Vintage Czech Songbook Covers and Their Lovely Art

Czech songbook covers have a very special place in my heart because of the artwork which is always apparent. Be it the drawing or illustration or the distinctly Czech layout of text, I feel like each one is a unique treasure. Today I am sharing some of my personal favorites, and where possible, links to...

ENTERTAINMENT, Music, Time Warp

February 19, 2018

My Old Czech Letters from 1920

Sometimes it’s just an image. Other times it may be a bit more, like the delicate penmanship which caught my eye the first time I saw these old Czech letters and just knew that I had to have them. I believed the illustrations to be drawn on, but in fact they are some sort of...

NOSTALGIA, Time Warp

February 17, 2018

Hedy Lamarr “Most Beautiful Girl of the Century” Had Czech Roots

Here is a small bit of trivia you may not know… Actress Hedy Lamarr (1914-2000) “The Most Beautiful Girl of the Century” Had Czech Roots. Her maternal grandfather: Carl Moritz Leopold Lichtwitz (1855-1928) was born in Opava, Moravia. She was not only beautiful but also quite brilliant, as this post will show. In 1933, a beautiful, young Austrian woman took...

History, Movies, PEOPLE, Women

February 12, 2018

Czech Tramp (Tramping) News Covers from 1930

Czech tramping is something that is deeply woven into the psyche of many Czechs, especially those who lived through some of the political events of the 1900’s. Back in November of 2016, we shared Flashback to 1929: Czech Tramp News Covers, a post which all of the tramping buffs loved, and in that post we...

NOSTALGIA, Periodicals, Tramping

January 17, 2018

The Czech and Slovak Heligonka Instrument

The Heligonka or Helikónka (in Slovak: Heligónka) is a Czech and Slovak musical instrument similar to the Melodeon or Alpine Steirische Harmonika. The actual history of this instrument is unknown, as is the exact individual enterprises where the production began. (The Novak company was created in the year 1874 – and they produced the steirische...

CULTURE, History, Music, NOSTALGIA

December 13, 2017

The Czech Anti-Nazi Resistance Group Known as The Three Kings

The Three Kings (Czech: Tři králové) was a famous Czech anti-nazi resistance group which was established in 1939 when Czechoslovakia was annexed by Nazi Germany. It was comprised of three members: Josef Mašín, Václav Morávek, and Josef Balabán. The code name of the group (Three Kings) was coined by the Prague Gestapo. The Three Kings...

History, NOSTALGIA

November 25, 2017

Czech Puppets Make a Worldwide Debut

Today’s post comes to us from an article originally written by Jacqueline Ruyak. The article appeared in the August 1996 issue of Doll World magazine. Unfortunately, I tried to search the company but to no avail. Does anyone have an update on Rezek Marionettes? Dating to medieval times, modern puppeteers keep Czech tradition alive with...

NOSTALGIA, Time Warp

November 11, 2017

Celebration of Martinmas and the Czech Goose Dinner

Today is the 11th of November – also known as St. Martin’s Day, Martinmas or the Feast of Saint Martin. It is a day in which people not only remember and honor St. Martin of Tours, but is also a day traditionally associated with the fall harvest. In the Czech Republic, it is time for...

CULTURE, Food, History, Holidays

November 10, 2017

The Indomitable Pioneer Spirit of the Creative Czechoslovaks

My Antonia, written by Willa Cather “in memory of affections old and true”, is the story of a Czech woman who embodied the pioneer spirit. Antonia represented hard work, pride, love of land, and a desire to do what was best and right – in essence, the character of the Czech pioneers who came to...

History, NOSTALGIA

October 25, 2017

Czechoslovak Armored Car from WWII Skoda Panzerwagen II Turtle

Czech Master Kits, more commonly known as CMK, has been one of the Czech Republic’s contributions to modeling since the mid-1990s. Originally it focused on the production of resin cast kits but later production expanded and a range of resin detail accessories, detail sets, and white metal accessories together with modelers’ tools and aids was...

History, NOSTALGIA

October 17, 2017

Czech AUTO Magazine Covers from 1935

Today is a quick post of old magazine covers from the year 1935. They appeared on AUTO oficielní orgán Autoklubu Republiky Československé (AUTO official body of the auto club of the Czech Republic) magazine. We love all of the classic and elegant vehicles and the motorcycles… don’t you? If you have not already subscribed to...

NOSTALGIA, Periodicals

September 17, 2017

Prague’s Underground Postal System – The Pneumatic Post

The Prague pneumatic post (Czech: Pražská potrubní pošta) is the world’s last preserved municipal pneumatic post system. Once the dream of modern technology, the very thought of sending messages and parcels zipping through miles of tubes, powered by air pressure and vacuums, most of these pneumatic dispatches have all but disappeared. Since it started in 1889,...

History, NOSTALGIA

Czech Coronation Jewels of the King and Emperor Charles IV

September 16, 2017

Czech Coronation Jewels of King and Emperor Charles IV

Today we are taking a look at the Bohemian coronation jewelry and the exhibit they had at the Hrubá Skála Chateau in Bohemian Paradise. From August 3rd to September 28th, 2017, the Hrubá Skála Chateau hosted an exhibition to mark the 670th Anniversary of the Coronation of Charles IV, the Czech king. It was a...

History, NOSTALGIA

September 12, 2017

Old Town Hall or Staroměstská Radnice Through the Years

So much has been written about this Prague landmark, I wondered how I could add to the conversation. But then I came across some old photos of Prague and it occurred to me that most people have not seen what the Old Town Hall or Staroměstská Radnice looked like until recently, and that it has...

History, NOSTALGIA

September 9, 2017

The Beat Generation In Prague – Expression Behind the Iron Curtain

The sound of beat music broke out in Prague sometime around late 1965, 1966 and 1967. During this time there was a cultural explosion unparalleled in Eastern Europe. There was a favorable political environment, after Soviet demilitarization and the release of political prisoners, culminating in the appointment of Dubček as secretary general of the Czech Communist...

ENTERTAINMENT, History, Music, NOSTALGIA

Prague-Eden-Historical-Rollercoaster-Lunapark

September 3, 2017

Eden Park Prague in 1922 – Complete with a 5 Kilometer Roller Coaster

In 1922 a new attraction opened in built in Vršovice, now a part of Prague. Known as Lunapark and Eden, it had a roller coaster that measured five kilometers in length. With its giant roller coaster looking like it comes straight out of an American film, this is what Eden looked like 90 years ago....

History, NOSTALGIA