Czech Update

Dictionary of Czech culture

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:56:48 +0100

The Amazon reviewer got it right! read more »

Czech opera on YouTube

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 11:20:02 +0100

YouTube is known mostly for funny little clips or stolen content. But it is also a great resource for music. One thing I came across by accident are a number of clips from Czech opera. This one is a famous and beautiful aria from Dvořák's Rusalka. It is sung in Czech by the American soprano Renée Fleming. read more »

Jára Cimrman to bring new Czech heaven

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 12:53:23 +0000

Cimrmanův divadelní kšaft - www.lidovky.cz Zdeněk Svěrák a Ladislav Smoljak chystají patnáctou hru, kterou by chtěli oslavit podzimní čtyřicítku Divadla Járy Cimrmana. Nová hra by se mohla jmenovat České nebe s podtitulem Cimrmanův dramatický kšaft.

It is characteristic of many things in the Czech psyche that the greatest Czech of all time [also here], as measured by Czech TV's remake of BBC's 100 Greatest Brittons, never existed. It was Jára Cimrman who will celebrate 40 years of non-existence next year. And his 'discoverers', now revered Czech cultural icons themselves, have just announced they are planning to uncover the 15th lost play by this intellectual giant. The play may be called 'Czech Heaven' and with any luck will open in the fall of 2007. This is big news! Roughly on the scale of announcing the new Star Wars. Unlike the Star Wars, though, this is unlikely to disappoint. Want know why? Read this account by an American of the Czech hero's appeal who sums it up pretty well: read more »

Tracking the history behind the Wenceslaus Carol

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 11:08:04 +0000

Czech point: On the trail of Wenceslaus: Independent Online Edition > Europe Wenceslaus was born into the Premyslid dynasty, which had risen to hegemony in this part of central Europe a couple of generations earlier. His father was Duke Bratislav, his mother from a tribe from further north in the Czech lands. But his greatest influence was his grandmother, Ludmilla, who also picked up a sainthood after introducing Christianity to the Czech people.

The Independent set out on the trail of the Good King and found that he is inextricably tied to all that the Czechs hold dear about their history including a famous Prague square. read more »

Who killed Jan Masaryk?

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 13:55:53 +0000

Ruský novinář: Vím, kdo zabil Jana Masaryka - www.lidovky.cz (Foto: Hynek Glos, Lidové Noviny) MOSKVA 17. prosince 2006 | 11:29 Syna prvního československého prezidenta a poválečného ministra zahraničí Jana Masaryka zabil Michajl Iljič Bělkin, který zemřel v roce 1980. Tvrdí to ruský publicista Leonid Paršin

A new development in a 60-year-old murder. Jan Masaryk, the son of the Czechoslovakia's first president T. G. Masaryk, and a minister of foreign affairs in the exile government during WWII as well as the post-war government, died under suspicious circumstances in 1948. He was found dead at the bottom of the ministry building presumably having jumped to his death out of his bathroom window. read more »

Czech mythology and gender roles in politics

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:25:59 +0000

MF DNES VÍCE ŽEN V POLITICE Po komunálních volbách přibylo žen ve vedení hlavního města a také čtyři městské části zvolily političky do svého čela. Podle odborníků je to pořád málo. Jenže strany stále nechtějí ženy umisťovat na přední místa kandidátek. Praha - Pověst o mytické kněžně Libuši vypráví o tom, kterak moudrá žena raději ustoupila velmožům a vládu nad Vyšehradem přenechala svému muži. Pohled do lavic nového zastupitelstva Prahy napovídá, že velkou službu svým následovnicím neprokázala. Stereotyp, že na správu věcí veřejných má pravé know-how jedině muž, přežil celá staletí - mezi 70 zastupiteli je pouze 14 žen a v jedenáctičlenné radě zasedají všehovšudy tři ženy. read more »

Czech traditions and German influence

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 13:23:47 +0000

The Prague Post Online Experts agree that proper Olomouc cheese, or Olomoucké tvarůžky, should be moist and slightly sticky, with a lustrous, translucent layer on the outside. The inside, by contrast, should be firm but not tough, its color somewhere between light beige and creamy white. And then there is the characteristic smell. ... But is it authentically Czech? On that point hangs a debate stirring up the EP [European Parliament]. Tvarůžky and another of the country's favorite products — thin, sweet wafers from Karlovy Vary known as oplatky — are at the center of an argument between Czech, German and Austrian members of the EP. read more »

Battle reenactment near Slavkov claims 8 injuries

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 22:18:49 +0000

www.lidovky.cz - U Slavkova se zranilo osm lidí Osm zranění si vyžádala sobotní rekonstrukce bitvy tří císařů v Tvarožné na Brněnsku. Většinu poraněných odváželi zdravotníci přímo z bitevního pole, řekl primář jihomoravské zdravotnické záchranné služby Pavel Urbánek.

Eight people were injured (some fairly seriously) during Saturday's reenactment of the 1805 battle of Austerlitz (or Slavkov in Czech located near the Moravian capital Brno), also known as the battle of Three Emperors and one of Napoleon's great victories. read more »