BOHEMIA, BbHMEN (anciently Bo nstm), Austria, a province formerly a kingdom bounded on the southwest by Bavaria, on the northwest by the kingdom of Saxony, on the northeast by the Prussian province of Silesia and on the southeast by Moravia and the archduchy of Austria. It contains 20,065 square miles, and has about 6,850,000 inhabitants, of whom above three-fifths are Czechs, nearly 90,000 Jews and more than 2,000,000 are Germans. Bohemia sends 130 representatives, or one for each 52,000 inhabitants, to the lower house of Parliament. Its provincial diet consists of 262 members. Bohemia is surrounded on all sides by moun tains, possesses large forests and many small lakes or ponds. Its plains are remarkably fertile. The largest rivers are the Elbe and the Moldau. All sorts of grain, flax, hops (the best in Europe) and fruits are exported. Wine is not abundant, but in the neighborhood of Melnik is of pretty good quality. The raising of sheep, horses, swine and poultry is carried on to a considerable extent. The mines yield silver, copper, lead, tin, garnets and other precious stones, iron, cobalt, arsenic, uranium and tung sten, antimony, vitriol, alum, calamine, sulphur, plumbago and coal in abundance. There are also numerous mineral springs, but little salt.
The industry of Bohemia, favored by its central situation, has long rendered it one of the most important governments of the Austrian empire. Spinning and weaving are extensively carried on in the northern and southeastern dis tricts; manufactures of lace, ribbons, metal and wood work, chemical products and other branches of skilled industry are also largely de veloped. Pottery, porcelain, glassware, cutting of precious stones, give employment to many hands. The glassware of Bohemia alone, which is known all over the world, employs 50,000 workers. Large quantities of beer (Pilsener) of the kind known as lager are exported. Prague, the capital, is the centre of the manu factures and of the commerce of the country. The largest towns are Prague, Pilsen, Reichen berg, Budweis, Teplitz, Aussig and Eger. For internal intercourse there are excellent high ways, extending to 10,000 miles, and several im portant lines of railway leading both southeast to Vienna and northwest toward Dresden. The Bohemians of all ranks are distinguished for public spirit. Among the public establishments for education are a German and a Czech uni versity at Prague, two technical high schools, four theological academies, many gymnasiums and over 5,000 schools. The prevailing religion is the Roman Catholic; other sects, however, are tolerated. The language of the country is Bohemian, a dialect of the Slavonic; in some districts, and in most of the cities, German is spoken. See BOHEMIAN LANGUAGE AND LITERA TURE History.— Bohemia received its name from a tribe of Gallic origin, the Boii, who were ex pelled by the Marcomans at the commencement of the Christian era; the latter were in turn obliged to give place to the Germans, and these to the Czechs, a Slavonic people who had estab lished themselves in Bohemia•by the middle of the 5th century. The country was at first di vided into numerous principalities, which were temporarily united into a monarchy in 627 under Samo, but the work of this prince did not sur vive him. Charlemagne attempted the con quest of Bohemia without permanent result, al though he succeeded in rendering it tributary; and the Emperor Louis had his army nearly destroyed by the Bohemians in 849. Christianity was introduced into Bohemia in the reign of Borzwog I (894-902), a descendant of Pfzemysl, whose family held sway in Bohemia for about six centuries (722-1306). In 1092 Bohemia was finally recognized as a kingdom under Wratislas II. Up to 1230 the monarchy was elective and
then became hereditary; the right of election, however, was suspended, not abrogated. The monarchs received investiture from the German Emperor, held one of the great offices in the im perial court, and were recognized as among the seven electors of the empire. Separated from Germany, however, by a rampart of mountains, by origin, language and national customs, the Bohemians kept aloof from the general politics of the empire, and their kings frequently re ceived dispensations from attending the Diet. The peasantry were in a state of villenage, but there was a numerous and powerful nobility, the Diet assembled frequently and the nobles came armed to defend their rights. The royal au thority was limited by the coronation oath. Bo hemia was frequently at war with Poland, the Emperor or some of the surrounding states; it was successively united and disunited with Hun gary, Silesia, Moravia, etc., according to the course of wars and alliances. Ottokar II (1253-78) had extended his conquests almost from the Adriatic to the Baltic, when he lost them and his life in contest with Rudolph the founder of the too successful house of flaps burg. His grandson Wenceslas III was assas sinated at COlmiitz, and with him closed the dynasty of Pfzemysl. The house of Luxemburg succeeded in 1310, and governed Bohemia till 1437. Under Charles IV (1346-78), who also held the sceptre of the German empire, Bo hemia prospered, and advanced in civilization and science. Toward the close of this second dynasty civil wars were excited by the promul gation of the doctrines of Huss and the perse cution of his followers. These wars were pro tracted by the genius of John Ziska, the leader of the Hussites, a man who, although latterly quite blind, has for military genius been com pared to Hannibal. Ziska was rarely defeated, and his success inspired the utmost enthusiasm in his followers. He has been called the in ventor of the modern art of fortification, and by his skill in this art he made Mount Tabor an impregnable fortress. After the death of Ziska the moderate party of the Hussites, who were called Calixtines, from their insisting on the retention of the sacramental cup for the laity, united with the Roman Catholics, and Sigismund was acknowledged king in 1433. The conditions of this compact being ill observed, George Podiebrad, a nobleman of the reformed party, was by them elected king in 1458. On his death in 1471 they chose Wladislas, son of Cassimir, King of Poland, who also obtained the crown of Hungary. His son Louis lost both crowns with his life in the battle of Mohacs against the Turks, and Ferdinand of Austria became, in 1527, sovereign of both kingdoms. Bohemia then lost its separate existence, being declared hereditary in the house of Austria. Its subsequent history pertains to that of the Austrian empire. It was desolated by the Thirty Years' War, and it suffered severely from religious persecutions, by which, indeed, the Reformed faith was almost entirely suppressed in it. The Emperor Joseph II gave some protection to the Protestants. In 1848, when Europe was convulsed with revolutionary movements, a momentary attempt was made to assert the ancient independence of Bohemia against the Austrian dominion; a conflict took place between the army and the people, Prague was bombarded and the insurrection suppressed. Since then the most prominent feature in the history of Bohemia has been a constant struggle for ascendency between the Slavonic Czechs and the Germans. In 1910 and in 1913 the situ ation was serious and ended in the dissolution of the provincial diet, and the appointment of a commission of administration. See AUSTRIA.