Czech Life | All stories

In a book just out, the renowned Czech author and illustrator Renáta Fučíková tells the story of Czechs in North America. The idea to chronicle stories of Czech immigrants originated in Chicago, which is sometimes referred to as “the most Czech city” in the US. I met up with Renáta Fučíková at her studio in the Old Town district of Prague, where she was putting finishing touches on the final illustrations for her new book.

In 2011 Prague hosted its first Gay Pride parade attended by about one million people. Prague has since become one of the most LGBT-friendly cities in central Europe. Today there is an active gay scene in the city with gay bars and travesty shows attracting locals and foreign visitors. To find out more about the life of a drag queen Lena Fix interviewed Edgardo, also known as Gizela Kova.

“Masopust”, the time of carnivals which historically ended on Ash Wednesday, is the oldest continuous holiday feast in the Czech lands. In terms of cultural memory, it is also the longest still transmitted – its significance and meaning passed down from generation to generation.

The organisation Liga otevřených mužů, or League of Open Men, is currently running its seventh “Dry February” campaign. The aim is to encourage Czechs to abstain from alcohol for the entire month and – among other benefits – enjoy greater self-awareness, higher energy levels and better sex.

2018 has been a good year for the Czech economy. Unemployment is the lowest in the European Union, wages have grown both in the public and private sector. But statistical data are one thing, personal experience and perception can be quite different.

Czechia is where East meets West. This may sound like an empty cliché that many other countries or even cities use to promote themselves. But it is definitely true that this country in Central Europe is roughly divided into two culturally distinct parts. Doctor Jana Poláková is an ethnographer in the Moravian Museum in Brno. As she explains, Christmas is a good time to observe the differences between the folklore in different parts of the country.

The best known Czech beer is undoubtedly Pilsner Urquell. Budweiser (sold as Czechvar in the United States and some other countries) is probably the second most prominent. The fame of these two brands outshines many other lagers and other types of beer brewed all over Czechia. And that is a shame, as there is so much more to discover for any beer-loving visitor to this country.

Czechs have always had somewhat contradictory feelings toward their nobility. One of the country’s leading aristocrats once even bitterly complained that Czechs are either louts or boot-lickers, nothing in between. One of the first laws of the newly independent Czechoslovakia, one hundred years ago, forbade the use of aristocratic titles. On the other hand, today Czechs have developed an avid interest in the lives of their dukes and counts.

When Edward Meegan visited the Czech Republic as a tourist in 1993, he had no intention of staying. I talked to him twenty-five years later about his Czech-American family, his career and his life as an American in the Czech Republic. I started off by asking him about his initial decision to remain in Prague.

Easter celebrations in the Czech Republic, which combine both Christian traditions and ancient pagan customs, are today mostly associated with painting eggs, whipping girls as well as eating loads of chocolates. But for dancer Antonie Svobodová, this time of year symbolizes a deep connection with the Earth. For more than 20 years, she has been marking the return of Spring by a ritual dance, based on age-old pagan rituals: