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Family roots

Discover your Czech roots

A green, hilly land in the heart of Europe, with fairy-tale castles, a capital of a hundred spires, spa towns and the world's first golden lager.

Czechia, also called the Czech Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is made of three historical lands: Bohemia in the west, a basin drained by the Vltava and Elbe rivers and ringed by low mountains; Moravia in the east, hilly and known for its vineyards; and a small part of Silesia in the northeast. Rain that falls here flows to three different seas: the North Sea, the Baltic and the Black Sea.

Slavs settled the land in the early Middle Ages. The Přemyslid dukes built a Bohemian state that became a kingdom, and in the 14th century King Charles IV made Prague one of the great cities of Europe. For almost four centuries the Czech lands were ruled by the Habsburgs. In 1918 Czechs and Slovaks founded Czechoslovakia, which lived through Nazi occupation, four decades of communist rule and the peaceful Velvet Revolution of 1989. On 1 January 1993 the country split peacefully into Czechia and Slovakia.

Questions to ask the older generation

Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.

  1. Which town or region of Czechia did our family come from? Was it near Brno, Ostrava, Plzeň?
  2. Who was the first in the family to leave Czechia, when, and why?
  3. Which dishes from Czechia were cooked at home? Did anyone make Svíčková (beef in cream sauce) or Roast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut?
  4. Does anyone in the family still speak Czech, or use a few words of it?
  5. Were there songs, prayers, games or holidays from Czechia that the family kept?
  6. Are there old photos, letters or documents from Czechia? Who has them?
  7. If you could visit Czechia together, where would you go first?

A short history of Czechia

The Czech story runs from a Slavic realm that welcomed two Greek missionaries, through the kingdom of Bohemia and the golden age of Charles IV, the Hussite wars and almost four centuries of Habsburg rule, to Czechoslovakia, the Velvet Revolution and a peaceful split in 1993.

  1. AD 863

    Cyril and Methodius arrive

    Prince Rastislav of Great Moravia asked the Byzantine emperor for teachers. The brothers Cyril and Methodius came, bringing the Glagolitic alphabet and a church service in a Slavic language.

  2. 1212

    Golden Bull of Sicily

    Frederick II, then King of Sicily and later Holy Roman Emperor, granted Ottokar I and his heirs the hereditary title of King of Bohemia. The Kingdom of Bohemia lasted in law until the end of the First World War.

  3. 1415

    Jan Hus burned at the stake

    The Prague preacher and church reformer Jan Hus was burned as a heretic at the Council of Constance on 6 July 1415. His followers, the Hussites, soon rose up in Bohemia.

  4. 1526

    The Habsburgs take the throne

    King Louis II died fighting the Ottomans at the Battle of Mohács, and the crown of Bohemia passed to Ferdinand I of Habsburg. The Habsburgs ruled the Czech lands until 1918.

  5. 1918

    Czechoslovakia is born

    As Austria-Hungary collapsed at the end of the First World War, independence was proclaimed in Prague on 28 October 1918. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk became the first president of Czechoslovakia.

  6. 1948

    Communist coup

    In February 1948 the Communist Party, backed by the Soviet Union, took full power. One-party rule lasted for the next 41 years.

  7. 1989

    Velvet Revolution

    Peaceful protests began on 17 November 1989 and ended 41 years of communist rule. On 29 December the playwright and dissident Václav Havel became president.

  8. 2004

    Joins the European Union

    After joining NATO in 1999, the Czech Republic became a member of the European Union in 2004 and joined the Schengen area in 2007.

Family recipes to cook together

SvíčkováSvíčková (beef in cream sauce) 3 h · serves 4Vepřo knedlo zeloRoast pork with dumplings and sauerkraut 2 h 30 min · serves 4Smažený sýrFried cheese 25 min · serves 4KulajdaKulajda (creamy mushroom and dill soup) 45 min · serves 4Potato pancakesPotato pancakes 40 min · serves 4

Czech words to teach the grandchildren

Basics

  • anoAH-nohyes
  • nenehno
  • prosímPROH-seemplease (also 'here you are')
  • děkujiDYEH-koo-yihthank you
  • ahojAH-hoyhi, bye (informal)

Food and drink

  • pivoPIH-vohbeer
  • vodaVOH-dahwater
  • chlebaKHLEH-bahbread
  • sýrseercheese
  • snídaněSNEE-dah-nyehbreakfast
  • obědOH-byehdlunch
  • večeřeVEH-cheh-rzhehdinner, supper

Towns and regions

  • Prague, Prague (capital city): Prague Castle and Charles Bridge, The astronomical clock on Old Town Square.
  • Brno, South Moravian Region: Villa Tugendhat, Špilberk Castle.
  • Ostrava, Moravian-Silesian Region: Its coal-mining and steel history, The Landek Park mining museum.
  • Plzeň, Plzeň Region: The Pilsner Urquell brewery, The Škoda Works, founded in 1869.
  • Olomouc, Olomouc Region: The Holy Trinity Column, The town hall on the Upper Square.
  • Liberec, Liberec Region: The Ještěd Tower on the mountain above the city, Its textile-industry past.
  • České Budějovice, South Bohemian Region: Budweiser Budvar beer, The Black Tower.
  • Český Krumlov, South Bohemian Region: Český Krumlov Castle and its Baroque theatre, Its Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque old town.
  • Karlovy Vary, Karlovy Vary Region: Hot mineral springs and spa houses, Becherovka herbal liqueur, made here since 1807.
  • Kutná Hora, Central Bohemian Region: St Barbara's Church, The Sedlec Ossuary, decorated with human bones.

A heritage evening with the family

Cook one of the recipes, print the large-print pack about Czechia, and finish with the big-screen quiz or the words crossword. Grandchildren can colour the flag.

More about Czechia