Abstract
An entry in an expert encyclopedia is focused on the Saint Wenceslaus Assembly which was the leading association of the Bohemian political movement in March during the revolution of 1848. It was founded at the public meeting of Bohemian and German populace at the Saint Wenceslaus Bathhouse in Prague.
The assembly - lead by the entrepreneur and patriot Petr Faster (1801-1868) - was attended by approximately three thousand people. During the talks on the phrasing of the petition, there were added new suggestions and comments which is why it was decided that the final version should be reviewed by selected patriots.
This is how the Saint Wenceslaus Petition Committee was created. The first petition requested the founding of a united state made up from Bohemian Lands, granting equal rights to Bohemians and Germans in all areas of life, the abolition of servitude, general buying out of corvée, introducing municipal self-governance, freedom of the press and assembly, religious freedom, and introduction of independent courts and civil guard.
The author comes to the conclusion that during the 1848 revolution, the Bohemian national movement voiced its own political ideas and goals during the Saint Wenceslaus Assembly and later during the National Assembly. Although these ideas were not implemented they contributed to the abolition of old-fashioned social principles in Austria-Hungary.