Czech people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Czechs | |
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| Total population | over 10 million |
| Regions with significant populations | Czech Republic: 10,235,455 (July 2006 est.) United States: Netherlands: in the Czech Republic include |
| Language | Czech |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 26.8%, Protestant 2.1%, other 3.3%, unspecified 8.8%, unaffiliated 59% (2001 census) |
| Related ethnic groups | other Slavic peoples, especially West Slavs |
Czechs (Czech: Češi) are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs live also in Slovakia, Austria, USA, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries. They speak the Czech language, which is closely related to the Slovak language.
Among the ancestors of the Czechs are ancient Slavic tribes who inhabited the regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia from the 6th century onwards.
The most successful of all Czech kings was Charles IV (Karel IV), who also became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
Many heroes, most notably the religious reformist Jan Hus and warlord Jan Žižka from the 1400s are considered national heroes and have many legends and stories concerning their lives.
Ancient folk stories, such as the Forefather Čech, who, according to legend brought, tribe of Czechs into this land or Přemysl, the Ploughman, who started the dynasty, which ruled the Czech lands for 400 years until year 1306.
The Czech people also take much pride in saints who benefited the Czech culture, most notably St. Wenceslaus (Václav) patron of the Czech nation, St. Vitus (Vít) (whom has a cathedral named after him in Prague: see St. Vitus Cathedral), St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký), St. Prokop, St. Adalbert (Vojtěch), St. Ludmila, and St. Agnes of Bohemia (Anežka Česká).
