Czech Cultural-Historical Regions in the Minds of Their Inhabitants Cover Image

České kulturně-historické regiony ve vědomí svých obyvatel
Czech Cultural-Historical Regions in the Minds of Their Inhabitants

Author(s): Kamila Bogdová, Tadeusz Siwek
Subject(s): Cultural Essay, Political Essay, Societal Essay
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Sociologický ústav
Keywords: cultural-historical region; regional identity; mental maps; Czech Republic

Summary/Abstract: The Czech Republic is comprised of different regions at the sub-national level. These are the historical lands of Bohemia, Moravia, and (part of) Silesia, small ethnographic regions, and administrative units. Their objective hierarchy derives from their former historical role, from their administrative function today, and their regional importance. In this article the authors attempt to describe the subjective hierarchy of these regions in the minds of their inhabitants, drawing on a survey of 1203 respondents from throughout the Czech Republic conducted in 2003 by the Centre for Public Opinion Research. The historical lands of Bohemia and Moravia are two regions whose existence Czechs recognise without question, while Silesia is in a weaker position and garners only two-thirds of the level of recognition accorded the other two historical lands. The cultural or ethnographic regions and the administrative units are on an approximately equal level, which is distinctively lower than that of the three Czech historical lands. More of these small regions are located in Moravia than in Bohemia or Silesia. The best known Czech regions are: Wallachia, Moravian Slovakia, Hana (all of which are in Moravia) and the Region of Khods (Bohemia). The best known region that is neither ethnographical nor one of the administrative units is the former industrial region of Ostrava.

  • Issue Year: 43/2007
  • Issue No: 05
  • Page Range: 1039-1053
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Czech