Moravians

Moravians (Czech: Moravané or colloquially Moraváci) are an ethnographic group of Czechs of the Moravia region of the Czech Republic, who speak the Moravian dialects of the Czech language.

Etymology

A certain ambiguity in the Czech language derives from the fact that it only distinguishes between Čechy (Bohemia) and Česká republika (Czech republic), but the corresponding adjective český and noun designating an inhabitant and/or a member of a nation Čech can be related to either of the two (the adjective bohémský and the noun bohém have only the "socially unconventional person" meaning).

History

Moravian tribe

The Moravians (Old Slavic self-designation Moravljane,Slovak: Moravania, Czech: Moravané) were a west Slavic tribe in the Early Middle Ages. Although it is not known exactly when the Moravian tribe was founded, Czech historian Dušan Třeštík claimed the tribe was formed between the turn of the 6th century to the 7th century, around the same time as the other Slavic tribes.

In the 9th century Moravians settled mainly around the historic Region of Moravia and Western Slovakia, but also in parts of Lower Austria (up to the Danube) and Upper Hungary. The first known mention of the Moravians was in the Annales Regni Francorum in 822 AD. The tribe was located by the Bavarian Geographer between the tribe of the Bohemians and the tribe of the Bulgarians.

Moravian Church

The Moravian Church (Latin: Unitas Fratrum, meaning "Unity of the Brethren";Czech: Moravští bratři); German, Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, from the place of the church's renewal in the 18th century,(meaning Brethren's Congregation from Herrnhut) is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in the world, with its heritage dating back to the Bohemian Reformation in the fifteenth century.

The name by which the Church is commonly known comes from the original exiles who fled to Saxony in 1722 from Moravia to escape religious persecution, but its heritage began in 1457 in Bohemia (and its crown lands, Moravia and Silesia), then an autonomous kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire. This region today is part of the Czech Republic. The modern Unitas Fratrum, with about 750,000 members worldwide, continues to draw on traditions established during the eighteenth century. The Moravians continue their long tradition of missionary work, for example in the Caribbean. This is reflected in their broad global distribution. The Church places a high value on ecumenism, personal piety, missions and music.

Moravané

Moravané (English: Moravians) is a small non-parliamentary political party in Moravia in the Czech Republic.

History

It arose in 2005 through a merger of two older local parties: Hnutí samosprávné Moravy a Slezska – Moravské národní sjednocení ("The Movement of Autonomous Moravia and Silesia - Moravian National Union") and Moravská demokratická strana ("the Moravian Democratic Party"). Pavel Dohnal, a former communist, became the party chairman. The party first participated in the nationwide parliamentary election in June 2006 and won 0.23% of the national popular vote, falling below the minimum threshold to gain any seats. Moravané is a member party of the European Free Alliance. A youth wing of the party (Mladí Moravané - Young Moravians) also operates.

In March 2009, party leadership passed to Jiří Novotný.

Ideology

The main goal of the party is as follows: "On the principle of the right of self-determination of the Moravian nation, Moravané advocates for the independence of Moravia via restoration of the Moravian legislative parliament within the territorial scope of the Moravian ecclesiastical province." The party strongly disfavours state centralism, and expresses anti-Czech (Bohemian) sentiment; "Prague" (both the city and Czech government) is blamed for "suppressing Moravian culture, traditions and language" and for "pauperising of Moravia".