The Prague Spring International Music Festival (not related to the 1968 Prague Spring) is a festival established by the Czech Philharmonic Rafael Kubel脥k to commemorate the death of Czech composer Bed艡ich Smetana. Every opening night for the last 80 years, Smetana鈥檚 national masterpiece M谩 Vlast is played by a different orchestra. Smetana鈥檚 music life began in his youth, developed further by collaboration with one of his inspirations, Liszt. This 2025, Semyon Bychkov will conduct the next opening.
Bohemian artist Frantisek Kupka is the forefront mind behind the art form of Orphism. Orphism focuses on color and abstraction, similar to Cubism but also an 鈥渆volution鈥 where abstract shapes are given precedence in contrast to solid, known geometric shapes. There are many examples of Orphism to see, spanning many years.
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.
Eli拧ka Junkov谩 is the first woman to win the Grand Prix, in 1927. Even before, Junkov谩 was 鈥淨ueen of the Steering Wheel,鈥 a well-earned title that she worked towards since 1922. Her dedication to racing began with her dedication to her husband, Vincenc 鈥溎宔n锚k鈥 Junek, whom she met at her job at the Prague Credit Bank.
After the death of Samo, there was uncertainty about the Czech and Moravian lands, but after the rise of Charlamange of the Frankish Kingdom, Moravians were able to recover. The princes of Moravia consolidated their power, and one in particular Mojmir I, rose beyond tribal institutions to establish Great Moravia. After Mojmir I's deposition, his nephew Rostislav became Louis the German's loyal vassal. In secret, however, Rostislav had ambitions beyond this.
This ancient Bohemian legend dates back to the 8th century and tells the story of an oracle who foretold the coming of a golden city. 尝颈产耻拧别, and her prophecies, were both a warning and blessing to her people. Ultimately, her prophetic visions would cause a chain reaction that would end her rule and usher in the 笔艡别尘测蝉濒id Dynasty.
If you鈥檙e from Texas, you鈥檙e guaranteed to have tried kolache - a savory sausage wrapped in a roll of sweet dough. However, that name is misleading. A kola膷 (pronounced kolach) is actually a sweet pastry made of puffy dough with a fruit filling. Originally brought to the United States by Moravian immigrants, it鈥檚 now a widespread dessert and snack. The savory snack mistakenly referred to as kolache, is actually called klobasniky, and it has an interesting Texan origin.
The holidays are upon us and I thought we might look into Czech traditions for celebrating the New Year. In the Czech Republic, New Year鈥檚 Eve is called Silvestr, for the anniversary of the consecration of Pope Sylvester I, a saint who served as Pope of the Western Church from 314 to 335. Since the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, the December 31st feast date has coincided with New Year鈥檚 Eve
Koleda, or Koliada, is an ancient pre-Christian Slavic festival, marking the winter solstice. Ancient Slavs believed that during the dark and cold winter, the border between the spiritual and the mortal worlds is the thinnest. The purpose of Koleda was to bring new light to this dark period and prepare for the next year by blessing local households and keeping malevolent spirits away. For this reason, candles and bonfires were lit in preparation for Koleda to help the winter turn to spring and symbolize the return of the Sun. This gave the ancient Slavs hope and lifted their spirits during the depressing winter.
Cooking Czech style dishes can be a great way to do all of these things. Czech cuisine consists of thick soups and many kinds of sauces, both based on stewed or cooked vegetables and meats, often with cream and baked meats with natural gravies, are popular dishes usually accompanied with beer, especially Pilsner. Czechia natives consume the most in the world. These dishes include ingredients that you already have in your home or readily available in most grocery stores.
Miler wanted to create a children's cartoon that had a strong Disney influence by having an animal as the main character. He decided to pick a mole after stumbling over a molehill during a walk. The first film, called "Jak krtek ke kalhotk谩m p艡i拧el" ("How the mole got his trousers"), was about how Krtek got help from other animals with different skillsets to join efforts and make a pair of pants from scratch. This little film had its premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 1957, where it was awarded two Golden Lions.
