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PanoramaPanorama
Panorama : thousands of people undertake a traditional New Year’s
pilgrimage to the Basilica of the Virgin Mary in Hostýn, over a dozen
enthusiasts strap on wooden skis to mark the centenary of the first
downhill ski race in Central Europe and -home is where the heart is – a
stray dog keeps returning to the dog shelter where a vet saved his life. 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
SpotlightThe home of Jumping Virgin Mary
Many Czechs are familiar with the old expression Panenko Skákavá, which
literally means Jumping Virgin Mary, but few know about the origin of the
phrase. Jumping Virgin Mary, or more precisely, the Virgin Mary of Skoky,
is the patron of what used to be one of Bohemia’s most famous Roman
Catholic pilgrimage sites. In this edition of Spotlight, we visit Skoky,
now an extinct village with a run-down Baroque church that once attracted
large crowds of believers. 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 AffairsCzech Catholics arrive in the Vatican for a three-day pilgrimage
More than a thousand Czech Roman Catholics are currently converging on the
Vatican to give thanks for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Czech
Republic one year ago. The visit is all the more significant to the Czech
Church just now, days after the pontiff cited the Czech Republic
specifically when speaking of what he called the “tragic” spread of
atheism. Hana Frančáková of the Pilgrimage Centre of the Bishopric of
Hradec Králové was at the Vatican today. On the phone from there, she
told me what the roughly 1,300 faithful will be doing on their three-day
pilgrimage. More
Business NewsBusiness News
In this week’s Business News: central bank governor sees brighter
economic prospects; betting company Fortuna makes successful market debut;
foreigners own almost 70 percent of top companies and half of Wenceslas
square; and religious sites signposted for tourism growth. More
SpotlightThe home of Jumping Virgin Mary
Many Czechs are familiar with the old expression Panenko Skákavá, which
literally means Jumping Virgin Mary, but few know about the origin of the
phrase. Jumping Virgin Mary, or more precisely, the Virgin Mary of Skoky,
is the patron of what used to be one of Bohemia’s most famous Roman
Catholic pilgrimage sites. In this edition of Spotlight, we visit Skoky,
now an extinct village with a run-down Baroque church that once attracted
large crowds of believers.
More
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