Stunning & Unique Czech Inspired Embroidered Coat

Oh my goodness, have you ever seen anything so lovely? I am literally drooling over this one. My friend Lynette embroiders and she’s been playing with some Bohemian, Moravian and Slovak designs. Some of the items she creates are absolutely stunning… Like this beautiful coat. This coat is an eye-catcher. Have you ever seen anything...

Retro Chic, Shopping

July 2, 2019

The Folk Aprons of Czechoslovakia

Picture a tiny village in Eastern Europe, surrounded by forests and vineyards. Roses and daisies riot in front of small white-washed cottages. A tall-steepled church dominates the dusty village, and the road to the church is filled with blazing colors. It’s the matrons of Ratiskovice, Czechoslovakia, on their way to church in their richly embroidered...

Art and Design, Fashion, LIFESTYLE, Retro Chic

June 25, 2019

Watch This: Swingtime – StB – A False State Border Within the Republic

Imagine it… The StB – A false state border within the republic – and a fictional story of people who have crossed it. This is the theme of the the 2006 film Swingtime. It focuses on the so-called akce Kámen (Stone action), during which State Security agents deliberately mystified the citizens of the Czechoslovak Republic. Especially...

ENTERTAINMENT, Movies

June 20, 2019

Classic Czech Lečo Recipe

While surely upper Hungarian (Slovak) in origin, classic Czech Lečo (lecsó, letscho; leczo) is a simple dish and a quick and tasty meal that Czechs eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even as a snack. It is a classic among traditional Hungarian cuisine which migrated to the Czech lands. Our Czech Lečo Recipe can be...

LIFESTYLE

June 16, 2019

Zem Spieva or the Earth Sings – A Czech/Slovak Magnum Opus

Zem spieva (The Earth Sings) is a 1933 Czech documentary film written and directed by Karel Plicka (in Slovak: Karol Plicka) (1894 – 1987), a Czechoslovak photographer, film director, cinematographer, folklorist, and pedagogue. He is considered a founder of Slovak film education and film making. He helped establish the genre of ethnographic film in Czechoslovakia. Following Karel Plicka’s graduation...

History, Movies, PEOPLE

June 14, 2019

Sweet Sleeping Babies Clad in Slovak Kroje

What a special post today, as we are looking at the most adorable and sweet sleeping babies clad in Slovak kroje thanks to the creative mind and eye of Slovak photographer Monika Klučiarová. She has taken precious little newborns and dresses them in kroje (traditional Slovak folk dress/costume) to create the most adorable portraits, we promise you...

CULTURE, Photography

June 11, 2019

Purdue University’s Study Abroad: Annual Tour of the Škoda Factory in Mladá Boleslav

For the past three years, students from Purdue University have traveled to Prague along with faculty member Jim Tanoos as part of a Study Abroad program entitled “Purdue Polytechnic’s Central European Multinational Automobile Organization Supply Chain Experience”. Purdue University offers move than 200 majors and specializes in agriculture, engineering, and technology. It has an enrollment...

Czech Republic, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE

June 9, 2019

The Tragic Fate of the Vyšehrad Train Station

Located in a whimsical part of Prague that many tourists do not venture to, is the abandoned Vyšehrad Train Station. This Art Nouveau gem sits quietly in her old grandeur, a crumbling boarded up beauty laden with graffiti just waiting (like many other gorgeous structures in the city of Prague) for a new face-lift. Seeing...

Architecture, History, LIFESTYLE

June 6, 2019

Dr. Miroslav Tyrš Founder of the Czech Sokol Union

Let’s travel back in time, to 1920, and take a look at Dr. Miroslav Tyrš Founder of the Czech Sokol Union. Miroslav Tyrš was actually born as Friedrich Emanuel Tirsch on September 17, 1832 and died on August 8, 1884. He was a Czech art historian, sports organizer and as we’ll learn today, the founder of...

Bohemians, History, PEOPLE

Czech-Literature-Strahov_Theological_Hall-TresBohemes

June 2, 2019

Czech & Slovak Literature Through 1964

Today we are looking at Czech & Slovak literature through 1964. I write “through 1964” because the information comes from a booklet entitled Czechoslovakia by the Assembly of Captive European Nations Czechoslovak Committee. It was published in 1964 and was volume 3 in a series of nine booklets. I found their writing on literature interesting and wanted to share...

Books, ENTERTAINMENT

Exhibition_Dress_Designs_Hana_Podolská_TresBohemes

May 31, 2019

Hana Podolská, Legend of Czech Fashion

The Legend of Czech Fashion, Hana Podolská (née Johanna Vošahlíková), was born on May 16, 1880 in Merkhausen and died in Prague on February 15, 1972. She was a Czech fashion designer and businesswoman and one of the most important creators of pre-war Czechoslovak fashion. Additionally, she was the owner of the most renowned domestic...

Bohemians, Fashion, Women

May 28, 2019

Journalism in Czech Blood: The Rosický’s of Omaha

If you are a lover of Everything Czech and are especially fascinated with Czechs in America, then surely you have heard of the Rosický’s of Omaha or come across A History of Czechs (Bohemians) in Nebraska. Compiled by Rose Rosicky (Růžena Rosicka) in Omaha, Nebraska in 1929. This special historical book (documents all important Czech...

Books, History, Women

May 25, 2019

Learning About the Czech Alphabet

One of our favorite Czech alphabet works were published as an “experimental textbook” that most remember as school posters entitled, Živá abeceda (pokusná učebnice) (Living Alphabet), published by the State Pedagogical Publishing House in 1954. Živá abeceda was created as a collective and featured the talents of Jarmila Hřebejková, Irena Fabianová, Anna Šimanová; illustrated by...

Childrens Books

May 20, 2019

Reminiscences of One of Antonín Dvořák’s Pupils

I must confess to being addicted in finding the most rare, forgotten, and set aside information. This very intimate reminiscence of Antonín Dvořák was written by William Arms Fisher and appeared in The Phonograph Monthly Review, Vol. 1: No. 8. May 1927. Without further ado, I’m sure you will enjoy this piece, especially if you...

Bohemians, Music

May 15, 2019

Wreath & Cap to Veil & Apron: American Modification of a Slavic Ritual

Introduction This paper explores a wedding custom practiced for more than one hundred years in the Chicago area by the descendants of Czech, Polish and Slovak immigrant women. Through the custom’s existence and perpetuation in America, the role of a transitional rite of passage is chronicled in both the process of assimilation and the preservation...

Fashion, LIFESTYLE, Retro Chic

May 7, 2019

Visiting a Czech Family

Survival Guide for Foreigners in the Czech Republic Teaching Czech for Foreigners and meeting people from different cultures has inspired me to start writing this survival guide. If you want to live in a foreign country, learning the local language is never enough. You need socio-cultural skills to understand the mentality of the people, behave...

Bohemians, Czech Republic, PEOPLE