk]] or [[Jiří Dienstbier]].

=== Science ===
Czechs established themselves mainly in Biology, Chemistry, Philology and Egyptology.
* Chemistry – [[Jaroslav Heyrovský]] (Nobel Prize 1959), [[Otto Wichterle]], [[Zdenko Hans Skraup]], [[Antonín Holý]]
* Biology – [[Johann Gregor Mendel]], [[Jan Evangelista Purkyně]], [[Carl Borivoj Presl]], [[Jan Svatopluk Presl]], [[Karel Domin]], [[Kaspar Maria von Sternberg]], [[Friedrich von Berchtold]], [[Ferdinand Stoliczka]], [[Wenceslas Bojer]], [[Alberto Vojtěch Frič]], [[August Carl Joseph Corda]]
* Mathematics – [[Bernard Bolzano]], [[Eduard Čech]], [[Miroslav Katětov]], [[Petr Vopěnka]], [[Václav Chvátal]], [[Otakar Borůvka]], [[Vojtěch Jarník]], [[Kurt Gödel]]
* Physics and engineering – [[Ignaz von Born]], [[František Běhounek]], [[Jan Marek Marci]], [[Josef Ressel]], [[František Křižík]], [[Vincenc Strouhal]], [[Prokop Diviš]], [[František Josef Gerstner]], [[Ernst Mach]]
* Astronomy – [[Antonín Mrkos]], [[Antonín Bečvář]]
* Astronautics – [[Vladimír Remek]]
* Philology – [[Bedřich Hrozný]], [[Josef Dobrovský]], [[Josef Jungmann]], [[Vilém Mathesius]], [[Julius Pokorny]], [[René Wellek]], [[Jan Mukařovský]]
* Medicine – [[Carl von Rokitansky]], [[Joseph Škoda]], [[Jan Janský]]
* Archeology – [[Pavel Pavel]], [[Lubor Niederle]], [[Karel Absolon]], [[Miroslav Verner]]
* Anthropology and ethnography – [[Aleš Hrdlička]], [[Emil Holub]], [[Alois Musil]]
* History – [[František Palacký]], [[Bohuslav Balbín]], [[Konstantin Jireček]], [[Max Dvořák]], [[Miroslav Hroch]]
* Philosophy – [[Edmund Husserl]],  [[Jan Patočka]], [[Karel Kosík]], [[Egon Bondy]], [[Ladislav Klíma]]
* Psychology – [[Max Wertheimer]],  [[Stanislav Grof]], [[Sigmund Freud]]
* Theology – [[Jan Hus]], [[Jerome of Prague]], [[Petr Chelčický]], [[Jan Rokycana]], [[Tomáš Špidlík]], [[Tomáš Halík]]
* Modern occultism – [[Franz Bardon]]
* Pedagogy – [[Jan Amos Komenský]]
* Folklorists – [[František Ladislav Čelakovský]], [[Karel Jaromír Erben]]
* Literary theory – [[Karel Teige]], [[Pavel Janáček]]

=== Sports ===
Sports have also been a contributor to famous Czechs especially [[tennis]], [[Association football|football]], [[ice hockey|hockey]], and [[Athletics (sport)|athletics]]:
* Tennis – [[Jaroslav Drobný]], [[Jan Kodeš]], [[Martina Navratilova|Martina Navrátilová]], [[Ivan Lendl]], [[Hana Mandlíková]], [[Jana Novotná]], [[Helena Suková]], [[Petr Korda]], [[Petra Kvitová]],<ref name="Czechsite">{{cite web|url=http://www.czechsite.com/czechs.html|title=CzechSite: Famous Czechs|website=Czechsite.com|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=11 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111175251/http://czechsite.com/czechs.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Tomáš Berdych]], [[Karolína Plíšková]], [[Barbora Krejčíková]]
* Football – [[Oldřich Nejedlý]], [[Antonín Puč]], [[František Plánička]], [[Josef Bican]], [[Josef Masopust]], [[Ivo Viktor]], [[Antonín Panenka]], [[Zdeněk Nehoda]], [[Tomáš Skuhravý]], [[Pavel Nedvěd]], [[Karel Poborský]], [[Jan Koller]], [[Milan Baroš]], [[Marek Jankulovski]], [[Vladimír Šmicer]], [[Tomáš Rosický]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/article/92571|title=Radio Prague – Antonin Panenka – the footballer Pele described as "either a genius or a madman"|website=Radio.cz|date=20 June 2007|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=11 August 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100811005118/http://www.radio.cz/en/article/92571|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| last = Josef
| first = Ladislav
| title = Masopust's memory lingers on
| url = http://www.uefa.com/uefa/history/associationweeks/association=58837/newsId=144731.html
| access-date = 1 February 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071222171333/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/history/associationweeks/association%3D58837/newsId%3D144731.html
| archive-date = 22 December 2007
}}</ref> [[Petr Čech]]
* Hockey – [[Jaromír Jágr]], [[Dominik Hašek]], [[Vladimír Růžička]], [[Jiří Šlégr]], [[Ivan Hlinka]], [[Jiří Holeček]], [[Jaroslav Pouzar]], [[Jiří Hrdina]], [[Petr Sýkora]], [[Patrik Eliáš]], [[Bobby Holík]], [[Michal Rozsíval]], [[Milan Hejduk]], [[Petr Nedvěd]], [[Martin Straka]], [[Václav Prospal]], [[Jakub Voráček]], [[Tomáš Plekanec]], [[František Kaberle]], [[David Výborný]], [[Pavel Patera]], [[Martin Procházka]], [[David Krejčí]], [[David Pastrňák]], [[Filip Chytil]]
* Athletics – [[Emil Zátopek]], [[Dana Zátopková]], [[Jarmila Kratochvílová]], [[Roman Šebrle]], [[Jan Železný]], [[Barbora Špotáková]]
* Gymnastics – [[Věra Čáslavská]], [[Eva Bosáková]], [[Vlasta Děkanová]], [[Hana Říčná]], [[Věra Černá]]
* Chess – [[Wilhelm Steinitz]], [[Vera Menchik|Věra Menčíková]], [[Richard Réti]], [[Salo Flohr]], [[David Navara]]
* Others –  [[Martina Sáblíková]], [[Martin Doktor]], [[Štěpánka Hilgertová]], [[Josef Holeček (canoeist)|Josef Holeček]], [[Kateřina Neumannová]], [[Filip Jícha]], [[Jiří Zídek Sr.]], [[Jan Veselý]], [[Ester Ledecká]]

=== The arts ===
==== Music ====
[[File:Dvorak Bedrich Smetana and friends in 1865.jpg|thumb|''[[Bedřich Smetana]] Among his Friends'', 1865; oil painting by [[František Dvořák (painter)|František Dvořák]]]]
[[Czech music]] had its first significant pieces created in the 11th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/music/history/history-of-czech-music-2374|title=EU2009.cz – History of Czech Music|website=Eu2009.cz|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=15 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715004439/http://www.eu2009.cz/en/czech-republic/music/history/history-of-czech-music-2374/|url-status=live}}</ref> The great progress of Czech artificial music began with the end of the [[Renaissance]] and the early [[Baroque era]], concretely in works of [[Adam Václav Michna z Otradovic]], where the specific character of Czech music was rising up by using the influence of genuine [[traditional music|folk music]]. This tradition determined the development of Czech music and has remained the main sign in the works of great Czech composers of almost all eras – [[Jan Dismas Zelenka]] and [[Josef Mysliveček]] in [[Baroque (music)|Baroque]], [[Bedřich Smetana]] and [[Antonín Dvořák]] in [[Romanticism (music)|Romanticism]], [[Leoš Janáček]], [[Bohuslav Martinů]] and [[Josef Suk (composer)|Josef Suk]] in [[modern classical]] or [[Petr Eben]] and [[Miloslav Kabeláč]] in [[contemporary classical music]].

Czech musicians also played an important role in the development of European music. [[Johann Stamitz|Jan Václav Antonín Stamic]] in 18th-century contributed to the creation of [[Classicism]] in music<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czechmusic.net/klasika/stamic_jv.htm|title=Jan Václav Stamic|website=Czechmusic.net|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=13 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313035536/http://www.czechmusic.net/klasika/stamic_jv.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> by innovations of compositional forms and the founding of the [[Mannheim school]]. Similarly, [[Anton Reicha|Antonín Rejcha]]'s experiments prefigured new compositional techniques in the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.php|title=Classical Net – Basic Repertoire List – Reicha|website=Classical.net|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=21 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221024402/http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/reicha.php|url-status=live}}</ref> The influence of Czech musicians expanded beyond the borders of the [[Europe]]an continent, when [[Antonín Dvořák]] created a new [[United States|American]] classical music style, using the richness of ethnic music of that country during his mission in the [[US]]. The contribution of [[Alois Hába]] to [[microtonal music]] in the 20th century must be also mentioned.

Czech music reached as far as [[Qing China]]. [[Karel Slavíček]] was a [[Jesuit]] missionary, scientist and [[sinologist]] who was introduced to the [[Kangxi Emperor]] on 3 February 1717, in [[Beijing]]. The emperor favored him and employed him as court musician. (Slavíček was a [[Spinet]] player).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cinsky.cz/index.php?page=clanek&id=480&lang=cs|title=Český jezuita na čínském dvoře|date=26 February 2009|access-date=6 February 2011|work=cinsky.cz|archive-date=29 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029171429/http://www.cinsky.cz/index.php?page=clanek&id=480&lang=cs|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some notable modern Czech musicians are US-based composer and guitarist [[Ivan Král]], musician and composer [[Jan Hammer]] and the rock band [[The Plastic People of the Universe]] which played an important part in the [[Prague underground (culture)|underground]] movement during the communist regime.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

The Czech Republic first entered the [[Eurovision Song Contest]] in [[Eurovision Song Contest 2007|2007]]. Czech performer qualified for the grand final for the first time in [[Eurovision Song Contest 2016|2016]] when singer [[Gabriela Gunčíková]] finished in 25th place. In [[Eurovision Song Contest 2018|2018]] the singer [[Mikolas Josef]] reached the 6th place in the contest being the best result of the Czech Republic until today.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

Other important names: [[Franz Benda]], [[Rafael Kubelík]], [[Jan Ladislav Dussek]], [[Vítězslav Novák]], [[Zdeněk Fibich]], [[Jan Kubelík]], [[Jiří Antonín Benda]], [[Julius Fučík (composer)|Julius Fučík]], [[Karel Svoboda (composer)|Karel Svoboda]], [[Karel Kryl]], [[Václav Neumann]], [[Václav Talich]], [[František Xaver Richter]], [[Jan Křtitel Vaňhal]], [[Vojtěch Živný]], [[Josef Bohuslav Foerster]], [[Magdalena Kožená]], [[Karel Ančerl]], [[Ema Destinnová]], [[Maria Jeritza]], [[František Xaver Brixi]], [[Jiří Bělohlávek]], [[Oskar Nedbal]], [[Karel Gott]].<ref>{{cite web
| title = Karel Gott
| url = http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/famous-czechs-of-the-past-century/karel-gott/
| publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
| access-date = 1 February 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080101232540/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/famous-czechs-of-the-past-century/karel-gott/ |archive-date = 1 January 2008}}</ref>

==== Literature ====
[[Jaroslav Seifert]] was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Literature]] for his poetry.<ref name="Czechsite" /> [[Božena Němcová]] has become a cultural icon and gained much fame for her book ''Babička ([[The Grandmother]])''.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Partridge
| first = James
| title = Book Review: The Grandmother
| url = http://www.ce-review.org/99/7/books7_partridge.html
| publisher = Central Europe Review
| access-date = 10 February 2008
| archive-date = 23 September 2015
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150923201638/http://www.ce-review.org/99/7/books7_partridge.html
| url-status = usurped
}}</ref> Other important Czech writers include [[Milan Kundera]], [[Karel Čapek]], [[Jaroslav Hašek]], [[Jan Neruda]], [[Franz Kafka]], [[Bohumil Hrabal]], [[Viktor Dyk]], [[Cosmas of Prague|Kosmas]], [[Pavel Kohout]], [[Alois Jirásek]], [[Josef Škvorecký]], [[Karel Jaromír Erben]], [[Jiří Wolker]], [[Karel Hynek Mácha]], [[Vítězslav Nezval]], [[Arnošt Lustig]], [[Jaroslav Vrchlický]], [[Karel Havlíček Borovský]], [[Ivan Klíma]], [[Egon Erwin Kisch]], [[Vladimír Holan]], [[Julius Zeyer]] or [[Svatopluk Čech]]. From contemporary Czech writers can be mentioned [[Jáchym Topol]], [[Patrik Ouředník]], [[Michal Viewegh]] or [[Daniela Hodrová]]. Important playwrights were Karel Čapek, [[František Langer]] or [[Josef Kajetán Tyl]]. Strong was also the theatrical avant-garde ([[Jan Werich]], [[Jiří Voskovec]], [[Emil František Burian]]). Known journalists were [[Julius Fučík (journalist)|Julius Fučík]], [[Milena Jesenská]] or [[Ferdinand Peroutka]].

==== Visual arts ====
[[File:Slovane v pravlasti 81x61m.jpg|thumb|[[The Slav Epic]] by [[Alfons Mucha]]]][[Mikoláš Aleš]] was a painter, known for redesigning the [[Prague National Theatre|Prague National Theater]].<ref>{{cite web
| last = Tyman
| first = Jaroslav
| title = Mikoláš Aleš
| url = http://www.mikolasales.org/
| access-date = 11 February 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090714224125/http://www.mikolasales.org/
| archive-date = 14 July 2009
}}</ref> [[Alphonse Mucha]] was an influential artist in the [[Art Nouveau]] movement of the [[Edwardian Era|Edwardian]] period. [[František Kupka]] was a pioneer and co-founder of the [[abstract art]] movement. Other well-known painters are [[Josef Čapek]], [[Josef Lada]], [[Theodoric of Prague]], [[Wenceslaus Hollar]], [[Toyen]], [[Jan Kupecký]], [[Petr Brandl]], [[Vladimír Vašíček]], [[Václav Brožík]], [[Josef Mánes]], [[Karel Škréta]] or [[Max Švabinský]]. Renowned sculptors were [[Josef Václav Myslbek]] or [[Matyáš Bernard Braun]], photographers [[Jan Saudek]], [[Josef Sudek]], [[František Drtikol]] or [[Josef Koudelka]], illustrators [[Zdeněk Burian]] or [[Adolf Born]], architects [[Jan Kotěra]] or [[Josef Gočár]]. [[Jiří Kylián]] was an important ballet choreographer.

==== Film ====
Film director [[Miloš Forman]], known best for his movie, ''[[One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)|One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest]]'' is of Czech origin and started his career in Czechoslovakia.<ref>{{cite web
| last = Erickson
| first = Hal
| title = Milos Forman, biography
| url = http://www.milosforman.com/bio.html
| website = Allmovie
| access-date = 10 February 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080223003850/http://www.milosforman.com/bio.html
| archive-date = 23 February 2008
}}</ref> Forman was a member of the so-called [[Czech New Wave]]. Other members included [[Jiří Menzel]] ([[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Oscar]] 1967), [[Ivan Passer]], [[Věra Chytilová]] and [[Elmar Klos]] (Oscar 1965). Also the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was awarded to [[Jan Svěrák]] (1996). The influential [[surrealist]] filmmaker and animator [[Jan Švankmajer]] was born in [[Prague]] and has resided in the Czech Republic throughout his life. In the field of animation and puppet film famous people include [[Zdeněk Miler]], [[Karel Zeman]] and [[Jiří Trnka]].

Actors [[Zdeněk Svěrák]], [[Vlastimil Brodský]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/566.cfm|title=Vlastimil Brodsky – Czech Film|website=Worldpress.org|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402105030/http://www.worldpress.org/Europe/566.cfm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Vladimír Menšík]],<ref>{{cite web
| title = Czech-Slovak film Database, Vladimír Menšík
| url = http://www.csfd.cz/herec/1548-mensik-vladimir/
| publisher = POMO Media Group
| access-date = 11 February 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080103080157/http://www.csfd.cz/herec/1548-mensik-vladimir/
| archive-date = 3 January 2008
}}</ref> [[Libuše Šafránková]] or [[Karel Roden]] have also made a mark in modern Czech history. The most successful Czech erotic actress is [[Silvia Saint]].

==== Modeling ====
The first Czech models have made a breakthrough in the international modeling were [[Paulina Porizkova]] or [[Ivana Trump]]. After the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia many other models succeeded: [[Karolína Kurková]], [[Eva Herzigová]], [[Taťána Kuchařová]], [[Petra Němcová]] and [[Daniela Peštová]].{{cn|date=June 2025}}

=== Saints ===
[[File:St. John of Nepomuk in Divina.jpg|thumb|upright|[[John of Nepomuk|St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký)]]]]
Czech culture involves many saints,<ref>{{cite book
| last = Maurice
| first = Edmund
| title = The story of Bohemia from the earliest times to the fall of national independence in 1620;: With a short summary of later events
| year = 1908
| publisher = Fisher, Unwin }}</ref> most notably [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia|St. Wenceslaus (Václav)]], patron of the Czech nation,<ref>{{cite web
| last = Mershman
| first = Francis
| title = St. Wenceslaus
| url = http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15587b.htm
| publisher = Kevin Knight
| access-date = 10 February 2008
| archive-date = 29 September 2022
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220929195555/https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15587b.htm
| url-status = live
}}</ref> [[John of Nepomuk|St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký)]],<ref>{{cite web
| last = Krčmář
| first = Luděk
| title = St. John of Nepomuk – life
| url = http://www.sjn.cz/eng/st_john.htm
| publisher = MultiMedia Activity
| access-date = 10 February 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094235/http://www.sjn.cz/eng/st_john.htm
| archive-date = 29 September 2007
}}</ref> [[Adalbert of Prague|St. Adalbert (Vojtěch)]],<ref>Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. ''The Penguin Dictionary of Saints''. 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. {{ISBN|0-14-051312-4}}.</ref> [[Procopius of Sázava|Saint Procopius]] or [[Agnes of Bohemia|St. Agnes of Bohemia (Anežka Česká)]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blessed-gerard.org/redstar.htm|title=Order of the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star|website=Blessed-gerard.org|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235738/http://blessed-gerard.org/redstar.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Although not a Christian, rabbi [[Judah Loew ben Bezalel]] of Prague, a 16th Century scholar and one of the most influential figures of Jewish history, is considered to be part of the country's religious legacy as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/rabbi-loew-the-jewish-hero-of-the-czechs|title=Rabbi Loew, the Jewish hero of the Czechs – Radio Prague|website=Radio.cz|date=13 August 2009|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=7 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507052122/http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/rabbi-loew-the-jewish-hero-of-the-czechs|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|title=Hard Times Give New Life to Prague's Golem|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 May 2009|access-date=23 January 2018|last1=Bilefsky|first1=Dan|archive-date=9 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509123841/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/11/world/europe/11golem.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Natives ===
The modern Czech nation was formed through the process of the [[Czech national revival]]. Through this was created the linguistic concept of the Czech nation (particularly promoted by Jungmann), i.e. "a Czech=one who has the [[Czech language]] as their first language; naturally or by choice" (that is why [[Slovaks]] who have chosen Czech as their literary language, such as [[Ján Kollár]] or [[Pavel Jozef Šafařík]], are often considered to be Czechs). Like other nations, Czechs also speak of two alternative concepts: the landed concept (a Czech is someone who was born in the historic Czech territory), which in Jungmann's time primarily denoted [[Czech nobility|nobility]], and the ethnic concept. Definition by territory is still discussed alternative,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blisty.cz/art/44512.html|title=Co je češství|website=blisty.cz|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202050049/http://blisty.cz/art/44512.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cs-magazin.com/index.php?a=a2011121kdo|title=CS Magazin|website=Cs-magazin.com|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=22 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222053319/http://www.cs-magazin.com/index.php?a=a2011121kdo|url-status=live}}</ref> from time to time is indicated for Czechs number of natives (speaking mostly German, English or otherwise) – these include US Secretary of State [[Madeleine Albright]], film director [[Karel Reisz]], actor [[Herbert Lom]], the founder of psychoanalysis [[Sigmund Freud]], the founder of genetics [[Gregor Mendel]], logician and mathematician [[Kurt Gödel]], the philosopher [[Edmund Husserl]], scientists [[Gerty Cori]], [[Carl Cori]] and [[Peter Grünberg]] (all Nobel Prize winners) and [[Ernst Mach]], economists [[Joseph Schumpeter]] and [[Eugen Böhm von Bawerk]], philosophers [[Bernard Bolzano]], [[Ernest Gellner]], [[Vilém Flusser]] and [[Herbert Feigl]], Marxist theoretician [[Karl Kautsky]], astronomer [[Johann Palisa]], legal theorist [[Hans Kelsen]], inventors [[Alois Senefelder]] and [[Viktor Kaplan]], automotive designer [[Ferdinand Porsche]], psychologist [[Max Wertheimer]], a geologist [[Karl von Terzaghi]], musicologists [[Eduard Hanslick]] and [[Guido Adler]], chemist [[Johann Josef Loschmidt]], biologists [[Heinrich Wilhelm Schott]] and [[Georg Joseph Kamel]], the founder of the dermatology [[Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra]], peace activist [[Bertha von Suttner]] (Nobel Peace Prize), the composers [[Gustav Mahler]], [[Heinrich Biber]], [[Viktor Ullmann]], [[Ervin Schulhoff]], [[Pavel Haas]], [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]] and [[Ralph Benatzky]], writers [[Franz Kafka]], [[Reiner Maria Rilke]], [[Max Brod]], [[Karl Kraus (writer)|Karl Kraus]], [[Franz Werfel]], [[Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach]], [[Leo Perutz]], [[Tom Stoppard]] and [[Egon Erwin Kisch]], painters [[Anton Raphael Mengs]] and [[Emil Orlik]], architects [[Adolf Loos]], [[Peter Parler]], [[Josef Hoffmann]], [[Jan Santini Aichel]] and [[Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer]], cellist [[David Popper]], violist [[Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst]], pianists [[Alice Herz-Sommer]] and [[Rudolf Serkin]], president of Austria [[Karl Renner]], Prime Minister of Poland [[Jerzy Buzek]],  industrialist [[Oskar Schindler]], or chess player [[Wilhelm Steinitz]].

=== Czech ancestry ===
People with Czech ancestry include the astronauts [[Eugene Cernan]] and [[Jim Lovell]], film directors [[Chris Columbus (filmmaker)|Chris Columbus]] and [[Jim Jarmusch]], swimmer [[Katie Ledecky]], politicians [[John Forbes Kerry]] and [[Caspar Weinberger]], chemist and Nobel Prize laureate [[Thomas Cech]], physicist [[Karl Guthe Jansky]], economist [[Friedrich Hayek]], painters [[Jan Matejko]], [[Gustav Klimt]], [[Egon Schiele]] and [[Oskar Kokoschka]], actors [[Ashton Kutcher]], [[Sissy Spacek]] and [[Kim Novak]], tennis players [[Richard Krajicek]], [[Jakob Hlasek]] and [[Stan Wawrinka]], singer [[Jason Mraz]], Brazil president [[Juscelino Kubitschek]], founder of [[McDonald's]] company [[Ray Kroc]], writers [[Georg Trakl]] and [[Robert Musil]], mayor of Chicago [[Anton Cermak]] and [[Ivanka Trump]] and her brother [[Donald Trump Jr.]]{{cn|date=June 2025}}

== Geography ==
[[File:Coat of arms of the Czech Republic.svg|thumb|right|upright|Greater coat of arms of the Czech Republic shows symbols of historical lands [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]], [[Silesia]]]]

The Czechs live in three historical lands: [[Bohemia]], [[Moravia]], and [[Czech Silesia]];<ref>{{cite web|url=http://members.tripod.com/~zlimpkk/Genealogy/admin.html|title=Political subdivision of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia|website=Members.tripod.com|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=4 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104201019/http://members.tripod.com/~zlimpkk/Genealogy/admin.html|url-status=live}}</ref> these regions make up the modern Czech Republic. However, the country is now divided into 14 administrative regions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/geography/area-size/|title=The Area of the Czech Republic|website=Czech.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=10 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131010120024/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/geography/area-size/}}</ref> The local culture varies somewhat in each of the historical regions.<ref>[http://www.czech.cz/en/culture/regions-attractivity-and-diversity/ Czech regions – Czech republic<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080104235303/http://www.czech.cz/en/culture/regions-attractivity-and-diversity/ |date=4 January 2008 }}</ref> [[Moravians]] are usually more nationalistic regional patriots of Moravia, but they also speak [[Czech Language|Czech]]. Local dialects (such as [[Central Bohemian dialects|Central Bohemian]], the [[Chod dialect]], [[Moravian dialects]], [[Cieszyn Silesian dialect|Cieszyn Silesian]], etc.) are found in various parts of the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/december/Czech.html#dial|title=National Virtual Translation Center|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=26 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090126095031/http://www.nvtc.gov/lotw/months/december/Czech.html#dial|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Czech language ==
{{Main|Czech language}}
{{See also|History of the Czech language}}

The Czech language is spoken by approximately 12 million people around the world, but the vast majority are in the [[Czech Republic]].<ref name="Czechl">{{cite web
| title = Czech language
| url = http://www.czech.cz/en/culture/czech-arts/czech-language-and-literature/the-czech-language/
| publisher = Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic
| access-date = 1 February 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080118015600/http://www.czech.cz/en/culture/czech-arts/czech-language-and-literature/the-czech-language/ |archive-date = 18 January 2008}}</ref> It developed from the [[Proto-Slavic language]] in the 10th century<ref name="Czechl" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kortlandt.nl/publications/art066e.pdf|title=From Proto-Indo-European to Slavic|author=Frederik Kortlandt|website=Kortlandt.nl|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102075412/http://www.kortlandt.nl/publications/art066e.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> and is mutually intelligible with the [[Slovak language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.czech-language.cz/overview/origin.html|title=The Czech Language on WWW|website=Czech-language.cz|access-date=18 March 2015|archive-date=20 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181220051150/http://www.czech-language.cz/overview/origin.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Religion ==
[[File:Stimmer Jan Hus.jpg|thumb|upright|Predecessor to [[Protestantism]], [[Jan Hus]]]]
{{See also|Religion in the Czech Republic}}
In 1977, [[Richard Felix Staar]] described Czechs as "tolerant and even indifferent towards religion as a rule".<ref>Richard Felix Staar, ''Communist regimes in Eastern Europe'', Issue 269, p. 90</ref>

After the [[Bohemian Reformation]], most Czechs (about 85%) became [[Hussites|followers]] of [[Jan Hus]], [[Petr Chelčický]] and other regional [[Protestant Reformers]]. Bohemian Estates' defeat in the [[Battle of White Mountain]] brought radical religious changes and started a series of intense actions taken by the Habsburgs in order to bring the Czech population back to the Roman Catholic Church. After the [[Habsburgs]] regained control of Bohemia, Czech people were forcibly converted to [[Roman Catholicism]]. All kinds of Protestant communities including the various branches of Hussites, [[Lutherans]] and [[Reformed tradition|Reformed]] were either expelled, killed, or converted to Catholicism. The Catholic Church lost the bulk of its adherents during the Communist era.{{cn|date=June 2025}}

As of 2015, Pew Research Center found in that 72% of the population of Czech Republic declared to be [[irreligious]], a category which includes [[atheists]], [[agnostics]] and those who describe their religion as "nothing in particular", 26% were [[Christians]] (vast majority [[Catholics]]),<ref name=Censuses/> while 2% belonged to other faiths.

== Demographics ==
 {{See also|Demographics of the Czech Republic|Czech diaspora}}
In the Czech Republic, the [[nation state]] of the Czech people, 6,732,104 (63.7%) declared as ethnic Czech according to the 2011 census. Notably, another 2,742,669 (26%) were undeclared, and 522,474 (4.9%) declared as [[Moravians]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web|url=http://notes2.czso.cz/cz/sldb2011/cd_sldb2011_11_12/index_html_files/PVCR062.pdf|title=Tab. 6.2 Obyvatelstvo podle národnosti podle krajů: výsledky podle trvalého bydliště|trans-title=Tab. 6.2 Population by nationality by regions: results for permanent residence|language=cs|work=Czech Statistical Office (CZSO)|date=2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116234801/http://notes2.czso.cz/cz/sldb2011/cd_sldb2011_11_12/index_html_files/PVCR062.pdf|archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref> There is a large [[Czech diaspora]], which includes 1,703,930 Americans of [[Czech Americans|Czech/Czechoslovak ancestry]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/|title=U.S. Census website|website=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=4 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804222046/http://www.census.gov/|url-status=live}}</ref> 94,805 [[Czech Canadians|Canadians of Czech ancestry]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=1118296&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0 |author=Statistics Canada |title=2011 National Household Survey: Data tables |website=12.statcan.gc.ca |date=8 May 2013 |access-date=14 February 2014 |author-link=Statistics Canada |archive-date=24 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224190955/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/dt-td/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=2&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=1118296&GK=0&GRP=0&PID=105396&PRID=0&PTYPE=105277&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2013&THEME=95&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0%20 |url-status=live }}</ref> an estimated 45,000 Czech-born residents [[Czechs in the United Kingdom|in the United Kingdom]],<ref name="ONS2013" /> and ca. 31,000 [[Czech Australians|in Australia]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The People of Australia – Statistics from the 2011 Census|url=https://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/immigration-update/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|publisher=Australian Government|access-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714131850/http://www.immi.gov.au/media/publications/statistics/immigration-update/people-australia-2013-statistics.pdf|archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref> There are smaller communities throughout Europe. Number of [[Czech diaspora in Israel|Israelis of Czech-Jewish ancestry]] is estimated to be about 50,000 to 100,000.{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}}

== See also ==
{{portal|Czech Republic}}
* [[List of Czechs]]
* [[Největší Čech|The Greatest Czech]]
* [[List of Bohemian monarchs]]
* [[List of prime ministers of the Czech Republic]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Czechoslovakia]]
* [[List of presidents of Czechoslovakia]]
* [[List of presidents of the Czech Republic]]

== References ==
=== Notes ===
{{Reflist|group="nb"}}

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist|refs=<ref name="Historical Dictionary of the Czech State">Rick Fawn, Jiří Hochman. ''Historical Dictionary of the Czech State''. Page xix. [[Rowman & Littlefield]]. 2010. {{ISBN|978-0810856486}}. {{ISBN|0810856484}}.</ref><ref name="RadioPrague2007">{{cite web|first=Pavla|last=Horáková|url=http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/in-search-of-forefather-czech-dna-tests-disclose-remote-ancestors|title=In search of 'Forefather Czech' – DNA tests disclose remote ancestors|publisher=[[Radio Prague]]|date=10 May 2007|access-date=7 December 2016|archive-date=1 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161201015023/http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/in-search-of-forefather-czech-dna-tests-disclose-remote-ancestors|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book|last=Agnew|first=Hugh|title=The Czechs and the Lands of the Bohemian Crown|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PW_Oo2PQwocC|year=2004|publisher=Hoover Press|isbn=978-0-8179-4492-6}}
* {{cite journal|last=Berger|first=Tilman|title=Slovaks in Czechia—Czechs in Slovakia|journal=International Journal of the Sociology of Language|issue=162|date=July 2003|doi=10.1515/ijsl.2003.035}}
* {{cite book|last=Pánek|first=Jaroslav|title=A History of the Czech Lands|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hMwrAQAAIAAJ|year=2009|publisher=Charles University|isbn=978-80-246-1645-2}}
* {{cite book|last=King|first=Jeremy|title=Budweisers Into Czechs and Germans: A Local History of Bohemian Politics, 1848–1948|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Q9vFaJt98hIC|date=2005|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0-691-12234-2}}
* {{cite book|last=Wiskemann|first=Elizabeth|title=Czechs & Germans: a study of the struggle in the historic provinces of Bohemia and Moravia|publisher=Royal Institute of International Affairs; Macmillan|year=1967}}
* {{cite book|last=Mastny|first=Vojtech|title=The Czechs under Nazi Rule|publisher=Columbia University Press|year=1971}}
* {{cite book|last=Hermann|first=Adolf Hanus|title=A History of the Czechs|publisher=Lane, Allen|year=1975}}
* {{cite book|last=Vyšný|first=Paul|title=Neo-Slavism and the Czechs 1898–1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-LUDJVpv3cAC|year=1977|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-21230-4}}

== Further reading ==
{{See also|List of Slavic studies journals}}
* {{cite journal|last=Hroch |first=Miroslav |author-link=Miroslav Hroch |title=From ethnic group toward the modern nation: the Czech case |journal=[[Nations and Nationalism (journal)|Nations and Nationalism]] |volume=10 |issue=1–2 |year=2004 |pages=95–107 |doi=10.1111/j.1354-5078.2004.00157.x}}
* {{cite book|last=Holy|first=Ladislav|author-link=Ladislav Holý|title=The Little Czech and the Great Czech Nation: National Identity and the Post-Communist Social Transformation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dVS94jVQAE8C|year=1996|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-55469-5}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Czechs}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070513045041/http://www.czech.cz/en/czech-republic/history/ Official Czech website, links to multiple articles regarding the Czech people.]
* Wolfgang Kaufmann, [https://paz.de/artikel/vom-deutschen-erbe-tief-gepraegt-a10707.html Vom deutschen Erbe tief geprägt (Deeply influenced by German heritage)]

{{Slavic ethnic groups}}
{{Czech Republic topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Czech people| ]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Slavic ethnic groups]]
[[Category:West Slavs]]