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SpotlightThrough Emperor Rudolf’s water tunnel under Letná
The Habsburg Emperor Rudolf II left a deep mark in Czech history. Various
legends and myths surround the 16th century ruler who made Prague his
imperial seat and whose diverse interests made the city a centre of
Renaissance arts and sciences. One monument from his time is hidden beneath
the surface of the earth – a water tunnel carved deep into the rock of
one of Prague’s hills. More
SpecialA tale of two brothers, and the building of a nation
For the occasion of September 28, I’m here at a place that some people
actually call the real centre of the Czech Republic. Not the geographic
centre to be sure, but certainly the focal point for much of the Czech
Republic’s rocky modern-day history. It’s a statue of a man on a horse
(which people call ‘the horse’ when they arrange one of the hundreds of
meetings that take place here each day). But it’s of course the man on
the horse that has overseen everything over the last hundred years from the
declaration of Czechoslovak independence to the various political
demonstrations that gravitate here today. Above me is of course Saint
Václav, or Wenceslas, from which the surrounding square takes its name,
and his likeness has adorned this place for at least three hundred years,
in different incarnations. Legend has it that when worse comes to worst for
the Czech lands he will come un-petrified, and ride away to quash their
enemies – a disconcerting prophesy when one considers the parades of
Nazis and Communists that the statue saw come and go. But even in that,
there is a good point to be made: this symbol of Czech statehood is
indomitable; the legacy of St. Václav rides on through the ages, now for
about the 1,076th year. More
Czech BooksA Prague poet “infinitely better known than Shakespeare”
In Czech Books this week we find out about the life and times of an
English-born Renaissance poet who spent nearly all her life in Prague and
in her time was more celebrated than Shakespeare. David Vaughan has been
exploring the life and work of “Westonia”.
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
Current AffairsFilm tribute to St. Václav wins plaudits after 80 years
Tuesday was a state holiday in the Czech Republic, the Day of Czech
Statehood, which marks the feast day of the patron Saint Václav, or
Wenceslas. While it has always been a red-letter day for Czech Roman
Catholics, who commemorate the martyr’s murder in the year 935, it is
only in recent years that the date has gained in political significance.
This year the office of the government marked the occasion with a special
ceremony to return an 80 year old film epic about the holy monarch to the
screen.
More
Current AffairsNational Museum opens major new exhibit on St. Wenceslas
The National Museum has opened a major new exhibit on St. Wenceslas, the
patron saint of the Czech lands, who was also one of their earliest and
most important rulers. What is particularly significant about this exhibit
is that it brings together a collection of the most precious manuscripts
and items relating to Saint Wenceslas over the course of roughly 700 years.
More
Czech BooksAlchemy and wife swapping in Renaissance Bohemia
The philosopher, scientist and mystic, John Dee, was one of the great
figures of Elizabethan England. He was a close confidante of the Queen and
one of the founders of modern science, at a time of transition from the
medieval to the modern age – a time when science and alchemy, magic and
mathematics intertwined. In the 1580s John Dee came to Bohemia, along with
family and his mysterious friend and assistant, the alchemist Edward Kelley
– who supposedly possessed the gift of communicating with spirits.
Between them, they left an indelible mark on Czech history.
More
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