On November 8, 1620, the Bohemian army had lost the Battle of White Mountain, resulting in the Bohemian Revolt, which proved to have dire consequences on those who participated. For example, since the severity of punishment increased depending on the level of participation, those who held an official position or provided service had their property confiscated while the revolt leaders were given the death penalty. There were further consequences down the line which shaped Bohemia鈥檚 future.
Czech Cottage Culture
Old艡ich 碍耻濒丑谩苍别办 and the Czech Koruna
Old艡ich 碍耻濒丑谩苍别办 was a Czech artist and critic of the Communist Regime best known for his work on designing the current Czech banknotes. His career began in 1958 at the Academy of Arts, Architecture and Design in Prague. During his young life, his politically motivated art would get him arrested and the art almost destroyed since he negatively portrayed Communist leaders. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Old艡ich 碍耻濒丑谩苍别办 was once again free to express his views through his art and was tasked with designing the bills of the Czech Koruna.
Czech Spa Cups
Spa cups were created for drinking natural spring water, supposedly endowed with healing properties. This cultural sipping cup began with a pig and its broken leg, which apparently recovered after rolling around in the mud from spring water, inspiring Teplice locals to soak in the water to cure their ailments. By the 19th century, the spa scene became popular enough to inspire studies and university courses. The spa cups themselves appeared in the early 17th century, made to taste the spring water and benefit from its healing properties.
A History of Czech Feminism
The once egalitarian, agrarian society of Bohemia became ruled by the Hapsburg Dynasty, causing a regression in women鈥檚 rights until Christianity helped improve their lives. The National Revival brought the creation of Czechoslovakia and greater rights for women. When communism came, rights improved in some ways and did not in others. The change to a capitalistic democracy brought further changes.
The Bohemian Revolt: Defenestration and War
The decision in establishing an emperor鈥檚 successor would lead to a conflict that would spark the Thirty Years鈥 War. The Bohemian revolt initially started off in favor of the Bohemians, but it damaged diplomacy. Victory in this conflict for either side would hinge on the battle that would take place at White Mountain.
Houska Castle
Houska Castle is a castle located in the Liberec region of the Czech Republic. The castle was built in the Gothic style during the second half of the 13th century, and later underwent a Renaissance modification in the late 1500s. This castle is particularly famous for the folklore, which is that it is built over a pit meant to be the entrance to Hell. Besides the folklore, the actual purpose of Houska Castle was to serve as an administrative center for Ottokar II鈥檚 royal estates.
LGBTQ+ Marriage In The Czech Republic and Slovakia
The former communist-controlled Czech Republic is now one of the most progressive countries regarding LGBTQ+ (same-sex or transgender) rights, but inequality remains. While civil unions are now recognized, same-sex marriage is illegal and is under review as of June 2023. However, the LGBTQ+ in Slovakia do not even have civil unions, let alone same-sex marriage, though there is the law of a 鈥渃lose person,鈥 which is someone who is close to an individual. Just as in the Czech Republic, Slovakians are vying for same-sex marriage to be legalized.
Czech Cubism (Cubo-Expressionism)
The term Cubo-Expressionism was coined in the early 1970s to describe Czech avant-garde art in the 20th century, when elements of Cubism and Expressionism were combined. It was a revolt from earlier art forms with spiritual elements. Czech Cubism, as Cubo-Expressionism is also called, was applied to just more than art pieces, including furniture, objects, architecture, etc. One of the most famous Cubo-Expressionists is Pavel 闯补苍谩办, a Czech architect, designer, planner, professor, and theoretician.
Rudolf II: The Intellectual yet Disastrous Emperor
Rudolf II desired to unify Christendom in the Empire and tried to take a tolerant stance on religious issues. Though he was an ineffectual ruler, he had a love for academics that helped spur the Scientific Revolution. He was known as 鈥渢he greatest art patron in the world,鈥 and philosophers, painters, alchemists, astronomers, architects, and mathematicians came to Prague to work under his patronage.
Bertha von Suttner: the first woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize
Bertha von Suttner鈥檚 commitment to peace and anti-war movements created the building block to many significant changes in Europe. Unfortunately, the political figures and aristocracy she argued against ignored her warnings. For example, von Suttner warned governments and aristocracy of increased citizen involvement in affairs of war and even the use of nuclear weapons. Eventually, her ideas for peace were soon adopted post-World War II.
Mordecai Maisel: Jewish Influence in Prague
Mordechai Ben 艩emuel Maisel was a businessman, philanthropist, Jewish community head, and builder of Prague鈥檚 Jewish town during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He established a successful banking business and several silver and gold mines in Bohemia. Maisel鈥檚 financial success was instrumental to the tactical success of the Holy Roman Emperor鈥檚 forces during the Turkish Wars, which allowed him more financial freedoms and decisions that made him wealthier.
Meda Mladkova
Meda Mladkova was a patron of the arts who helped support Czech artists stuck behind the Iron Curtain. She trained to be a dancer but decided to leave Czechoslovakia after witnessing how terribly the Germans who remained in the country were treated at the end of the Second World War. Even when she met the Ministers of Culture and Education and the Director of the Nationa Gallery, she truthfully and successfully stood up for artistic freedom.
Hana Podolska: The "Coco Chanel" of Czechoslovakia
Hana Podolska was 鈥渢he鈥 fashion designer of the 1930s and 1940s in Prague. Her gowns and garments could be seen in well-known films worn by famous actresses, many magazines, and popular political figures. Before her life of fashion her father, who tragically died of tuberculosis, was an architect while her mother was a housewife. After moving to and growing up in Prague, Podolska worked with the local seamstress, which became the genesis for her fulfilled desire to be a fashion designer.
Charles IV: King of Bohemia and the "Romans"
Charles IV鈥檚 efforts helped to elevate the city of Prague to new heights, establishing it as the intellectual and cultural center of Central Europe. Yet, his reign was marked by political disagreements and failures to centralize the government. One major, yet brief, threat to Charles IV鈥檚 authority came from Louis IV, the excommunicated emperor Charles IV replaced. Another major aspect of Charles IV鈥檚 authority was the elevation of Prague as a major player on the world stage for centuries to come.
Jaroslava Brychtova (18 July 1924 鈥 8 April 2020)
Jaroslava 叠谤测肠丑迟辞惫谩 and Stanislav 尝颈产别苍蝉办媒鈥檚 partnership of almost 50 years birthed some of the defining sculptural and architectural installations of the 20th century. They used their art as a form of political resistance and were inspired by early 20th-century Czech Cubism and metaphysical philosophy to work with abstraction.
Antonin 顿惫辞艡谩办
The Life and Compositions of Antonin Dvorak, who had a great talent for melody and including Czech culture in his music, created works of art that captivated his listeners. His life鈥檚 work began at the age of 12 when he studied harmony, the piano, and the organ to write Polka music. As his skills grew, so did his network of famous and accomplished fellow musicians, including Johannes Brahms and Tchaikovsky.
Czech Beer : A Brief History
From the Brevnov Monastery to the modern-day Pilsner, the Czech people have been enjoying beer for over a thousand years. Known as the beer of tradition, Czech beer is ingrained into history itself. When beermaking was banned. the Brenov Monastery, as the first-ever Bohemian brewery, was exempt. Initially, after the ban on brewing ended, only noble families or homeowners were allowed to brew beer. It was in 1842 that the famous Pilsner was created.
Landscapes of Czech Painters: 厂濒补惫铆膷别办 and 窜谤锄补惫媒
Anton铆n 厂濒补惫铆膷别办 was an impressionist painter who kickstarted the Czech modern art movement. Jan 窜谤锄补惫媒, a painter whose work was defined in terms of neoclassicism and magic realism, also kickstarted the Czech modern art movement. Both artists painted landscapes in ways that captured both the past and the imagination of the Czechoslovakian nation.
Edvard 叠别苍别拧 (28 May 1884 - 3 September 1948)
Edvard 叠别苍别拧 was born in Kozlany, Bohemia during the Austro-Hungarian Empire鈥檚 rule, but by October 14, 1918, he lived in a different nation, as the empire collapsed in place of the then-new Czechoslovakia. He served as the council chairman for the League of Nations to support the balance of powers in Eastern Europe, creating the 鈥淟ittle Entente.鈥 Eventually, 叠别苍别拧 would succeed Masaryk as the Czechoslovakian president, faced with the threat of Germany, and the rest is history.