Czechoslovakia, or Czecho-Slovakia (/ ˌ tʃ ɛ k oʊ s l oʊ ˈ v æ k i ə, -k ə-, -s l ə-, -ˈ v ɑː-/; Czech and Slovak: Československo, Česko-Slovensko), was a sovereign state in Central Europe that existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until its peaceful dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia on 1 January 1993. read more