Czechs in History | All stories

In a two-man show in one of Prague's theatres several years ago, a famous Czech actor asked his colleague if G. B. Shaw had lived a long life when he died at the age of 94. The other actor said 'of course, it was a long life'. No, it was not, replied the first one, 'because had G. B. Shaw lived for 100 years, he would have still had something important to convey, while there are lots of 30 year olds, whose existence is redundant as they will never have anything clever to say.

Welcome to Czechs in History. The 16th and 17th centuries in the Czech lands are sometimes called 'the times of darkness': as the Hapsburg's grip over the Czech Kingdom tightened, the Czech nation experienced religious oppression and German replaced Czech as the country's official language. However, this period produced several outstanding personalities in the field of art, and one of them was the painter Karel Skreta. By .

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George of Podebrady came from the old Czech family of the Lords of Kunstat, whose roots can be traced back to the 12th century. George's grandfather enjoyed the privilege of holding a very important post at the court of the Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV - his task was to taste all the wines that were served at the Emperor's table. George's father Bocek II fought in the Hussite battle of Vitkov in 1420, when little George was born. Bocek had always admired and supported the Hussite movement in the Czech lands, which started in the early 15th century and fought for reformation of the Catholic church.

Going to Africa is still an exotic trip, but not an impossible dream. African safaris are highly popular and tourists from all parts of the world come to see lions and elephants in their natural habitats. But travelling to the continent some 130 years ago, with little financial means and without any previous experience must have been a bold deed. But Dr Emil Holub, a 19th-century Czech traveller succeeded. And he's the man will be talking about with Dr Josef Kandert from the Naprstek Museum of Asian and African Culture in Prague.

In this week's Czechs in History, takes a look at Vaclav Klimec Klicpera, a successful 19th century playwright who turned his hand to politics, teaching and history writing.

In this edition of Czechs in History, takes a look at the life of Bozena Nemcova, a 19th century Czech writer, whose name is known to all Czechs, without exception.

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Welcome to Czechs in History. This time takes us through the life of I'll Vojtech Lanna, entrepreneur, patron of the arts and avid collector, and the founder of the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague.