Moravia is a historical country in The Czech Republic (forming its eastern part) and one of the original Czech lands with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown (from 1348 to 1918) and then an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire (1004 to 1806). The land was later a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1804 to 1867) and briefly one of 17 former crown lands of the Cisleithanian part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918.

The 50-square-mile area of our Czech ancestral towns.

All four of our prominent families, Černík, Fila, Vybíral and Zimola, lived within an area that covered about 50 square miles. That’s about one-half the size of the city of Omaha, Nebraska. With travel limited to where you could walk or ride a wagon, families tended to stay put for some time and work on their farms. And like our dad’s side, they also had long-term relationships with families.

 
 
All of the families were deeply Catholic in their faith. Most of their children were born at home, and their weddings were large town affairs. Children were quickly baptized and recorded in the RCPO (Roman Catholic Parish Office). The official records show that many of these baptisms occurred in Třebíč, the largest town in the area and the location of the main Catholic church.

The area where the Czech people lived was always in a state of political and military flux, whether it was the Huns, the Mongols, the Holy Roman Empire or the Germans. The Protestant Bohemian Revolt led to the Thirty Years’ War, during which the Czech population declined by one-third. So many of the records I have located are recorded in Czech and German.

Soviet Tanks in Prague during the 1968 invasion.

Czechoslovakia was formed after the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian empire following WWI as a liberal democracy. This all changed after WWII when it became a communist satellite state of the USSR.

The 1968 Prague Spring was an attempt towards political liberalization. The USSR invaded Czechoslovakia and put down the uprising.

In September of 2005, I contacted a genealogist in The Czech Republic who was a history professor but now specializes in helping Americans research their family history. He also developed a niche of generating the usual reports and locating relatives in the country to confirm those connections. Most importantly, he will work with you to plan a trip to meet them. He joins his clients to act as an interpreter, make introductions and knock on doors when you visit your ancestral towns.

His name is Dr. Miroslav ‘Mirek’ Koudelka. As a Czech native, he has the advantage of reading and writing in Czech. Since many Czech documents are in both Czech and German, he has the added bonus of a German wife who can assist. About six months after I reached out, I received the first report from Mirek. A second report arrived two months later and the last two months after that. Besides the ancestry tree information he collected, confirmed and translated, he took many photos of the documents. He also had located and talked to many relatives across five to six family lines and had confirmed their willingness to meet with us. We planned to go overseas in mid-July of 2006, with a short stay in Prague and then down south to visit the villages and towns to meet with the relatives Mirek had scheduled for us.

Dr. Miroslav ‘Mirek’ Koudelka.

Prague is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities in Europe. The drive south took about an hour and a half. During the visit, we went to Bransouze, Brtnice, Červená Lhota, Cíhalín, Malé, Nová Brtnice, Panská Lhota, Petrovice, Přibyslavice, Račerovice, Radonín and Třebíč.

Prague Castle at dusk.

Moravian countryside near Cíhalín.

Moravian countryside near Pribyslavice.

We saw some of our ancestral homes and had meals with some Fila and Zimola families, a Hudecek family member, a Vybíral and a Jírovský. After Mirek knocked on some doors, we had an unplanned BBQ with a Veselý family before we left.

Mirek planned the trip really well, with prearranged meet-and-greets. Each was with a specific family and for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. As mentioned earlier, our Czech ancestors lived in towns within a 50-square-mile area.

After the first day, two things became apparent. One was that every family had their own Kolache recipe they made and wanted to share with us. The other was that there was no way that we could eat all the food at each gathering when we had several each day. So we decided to have two brothers do most of the eating at each party. And, of course, there was the alcohol. Most meals were served with Slivovitz, a traditional Moravian spirit made from plums. It’s strong.

After our final and last-minute BBQ, several brothers were flying out of Prague the next day, so they had to drive that night. I was told that they had to stop several times for some roadside purging.