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The history of Czechs in Baltimore dates back to the mid-19th century. Thousands of
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...
immigrated to East Baltimore during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, becoming an important component of
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
's ethnic and cultural heritage. The Czech community has founded a number of cultural institutions to preserve the city's Czech heritage, including a Roman Catholic church, a heritage association, a gymnastics association, an annual festival, a language school, and a cemetery. During the height of the Czech community in the late 19th century and early 20th century, Baltimore was home to 12,000 to 15,000 people of Czech birth or heritage. The population began to decline during the mid-to-late 20th century, as the community assimilated and aged, while many
Czech Americans Czech Americans ( cz, Čechoameričané), known in the 19th and early 20th century as Bohemian Americans, are citizens of the United States whose ancestry is wholly or partly originate from the Czech lands, a term which refers to the majority o ...
moved to the suburbs of Baltimore. By the 1980s and early 1990s, the former Czech community in East Baltimore had been almost entirely dispersed, though a few remnants of the city's Czech cultural legacy still remain.


Demographics

By 1870, there were approximately 1,000 Czech Catholics in Baltimore. Within a decade that number increased to over 5,000. In 1870 there were 766 Bohemian-born residents of Baltimore, making Bohemia the third largest source of immigration to Baltimore after the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
and
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
. In 1880, Bohemians made up a small portion of the foreign-born population of Baltimore at 2% of all foreign born residents. 16.9% (56,354) of Baltimore was foreign born, 1,127 of them Bohemian. According to the US Immigration Office, the Baltimore Czech community numbered around 10,000 people between 1882 and 1910. In the 1920 United States Census, there were 7,750 Czechs, making Baltimore the fifth largest city for Czechs in the United States. Only Chicago, New York City, Cleveland, and St. Louis had larger Czech populations. In the same year 3,348 people spoke
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
, making Czech the third most commonly spoken Slavic or Eastern European language after Polish and Russian. During the same year, 7,000 Czech Roman Catholics belonged to the
St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...
Roman Catholic parish. By the
1930 United States Census The United States census of 1930, conducted by the Census Bureau one month from April 1, 1930, determined the resident population of the United States to be 122,775,046, an increase of 13.7 percent over the 106,021,537 persons enumerated durin ...
, the Baltimore Czech population decreased slightly to number 7,652 people. In 1940, 1,816 immigrants from
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
lived in Baltimore. These immigrants comprised 3% of the city's foreign-born white population. In total, 4,031 people of Czech birth or descent lived in the city, comprising 2.9% of the foreign-stock white population. In the 1960 United States Census, Czech-Americans comprised 57.5% of the foreign-born population in Southeast Baltimore's tract 7-3. The Czech community was then centered in Baltimore's Ward 7. The city as a whole was home to 4,077 people of Czechoslovakian origin. According to the 1990 United States Census almost 22,000 Americans of fully Czech or Slovak ancestry lived in Maryland, most of whom lived in or near Baltimore. The Czech community in the
Baltimore metropolitan area The Baltimore–Columbia–Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As of the 2010 Census, t ...
numbered 17,798 as of 2000, making up 0.7% of the area's population. In the same year Baltimore city's Czech population was 2,206, 0.3% of the city's population. 27,603 people of Czech descent lived in the greater Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. In 2013, an estimated 1,290 Czech-Americans resided in Baltimore city, 0.2% of the population. As of September 2014, immigrants from the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
were the fifty-eight largest foreign-born population in Baltimore.


History


18th and 19th centuries

The first Bohemian Jew to arrive in Baltimore, Jacob Block (originally Bloch), immigrated in the late 1700s. The Bloch family were from the village of Švihov in Central Bohemia. The second Bohemian Jew in Maryland was Levi Collmus, a dry goods dealer from
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, who arrived at the Port of Baltimore in September, 1806. Collmus was an elector to the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, a treasurer of the United Hebrew Benevolent Society, and veteran of the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...
. Collmus was buried at
Green Mount Cemetery Green Mount Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Established on March 15, 1838, and dedicated on July 13, 1839, it is noted for the large number of historical figures interred in its grounds as well as man ...
according to
Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...
ritual. Between 1820 and the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...
, around 300,000
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
European Jews The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Some Jews, a Judaean tribe from the Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. migrated to Europe just before the rise of the Roman Empire. A notable e ...
arrived in the United States, many of whom were Bohemian Jews. Around 10,000 of these Jews, many of them Bohemian, passed through Fell's Point and settled in Baltimore. In 1853, Temple Oheb Shalom was founded by Jewish immigrants from Central Europe, including Czechoslovakia, Germany, and Hungary. The pioneer
Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
rabbi
Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Lomnička – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America". Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in ...
, born in
Plesná Plesná (german: Fleißen) is a town in Cheb District in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Administrative parts Villages of Lomnička, Smrčina and Vackov are administrative parts of Plesná. Geograph ...
,
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
, played an influential role in the establishment of the synagogue. Early Czech immigrants to Baltimore came from the regions of
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
,
Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The ...
and
Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...
, which at the time were part of the
Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central- Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...
and later the
Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
. Because the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...
counted the
Czechs The Czechs ( cs, Češi, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common ancestry, ...
as "
Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...
" until 1881, it is difficult to know an accurate count for Czech immigrants before that time. Even after 1881, many Czechs were still listed as Austrians or " Austro-Bohemians" because of their Austrian citizenship. These early Bohemian immigrants to Baltimore in the years following the Civil War first settled in Fell's Point, then moved further north along Barnes and Abbott Streets near Broadway, eventually settling in large numbers along Collington Avenue near the
Northeast Market Northeast Market was established in 1885 in Middle East, East Baltimore, United States alongside the development of the area around Johns Hopkins Hospital. The market has gone through several iterations in its history, having been enlarged in 18 ...
. The largest great wave of Czech immigrants occurred from the late 1800s through the early 1900s. Enough Czechs had immigrated by 1860 that a small colony was formed. The developing community was thriving by the 1870s (construction had commenced in 1867), which was known then as Little Bohemia or Bohemia Village. According to the Painted Screen Society of Baltimore, Little Bohemia was bounded by North Washington Street on the west, East Eager Street to the north, Jefferson Street to the south, and North Linwood Avenue to the east. Numerous rowhouses were built to accommodate the growing Bohemian community, which continued to grow throughout the 1880s and 1890s. The homes were constructed by Bohemian immigrants, most notably the architect Frank Novak (1877-1945).Maryland Historical Trust: Listing for Baltimore East Monument Historic District
/ref> Many of the immigrants who settled here worked as weavers and tailors or owned market stalls. Novak did not want any streets named after him, but his partner fooled him by naming a street "Kavon", Novak spelled backwards. Kavon Street presently runs parallel to Bel Air Road directly north and south of Herring Run Park. Between the 1860s and the 1910s, Bohemians chartered at least 20 building and loan associations. The first Bohemian organization was chartered in 1877, around 20 years after Bohemians started to arrive in the city in large numbers. Some of these associations were Jednota "Blesk", "Vlastimila" (sisters' benevolent union), the "Ctirada", the "Jaromíra", and the "Zlatá Praha" ("Golden Prague"). The majority of the Baltimore Bohemians were Roman Catholics. In 1870, there were around 1,000 Bohemian Catholics and within a decade that number had increased to over 5,000. The
St. Wenceslaus Wenceslaus I ( cs, Václav ; c. 907 – 28 September 935 or 929), Wenceslas I or ''Václav the Good'' was the Duke ('' kníže'') of Bohemia from 921 until his death, probably in 935. According to the legend, he was assassinated by his younger ...
parish was organized in 1872, in order to serve the needs of the growing population, becoming the Bohemian National Parish of the Roman Catholic Church in Baltimore. Sokol Jednota Blesk (now called Sokol Baltimore), a Czech gymnastics association, was founded in 1872. Members met on Frederick Street near
Fell's Point Fell's Point is a historic waterfront neighborhood in southeastern Baltimore, Maryland. It was established around 1763 along the north shore of the Baltimore Harbor and the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. The area has many antique, music, ...
.
Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...
(, ''
falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...
'') was originally a Czech nationalist organization created to train members to fight for the independence of Czechoslovakia and in some ways resembled the German Turnverein,
German-American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
gymnastic clubs that promoted
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...
and
German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one n ...
. In August 1879, the Fairmount and Chapel Streets Permanent Building, Savings and Loan Association No 1 Inc. was founded to serve the needs of Czech immigrants. The bank was located on the second floor of Anton Rytina's Bar at 1919 East Fairmount Avenue. All bank records were written in
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
until 1948. On November 8, 1880, the politician Vaclav Joseph Shimek helped establish the Grand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore, the Baltimore chapter of the Czech-Slovak Protective Society. Shimek was the owner of the Bohemian Hall and the six-time president of
Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...
Baltimore; he was also instrumental in helping found the National Sokol Organization. Shimek's Bohemian Hall, now the United Baptist Church at Barnes Street and Broadway, was located in the heart of Little Bohemia and was established as a meeting place for the Czech community. Shimek allowed the Hall to be used to hold
Knights of Labor Knights of Labor (K of L), officially Noble and Holy Order of the Knights of Labor, was an American labor federation active in the late 19th century, especially the 1880s. It operated in the United States as well in Canada, and had chapters also ...
meetings for
working-class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
Czech tailors and garment workers. In 1884, the Grand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore constructed the Bohemian National Cemetery, a cemetery for irreligious and Protestant Czechs and Slovaks. While the majority of Baltimore's Bohemians were Catholic, the Czech-Slovak Protective Society was largely composed of secular and religious
freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
. The cemetery served as an alternative to the Catholic cemeteries where other Bohemians were buried. During the 1890s, there were over 300 sweatshops in Baltimore, many providing sewing rooms for immigrants working in the garment industry. Most of the workers toiling in these squalid sweatshops were of Bohemian,
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
, Lithuanian, and
Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
-
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
ancestry. Around half of the garment workers were women and girls, many in their early teens. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the Bohemian stronghold north of
Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 ...
along the Baltimore to New York Amtrak line all the way to Frank C Bocek Park was known by the now long-forgotten name of "Swampoodle". Frank C Bocek Park was nicknamed the "clay hill". There was a swamp behind the clay hill, the source of the neighborhood being named Swampoodle. The heart of the Bohemian "hollow" of Swampoodle was located just north of Johns Hopkins Hospital along the tiny side streets of Barnes and Abbott.


20th century

During the early 1900s and mid-1900s, Little Bohemia was an ethnically diverse neighborhood, with many European immigrants such as Germans, Irish, and Italians living side by side with and intermarrying Czechs and Slovaks. One Slovak-American woman from a multiethnic family on North Bradford Street described her kitchen as "a league of nations around that dining-room table." A newspaper geared towards the Czech community titled ''Palecek'' was established in 1902. The same year Sokol Baltimore moved to a new location at Shimek's Hall on North Broadway. The Bohemian Building, Loan and Savings Association (also known as the Slavic Savings and Loan Association) was established in 1900, in order to serve the needs of Czech immigrants. The association was formed by twenty Bohemian men at Joseph Klecka's Tavern on Ashland Avenue. Two years later, in 1904, the Madison Bohemian Savings Bank was also founded in order to aid Czech immigrants, particularly the Czech farmers of the Hereford Zone of Northern Baltimore County. The mainstream banks during the 1800s and early 1900s would ignore or turn away customers who were Eastern European or Southern European immigrants, so Czechs and other non-
WASP A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder ...
immigrants would establish their own banking institutions to serve the specific needs of their communities. These banks for
white ethnic White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...
s had hours and customs that seemed less alien to immigrants and often had translators on staff. Discrimination against Czechs and other white immigrants persisted in banking until the 1930s. As late as the 1930s and 1940s it was not uncommon for Slavic Catholics, such as Czechs and Poles, to be called ethnic and religious slurs such as "
bohunk The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
s" and "fish eaters." Slavs were often
stereotyped In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...
as stupid and
superstitious A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and ...
. White Protestants coined the term "fish eater" to refer to Catholic immigrants because the Catholics did not eat meat on Fridays. The Baltimore journalist
H. L. Mencken Henry Louis Mencken (September 12, 1880 – January 29, 1956) was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and scholar of American English. He commented widely on the social scene, literature, music, prominent politicians, ...
described Czech immigrants in Baltimore as "all poor and without influential compatriots uptown." He opposed the independence of Czechoslovakia, claiming that "Czechs are a charming people" but should have "kept to their own dunghill." He sympathized with Nazi Germany's aim "to get rid of the Czech nonsense at any cost." In 1939, he wrote that he was "a great deal less interested in what Hitler does to the Czechs...than I am in what he does to the Germans." The Baltimore ''
Telegraf Telegraf may refer to: * Telegraph * ''Telegraf'' (Baltimore newspaper), an American weekly newspaper * ''Telegraf'' (German newspaper), a German daily newspaper * ''Telegrafi'', a newspaper published in Kosovo * ''Dnevni telegraf ''Dnevni teleg ...
'', a Czech-language newspaper founded by Vaclav Shimek, began publication on February 20, 1909. The newspaper would continue in print until 1951. The Golden Prague Federal Savings & Loan Association was founded in 1912. The bank was created to aid the Czech community, but later expanded to serve non-Czechs as well. A Czech immigrant living in Little Bohemia named William Oktavec invented
screen painting Screen painting is painting on window screens. It is a folk art form originating in immigrant working-class neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland, in the early 20th century. The wire screen section of a screen door is typically painted with ...
in 1913. Screen painting became a popular form of
folk art Folk art covers all forms of visual art made in the context of folk culture. Definitions vary, but generally the objects have practical utility of some kind, rather than being exclusively decorative. The makers of folk art are typically tr ...
in Baltimore's working-class immigrant communities. During the peak of screen painting in the 1930s and 1940s there were approximately 100,000 painted screens by over 100 artists. In 1914, the Bohemian Catholics built the church of St. Wenceslaus Church, Baltimore, which by now had 7,000 members. St. Wenceslaus held services in both
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...
. At its height in 1920, the parish was the fourth largest
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Baltimore ( la, link=no, Archidiœcesis Baltimorensis) is the premier (or first) see of the Latin Church of the Catholic Church in the United States. The archdiocese comprises the City of Baltimore and nine of M ...
. In 1915, August Klecka, son of Joseph Klecka, became the first Czech-American to be elected to the
Baltimore City Council The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its more than 600,000 citizens. It has 14 members elected by district and a president elected at-large; all serve four-year terms. The Council holds regu ...
. Klecka represented Czech voters and ran the Slavic Building and Loan Association. During
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
(1914-1918), most of Baltimore's garment industry workers were still of Bohemian, Lithuanian, and Russian descent, the majority of whom were Jewish and many of whom were young women. When the independence of Czechoslovakia was declared on October 18, 1918, the Czech and Slovak communities in Baltimore joined in the celebrations and for many years held annual festivities and parades commemorating Czechoslovakia's Independence Day. Many working-class Central and Eastern European immigrants, including Czechs, settled in the Curtis Bay neighborhood in the late 1800s and early 1900s, where many attended the St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church. However, by 1925 the church had become majority Polish as many Polish immigrants settled in the neighborhood. With further construction in Little Bohemia the Czech community continued to grow. By 1927, the construction was finished in Little Bohemia. As the Czech population continued to expand, Czechs began to move into
Patterson Park Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Patte ...
and became an important component of the neighborhood's growth. The Czechoslovakian Society of America founded a duckpin bowling league in 1946. Many of the early members were Czech-American soldiers returning from
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. During WWII, many Czech and Slovak coal-miners from Pennsylvania settled in South Baltimore, particularly in Curtis Bay. Many of these Czechs and Slovaks from Pennsylvania joined the St. Athanasius Roman Catholic Church, adding to the number of Czech congregants that already attended the church. The church still had a number of Czech-American members by 2003. Czech-Americans and Slovak-Americans in Baltimore during WWII were strongly opposed to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
and the
German occupation of Czechoslovakia German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **G ...
. After the War, Czechs and Slovaks concentrated in the Collington Avenue area began to move out of the neighborhood and dispersed widely across Baltimore city. During the 1950s, many Czech-Americans began to disperse from Little Bohemia while many African-Americans began to move into the area. In 1954, Sokol Jednota Blesk moved its organization to a new building on the 2900 block of East Madison Street. A few years later in 1962, the organization changed its name to Sokol Baltimore. In the 1960 United States Census, Czech-Americans comprised 57.5% of the foreign-born population in Southeast Baltimore's tract 7-3. The Czech community was then centered in Baltimore's Ward 7. The Fairmount and Chapel Streets Permanent Building, Savings and Loan Association No 1 Inc. changed its name in 1960 to the Fairmount Federal Savings and Loan Association, Inc. In 1963, they moved their headquarters to Baltimore's suburb of Rosedale. During the 1964 presidential election, leaders of the
Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis. The current state party chair is Yvette Lewis. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all but one ...
directed a campaign against
George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist a ...
in the ethnic neighborhoods of East Baltimore, which included deploying "big name" politicians and dispensing free beer to the locals. Senator
Daniel Brewster Daniel Baugh Brewster Jr. (November 23, 1923 – August 19, 2007) was an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the United States Senate, representing the State of Maryland from 1963 until 1969. He was also a member of the Marylan ...
's election campaign especially targeted the Bohemian, Italian, and Polish areas of Baltimore populated by unionized skilled workers. By 1969, the Czech-American community in Little Bohemia was predominantly composed of ageing homeowners who lived alongside more recently arrived
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
residents. However, many of the
older Older is the comparative form of "old". It may also refer to: Music: * ''Older'' (album), the third studio album from George Michael (released in 1996) ** "Older" (George Michael song) * "Older", a song on the 1999 album '' Long Tall Weekend'' ...
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
Czech-Americans harbored
racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
attitudes towards
black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
. According to a reporter with 'The Baltimore Sun', "The older people of Bohemian extraction still live in the houses they own...but they share the neighborhood with black people whom they do not seem to appreciate or understand." In 1970, the Bohemian Building, Loan and Savings Association changed its name to the Slavie Savings And Loan Association Inc. In 1986, th
Czech and Slovak Heritage Association of Maryland, Inc.
was founded in Baltimore. It has since grown into a national organization that offers courses on the languages, culture, and history of the Czechs and Slovaks. In 1987, the association started the Czech and Slovak Heritage Festival. Early festivals were held at
War Memorial Plaza War Memorial Plaza is a public square, small park and space in Downtown Baltimore between City Hall and the War Memorial Building, between Holliday Street on the west, East Fayette Street on the south, North Gay Street on the east, and East Lexin ...
and
Patterson Park Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Patte ...
. Later the festival moved to
Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
and eventually to its current home in Parkville. The Slavie Savings And Loan Association Inc., changed its name to the Slavie Federal Savings and Loan Association in 1987. The Czech and Slovak Language School of Maryland was founded in 1988. The school was held at the parish hall of the St. Wenceslaus Church. After a few years the school moved to the Towson Unitarian Universalist Church and then to the
Maryland School for the Blind The Maryland School for the Blind (MSB) is a school in Baltimore for children and youth who are blind or Low-vision, including those with multiple disabilities. MSB is a non-profit, private,https://www.marylandschoolfortheblind.org/welcome-to-m ...
. The school offers the only Czech and Slovak language courses in the Baltimore area. By 1996, little of the Czech community remained in East Baltimore. The Baltimore Sun described the former community as "now scattered." As of 1998 the Czechoslovakian Society of America, by then called the Czech Society of America, still operated its duckpin bowling league in East Baltimore. As late as 1994, 80-90% of the members of the league were of Czech descent. The Slavie Federal Savings and Loan Association closed its original location on Collington Avenue near
Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 ...
in 1993. Ze Mean Bean Café in Fell's Point opened in 1995. It is a restaurant which offers Slavic and Eastern European fare, including
Czech cuisine Czech cuisine ( cs, česká kuchyně) has both influenced and been influenced by the cuisines of surrounding countries and nations. Many of the cakes and pastries that are popular in Central Europe originated within the Czech lands. Contem ...
. The restaurant was founded by Yvonne Dornic as an ode to her Czechoslovakian-born
Carpatho-Rusyn Rusyn (; rue, label= Carpathian Rusyn, русиньскый язык, translit=rusîn'skyj jazyk; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, руски язик, translit=ruski jazik),http://theses.gla.ac.uk/2781/1/2011BaptieMPhil-1.pdf , p. 8. is an Eas ...
father Ivan Dornic. In 1998, Sokol Baltimore moved to a new location at St. Patrick's Parish Hall on Broadway in Fell's Point. In January 2011, the Czech and Slovak Association of Baltimore opened the Czech and Slovak Language School for children. Every Friday night during the school year children and their parents meet in the Cathedral Undercroft of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen. Classes for native Czech speakers and well as Czech classes for non-speakers are offered.


21st century

In 2000, the Slavie Federal Savings and Loan Association became the Slavie Federal Savings Bank. The bank's headquarters were moved to the Baltimore suburb of Bel Air in 2001. By 2008, people of Slavic descent still made up ten percent of Slavie's customer base. In 2007, the Golden Prague Federal Savings and Loan Association was purchased by the Bradford Bank and merged into it. After the
2011 Virginia earthquake On August 23, 2011, a magnitude 5.8 earthquake hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was northwest of Richmond and south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an ...
damaged St. Patrick's Church, Sokol Baltimore had to move their organization to a different location. The new Sokol building is on Noble Street in
Highlandtown Highlandtown is a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Description and history The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside the Baltimor ...
. The
National Slavic Museum The National Slavic Museum in Fell's Point, Baltimore is a museum dedicated to the documentation of the Polish and Slavic heritage of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Belarusian, Bulgarian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Croatian, Czech Czech may refer to: * ...
opened in 2012. The museum focuses on the Slavic history of Baltimore, including Baltimore's Czech history, and is run entirely by volunteers. In 2014, after 114 years of business, federal banking regulators closed Slavie Federal Savings Bank after the bank's capital was depleted by bad loans. As of 2014, there remains a small Czech population in Baltimore, but only a few traces of the community remain. Little Bohemia is no longer a majority Czech neighborhood, as many Czechs have moved to the suburbs primarily due to
white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
and the
decline Decline may refer to: *Decadence, involves a perceived decay in standards, morals, dignity, religious faith, or skill over time * "Decline" (song), 2017 song by Raye and Mr Eazi * ''The Decline'' (EP), an EP by NOFX *The Decline (band), Australian ...
of industrial manufacturing jobs. St. Wenceslaus is currently a thriving parish, as the ethnic character of the congregation has undergone a gradual shift from a mostly white working-class Czech parish to one that is multicultural and multiracial, first as many
Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in ...
and
Lithuanians Lithuanians ( lt, lietuviai) are a Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another million or two make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Unite ...
moved into the neighborhood, and then as the neighborhood shifted to having an
African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
majority. Little Bohemia was majority white until the 1950s. The neighborhood, now known as
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, has suffered from extensive urban decay and housing abandonment due to poverty and crime, as well as the after-effects of the
Baltimore riot of 1968 The Baltimore riot of 1968 was a period of civil unrest that lasted from April 6 to April 14, 1968, in Baltimore. The uprising included crowds filling the streets, burning and looting local businesses, and confronting the police and national gua ...
, and now has a largely poverty-class and working-class African-American majority. During the 1968 riots, the
National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...
ordered residents to stay indoors. Residents throughout Little Bohemia could smell the smoke caused by arson during the riots. As African-Americans began to migrate into the area during the 1960s and 1970s and the neighborhood began to shift from black to white, black newcomers and ageing white immigrants briefly lived side by side. The African-American newcomers referred to white immigrants in the neighborhood as "Germans", regardless of where they came from. White people tended to go to St. Wenceslaus, while black people tended to be to Israel Baptist Church. The neighborhood was one of the hardest hit in Baltimore, as the white working-class and middle-class African-American tax base left and the area was effected by epidemics of heroin, crack cocaine, and HIV, along with an intensification of gang activity fueled by the drug trade. The predatory practices of lenders, landlords, and property flippers have also contributed to the spiraling cycle of decline and disinvestment. By 2000, Middle East was the second poorest neighborhood in Baltimore, with a median household income of $14,900, less than half the city's median. Less than half of all adults were employed in the labor force and over a third of households had poverty-level incomes. Crime and domestic violence rates were double those of the city as a whole, and the incidence of lead poisoning and child abuse were among the highest in Baltimore. The Madison Bohemian Savings Bank is still in business, but is now headquartered in Baltimore's suburb of Forest Hill. The bank no longer limits its loans to Czechs. While the Czech-American community in Baltimore has been historically
white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, since the 1990s a small cohort of black Czechs settled in Baltimore. These African-Czechs are Ethiopian immigrants who settled in the
Czechoslovak Socialist Republic The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
before resettling in the United States. The Ethiopian-Czechs settled in
Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...
due to international ties to the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
while
Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
was under
Communist rule A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
. These Afro-Czechs have experienced racism from white Czechs, both in Czechoslovakia and the United States. The Ethiopian-Czechs who settled in Baltimore were mostly male, with many marrying Czech or Slovak women and raising American children. Many are regulars at the Czech and Slovak Festival, among the few
people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
at the majority white festival. The historically Czech area surrounding Johns Hopkins Hospital, now majority African-American, is facing encroachment from the growing Johns Hopkins campus. Many black residents believed that Johns Hopkins practiced
institutional racism Institutional racism, also known as systemic racism, is a form of racism that is embedded in the laws and regulations of a society or an organization. It manifests as discrimination in areas such as criminal justice, employment, housing, health ...
against African-Americans and nicknamed the hospital "The Plantation". The homes of 1,200 African-Americans were demolished to make way for the construction of dormitories for white medical staff and a fence was erected to protect staff from "vandals". Local African-Americans nicknamed the dormitories "The Compound". During the Baltimore riot of 1968, Johns Hopkins was spared but Monument Street and Gay Street were torched. The issue of the expansion of Johns Hopkins Hospital and the
gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ...
of the surrounding neighborhood has been the source of several decades of socioeconomic and racial conflict, often pitting Johns Hopkins Hospital against the poor black residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.


Culture

The annual Czech and Slovak Heritage Festival still exists and is held in Baltimore's suburb of Parkville. In
Ellicott City Ellicott City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in, and the county seat of, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Part of the Baltimore metropolitan area, its population was 65,834 at the 2010 census, making it the mo ...
, located not far from Baltimore, there was a Czech-style pastry shop named Kolache Kreations that offered Czech cuisine, such as kolache. It was the only kolache shop in Maryland. The shop was founded by Ileana Fernandez, a
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
woman from
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
who was surprised that no kolache shops existed in Maryland. Texas is home to hundreds of kolache shops, due to the rich history of Czech immigration to Texas. As of 2014 there were only 1,000 screen paintings left. The
American Visionary Art Museum The American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) is an art museum located in Baltimore, Maryland's Federal Hill neighborhood at 800 Key Highway. The museum specializes in the preservation and display of outsider art (also known as "intuitive art," "raw ...
features a permanent exhibition on screen paintings, including a re-creation of a row house and a documentary titled "The Screen Painters" made by Elaine Eff, a folklorist who serves as the president of the Painted Screen Society of Baltimore. Eff is the author of "The Painted Screens of Baltimore: An Urban Folk Art Revealed", having researched the tradition of screen painting since 1974. Historically, there was a strong connection between the Czech and Slovak communities in Baltimore and the Czech and Slovak
communities A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...
in
Prince George County, Virginia Prince George County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,010. Its county seat is Prince George. Prince George County is located within the Greater Richmond Region of the U.S. st ...
. The members of the two communities would often travel back and forth between Baltimore and Prince George County in order to cooperate on events. In 2016, the Baltimore Slavic Heritage Festival was founded by Yvonne Dornic. The festival is held at St. Mary's Assumption Eastern Rite Catholic Church in the Baltimore suburb of Joppa and is the first Pan-Slavic festival in the Baltimore area, bringing together 13 Slavic heritages - Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Bulgarian,
Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also * * * Old Serbian (disambiguation ...
, Croatian, Bosnian,
Slovenian Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...
, Montenegrin, Belarusian,
Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Ma ...
and
Lemko Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of C ...
. The Bulgarian Embassy has sent dancers to the festival and a variety of Slavic foods are served, including
pierogi Pierogi are filled dumplings made by wrapping unleavened dough around a savory or sweet filling and cooking in boiling water. They are often pan-fried before serving. Pierogi or their varieties are associated with the cuisines of Central, Ea ...
,
borscht Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...
, and holupki. The Lemko House, an apartment complex on South Ann Street, provides housing for Eastern European immigrants. Founded in 1983 by Ivan Dornic, an Eastern Rite priest, the complex is named after Dornic's ethnic group, the
Lemkos Lemkos ( rue, Лeмкы, translit= Lemkŷ; pl, Łemkowie; uk, Лемки, translit=Lemky) are an ethnic group inhabiting the Lemko Region ( rue, Лемковина, translit=Lemkovyna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) of Car ...
. The Lemkos are a
Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn language, an East Slavic l ...
ethnic group inhabiting
Lemkivshchyna The Lemko Region (; pl, Łemkowszczyzna; uk, Лемківщина, translit=Lemkivshchyna) is an ethnographic area in southern Poland that has traditionally been inhabited by the Lemko people. The land stretches approximately long and wid ...
, a part of Transcarpathia that spans parts of Slovakia, Poland, and Ukraine. Lemko House has opened its doors to low-income residents of any ethnicity, but is still home to many Slavic and Eastern European immigrants. The Pride Center of Maryland offers Czech-language services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender clients in the Greater Baltimore region. A few reminders of the city's Czech heritage exist in local place names, most notably Moravia Road, the Moravia-Walther neighborhood, Frank C Bocek Park, and Prague Avenue near Rosedale.


Religion

Czech-Americans in Baltimore have largely been either Roman Catholics or
freethinkers Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
, while small but significant minorities have been Protestant or Jewish. The most prominent Roman Catholic organization has been St. Wenceslaus and the most prominent freethought organization has been the Grand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore. The Czech-Slovak Protective Society was founded by
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
Czech-Americans and promoted
freethought Freethought (sometimes spelled free thought) is an epistemological viewpoint which holds that beliefs should not be formed on the basis of authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma, and that beliefs should instead be reached by other methods ...
and
liberal values Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for co ...
.


Protestantism

In addition to St. Wenceslaus church, there have been two other churches in Baltimore that have specifically catered to Baltimore's Czech Christian community. Both of these churches, the Mount Tabor Bohemian Methodist Episcopal Church and the Bohemian and Moravian Presbyterian Church, were established for the
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
minority. Mount Tabor, a
Methodist Episcopal church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. ...
, was located at 629 North Washington Street and is now home to a black Baptist church called New Pilgrim Baptist Church. Beginning in the 1880s, Mount Tabor's services were held at the former Appold Methodist Episcopal Church at 2001 East Chase Street near Washington Street, before moving to their location at 629 North Washington. The Czech Presbyterians first organized a congregation in 1890, first holding services at Faith Chapel on Broadway just north of Shimek's Bohemian Hall. By 1898, the Presbyterians had raised enough funds to build their own church, the Bohemian and Moravian Presbyterian Church, on Ashland at the intersection with Washington Street. In 1947, the Bohemian and Moravian Church was sold to a black congregation, becoming the Freedom Temple AME Zion Church. In 2016, Johns Hopkins Hospital purchased the building and subsequently demolished it to make way for a medical-related facility.


Judaism

Chevrei Tzedek Congregation, a Conservative synagogue in Baltimore, is home to one of the 1,564
Torah scrolls A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of ...
rescued by the Jewish community of Prague during World War II. The scroll was written by a
sofer A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M ( he, סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural of is , ; female: ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, , is an abbreviation of t ...
from the "Prague School of Kabbalists." The members of the Prague School of
Kabbalists Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...
were all murdered by the Nazis during the Shoah, so knowledge of this tradition has not been passed down. The scroll has suffered serious water damage to the
Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...
while in storage under the
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
government of Czechoslovakia, but is in excellent condition from Leviticus to
Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
. The scroll has not been fully repaired yet and costs for restoration are estimated at $15,000.


Notable Czech-Americans from Baltimore

*
Virginia S. Baker Virginia S. Baker (August 16, 1921 – July 29, 1998) was an American civil servant and employee of the Department of Recreation and Parks in She was known by a number of nicknames, such as Queenie, Queen of Fun, Baltimore's First Lady of Fun, " ...
, a civil servant and employee of the Department of Recreation and Parks in Baltimore City. * Martin Greenfield, a Czechoslovakian-born master tailor specializing in men's suits and a Holocaust survivor. * William R. Jecelin, a soldier in the United States Army who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for his actions during the Korean War. *
Frederick Jelinek Frederick Jelinek (18 November 1932 – 14 September 2010) was a Czech-American researcher in information theory, automatic speech recognition, and natural language processing. He is well known for his oft-quoted statement, "Every time I fire a ...
, a Czechoslovakian-born researcher in information theory, automatic speech recognition, and natural language processing. * August Klecka, a Democratic politician and newspaper editor. * Nancy Mowll Mathews, an art historian, curator, and author. *
John Neumann John Nepomucene Neumann (german: link=no, Johann Nepomuk Neumann, cs, Jan Nepomucký Neumann; March 28, 1811 – January 5, 1860) was a Catholic priest from Bohemia. He immigrated to the United States in 1836, where he was ordained, joined t ...
, a German Bohemian immigrant who became a Catholic priest of the Redemptorist order. *
Ric Ocasek Richard Theodore Otcasek (March 23, 1944 – September 15, 2019), known as Ric Ocasek, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He was the primary co-lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, songwriter, and frontman for the rock ...
, a musician and music producer best known as lead vocalist for the rock band The Cars. * William Oktavec, a Bohemian immigrant who invented screen painting. *
Michael Peroutka Michael Anthony Peroutka (born 1952) is an American far-right politician, lawyer, and neo-Confederate activist from Maryland. He was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Maryland in 2022, and was the Constitution Party candidate f ...
, a Maryland lawyer who founded the Institute on the Constitution. *
Maelcum Soul Patricia Ann Soul (September 22, 1940 – April 5, 1968), known professionally as Maelcum Soul, was an American bartender, artist's model, and actress. In the 1960s, she portrayed leading characters in two of filmmaker John Waters' earliest wor ...
,
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...
, artist, and actress in two of filmmaker John Waters' earliest works. * Dutch Ulrich, professional baseball player for the Philadelphia Phillies. *
Charles Yukl Charles William "Charlie" Yukl (February 14, 1935 – August 22, 1982) was a ragtime pianist and murderer from New York City. Early life Charles William Yukl was born in Baltimore in 1935 to Czech parents, pianist and conductor Dorothea Freitag ...
, a ragtime pianist and murderer. * Christina "Brave" Williams, a vocalist for the R&B girl group "RichGirl". *
Isaac Mayer Wise Isaac Mayer Wise (29 March 1819, Lomnička – 26 March 1900, Cincinnati) was an American Reform rabbi, editor, and author. At his death he was called "the foremost rabbi in America". Early life Wise was born on 29 March 1819 in Steingrub in ...
, a
Egerland The Egerland ( cs, Chebsko; german: Egerland; Egerland German dialect: ''Eghalånd'') is a historical region in the far north west of Bohemia in what is today the Czech Republic, at the border with Germany. It is named after the German name ''Eg ...
-born Reform rabbi, editor, and author.


Czech expatriates in Baltimore

*
Stanislav Grof Stanislav "Stan" Grof is a Czech-born psychiatrist who has been living in the United States since the 1960s. Grof is one of the principal developers of transpersonal psychology and research into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness ...
, a psychiatrist who helped found the field of transpersonal psychology and a researcher into the use of non-ordinary states of consciousness.


See also

*
Ethnic groups in Baltimore There have been a variety of ethnic groups in Baltimore, Maryland and its surrounding area for 12,000 years. Prior to European colonization, various Native American nations have lived in the Baltimore area for nearly 3 millennia, with the ear ...
*
History of Baltimore This article describes the history of the Baltimore and Baltimore Metropolitan Area, its surrounding area in central Maryland since the European colonization of the Americas, establishment of settlements by European colonists in 1661. Native Ame ...
*
White ethnic White ethnic is a term used to refer to white Americans who are not Old Stock or White Anglo-Saxon Protestant. "Religion is the most critical factor in separating white ethnics in American society. As Catholics and secondarily Jews ... they were ...
*
White flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...
* Historie české komunity v Baltimoru, Czech Wikipedia version of this article.


Gallery

File:Crypt Bohemian National Cemetery 0.JPG, A C.S.P.S. crypt at Bohemian National Cemetery File:Bohemian - Reliquary with the Man of Sorrows - Walters 57700.jpg, Bohemian Reliquary with the Man of Sorrows in the
Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum, located in Mount Vernon-Belvedere, Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is a public art museum founded and opened in 1934. It holds collections established during the mid-19th century. The museum's collection was amassed ...
. File:SlavicMuseumSign2.JPG, Door sign for the National Slavic Museum File:Baltimore Painted Screens & Rowhouse Theater 19.jpg, Plaque at the Baltimore Painted Screens & Rowhouse Theater at the American Visionary Art Museum File:Baltimore Painted Screens & Rowhouse Theater 12.jpg, Business card for a screen painter from the Elaine Eff documentary at the American Visionary Art Museum File:St Wenceslaus Lyceum 4.JPG, Czech cornerstone at the St. Wenceslaus Lyceum that reads "Katolická Budova Sv. Václava" (The Catholic Building of St. Wenceslaus). File:Czech and Slovak Festival of Baltimore 95.JPG, Czech and English sign at the Czech and Slovak Festival. File:Bohemian Wedding 1.JPG, A wedding of a Bohemian couple from Baltimore. File:Bohemian Wedding 3.JPG, A Bohemian woman from Baltimore at her sister's wedding. File:Christ United Methodist Church Chase Street 02.jpg, Christ United Methodist Church on Chase Street, the former site of Appold Methodist Episcopal Church where the Mount Tabor Bohemian Methodist congregation originally held services. File:Czech and Slovak Festival of Baltimore 92.JPG, Sokol Baltimore booth at the twenty-eighth annual Czech and Slovak Heritage Festival. File:Sokol Baltimore 15.jpg, Praha/Prague bilingual inscription on a mural at Sokol Baltimore. File:Sokol Baltimore 30.jpg, Sokol symbol at the entrance to Sokol Baltimore. File:Madison Bank of Maryland 05.jpg, Madison Bank of Maryland in Forest Hill, formerly the Madison Bohemian Savings Bank.


References


Further reading

* Ament, Maryanne. ''Bohemia Village: A Community Study'', 1973. * ''"Baltimore's Prosperous Colony of Bohemians"'', Baltimore Sun, September 16, 1906, p. 16. * Eff, Elaine. ''The Painted Screens of Baltimore: An Urban Folk Art Revealed'', Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2013. * Hayward, Mary Ellen. "The Bohemians" in ''Baltimore's alley houses : homes for working people since the 1780s'', Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008. * Hradasky, Mary, Scarpaci, Jean A. ''Oral history interview, 1975.'' * Holzberg, James. ''"Czech-Slovak Heritage Preserved at Festival and Perry Hall Language School"'', Northeast Booster, September 23, 2011. * Kaessman, Beta; Harold Randall Manakee and Joseph L. Wheeler. ''"Czechoslovakians or Bohemians"'', in: My Maryland. Baltimore: Maryland Historical Society, 1955, pp. 405–406. * Kozlik, James Vincent; Neuman, Phyllis. ''Oral history interview, 1977.'' * McCardell, Lee. ''"Baltimore's Czech Community Grew From Small Group Settling at Fells Point"'', Sun, October 10, 1943. * Prasch, Lamar. ''A Rural-urban Ethnic Comparison: the Bohemians; Baltimore, Maryland and Milligan, Nebraska'', 1972. * Rechcigl, Miloslav, Jr. ''"Czechs in Early Maryland and Old Baltimore"'', Maryland Genealogical Society Journal, 52, No. 2 (2011), pp. 293–306. * Scarborough, Melanie. ''Establishing Roots in the Community'', Community Banker; January 2007, Vol. 16 Issue 1, p28. * Šimek, V. J. ''"Baltimore a jeho Čechové" (Baltimore and its Czechs)'', Amerikán, Národní kalendář, 2 (1879), pp. 145–148. * Slezak, Eva. ''"A Cache of Czechs."'' Maryland Genealogical Society Bulletin, 23 (Spring 19082): 166-67. * Slezak, Eva. ''"Czechs in Maryland before 1900"'', Maryland Genealogical Soc. Bull., 21, No. 1 (Winter 1980), pp. 18–26. * Slezak, Eva. ''"Baltimore's Czech Community: The Early Years"'', Czechoslovak and Central European Journal, 9, No. 1 & 2 (Summer-Winter 1990), pp. 103–114.


External links


Baltimore's Czech and Slovak Festival is a surprising reflection on heritageCity man connects to Czech heritage through Wilson statueCSHA Maryland official websiteCzech and Slovak Heritage Association websiteCzech and Slovak Heritage Festival webpageEmil D. Taborsky, 86, paper company executiveFrom the vault: Remembering Baltimore’s Czech communityGrand Lodge Č.S.P.S. of Baltimore websiteHow Baltimore Became the New York of the South by Ron Cassie
a thesis from Georgetown University
I remember when... Baltimore's Czech community was known as "Little Bohemia"Kolache KreationsObituary for Albert J. MatousekRaymond J. Peroutka, businessmanSokol BaltimoreThe Painted Screen Society of BaltimoreZe Mean Bean Café
{{Czech Americans by location
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
Czech-Jewish culture in the United States
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...
Slovak-American culture in Maryland Slovak-American history Slovak-Jewish culture in the United States