Eco-Friendly Czech Chata Alternative In a Container Hotel

The talented young architects at ARTIKUL used shipping containers to design a small mobile hotel. Near Litomerice, Czech Republic, their first location is on a surf campsite at the Elbe riverbank. The task for the architects was to design a mobile, easily demountable, seasonal hotel made from three shipping containers. Additionally, the building was supposed...

Architecture, CULTURE

August 11, 2017

Autographed Portraits of Czech Photographer Jiří Jiroutek

Today we are looking at the Autographed Portraits of Czech Photographer Jiří Jiroutek. Jiří Jiroutek was born on March 21, 1967, in Louny. He is a contemporary Czech photographer currently residing in Liberec. He studied at the Institute of Creative Photography at the Silesian University in Opava (1994). He has been living and working as...

CULTURE, Photography

August 10, 2017

David Černýs St. Wenceslas in The Lucerna Passage

If you have ever visited Prague, you have surly been to – or at least heard about – Wenceslas Square, one of the main city squares in Prague. At one end of the square stands Prague’s National Museum and a monument dedicated King (and later, Saint) Wenceslas, who was so famous that Czechs named a day...

Art and Design, CULTURE

August 5, 2017

The Ethereal Dresses of Czech Designer Blanka Matragi

Academic painter Blanka Matragi was born on 20th of February 1953 in Svetla nad Sazavou into family of a glass cutters. It was no surprise she had followed her father’s story and first studied at a Secondary School of Glass Cutting in her hometown for three years and then continued her studies at the Secondary...

Art and Design, CULTURE, Fashion

August 4, 2017

The Alphonse Mucha Museum in Prague

Muchas artwork can be found in many places in Prague including the Municipal House, the National art gallery, and even his design of a stained-glass window in the St. Vitus’ Cathedral in Prague. But their is no better place to go to see Muchas famous art then the Mucha museum in the center of Prague....

Art and Design, CULTURE

July 25, 2017

Hluboká Castle, The Most Beautiful Castle in Czech

This breathtaking castle looks like something snatched right out of a fairytale but believe it or not, this is not a fictional place you can only visit in your dreams… This is the Hluboká Castle, a castle made with the castle of Windsor in England as inspiration and located in the town of Hluboká nad...

Architecture, CULTURE

July 21, 2017

Czech Modernist & Industrialist Designer Jindřich Halabala

Czech industrial designer, writer, and educator Jindřich Halabala was a significant proponent of modernist, industrially manufactured furniture in Czechoslovakia and had a tremendous influence on the interior design of many interwar and postwar Czech homes. Halabala helped create a new mass-market approach to home design and furnishing in Czechoslovakia in the interwar period and after...

Art and Design, CULTURE

July 18, 2017

Photographs of St. Vitus Cathedral

St. Vitus Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Prague Castle complex. It is the largest and, arguably, the most important church in the Czech Republic and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. The cathedral was built in Gothic style and remains a magnificent example of Gothic architecture to this day....

Architecture

July 14, 2017

The Beautiful and Historic Liberec Town Hall

Besides the fact that it is simply a beautiful building to look at, the Liberec Town Hall is an amazing piece of history in the center of the city of Liberec in The Czech Republic. Above the entrance, on the left side is a façade of the old town hall, and on the right side...

Architecture, CULTURE

July 4, 2017

Czech Out this Artist: Michal Trpák

Michal Trpák is a sculpture/painter born in České Budějovice in 1982. His eye catching art can be found all over public areas in Prague, and whether it be in a office space, a restaurant, or on the street, its contemporary style remains. Though all of his art is unique and beautiful in its own way, his...

Art and Design, CULTURE

June 29, 2017

Mid-Century Czech Vase by Vladislav Urban

Today we are looking at an extraordinary vintage Mid-Century Sklo Union Czech pressed clear glass vase by Rosice Glassworks. The piece was designed by Vladislav Urban in 1968, and this is pattern number 617. I located this auction today and I wanted to share. This extraordinary vase features Vladislav Urban’s hallmark formed abstract geometric patterns...

Bohemian Glass, CULTURE

June 28, 2017

Foggy Days in Prague on Instagram

As beautiful as Prague is in the sunlight, when you can see its colorful buildings and sights, some days in the early morning, or when in rains or snows and fog rolls in, the big shining city turns to a beautifully spooky one. Prague is not really known as a foggy city, but on occasion...

CULTURE, Photography

June 16, 2017

An Orloj Replica in Hongdae, South Korea

Though from the outside you may be tricked into thinking this building is located in the center of Prague, Castle Praha is actually a Czech brewery and restaurant located in the town of Mapo-gu, in the Hongdae region of Seoul, South Korea. The exterior of Castle Praha was made by Koreans to look just like Prague´s Old...

Architecture, CULTURE

June 13, 2017

The Baroque Paintings of Petr Brandl

Petr Johannes Brandl (1668-1735) was one of the greatest Baroque painters in Bohemia during his time. Though he painted many beautiful biblical scenes, today we will be taking a look at some of his portraits, because whether they were of noblemen, peasants, or saints – the lifelike expressions he captured were beautiful. You don’t have...

Art and Design, CULTURE

June 12, 2017

Czech Secret Police in Prague and Their Surveillance Photographs

Today we’re looking at some amazing (private) moments in time photographed by the (communist) Czech secret police while conducting surveillance during the 1970s and 1980s. Obviously, none of these people gave their consent and most did not even know they were being followed or photographed. Most of the images were taken from under folded newspapers, in...

CULTURE, Photography

May 14, 2017

The Oldest Czech Catholic Church in the United States

The Saint Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Spillville, Iowa, which dates back to 1860, is the oldest Czech Catholic church in the United States. St. Wenceslaus was built with the hard work and generosity of Czech settlers that emigrated to the area. Those who were proud of their Czech roots and heritage. The original church was...

Architecture, CULTURE