| Abstrakt: |
Abstract: The end of the First World War marked the establishment of the Republic of Czechoslovakia as one of the successor states to the now defunct Habsburg Empire and represented a milestone of key importance for the Czech nation in terms of historical developments. The national revolution of 1918 was accompanied by calls of ‘Away from the Habsburgs’ and ‘Away from Rome’, attacking the Catholic Church as a representative of original centralist governance from Vienna. One product of the post-war religious and Church crisis was the foundation of the Czechoslovak (Hussite) Church on 8 January 1920. This was followed by a period of struggle for the church buildings in the Czech lands between 1920 and 1924. During this period, the Czechoslovak (Hussite) Church occupied a number of churches and other buildings which were owned by the Roman Catholic Church. Naturally, the state authorities took up the position that applicable laws had to be adhered to, such that in the end the Czechoslovak (Hussite) Church had to return the churches taken to the Roman Catholic Church, and they then began to build their own premises for holding services with financial support from the state and its followers. |
