Czech Update

Czech animation reviving rich history

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:12:05 +0100

Czechs have always been on the cutting edge of animation (even helping with some of the Tom and Jerry cartoons in the 1950s and 1960s) and now it seems, things are looking up again, as this short article in Variety suggests. The name from the past to take note of is Jan Švankmajer who's cited as an influence on Tim Burton and Terry Gilliam. read more »

Masaryk's name not for sale

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 07:45:12 +0100

Here's an interesting example of how history can be important to the present.

To have a glass of Masaryk? In ČR not possible - Czechnews - Aktuálně.cz Czechs are so proud of their first democratic president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk that they will not let anyone use his surname as a trade mark.
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Mašín brothers, history, present

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 03:08:00 +0100

The International Herald Tribune offers a very good write up of a rather small event in the history of early communist rule in Czechoslovakia that has caused much controversy in more recent times. read more »

Karel Gott, the never-aging pop star, marries in Las Vegas

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 02:08:39 +0000

He's been a fixture on the Czech, German and general East European music scene since at least he mid-1960s. Started off with Rock'n'Roll and descended into broad pop in the 70s. Sold millions and millions of records and is the subject of adoration and derision in equal measure. Most Czechs and their parents have grown up listening to him and watching him win music contests. read more »

New resource for Czech exile literature online

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:08:47 +0000

A complete text (all in Czech) of a book survey of Czech exile literature between 1971 and 1989 was made available by the author on the University of Glasgow's Slavonic Studies Department website. read more »

Czechs end 2007 with EU freedom of movement

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:38:48 +0000

Finally, Czechs can leave their passports or IDs at home when travelling to any of their neighbouring countries. The Schengen zone has embraced a bunch of new countries including all those that share a border with Czech Republic. read more »

Czech inventor of the 'drunk tank' dies aged 91

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:07:26 +0000

Záchytka is a wonderful Czech word that stands for the institution for the collection of drunken (and possibly disorderly) individual wondering city streets occasionally referred to in English as 'drunk tank' or ' read more »

Velvet Revolution in video (YouTube weekly)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:01:27 +0000

YouTube is a great source of video to illustrate historical events and the Velvet Revolution is no exception. Here are a few clips.

Montage of moments from the days of and after 17 November: read more »

Talking about the Velvet Revolution

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:55:26 +0000

Listen to what it was like to be a Velvet Revolutionary in this discussion between Bohemica's Dominik Lukeš and Eamonn Burgess on Future Radio 96.9FM. This discussion was part of the Community Chest programme guest-hosted by Dominik on 16 November 2007.

18 years since Velvet Revolution on 17 November

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:57:39 +0000

For the 18th time since 1989, Czechs are celebrating the end of "communism" and the beginning of "democracy". The country has seen many changes since that time but many feel nostalgia for the 'bad' old times and the communist party still has 15% representation in parliament. But the chances of going back to what it was are very small. read more »

Great November in October evokes nostalgia in many

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:52:15 +0000

Czech communists but doubtless others are remembering the great October revolution of 1917 in Russian celebrated on 2 November (due to discrepancies in calendar systems). read more »

Happy birthday Czechoslovakia

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:24:55 +0000

Yes, it is 89 years today, 28. October 1918 that Czechoslovakia (Československo) was founded lasting with an interruption for WWII until 1992.

1950s prosecutor on trial for judicial murder

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:07:43 +0100

Ludmila Brožová Polednová was among the prosecutors who were involved in sending Milada Horáková and others to the gallows in the 1950s. Now, she is on trial for judicious murder. This Czech interview with a historian explains why the case against her is strong even after all those years. read more »

Sokol in New York still going strong after 140 years

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:54:06 +0100

Kafka in Czech complete

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:27:05 +0100

Was he or wasn't he? read more »

Dictionary of Czech culture

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

The Amazon reviewer got it right! read more »

History of Prague lighting system

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 12:15:52 +0100

It seems just like yesterday but apparently it was 160 years ago that Prague first got its gas-lit public lighting system which slowly replaced oil lamps used until then. The first two hundred lamps generated all sorts of fears about the flames people thought were going through the tubes. read more »

The look of post-communism: New ČSA logo

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:17:25 +0100

It appears the Czech Airlines are changing their look to look less Eastern European, lower quality and post-communist. See them below side by side and judge for yourself if you can tell the new from the old: read more »

The simple pleasures of non-Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:29:00 +0100

A visit to Třeboň, a small picturesque town (malebné městečko) in Southern Bohemia elicited justified outbursts of lyricism from a Seattle columnists. And he's right. The individual personality of small Czech towns is something to be experienced through a leisurely journey rather than a hectic 'been there, done that' trip. read more »

1968 Invasion Remembered

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:00:00 +0100

Thirty-nine years ago, the Prague Spring's efforts for "Socialism with a human face" culminated in an invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies during the night of 20-21st of August. Wikipedia has useful information and you can see some moving pictures on YouTube: read more »

Absinthe: tourist attraction as well as a popular export item

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:20:52 +0100

There are fewer drinks with more history and less appeal than absinthe. It has been made in the Czech lands for over a hundred years with all its decadence and semi-halucinogenic properties. It has now become a tourist attraction as well as a profitable export business.
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Historians not done with 1968 invasion

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:16:18 +0100

Apparently, not all the direct victims of the invasion of 1968 have been identified. That's surprising given their 'relatively' low number but not that surprising given the follwing twenty-one years were spent pretending nothing had happened. read more »

Czechs are from Mars

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 11:50:09 +0100

Well, it seems that the world has more than just the death of Dinosaurs to be thankful to a meteorite for. It is possible, it seems, that the Czech basin or "Česká kotlina" as it is known, is also a result of a giant rock smashing into the Earth. We owe the nice pancake shape of the country to that catastrophic event of 100 million years ago.
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Czech communities in Texas since 1850s

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 16:45:25 +0100

Texas Czech group working to preserve traditions - 21-06-2007 - Radio PragueThe first Czechs began settling in Texas in the 1850s and within five decades there were around 250 Czech communities in the state. Today one of the organisations keeping the community's traditions alive is the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Centre. This week John Polasek, a member of its board of directors, was in Prague on behalf of the centre to receive an award from the Czech Foreign Ministry. He told me about its activities. read more »

Czechs don't see change in politicians' honesty

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Feb 2007 11:34:03 +0000

Czech Unconvinced About Their Politicians: Angus Reid Global Monitor Many adults in the Czech Republic are disappointed with their current public servants, according to a poll by STEM. 72 per cent of respondents believe today’s politicians are not more honest than those from the communist era.

Of course, in most countries people don't have particularly high expectations of politicians' honesty. It might be dispiriting, though, that Czechs don't think theirs are any better now than when they were representing a totalitarian regime. But, on the other hand, there's a good chance that public representatives then were no more mendacious and self-serving as people and dismissive of their electorate then they are likely to be anywhere. Only, they were operating in a totalitarian context. read more »

Czech Internet 15 years old

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:08:32 +0000

Českému Internetu je 15 let - LUPA Československo (ČSFR) se slavnostně připojilo k celosvětovému Internetu přesně před patnácti lety, 13. února 1992. Jak to tehdy probíhalo a jak vůbec vypadal tehdejší online svět? Kolik lidí již tehdy mohlo používat například elektronickou poštu a jaké objemy dat k nám tekly ze zahraničí?

Well, more precisely, it was fifteen years ago that the first computer at a Czech university got connected to the world backbone in 1992. It took a read more »

Village shops unite under Coop label, shed communist past

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 09:11:25 +0000

Vesnické obchody se spojí proti Teskům a Lidlům - iDNES.cz České obchody Jednota, Konzum a Coop, kterých je 3074 po celé zemi, se chtějí jako protiváha k nadnárodním řetězcům zviditelnit pod jedním názvem. S největší pravděpodobností to bude Coop.

Two names that were known to Czech shoppers for decades may soon disappear. Jednota (Unity) and Konzum (Consuming) were two state-run (or at least state controlled) cooperatives covering thousands of shops and restaurants all over Czechoslovakia. read more »

Take the Czech quiz!

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:53:51 +0000

Tiscali Europa It's not all beer and the Vltava you know... Ten countries in Central Europe and the Mediterranean joined the European Union in 2004 - how well do you know them? Can you tell a Becherovka from a Jan Huss? Or a Škoda from a Schroeder? Try your luck with our great photo quizzes... but make a mistake and you get sent back to the beginning!

Tiscali Europe has provided this fun quiz on what is important to know about the Czech Republic. They hit many of the major points (although they read more »

Czech identity a Czech tennis stars

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 08:07:58 +0000

The Electric New Paper, Singapore - The Electric New Paper Sports LIKE Maria Sharapova, Nicole Vaidišová is a product of the Nick Bollettieri Academy in Florida and has developed an American accent. But she bristles at suggestions she is no longer a true Czech. Unlike Sharapova, who was born in Russia but hasn't lived there for years, Vaidisova still resides in Prague and says it will always be home. 'I think in every single sense I am Czech. Deep down, I'm Czech. Czech Republic is home for me,' she said. read more »

Still debating Romany holocaust

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:44:47 +0000

Committee wants Czech govt to work for Lety pig farm's removal Prague- The Czech committee for compensation of the Romany Holocaust victims today gave CTK a copy of an open letter it has sent to the government asking it to take steps to remove the pig farm in Lety, south Bohemia, that stands on the site of a World War Two camp in which Romanies were gathered.

The extermination attempts of the Roma in the Czech protectorate by the Nazis is one of the underreported features of WWII. One of the reasons given for that is that the Roma concentration camp near Pilsen was mostly staffed by Czechs. read more »

Doomsday 2010 Prague Short Story Wins BCSA Prize

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:33:35 +0000

Mayor Šulc’s Astounding 2010 Directive is the title of a short story that has just won a prize of £300 in a writing competition run by the British Czech & Slovak Association. The author is Adam Daniel Mezei.

The story set in a Prague in 2010, which secedes from a Czechia which is controlled by a Communist revisionist government, and which in turn is part of an imperial Euro superstate. It explores the extraordinary consequences of political changes in the far from distant future – where Language Police patrol restaurants, and where Prague (Mayor Šulc’s ‘Inner District’) resorts to a helicopter airlift to take passengers to the airport to avoid the random searches and hefty tolls imposed by the Communist authorities. It’s one of several stories Adam submitted to the competition that tackle rather different, often unsettling subjects. (From BCSA Press Release) read more »

Translating the Czech Golden Age

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:42:13 +0000

The Prague Post Online: Tempo: Translating the Czech Golden Age "The years of the First Republic, 1918-1938, were the golden years of Czech culture, particularly in literature," translator Mark Corner says over coffee at the French Institute's café. "It's the Čapek Age, though many of the writers were never translated for English audiences. The double blow of the Nazis and the communists saw to that."

There are many names associated with this period from Čapek to Seifert (one of two Czechs to have received the Nobel prize). read more »

„Estébák“ forced to return honor

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 17:00:40 +0000

„Estébák“ musí vrátit medaili, rozhodla Akademie - iDNES.cz Akademie věd vymazala jméno teologa Františka Jindřicha Holečka ze seznamu osobností, které získaly medaili profesora Jana Patočky.

Even though Charter 77 commands much less respect today than it did 15 years ago, some subjects are still sore. A theologian F. J. Holeček was asked today to return a medal awarded to him 2000 for achievements in theology and the study of Jan Hus. Unfortunately, it appears (the facts are as usual a little fuzzy) that he cooperated with StB (Státní bezpečnost - State police) in the early 1980s. And given that the award bears the name of Jan Patočka (a philosopher, the first signatory of the Charter, and the first victim of the subsequent prosecution) Holeček was asked to return it. This is still a sore subject for many Czechs and although revelations of somebody's communist past are not as common as they were not long ago, they still crop up at least once every few months. read more »

Sex scandal and gender equality for Czech third church

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:58:16 +0000

Czech Hussites rocked by sexual scandal - press "New patriarch Tomas Butta, Bishop Stepan Klasek, Petr Sandera and I have asked Bican to consider his resignation," Bishop Jana Šilerová from Olomouc, North Moravia, told the paper. ... MfD writes that the Hussite church is the third most populous church in the Czech Republic and now it is celebrating 87 years since its establishment.

What can we learn form this story? Gay priests having affairs? Nothing new or surprising here. However, a female bishop? Certainly a point of interest. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church not only allows women priests, they number almost half of the total 300 clergy. It should also be noted that the most populous church by far is the Catholic from which the Hussites split during the early years of the Czech Republic over ordination of women and other issues. The Hussites are not really a protestant denomination of the Lutheran tradition (they're closer to Anglicans) and having Jan Hus in their title is more a matter of national pride than ideology. They're one of the more tolerant churches out there but they were also one of the more willing to do the communist regime's bidding (although that has to be taken in the context of its time). read more »

Charter 77 - 30 years on legacy questioned but unavoidable

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 23:23:40 +0000

Czech press survey Prague- Not much has be left of the Charter 77 human rights movement that was launched 30 years ago, Bob Fliedr writes in Lidove noviny today, and adds that only few signatories have succeeded in politics. The group, headed by later president Vaclav Havel, who took over power in late 1989, has practically disappeared from public life, he says. The few Charter signatories who have succeeded in politics. "were not much good in team work in managing public affairs, the less so in the power struggle," Fliedr writes.

95 years of universal time in Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 30 Dec 2006 13:00:36 +0000

MF DNES 1. ledna 1912 přestal platit pražský čas, který se od středoevropského lišil o 2 minuty a 18 vteřin

95 years ago, Prague ran to its own time. Yes, not that long ago Prague clocks were attuned to their own time which was 2 minutes and 18 seconds faster than Central European time but was accurate according to the Prague meridian which is designated by a plaque on the ground of Staroměstské náměstí (Old Town Square). The change was made to make synchronization of train read more »

Czech negative self-images - "čecháčkovství"

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 22:50:59 +0000

Schwarzenberg a Klausovo čecháčkovství - www.lidovky.cz Samozřejmě, že by byl schopen, kdyby chtěl. Avšak o smyslu Klausova výroku vypovídá jeho pokračování: „Každý člověk (...) se na to díval s pootevřenou pusou. Myslím, že to je všeobecný názor v této zemi, žádné specifikum Václava Klause.“ Kdo je ten „každý člověk“, který vyjadřuje „všeobecný názor v této zemi“? To je přece známý činitel českých dějin, pro kterého literární historik Václav Černý vymyslel název „Čecháček“: Ten, kdo se umí vždy včas přikrčit a včas kopnout do holeně a včas podat přihlášku do správné strany; kdo poměřuje své „my“, „my, kdo jsme Češi“, svojí „žabí perspektivou“ - do které se mu nevejde nikdo, kdo ji jakýmkoliv směrem překračuje: ani šlechtici, ani Němci, ani Židé, ani Cikáni, ani kněží, ani homosexuálové, ani disidenti. „Čecháček“ je rub české národní povahy, nad kterým zoufají národní buditelé - ale kterého umějí geniálně využívat demagogové.

U.S. turns to the Czech Republic for R&D

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 02:26:03 +0000

EETimes.com - U.S. turns to the Czech Republic for R&D LONDON — Over 60 percent of the 2006 foreign direct investments in the Czech Republic announced by U.S.-based companies are R&D projects in innovation industries, according to data collected by CzechInvest, an agency of the Ministry of Industry & Trade of the Czech Republic.

It is nice to see Czech Republic playing to its historical strengths. Research and small scale value-added manufacturing used to be the mainstays of the read more »

Koledy: The sounds of Christmas

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:37:02 +0000

Tradice koled pochází ze středověku - www.lidovky.cz V dnešní době jsou koledy synonymem pro vánoční písně. Ve středověku tomu tak nebylo.

Koledy (Carols) are as indispensable for a Czech Christmas as carp and Christmas trees. In fact, they have a long history, going all the way to +šth century. Originally, they were associated with small gifts from householders to roving singers (trick-or-treat - Czech verb: koledovat) and were not limited just to Christmas. Now, they can be heard in homes around the country, they come on radio and appear in shopping malls and elevators. 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 »

"I served the king of England" in cinemas

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:49:46 +0000

Film, který vznikal dvacet let - www.lidovky.cz Film Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále je spojen s řadou očekávání: po dvanácti letech se jím vrátil za kameru režisér Jiří Menzel, který bývá označován za specialistu na Hrabala, jeho předlohy natáčel šestkrát, za Ostře sledované vlaky získal v roce 1968 Oscara. Okolnosti vzniku Anglického krále byly navíc velmi komplikované, takřka dvacet let trval spor o autorská práva na Hrabalovu knihu. Jiří Menzel začal Anglického krále točit letos v březnu v produkci AQS, koproducentem snímku s nadstandardním rozpočtem 84,5 milionu korun je televize Nova, Magic Box Slovakia, Barrandov Studios a UPP.

Prague's extensive tram network to grow

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:39:59 +0000

MF DNES Pražská tramvajová síť je jedna z nejhustších na světě a měří přes 140 kilometrů.

One of the icon's of life in Prague are its trams. Prague has one of the "densest tram networks" in the world and many more are planned to revitalize suburbs. Unfortunately, but inevitably, Prague is also planning to replace its current stock of trams so the iconic 'tramvaje' will be gone from Prague streets in 7 years.

Tramvaje dříve sloužily dokonce jako sanitky. Nebo jako pohřební vozy. Po vypuknutí první světové války, kdy byla většina koní z Prahy odvezena na bojiště, svážely raněné vojáky z nádraží do nemocnic.

Prague's story: Center of learning as well as backwater

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 15:58:51 +0000

In May 1911, after arriving in Prague to take up his appointment to the physics department of the German University, Albert Einstein wrote to his friend Michele Besso: "Incidentally, the city of Prague is wonderful, so beautiful, that it alone would be worth a journey." (Einstein and Besso 1972: 20). from Toman, J. (1995). The magic of a common language: Jakobson, Mathesius, Trubetzkoy, and the Prague Linguistic Circle. Cambridge, Mass; London: The MIT Press.

I came across this quote recently in a book by a Czech linguist on the Prague Linguistic Circle which celebrated its 80th anniversary this year. It should also be added that Einstein who only spent three semesters teaching at the university, found it to be an "intellectual desert without conviction". This certainly wasn't the case 15 years later when Prague became one of the centers of world linguistics known today as the Prague school. read more »

American political pot calling Czech electoral kettle black

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:14:42 +0000

Czechs, in a political impasse, suddenly find democracy a puzzle - Europe - International Herald Tribune This small Central European country — which 17 years ago, while still part of Czechoslovakia, slid so softly from communism to capitalism that its transition was called the Velvet Revolution — is suddenly finding democracy something of a puzzle. The combination of a backstabbing political culture and a parliamentary system that provides no tie- breaker in the case of an evenly divided legislature has left the country on autopilot since national elections in June.

From Švejk to NATO

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 23:20:14 +0000

Parliament approves Czech foreign missions next year Prague- Foreign missions of Czech troops in the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq will continue next year and the Czech Republic will also join the U.N. peace-keeping mission in Lebanon and will contribute to the NATO rapid deployment forces as the Chamber of Deputies passed the plan of military operations abroad for next year today.

The Czech army as a whole is hardly a force to be reckoned with but there are many specialist units that are actually fairly desirable. read more »

On the importance of Václavs

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 15:58:22 +0000

Another political popularity poll showed that the last two presidents are considered the most important politicians of the last 16 years by the Czech populace:

Havel, Klaus, Dostál most respected Czech politicians -- poll Prague- Former president Václav Havel, current President Václav Klaus and former culture minister Pavel Dostál, who died last year, have contributed to the country most of all during the past 16 years since the collapse of communism, according to a poll conducted by STEM and released to ČTK today.

For some reason it reminded me of this line from an old poem by Bob Holman:

Bob Holman: Poems 1989
It's 1990 read more »

Civic Democratic Party gains victory in Czech Senate election

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 29 Oct 2006 10:04:08 +0000

People's Daily Online -- Civic Democratic Party wins victory in Czech Senate election The Czech Republic's Civic Democratic Party (ODS) has won a crushing victory in the second round of Senate election, according to the results published by the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) on Saturday. The ODS has won 14 seats in Senate runoff elections, gaining a simple majority in the chamber, according to the CSU. The ODS has a total of 41 senators in the 81-seat Senate. Twenty-seven seats in the parliament's upper chamber were to be filled in the weekend runoff, with the top two finishers from last week's first round facing off for each seat in a two-day ballot. read more »

28. říjen - October 28 - Day of many memories

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 01:41:50 +0100

28. říjen - Wikipedie, otevřená encyklopedie # Státní svátek: Den vzniku samostatného československého státu # Socialistický kalendář: * Vyhlášení samostatnosti Čechů a Slováků (1918) * Den znárodnění (1945) – významný den Československé socialistické republiky * Schválení zákona o československé federaci (1968)

As this short extract from Czech Wikipedia shows, the 28th of October has played a significant role in recent Czech history. These days it is a státní svátek - meaning a day off work (unless it falls on a weekend) - in memory of the 1918 founding of Czechoslovakia (dissolved in 1939 and then again in 1993) and gaining independence of the crumbling Austrian Hungarian Empire (perceived partly as German). read more »

'živnostník' shoulders Czech economy

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 10:57:54 +0100

Czech economy depends on self-employed, small firms - Prague Daily Monitor Brussels, Oct 16 (CTK) - No other EU economy is more heavily affected by the self-employed and small companies than the Czech Republic, according to data from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

There is a nice Czech word for the self-employed/home business: živnostník i.e. someone who runs a živnost which in means small business but evokes a subsistence connotation - since it is derived from the Czech word for life život. read more »