Bohemia versus Moravia: Does the old divide still matter in Czechia?
Moravia was once a distinct historical land, and some of its inhabitants still consider themselves Moravian rather than Czech. But the number declaring exclusively Moravian nationality has fallen sharply since 1991. In this episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka explores the old boundary between Bohemia and Moravia and revisits interviews with a Moravian political activist and a historian who disagree about the region's identity and future.
In the village of Herálec, the River Svratka once separated two communities belonging to different historical lands. A nineteenth-century bridge connected them, and in 1951 they were united into a single municipality. Today, the old division is little more than a historical curiosity.
Elsewhere in the region, boundary stones and monuments still mark the former frontier. But administrative reforms, internal migration, work, education and family ties have gradually blurred the distinction between Bohemia and Moravia.
The census figures suggest a similar change. In 1991, 13.2 percent of the population declared exclusively Moravian nationality. By 2021, that figure had fallen to just 3.4 percent. However, census nationality is a matter of personal choice, and the figures do not necessarily measure people's attachment to Moravian culture or traditions.
For some Moravians, the question goes beyond cultural identity. They believe Moravia should enjoy greater political autonomy and that excessive centralisation in Prague has weakened the region.
In an interview for Český rozhlas Plus in 2021, physician and Moravian political activist Ctirad Musil, then chairman of the Moravané party, expressed his frustration with what he considered the gradual disappearance of Moravian identity.
"I live in this land, and I see it becoming less and less Moravian. I feel less and less at home here, and it bothers me," he said.
Musil argued that the abolition of Moravia's historical administrative status and the concentration of political power in Prague had damaged the region. He even compared what he called the cultural Czechisation of Moravia to the Germanisation policies pursued during the Nazi occupation.
Historian Josef Tomeš of the Czech Academy of Sciences strongly rejected that comparison. "Such a comparison is inappropriate and unjustified," he said, pointing out that Nazi Germanisation took place under occupation and formed part of a campaign against the Czech nation.
Tomeš nevertheless supported preserving Moravia's regional cultural and linguistic characteristics and had previously advocated a special administrative status for Moravia and Silesia. The disagreement illustrates an important distinction: Moravian regional pride does not necessarily translate into support for political autonomy or a separate Moravian nation.
Today, the historic border has virtually disappeared from everyday life, while Moravian identity survives in regional traditions, culture and personal attachments. So is Moravian identity gradually fading, or simply changing its meaning? In this episode of Czechast, Vít Pohanka explores the question through history, census statistics, a journey along the former border and contrasting views on what it means to be Moravian in modern Czechia.
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Czechast, Radio Prague International
Czechast is a regular RPI podcast about Czech and Moravian culture, history, and economy.
