Back in Time to Charles University Professors and Doctors of 1948

LIFE Magazine photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt went to Czechoslovakia in 1947 and he captured the images of some amazing notable people at Prague’s Charles University. The photographs accompanied an article in LIFE Magazine on January 12, 1948. These are the esteemed faces and personalities of Charles University at the time… So how much did an education cost...

Czech Schools, LIFESTYLE

July 1, 2016

Retro Czech in the 70s and 80s – Exhibit of ČSSR Memories

Are you interested in seeing retro Czech in the 70s and 80s? If so than do we have a plan for you. There’s a fun exhibit going on at the Dancing House. It’s a groovy retro time capsule including a prefab apartment complete with appliances and home accessories, vehicles and camping gear to take you...

LIFESTYLE

June 29, 2016

Radio Free Europe’s Czech Game Show from 1952

Did you know that there was a Czech game show version of What’s My Line? is called Hádej kdo jsem? What’s My Line? is a panel game show which originally ran in the United States from 1950 to 1967, with several international versions and subsequent U.S. revivals. It is the longest-running game show in the history of primetime network...

LIFESTYLE

frantisek-hilmar-kytka-FM-Hilmar-Frantisek-Matej-Hilmar-Polka

June 28, 2016

František Hilmar, Father of the Polka

Here is something that most of you may not know about our family… My father can trace his history back to around 1648, when the first Hilmar (Hylmar) came from Swedish/Nordic territory to Košťanech (in what’s now known as the Czech Republic) as a soldier in the Thirty Years’ War. He settled and made his...

Bohemians, CULTURE, LIFESTYLE, Music

June 25, 2016

Your Chance To Save a Czech Castle

Ever since we’ve started this site, we have lots of emails coming into our mailboxes from sharing of recipes, to old photographs, to places yet undiscovered and artists we may never have heard of. This morning we received a call for help to save a Czech castle from ruin. The castle is located in Veselí (Janovice...

LIFESTYLE

June 17, 2016

Mount Airy Lodge and the Czech Connection

Now is the perfect time And the feeling is just right You can play all day and dance into the night At beautiful Mount Airy Lodge All you have to bring Is your love of everything… Surely you remember the popular commercial which seemed to play day and night advertising the beautiful Mount Airy Lodge...

LIFESTYLE

May 8, 2016

Mother’s Day 1948 in the Czech Republic

To honor the Mother’s today, I am sharing some photographs of Mother’s Day in 1948 in the former Czechoslovakia. In the Czech Republic, Mother’s Day is celebrated every second Sunday in May. It started in 1923. Traditionally, children make handmade gifts or write poems for their mothers. The roots can be traced all the way back to when people celebrated...

Holidays

April 15, 2016

Kupka and the Lysistrata Story

František Kupka created his version the Lysistrata story in twenty beautiful etchings for a book which was issued by Blaizot, a publisher in Paris, in 1911. In 1913, the originals were sent to the National Gallery in Czechoslovakia. The story was written by Aristophanes in 411 B.C. and is set in Athens. The main character, Lysistrata, decides to end the war that...

Art and Design, CULTURE

March 30, 2016

The Man Who Saved Czech Children

5In 1988 Grete Winton climbed into the attic of her home in Maidenhead, England where she found a scrapbook she had never seen before. The scrapbook contained lists of names, photographs, and multiple addresses. In that scrapbook, she discovered something about her husband, Nicholas Winton, which up until that point she had been unaware of....

LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE

March 29, 2016

Scary Austrian Parade Krampus

Even though we are not at all close to Christmas, this creepy Austrian tradition is just too interesting not to share. I recently found out about a medieval tradition Austrians have on the 6th of December (Saint Nicolas) to keep children good before Christmas. They arrange a parade where Krampus, known as Saint Nicholas’s evil...

CULTURE, Holidays

March 29, 2016

Velorex 435D – Boho Chic Takes on a Truck

My parents drove a Velorex, only the cutest little boho chic car ever made – but not like this one. Who knew that Velorex built a truck… Meet the little Velorex 435D. Velorex was a manufacturing cooperative in Solnice, Czechoslovakia. Notable products included a small three-wheeled car, produced from the 1950s until 1971, and the...

LIFESTYLE

March 22, 2016

Czech Easter Egg Designs

Today we’re going to focus on incredibly detailed hand-painted eggs and miniature works of art known as Kraslice, the Czech word for Easter Egg. Throughout the Czech Republic, the beautiful Easter egg designs are elevated to a different level in the country. The egg is a popular symbol in many cultures. This ancient symbol is often associated with rebirth or fertility...

Holidays

March 21, 2016

Czech Easter Customs

Easter, or Velikonoce (from Veliké noci or Great Nights) was greatly suppressed under the communist regime prior to 1989. Since then, the traditions of Easter have been making a wonderful comeback and while the religious aspects are known and talked about, it is not considered a serious religious holiday. Instead, it is a celebration for...

Holidays

March 20, 2016

The Six Days of Easter Based on Bohemian Tradition

Today is the first of several Easter posts where we will focus on Czech Easter traditions and folk customs throughout all the lands of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia. But first, we wanted to share The provided excerpt offers just a glimpse into the extensive article. To unlock the full content, become a Patreon patron. Our...

Holidays

March 18, 2016

How Franz Kafka’s Birthplace Became An Art Gallery

Franz Kafka was born in an apartment building on what used to be the edge of the Jewish Quarter on the corner of Kaprova Street and Maiselova Street in Prague. Located in Prague’s Old Town, the building was built during the first half of the 18th century and originally served as a monastery for the benedictine monks who administered the adjacent...

LIFESTYLE

March 13, 2016

The Retro Prams of Prague

When I was born, my mother wheeled me around in style with a high pram with springs for comfort and style. This was (and still is) called a kočárek or kočár, a coach (or buggy). These retro prams are the ultimate! I just love them. I imagine that if I could remember that far back, that I would say that...

LIFESTYLE