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mordecai maisel ohel in prague old jewish cemetery

Mordecai Maisel

Famous Czechs – Mordecai Maisel Mordecai, Mordechaj or Mordechai, Maisel, Meisel or Meysel. There have been several interpretations of his name so I’m going to stick with Mordecai Maisel (fun fact: in Yiddish, Maisel means mouse). Let’s put ourselves in the last half of the 16th Century. Emperors Maximilian and Rudolf II have been kind … Read More

poster for an alfons mucha exhibition at the prague waldstein riding school

Famous Czechs – Alfons Mucha

Famous Czechs – Alfons Mucha Alfons Mucha is one of the most famous Czechs but in a strange twist of fate if you look him up in Wikipedia you’ll find that although he was born just south-west of Brno in 1860 he was technically not born in Czech. When he died in Prague in 1939 … Read More

czech 19 korun postage stamp with the graphic image of film director milos forman

Milos Forman

Famous Czechs – Miloš Forman Ask the average person what film directors they have heard of and it will be a pretty short list including Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg I imagine. Now ask your average Czech person and they’ll probably reel off a dozen names off the top of their head without even thinking. … Read More

jaroslav drobny receiving wimbledon mens singles trophy in 1954

The Egyptian Who Won Wimbledon

The Egyptian Who Won Wimbledon – Famous Czechs – Jaroslav Drobny If you are wondering what possible link there can be between Prague and an Egyptian who won the Men’s Singles Title at Wimbledon then read on because it’s an interesting story. You won’t find the name Jaroslav Drobný in many history books but look … Read More

a representation of jan zajic on a czech national flag

Famous Czechs – Jan Zajic

Famous Czechs – Jan Zajic To set the scene you have to understand that the August 1968 invasion of Prague by Warsaw Pact countries extinguished the Prague Spring freedoms. Any political or social reforms were cancelled and Czechoslovakia regressed to its 1950’s state. As was increasingly common in the late 1960s, the method of the … Read More

Karel Hašler playing a guitar statue on the Prague Old Castle Steps

Karel Hašler

Famous Czechs – Karel Hašler Every year thousands of people are walking up or down the Old Castle Steps at the back of Prague Castle and at the top of the steps they walk past (and briefly look at) a sculpture of a man with his legs crossed, leaning against the wall and playing a … Read More

a black and white artistic sketch of the face of franz kafka

Franz Kafka

Famous Czechs – Franz Kafka As Franz Kafka lay on his death bed at the age of 40 on June 3rd 1924 he would scarcely have believed that less than half a Century later his name would be known around the world, his literary work appearing in more than 30 languages, his private letters and … Read More

President Emil Hacha of Czechoslovakia seated at a table speaking into a microphone

Emil Hacha

Czech Presidents, Emil Hacha and the Poison Chalice When you take a look at Czech history especially in the 20th Century you’ll find lots of references to Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (the first President of Czechoslovakia) or Edvard Beneš (longest serving Foreign Minister and second President of Czechoslovakia). Then we have a third President called Emil … Read More

tall bronze statue of jan hus on prague old town square with blue sky background

Jan Hus

Famous Czechs – Jan Hus This will be the first of five posts which will eventually give you a rounded view of Jan Hus, how to interpret his monument, where he preached and why plus a clever piece of art. But first you should understand who he was and hence WHY he is one of … Read More