Czechs in History | All stories

When one looks back on a thousand years of Czech history one of the names that still carries great weight is that of 17th century thinker Jan Amos Komensky - the humanist reformer, Protestant bishop, and philosopher the world came to know as Comenius. A man who witnessed the tragic subjugation of his country in the era of religious and political conflict known as the Thirty Years' War. Who would be forced to flee his own homeland, yet never wavered in his overriding belief that the reform of mankind was possible, necessary, and indeed within

One of the Czech nation's most beloved sons, Jan Amos Comenius ( 1592-1670 is buried in Holland. This visionary religious leader, theologian, philosopher and educationist lived most of his life in exile, fleeing political and religious persecution in Europe. His last 14 years, among his most active and productive, were spent in Amsterdam "the most cherished among cities, the jewel of the Netherlands and the pride of Europe", where he hoped to realize his project for the betterment of humanity.

When one looks back on a thousand years of Czech history one of the names that still carries great weight is that of 17th century thinker Jan Amos Komensky - the humanist reformer, Protestant bishop, and philosopher the world came to know as Comenius. A man who witnessed the tragic subjugation of his country in the era of religious and political conflict known as the Thirty Years' War. Who would be forced to flee his own homeland, yet never wavered in his overriding belief that the reform of mankind was possible, necessary, and indeed within

Franz Kafka has come to be one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, as well as one of Bohemia's most famous sons. This month the Franz Kafka Society in Prague, the Jewish Museum, and Charles University, are all marking the 80th anniversary of the writer's death - inspiring us to revisit some of the key moments in Kafka's life. There is also a conference on Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges, organised in cooperation with the Agentine Embassy. So Kafka has not been forgotten in his home town.

Czechoslovak participation in the first weeks of "Operation Overlord" — the invasion of Normandy — was almost exclusively limited to the air, as soldiers from occupied Czechoslovakia's 1st Armoured Brigade did not deploy to France until several weeks after the Allied landing's first wave. But hundreds more Czech fighting men took part in the D-Day landings doing battle under the flags of other Allied nations. Brian Kenety reports.

Last week marked the 59th anniversary of the final days that led-up to the end of the Second World War. In Bohemia those fateful days were defined by the Prague Uprising, which saw some 30, 000 take up arms in the Czech capital against their German occupiers. Though the Nazi grip on Bohemia and Moravia began to weaken, the threat of newer Nazi atrocities grew with every passing hour.

In Canada it is referred to simply as "The Game", a national sport, a spectator passion, and a winter pastime. But, Canadians are far from alone in their passion: though they may have invented ice hockey, this sport more than any other, carries similar resonance for the Czechs, whose own hockey tradition reaches back to the turn of the 20th century. It may have taken them forty years to become world champions and ninety to win Olympic gold, but few doubt the Czechs' place in the world of hockey today. They have stars in the NHL and one of the best

Poet, writer, and journalist, Jan Neruda has long been recognised as one of the outstanding figures of 19th century Czech literature, an author who mastered the art of the feuilleton, whose column was published regularly in the politically-liberal Narodni listy, and read widely by the masses. An ironical but also often melancholic poet who strived for modernity and the defeat of provincialism; a writer whose works were carefully dissected in his day who was endlessly expected to write his 'great' novel, but whose ultimate masterpiece remains his

In this edition we shall not be looking at the life of a single historic figure but an historic site - south western Bohemia's Rabi Castle - the country's most majestic surviving ruins, with a past that reaches all the way back to the 12th century. Anyone who has ever travelled by car or bus to the town of Susice near the Czech Republic's Sumava region will most likely remember the sight of Rabi, the castle's broken white masonry sharp against a blue sky or pelted by rain on an overcast day. A rich past, a history of survival and dilapidation,

Welcome to another edition of Czechs in History. Today we take you back to the 15th century: we'll be looking at the life of one of most famous and tragic figures of Czech nobility Perchta of Rozmberk, the most powerful of Czech aristocratic families in their day, the owners of castles and estates in southern Bohemian towns from Cesky Krumlov and Rozmberk, to the towns of Jindrichuv Hradec and Telc in the Czech-Moravian highlands. Whose father was Oldrich II, a shrewd politician married her off against her will; she, who suffered an intolerable