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The Kingdom of Bohemia was a small country located in central Europe. The kingdom was divided between a German and a Czech-speaking population. It bordered on Germany to the north and west, and on Austria-Hungary to the south and east. Its capital was Prague.

The exact relationship of the Kingdom to the Austro-Hungarian Empire is unclear. In "A Scandal in Bohemia" it is shown to have a hereditary monarch (Wilhelm von Ormstein). However, in later stories it seems to be ruled by Austria: in "The Adventure of the Creeping Man" a letter posted from Prague uses Austrian stamps, and in "The Adventure of the Illustrious Client" an Austrian citizen is brought to Prague for trial regarding a murder committed elsewhere.

Cities[]

  • Prague (capital) (Cz. Praha, Gm. Prag)
  • Egria
  • Brünn (Cz. Brno)
  • Carlsbad (Cz. Karlovy Vary)
  • Pilsen (Cz. Plzeň)

People[]

Canon appearances[]

"A Scandal in Bohemia"[]

Sherlock Holmes' client, Wilhelm von Ormstein, is the hereditary king of Bohemia.

"The Adventure of the Creeping Man"[]

Professor Presbury is supplied with monkey gland elixirs from a Prague-based quack doctor named Löwenstein. His dealer in England, Dorak, is likewise Bohemian.

"The Adventure of the Illustrious Client"[]

The Austrian baron Adelbert Gruner is brought to Prague to be tried for the murder of his wife in Switzerland. However, he walks free after the trial fails on a technical point and the suspicious death of the main witness.

"His Last Bow"[]

Sherlock Holmes mentions his success in "separating" Irene Adler and the King of Bohemia while reciting his accomplishments to an incapacitated Von Bork. He refers to the latter as "the late king", indicating that Wilhelm had either died or lost his throne in the intervening years.

Appearances in Adaptations[]

The Great Game[]

In the BBC Sherlock adaptation, Holmes recieves a letter from Jim Moriarty written on a "Thick Bohemian Paper"

A Study in Emerald[]

The victim in this case is Prince Franz Drago of Bohemia, a nephew of Queen Victoria. This is a nod to the country's significance in the Holmes canon.

Trivia[]

  • During the 19th century Bohemia was not an independent kingdom: it was a crown land of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Habsburg emperors also bore the title "king of Bohemia". It regained independence following the dissolution of the empire after WWI, and today forms the core of the modern Czech Republic.
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