Radio Prague International

Jára Cimrman

Jára Cimrman is known to many in this country as perhaps the greatest Czech inventor, artist, explorer and musician of all time. He has been the subject of a dozen plays, which are frequently staged in a Prague theatre that is named after him. The plays aim to highlight the contribution of a man who many believe has never received proper recognition for his achievements.

In addition to being an accomplished musician, Jára Cimrman's many other achievements include proposing the construction of the Panama Canal to the Americans, inventing the light bulb and then getting to the patent office five minutes too late to register it, and even making it to within seven metres of the North Pole before being chased away at the last minute by a starving tribe of Native Americans.

Monument of Jára Cimrman Jára Cimrman is actually a fictional character. He's a kind of comic Czech everyman figure, who has somehow managed to be present at or involved in many defining moments in modern history. He first came to the attention of the Czech public in a satirical radio play, which was broadcast in 1967. Since that time, he has become something of a cult hero who is now a firmly established feature of Czech life.