Vlasta Adele Vraz was a Czech-American who served as the director of American Relief for Czechoslovakia after World War II and was arrested as a spy by the Communist government in Czechoslovakia. She was released, becoming the Czechoslovak National Council of America. She spent most of her life before World War II surrounded by writers and writing for her family’s newspaper, the “Svornost.” After her release, she continued as an editor for the American Bulletin and Vestnik before she died in 1989.
Jiřina Šiklová: Sociologist, Gender Studies Professor, and Dissident
Capuchin Crypt
Founded in the 17th century, the Capuchin Crypt in Brno holds the natural mummified remains of 150 Capuchin brothers, 50 benefactors, a Roman noblewoman, and a famous soldier. Capuchin burials involved detailed records of not just the dead, but also the living, which also documented the history of the church itself. Unfortunately, people were occasionally buried alive due to coma or paralysis. There are other interesting aspects of the Capuchin Crypt, such as the tomb of Noblewoman St. Clementine or the thumb of František Baron Trenck.
Tomáš Masaryk and the United States
Tomáš Masaryk, first president of Czechoslovakia, was inspired by the freedom and democracy of the United States. While negotiating for Czechoslovakia’s independence, Masaryk developed not only political relationships, but also personal and intellectual ones with the United States. During the First World War, he was exiled after siding with the Allied Powers, but did not give up on garnering support from his fellow Czechoslovakians. The Lansing Declaration of May 1918 was one of many important moments in the future creation of the Czechoslovak Republic, which eventually came to pass, all before he died in 1937.
The Bohemian Revolt: Battle and Execution
On November 8, 1620, the Bohemian army had lost the Battle of White Mountain, resulting in the Bohemian Revolt, which proved to have dire consequences on those who participated. For example, since the severity of punishment increased depending on the level of participation, those who held an official position or provided service had their property confiscated while the revolt leaders were given the death penalty. There were further consequences down the line which shaped Bohemia’s future.
Czech Cottage Culture
Warsaw Pact
Oldřich Kulhánek and the Czech Koruna
Oldřich Kulhánek was a Czech artist and critic of the Communist Regime best known for his work on designing the current Czech banknotes. His career began in 1958 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. During his young life, his politically motivated art would get him arrested and the art almost destroyed since he negatively portrayed Communist leaders. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Oldřich Kulhánek was once again free to express his views through his art and was tasked with designing the bills of the Czech Koruna.
Language of the Flowers
Czech Spa Cups
Spa cups were created for drinking natural spring water, supposedly endowed with healing properties. This cultural sipping cup began with a pig and its broken leg, which apparently recovered after rolling around in the mud from spring water, inspiring Teplice locals to soak in the water to cure their ailments. By the 19th century, the spa scene became popular enough to inspire studies and university courses. The spa cups themselves appeared in the early 17th century, made to taste the spring water and benefit from its healing properties.
A History of Czech Feminism
The once egalitarian, agrarian society of Bohemia became ruled by the Hapsburg Dynasty, causing a regression in women’s rights until Christianity helped improve their lives. The National Revival brought the creation of Czechoslovakia and greater rights for women. When communism came, rights improved in some ways and did not in others. The change to a capitalistic democracy brought further changes.
Czech National Revival
A response to increased Germanization, the Czech National Revival revived Czech literature, language, history, and politics. Increased nationalism marked this period of cultural revival. The movement started before the 19th century with Czech intellectuals such as Josef Jungman and Josef Dobrovský becoming more discontent with the decrease in Czech culture, language, and national identity. Czech national identity also involved realism, rejecting the romanticism of the past, which was considered “anti-nationalist.” With the end of the Great War, the goals of the National Revival movement were successfully met.
Karlovy Vary Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, or KVIFF, hosts about 200 films from around the world and is the oldest film festival. Located in Karlovy Very, Czech Republic, the film festival is held annually in July and is the most prestigious festival in Central and Eastern Europe, boasting a popular feature film competition.
The Legend of Lech, Cech, and Rus
The legend of the three brothers Lech, Cech, and Rus, who became the ancestors of the Polish, Czech, and Rus, explains how these cultures were created. The legend involves the brothers being the son of prince Pan and leaving the Pannonia empire. Some accounts don’t involve Rus, rather just Lech and Cech, who are the sons of Jan and not Pan.
The Bohemian Revolt: Defenestration and War
The decision in establishing an emperor’s successor would lead to a conflict that would spark the Thirty Years’ War. The Bohemian revolt initially started off in favor of the Bohemians, but it damaged diplomacy. Victory in this conflict for either side would hinge on the battle that would take place at White Mountain.
Casanova's time in Bohemia
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova, a man whose name has become synonymous with womanizing, spent his final years and composed a rich autobiography in Bohemia. His life began in Venice, Italy where he spent most of his childhood, including the discovery of romance, with the daughter of Gozzi. Due to the trouble Casanova ran into in Venice, he eventually settled in Prague, where he met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Houska Castle
Houska Castle is a castle located in the Liberec region of the Czech Republic. The castle was built in the Gothic style during the second half of the 13th century, and later underwent a Renaissance modification in the late 1500s. This castle is particularly famous for the folklore, which is that it is built over a pit meant to be the entrance to Hell. Besides the folklore, the actual purpose of Houska Castle was to serve as an administrative center for Ottokar II’s royal estates.
Gender Roles under Communism
Under Communist leadership, Czechoslovakia held that women’s emancipation was equal access to the workforce and increased educational and social reforms, but they failed to address the issues of housework, gender roles, and women’s political presence. For example, while women were 11 times as educated in 1975 as they were in 1945, they were directed towards traditionally feminine fields of study. At the same time, however, financial and moral incentives were introduced for women to work for the bureaucracy. There’s no doubt that gender roles were becoming complex while staying traditional in Czechoslovakia.
LGBTQ+ Marriage In The Czech Republic and Slovakia
The former communist-controlled Czech Republic is now one of the most progressive countries regarding LGBTQ+ (same-sex or transgender) rights, but inequality remains. While civil unions are now recognized, same-sex marriage is illegal and is under review as of June 2023. However, the LGBTQ+ in Slovakia do not even have civil unions, let alone same-sex marriage, though there is the law of a “close person,” which is someone who is close to an individual. Just as in the Czech Republic, Slovakians are vying for same-sex marriage to be legalized.
Czech Cubism (Cubo-Expressionism)
The term Cubo-Expressionism was coined in the early 1970s to describe Czech avant-garde art in the 20th century, when elements of Cubism and Expressionism were combined. It was a revolt from earlier art forms with spiritual elements. Czech Cubism, as Cubo-Expressionism is also called, was applied to just more than art pieces, including furniture, objects, architecture, etc. One of the most famous Cubo-Expressionists is Pavel Janák, a Czech architect, designer, planner, professor, and theoretician.