Today we are revisiting the Golem of Prague. We’ve written about this before in our post The Legend of The Golem but our friend Barbara S. Weitz shared the following information which we’ve decided to share here with you because it’s so interesting. We hope you enjoy it. Who is the Golem? The Golem is...
Today we are looking at the Slovak and Czech settlement at Slavia, Florida. It was mostly Slovak, but a few Czechs were there, too. In the early 1900s, the American Slovak slogan was Spat ku gazdovstvu, or “Back to the farm.” A number of immigrants from Slovakia felt uncomfortable in their occupations as workers in...
Like many others, early Czech California pioneers went West in search of gold and opportunities. During the mid-1800’s California was a land still steeped in romantic reminders of the first Spanish population and the prospect of sudden wealth. A life of adventure beckoned there, at least from an American point of view. What adventures would...
Věrni zůstaneme is the motto of the Czech Republic Army. It means “We Shall Remain Faithful”, “We Will Remain Faithful”, or “We Remain Faithful”. After the Nazi seizure of power in 1933, Germany demanded the “return” of the ethnic German population of Czechoslovakia—and the land on which it lived—to the German Reich. In the late...
Today I am sharing a few pages from a lovely book I received from Reverend Thomas J. Drobena. Thomas John was born on August 23, 1934 in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Son of Thomas and Suzanne (Durec) Drobena. His heart and soul are in Moravia. Ordained to ministry Evangelical Lutheran Church in American, 1962. Grantee...
Today’s post is about the Czech connection to September 11, 2001. There are several Czech connections to the tragic events that happened that day we all remember. The truth is that nobody who still has a memory can fail to forget where they were the first time they heard about the attack on the World...
The following stories about a Bohemian boyhood (1851-1867) have been provided by Bill Skocpol, a loyal supporter of Très Bohemes. They were written by Frank J. Sadilek of Wilber, Nebraska, Bill’s great-great-grandfather, as reminiscences about his boyhood in Ledeč nad Sázavou, Central Bohemia. The post is separated into Bill’s notes with updated facts, maps, and...
Today, we are learning about Czechs in the Big Apple and how it all began. New York is the city with a special significance to the Czech Republic. In Upper East Side, we can find the Czech consulate general and the Czech center, both doing a great job in promoting Czech businesses and Czech culture...
Today I am sharing the engrossing memoir of a spirited and glamorous Czech fashion designer who survived World War II. It is entitled, Franci’s War, A Woman’s Story of Survival by Franci Rabinek Epstein. I received this book anonymously as a gift from our TresBohemes Amazon Wishlist where we ask our subscribers to send material...
I am thinking of all those Moravian, Slovak, and Czech immigrants who came through Ellis Island. Those who came before us, and how so many of them are simply forgotten. Due to the ravages of time, many of the stories of these immigrants will remain mysteries forever. Not only the people, but their entire lives....
I just finished a very interesting book, Warrior of God: Jan Zizka and the Hussite Revolution by Victor Verney with Foreword by David Muhlena. Jan Žižka (1370–1424) belongs to the elite group of leaders who never lost a battle. He was a formidable figure whose life and military career was set amidst the whirlwind of...
Today we meet a Czech woman named Eliška Junková (aka Elizabetta or Elizabeth Junek), a pioneer in the history of motor racing. Known as the “Queen of the Steering Wheel,” Junková competed during the 1920s against Europe’s top drivers, and in 1927 became the first woman ever to win a Grand Prix race. She was...
Today we are taking a trip through history and looking at trams on Wenceslas Square. Why a trip through history? Because these days, you only see two trams at the square, and they act as a café, mainly for the tourists. The two historic Křižík trams serving as a cafe have been located roughly in...
Do you enjoy going back in time as much as I do? What if I could take you back to Šumava in 1929? You’d stay in the towns, see the Chod people, experience the marketplace, explore the forest, and learn about the mythology and folk tales. The Šumava mountain range stretches across south and west...
Today I am taking everyone on a nostalgic trip to a Czechoslovakia of the late 1960’s. The images come from a book entitled, Children of Czechoslovakia by Marcela Andrlova. It was published in 1969. On the back cover it reads: “Living at the crossroads of Europe, the children of Czechoslovakia and their parents are much...
There is a house in Prague which was said t have announced death. How? Because legend says the Prague bell rang on its own… At first glance, it looks like an ordinary house on Mostecká Street, which leads to Charles Bridge. It houses the U Tří zvonů pub, which got its name because it sat...