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SpotlightThrough Emperor Rudolf’s water tunnel under Letná

18-01-2012 16:51 | Jan Richter

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

28-09-2011 02:01 | Christian Falvey

Statue of Saint Václav 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”

24-09-2011 02:01 | David Vaughan

Elizabeth Jane Weston 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

26-12-2010 02:01 | David Vaughan

Petra Elsmore, photo: David Vaughan 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

29-09-2010 14:38 | Christian Falvey

'Saint Václav' 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

24-03-2010 15:28 | Christian Falvey

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

14-03-2010 02:01 | David Vaughan

John Dee 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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