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SpotlightCesky Krumlov
The countryside you'll see on a drive down to Cesky Krumlov makes the trip
worth the gas money. Roll over the hillsides along the E-55 highway - some
are bright green with grass, others are golden canola fields that stretch
for miles. The views make the three hour trip pass quickly, and give you
high expectations when you pull into the old South Bohemian town.
Expectations that the town exceeds.
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SpotlightThe Giant Mountains - a world of legend
For this week's Spotlight we're in one of the most beautiful regions of the Czech Republic, the Krkonose or Giant Mountains, straddling the Czech-Polish border, a hundred kilometres north-east of Prague. These are the Czech Republic's highest mountains, rising well over a thousand metres, and at this time of year, they are decked with a thick blanket of snow. The Giant Mountains is a wonderfully poetic and evocative name... and indeed Krkonose does have its very own legendary giant, known as "Krakonos" in Czech and "Ruebezahl" in German.
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SpotlightPernstejn Castle: still standing despite a disastrous fire
Pernstejn Castle is some 35km north-west of the south Moravian city of
Brno. Standing on a rocky hill above the villages of Pernstejn and
Nedvedice, it overlooks the highlands of Bohemia and Moravia. It was built
in the second half of the 13th century and is one of the best-preserved
castles in the country today, attracting some 75,000 visitors a year.
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Czech BooksPrincess Libuse: the wisest woman in Czech literary history
Today we look at one of the legendary figures in Czech history - sometimes
described as the "Mother of the Czech Nation" - the medieval
princess Libuse or Libussa, who has inspired many writers through the
centuries. I'm joined by Pavla Jonssonova, who has studied the way that
the Libuse legend has been interpreted by different writers, and to what
extent it reflects the possible real history of Libuse. More
Current AffairsDay of Czech Statehood commemorates patron saint of Czech nation
September 28th is St Wenceslas Day, commemorating the Czech nation's patron
saint, Prince Wenceslas, or Vaclav. He was slain by his own brother in the
year 935 near Prague. But Prince Vaclav was not the only man of that name
who played an important role in Czech history.
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SpotlightLounovice pod Blanikem
For today's Spotlight we've come to the town of Lounovice pod Blanikem, pod
Blanikem meaning "under Blanik", a mountain associated with some
of the most colourful and famous of Czech legends. They say the story of
the Knights of Blanik was first told to Charles IV by a blind young man,
who was travelling through his kingdom.
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Current AffairsPrague Writers' Festival - currently underway - discusses the 'New EU'
This year's Prague Writers Festival - the 14th since its inception - is now
underway in the Czech capital, this year bringing yet another group of
world-class authors to Prague. Authors including South African Nobel prize
winner Nadine Gordimer, German poet Hans Magnus Enzensberger, and
Russian-born American author Gary Shteyngart, to name just a few. Czechs
are of course also represented by several authors, including former
dissident Eda Kriseova - the author of a biography on Vaclav Havel.
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SpotlightSvaty Jan pod Skalou (St. John under the Cliff)
In this week's Spotlight, we visit the picturesque little village Svaty Jan
pod Skalou, some thirty km southwest of Prague and only nine kilometres
away from the popular gothic Karlstejn Castle. Despite a population of
only 120, Svaty Jan pod Skalou, translated into Saint John under the
Cliff, boasts a large number of beautifully preserved historical
monuments. This, thanks to the efforts of the St. John Society, which was
established by local inhabitants after the fall of Communism to restore
and bring back to life the treasures, left unattended and damaged by the
Communist government.
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Czechs in HistoryRabi Castle: some facts and legends surrounding the Czech Republic's most majestic ruins
In this edition we shall not be looking at the life of a single historic
figure but an historic site - south western Bohemia's Rabi Castle - the
country's most majestic surviving ruins, with a past that reaches all the
way back to the 12th century. Anyone who has ever travelled by car or bus
to the town of Susice near the Czech Republic's Sumava region will most
likely remember the sight of Rabi, the castle's broken white masonry sharp
against a blue sky or pelted by rain on an overcast day. A rich past, a
history of survival and dilapidation, the facts and legends of Rabi Castle
shall be looked at today.
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