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SpecialEva Jiránková –A remarkable life
In today’s Special our guest is the charming Eva Jiránková, born in
1921 to a notable Prague family in the early years of the First Republic.
As a junior, Jiránková was a competitive skier and as a young woman she
graced the covers of popular Czech magazines – something of a charmed
life. But that all that ended in September 1942 when her husband, Miloš
Jiránek, was arrested by the Gestapo, and spent the next years in
internment and concentration camps. More
SpecialLaureates of Gratias Agit award on the significance of their Czech heritage
Every year in October the Czech Republic honours those who have contributed
significantly to promoting the country’s good name abroad. This year,
Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg bestowed the annual Gratias Agit
awards on thirteen personalities from around the world to thank them for
their work. On occasion of the country’s national holiday we bring you
the thoughts and experiences of three Czechs who live abroad, but who never
severed ties with their homeland and are proud of their Czech roots and
national heritage. More
One on OneVeronica Hyks: the past is not always a foreign country
Although she was born in Britain and has never lived in the Czech Republic,
the actress and broadcaster, Veronica Hyks, is every bit as Czech as she is
English. She speaks Czech without a hint of an accent, and gives every
impression of being totally at home in Prague, even though it has never
been more than her “virtual” home. Veronica Hyks tells David Vaughan
how this came about in this week’s One on One. More
From the ArchivesAncient Greece comes to Prague in the summer of 1938
In the early summer of 1938 an unprepared visitor would have found it hard
to find a hotel in Prague. Tens of thousands of people from dozens of
countries, including Yugoslavia, France and the United States had gathered
in the city. This was tenth international gathering of the Sokol movement,
which had been founded in Prague back in the 1860s with the idea of using
physical exercise to build a sense of patriotism. Sokol took its
inspiration from Ancient Greece, but in 1938 the event also had more than a
hint of pan-Slav solidarity in the face of an increasingly aggressive Nazi
Germany. At the vast Strahov Stadium literally tens of thousands of people
engaged in simultaneous gymnastic displays. Czechoslovak radio was there,
reporting live on the events as they happened, amid the constant cheers of
the crowd in the background. More
SpotlightTyršův dům – Home of the Sokol movement
In today’s Spotlight Radio Prague visits an early Baroque palace known as
Michnův palác in the historic quarter of Malá strana. Built in the 16th
century, it first belonged to the Micha family before it became munitions
factory in the mid-1700s. In the early 20th century, after the founding of
Czechoslovakia, it was sold to the patriotic Sokol sport and gymnastics
organisation, which renovated it and named it Tyršův dům (or Tyrs’
House) after its main founder. More
SpecialGood King Wenceslas meets the Beatles on the Feast of Stephen
A good few years ago I used to live in a tiny flat in an old house called
the Mouse Hole, which was just off the ancient street that runs along the
bottom of the park below Prague Castle and the cathedral. In winter I used
to go out to the park to collect kindling to help get my sluggish
coal-fired stove to draw. On one occasion it had been snowing heavily and I
traipsed out through deep drifts. Ever since then I have always had a very
specific picture in my mind of the Victorian carol about the Czech patron
Saint, the tenth century Prince – or King - Wenceslas. I like to imagine
the Good King standing at one of the windows of the castle looking down and
spotting the poor man in the snow – in this case me – struggling with
an armful of branches. More
SpotlightTyršův dům – Home of the Sokol movement
In today’s Spotlight Radio Prague visits an early Baroque palace known as
Michnův palác in the historic quarter of Malá strana. Built in the 16th
century, it first belonged to the Micha family before it became munitions
factory in the mid-1700s. In the early 20th century, after the founding of
Czechoslovakia, it was sold to the patriotic Sokol sport and gymnastics
organisation, which renovated it and named it Tyršův dům (or Tyrs’
House) after its main founder. More
One on OneVeronica Hyks: the past is not always a foreign country
Although she was born in Britain and has never lived in the Czech Republic,
the actress and broadcaster, Veronica Hyks, is every bit as Czech as she is
English. She speaks Czech without a hint of an accent, and gives every
impression of being totally at home in Prague, even though it has never
been more than her “virtual” home. Veronica Hyks tells David Vaughan
how this came about in this week’s One on One. More
Czech BooksHana Wilson: messing about on boats after two decades on the airwaves
When she lost her job after twenty years in the Czech section of the BBC,
Hana Wilson was far from despondent. She simply allowed her hobby to take
over her life. Hana, who left Czechoslovakia back in 1980, has spent much
of the last decade on the waterways of Britain. Now she has published a
book, introducing Czechs to the wonders of life on a narrowboat. Hana
Wilson is David Vaughan’s guest in this week’s edition of Czech Books.
More
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