Croats in the Czech Republic

Ethnic group

Croatian Czechs

Total population
2,400[1]
Regions with significant populations
Czech Republic| 2,400
Languages
Czech, Croatian
Religion
Roman Catholicism
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Croats

Recognized

* Croatia

* Bosnia and Herzegovina

* Serbia
* Kosovo
* Austria
* Italy
* Montenegro
* Romania
* Slovakia
* Hungary
* Czech Republic

Diaspora

Europe

* Belgium
* Germany
* Macedonia
* Sweden
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Switzerland

North America

* United States
* Canada
* Mexico

South America

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Chile
* Peru
* Venezuela

Oceania

* Australia
* New Zealand

Subgroups

* Bunjevci
* Šokci
* Burgenland Croats
* Janjevci
* Molise Croats
* Krašovani

Culture

* Literature
* Music
* Art
* Cinema
* Cuisine
* Dress
* Sport

History

* History of Croatia
* Origins
* Rulers

Language

* Croatian
* Chakavian
* Shtokavian
* Kajkavian
* Burgenland
* Molise

Related nations

* South Slavs

* v
* t
* e

Croats are one of the 14 recognized minorities in the Czech Republic.[2]

According to the 2021 census, 2,400 Croats live in the Czech Republic, half of which stated their Croatian nationality in combination with another nationality.[1] Out of that number, 800 are descendants of the Moravian Croats, who settled in Moravia in the 16th century.[3] They have the right to use the Croatian language in communication with Czech authorities and government according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Basic Freedoms of the Czech Republic.

They live primarily in the South Moravian Region, in the municipalities of Jevišovka, Dobré Pole and Nový Přerov.[3]

## History

[edit]

The ancestors of the Croats in the Czech Republic arrived in the first half of the 16th century from central Croatia at the invitation of the House of Liechtenstein, fleeing before the Ottoman Turks.[3] The period of their settling is at the same time as the arrival of the Croats to Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, who are called the Burgenland Croats. The migration of the Croats to Moravia got the attention of ethnographers, linguists, and historians in that era. The first mention of Croats was at the end of the 18th century. They tried to explain the reasons for the migration of the Croats from their ancestral homeland. They believed that the colonization of the Croats started from the Croatian regions south of the Kupa and Petrova Gora, better known as Banska Krajina (present-day Banovina), was summarized by Adolf Turek.[4]

The Czech Croats lived without a main settlement in parts of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria. It used to be a continuous string of villages, especially in the region of so-called "Czech Corridor". This corridor known as a link between the Western Slavs and the Southern Slavs, more precisely Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and Czechoslovakia, was proposed but ultimately rejected at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.

## Languages

[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (February 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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A saying of the Czech Croats was "We are a people of three languages." Of all the national minorities, only the Croats were trilingual. They spoke German, and Czech and nurtured Croatian at home. Considering that they often used Czech and German in schools, churches, public administration, the grammar and vocabulary of the Moravian Croats did not remain untouched. The Croatian Cakavian and Ikavian language was mixed with loan words of both Czech and German origins. Croatian is not studied in Czech schools, so the majority younger generation does not speak it. The older generation of Czech Croats preserved the language, culture, and customs by gathering in organizations and reading magazines in Croatian.

## See also

[edit]

* Croats
* List of Croats
* Croatia–Czech Republic relations
* Czechs of Croatia

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Národnost". Census 2021 (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
2. ^ "Government Council for National Minorities". Government of the Czech Republic. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
3. ^ a b c "Moravské Chorvaty nezákonně vyhnali komunisté, omluva dodnes nepřišla" (in Czech). iDnes. 2018-04-22. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
4. ^ Pavličević, Dragutin (1994). Moravski Hrvati.

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Ethnic and national minorities in the Czech Republic

Officially recognized|

* Austrians
* Bulgarians
* Croats
* Germans
* Greeks
* Hungarians
* Poles
* Romani
* Russians
* Rusyns
* Serbs
* Silesians
* Slovaks
* Ukrainians
* Vietnamese

Other|

* Armenians
* Chinese
* Jews
* Koreans
* Macedonians
* Mongolians
* Portuguese
* Turks

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Croatian diaspora

Americas|

* Argentina
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Ecuador
* Mexico
* Peru
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Europe|

* Austria
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Czech Republic
* France [hr]
* Germany
* Hungary
* Italy
* Molise Croats
* Kosovo
* Montenegro
* North Macedonia
* Romania
* Krashovani
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand

Portals:

* Croatia
* Czech Republic

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