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...
Today I wanted to share some illustrations by Jessie Mothersole from her book, Czechoslovakia The Land of An Unconquerable Ideal. This work of hers was inspired by a trip she took to the Czech Republic (then called First Czechoslovak Republic) in 1923 for a book she was asked to write by her London publishers. She...
On June 10, 1942 the Nazis wiped Lidice off the face of the earth. This June 10th marks the 80th anniversary of the horrific massacre of the men, women and children of Lidice – a little village west of Prague that was literally wiped off the map by the Nazis during WWII. The men were...
Today we are learning about the forgotten history of Elias Palme Glassworks. It used to be a famous factory, now it is a famous ruin, but the aesthetics of ruin also attract people and currently, this old historic property is for sale. So who was Elias Palme (1827–1893)? Back in the times of luster and...
Chicago’s working class were expecting a day in luxury and instead many of them experienced a terrifying and tragic calamity on the Chicago River. While most people are familiar with the Titanic (1) and Lusitania (2) disasters, many people have never heard of the Eastland Disaster (3). Counting passengers only, 832 perished on the Titanic....
In the southern part of Romania and along the River Danube, you will find six timeless Czech villages with an estimated 2,000 Czech inhabitants. These ‘Banat Czechs’ as they are called have been in the area for approximately 200 years, since between 1823-1828. They live in very ethnic and timeless Czech villages in the Banat...
Today we’re looking at a beautiful hand painted letter from 1899. Please take time to appreciate the time and effort that went into the little paintings, as well as the beautiful penmanship of it’s writer. I miss letters and post cards. I miss cursive hand writing. I miss the anticipation of writing a letter, and...
Imagine if we could travel back in time to Prague. Would you like to go back 100 years with me? The following is a chapter from a book published in 1912, entitled Around the Clock in Europe: A Travel-Sequence by Charles Fish Howell with illustrations by Harold Field Kellogg. Published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin...
Are you interested in world famous recipes of Czechoslovak specialties? If so, then you will enjoy today’s post. I have had a little booklet for ages which I have wanted to share with you. It was put out by the Foreign Trade Commission and KOOSPOL. Based on the graphics and the amount of time I...
While American children may nostalgically remember how handy their Swiss Army knife may have come in, certainly almost all Czech children remember their Czech fish knife. It was inexpensive, had a very nice shape, and it was easy to open, close and cut. Fancier multi-blade knives with additional equipment came much later. The so-called “Rybička”...
Have you ever wondered what the big deal is with Czech Tramping? Why do they walk around with cowboy hats or military fatigues? Who are they and what kind of a movement it is? The following was written by Jan Pohunek of the Institute of Ethnology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. It...
They slept that night in peace. The danger, they felt, had ended. Their democratic revolution would live. The Russians would not come in. As they slept, the chief of Czechoslovakia's secret police, who was scheduled to lose his job within a few days, arrived at Prague's new airport - to secure the field, he explained, for the arrival of an important Russian delegation. Within minutes, Czech and Soviet agents ringed the field, and airborne troops landed. At 1:00 a.m., the people of Prague awakened to the blaring of taxi horns and to news they could not at first believe.
Charles I (Czech: Karel III) was the last Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and King of Bohemia. He was born in the beautiful Persenbeug Castle in Austria in 1887, toward the end of Summer. Though his father was an Archduke and his mother a Princess, he was not in line for the throne until...
Today we are time traveling to Texas to meet Joseph Kaspar, the Texas accordionist of Czech descent. In this interview which took place on August 9, 1987, Al Lowman sat down with Joseph Kaspar at the Folk Like Festival in Texas. Here is what we can learn from this unique and very special Czech musician....
Today we have a wonderful history of the Czech flag to share with you. This special guest post was a paper originally published by NAVA (North American Vexillological Association) in the Proceedings of the 24th International Congress of Vexillology (2011). It was written by Aleš Brožek and is reproduced here with permission. The outbreak of...
Today we are looking at a bit of unknown history about polio in Czechoslovakia and the Czech influence that would become a part of the polio wars. Poliomyelitis or polio is a highly contagious disease that can cause paralysis of the legs, hands and respiratory muscles. It’s basically a bullet trying to kill specific parts...
