Croatian minority in Czech Republic

Croats settled in the Czech Republic (in the area of former Moravia) during the 16th century. In terms of their national identity and until the mid-20th century, Moravian Croats, remained homogenous in three villages: Jevišovka, Dobro Polje and Nova Prerava.

It is estimated that there are about 2,000 Croats and their descendants in the Czech Republic. According to the last census of 2011 total number of citizens who declared themselves as members of Croatian people was 1.448 out of whom 1,134 persons declared themselves exclusively as Croats, while the remaining 314 persons declared dual nationality, Croatian and Check, which is allowed by the legislation of Check Republic.

The Croats in Czechoslovakia had been recognized as a national minority after the democratic changes that occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1989.  Today, in the official Czech statistics Croats are mentioned as „others".

In 2001, the Government of Check Republic passed a Law on the National Minorities, which regulates the rights of national minorities and stipulates the competence of administrative and the self-governing bodies. The Law prescribes that members of the national minorities are members of the Council of the Government for National Minorities, and representatives of Croatian minority are also included as members.

The Republic of Croatia and the Check Republic have not concluded the bilateral agreement on the mutual protection of national minorities.

Based on the Law on Relationships between the Republic of Croatia and Croats Abroad (Zakon o odnosima Republike Hrvatske s Hrvatima izvan Republike Hrvatske), the Government of the Republic of Croatia adopted the Decision on Establishing and Appointing the Members of the Council of the Government of Croatia for Croats Abroad, which held its constituting session in July, 2022, where the representative of the Croatian minority in the Check Republic at the third Council convocation is Wlasta Laura Laurenčíková.

Croats in Check Republic are not well-organized and they have two official associations registered: The Association of Citizens of Croatian nationality in the Check Republic and Check-Croatian Society.

In 2008 a historical documentation center of the Croatian minority of South Moravia – the Croatian House at Jevišovka was opened under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Croatia.
Days of Croatian Culture – Kiritof are held in Jevišovka on the first Sunday in September every year.

In 1998    Department of Croatian Studies was opened at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University in Prague and the Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University in Brno as well as the academic course of the Croatian language and literature. There are no organized classes of the Croatian language and culture.

Croatian minority in the Check Republic does not have a priest who would hold a mass in Croatian. Occasionally, the masses in Croatian are held by the visiting priests of Burgenland Croats from Austria.