~ The Habsburg Rule ~
1526 - 1918
The Habsburg rule in Austria was a period of economic decline
and suppression of the Czech culture and customs. During this period was
the Thirty Years War and the Czech's defeat at the Battle of White Mountain,
both events bringing hardship to the Czech people. In the eighteenth century,
however, Prague was transformed by the construction of palaces and churches
by pro-Habsburg nobility and Jesuits who built in baroque and rococco styles
of the time period. It was during this time that Prague became known as
the "City of a Hundred Spires." Soon, however, the Czechs began
to feel resentful towards the Germanization of the country and desired greater
independence. The "Czech National Revival"
was an attempt to regain some of the lost Czech culture.
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