Czechs are one of the recognised minorities of Croatia. According to the census of 2011 there were 9,641 Czechs in Croatia, comprising 0.22% of total population. They are also called by their non-Czech neighbours Pemci.
After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, Slavonia changed hands from the Ottomans to Habsburgs, and the Muslim population fled. This left large swathes of land vacant, and the Habsburgs started to colonize new lands with people from all parts of their Empire. The first Czechs arrived in Slavonia around the 1750s, and were settled in Western Slavonia throughout the 19th century. In Croatia, they could buy from ten or more acres of arable land for price of they sold in the Czech lands. Czechs also settled other parts of Croatia such as Gorski kotar, and bigger cities where they were praised as skilled workers and clerks, but were assimilated in two or three generations. One of these urban Czechs was August Šenoa, Croatian writer and mayor of Zagreb. Czechs soon found the need to culturally organise themselves, and in 1874 the first Česka Beseda was founded in Zagreb. This was an organization promoting the use of Czech language and culture in Croatia, and organised the first theater play in the Czech language in the same year. In time Česke Besede were founded all across Croatia, and opened Czech libraries and Sport societies. In 1911 the first Czech newspaper started printing in Zagreb. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, established after the First World War, was very amicable to the Czech minority. This has been attributed to the cordial relations with Czechoslovakia during the interwar period, and joint Slavic roots. The first Czech school was open in 1922 in Daruvar, and first kindergarten in 1926 also in Daruvar. Czechs organized themselves politically and formed a Czech party which was active only in the first years of Kingdom. From 1922 the newspaper Jugoslavšti Čechoslovácí was printed in Duruvar. Czechs, just like Slovaks generally did not collaborate with the occupying powers during the World War II. Some of them left to Czechoslovakia after the war, but a number of them subsequently returned, as the communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. In Socialist, post World War II Yugoslavia Czechs enjoyed even greater rights, and more schools were opened. After the break-up of Yugoslavia, Czech areas were found near war operations and many Czechs participated in Croatian army. Czechs are officially recognized as an autochthonous national minority, and as such, they, together with the Slovaks of Croatia, elect a special representative to the Croatian Parliament. In the elections of 2000, 2003, and 2007, the Czech and Slovak representative was Zdenka Čunhil from the Croatian Peasant Party.
Culture
The Czechs are organised in 24 Česka Beseda's all across Croatia that form the Czech Union of Croatia, an organization that promotes Czech language and culture in Croatia. Folk dance, poetry, singing and Czech courses are the main activities of Beseda's. Some Beseda's even have theater groups, and the Czech Union prints their weekly magazine called Jednota. They organize festivals of theater groups, festivals of Czech children song, Naše Jaro-festival of schoolchildren cultural activities, Vanočka- festival of younger folkdance groups and biennal manifestation Dožinky in Daruvar celebrating end of harvest works. There are dozens of Czech primary schools and kindergartens and High School in Daruvar has one Czech department. There are also two industrial brands associated with Croatian Czechs; Zdenka cheese, produced in a factory in Veliki Zdenci dominantly Czech village and Staročeško beer produced by a brewery in Daruvar.
