From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The Czech lands (in Czech: České země) or Czechia (in Czech: Česko) is an auxiliary term used for Bohemia + Moravia + Czech part of Silesia + other territories that were parts of the Kingdom of Bohemia (Lands of the Czech Crown) at the particular time in history (e.g. Lusatia, Brandenburg), today identical with the Czech Republic. It is used especially for the period till 1969 (when the entity and term Czech Socialist Republic arose), but also afterwards.
Czech lands was used especially in the past (before 1992), when the alternative term Czechia did not exist (at least not in the Czech language; it existed but was rarely used in the English language), so that it was impossible to describe the main and secondary Czech territory by one word. The use of the term Czechia is officially endorsed by the Czech Republic (see Czech Republic). The Czechs, however, do not use the Czech equivalent for Czechia - Česko - often, because it is new and similar to the Czech equivalent for Bohemia - Čechy.
