O penězích a lidech / Of money and men

Czech/English

Czech National Bank (Česká národní banka, short ČNB) created animated movie about the origin and evolution of money in our country.

 

The building of ČNB (Czech Nationa Bank) and two statues on the top

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Lipno dam

Praha

Vltava and Zvíkov castle

České Budějovice

Czech rivers: Vltava

Vltava (Moldau in German) the longest river in the Czech Republic (430-433 km). It rises in the Šumava and flows through Český Krumlov, České Budějovice and Prague. In Mělník Vlatava empties into the river Elbe (Czech: Labe).

Czech language: The weather

 Chčije a chčije…

Climate of the Czech republic can be labelled as moderate, but variable locally and throughout the year. Although all people living here know that, there isn’t anything more relieving than cursing the weather. 

Dneska je krásně. Today’s beautiful.

Dneska je hnusně. Today’s awful.  Venku je hnusně. It’s awful outside.

Season changes are very visible to us (and if they aren’t we complain about that too).

jaro – spring

Už zase prší. It’s raining again.

Nesnášim tohle počasí. I hate this weather.

Už aby bylo léto. I can’t wait for summer. 

léto – summer

Fuj, to je vedro. Ugh, it’s so hot!

Potím se jako prase. I’m sweating like a pig.

Tohle počasí není zdravé. This weather isn’t healthy.

Bude bouřka. There’s storm coming.

podzim – autumn

Už zase prší. It’s raining again.

Zima přichází. Winter is coming.

zima – winter

Už zase sněží. It’s snowing again.

Fuj, to je zima. Ugh, it’s so cold!

Zatopte někdo! Somebody turn the heating on!

Cítím, jak to na mě leze… I’m feeling how it’s taking over me… (the sickness)

Už aby bylo jaro. I can’t wait for spring.

Czech Republic: Central or Eastern Europe?

This whole post is basically one big answer to another question I have gotten recently. It would be really nice if people considered us Central Europeans but if we have to be realistic, most of the time it’s a success when foreign media gets our country name right and place us in Europe at all. Not like we don’t ever make mistakes…

Ethnic and cultural concept: 

In the ethnic, linguistic and cultural sense as Eastern Europe is inaccurately called the part of Europe inhabited by Slavs. This marking isn’t factually correct because Slavic people like the Poles or the Czechs are very different in their culture and historical developments from eastern and south eastern Slavs. Imprecision of this term is still aggravated by the fact that the term Eastern Europe was in this context also used for non-Slavic countries such as Hungary and Romania.

Political concept:

Eastern Europe was in the times of Cold War from the view of the West (especially USA) term for all communist countries. 

To this day, this simplified geographic name is still used for Central European countries, which formerly belonged to the Communist bloc – Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

After the collapse of communism in the USSR and in its satellites, the names Central and Eastern Europe came to their correct meaning again. 

Criticism of the concept: 

The term “Eastern Europe” is very often in Central Europe considered offensive because of the association with communism and Russia. People in Central Europe are often pushing to be labelled as a Central Europeansand not Eastern Europeans.

Czech point of view?

We never called ourselves Eastern Europeans and we certainly never will. Communist block fell apart before more than 20 years and dividing Europe by Cold War terms is in our eyes very outdated and by following a term that applied only for 40 years of nation’s existence you are basically ignoring our whole history (which was tied to actual Eastern European countries only very rarely). 

We feel like Europeans and not some “exotic” part of Europe that is  different from the “West”. If you really want to labels us, call us Central Europeans. After all Czech Republic has been called heart of Europe out of reason.

Central Europe in our eyes 
(sometimes Slovenia is too shown as a part of Central Europe)

Celebration of 170th anniversary of Pilsner Urquell in Plzeň.  In addition to musical performances of Pilsen Philharmonic and Michal Pavlicek with  Bára Basiková and David Koller, visitors could see unique seven-minute videomapping on the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew.

You can look at history of Pilsner Urquell – founding of the brewery, its growth and modernization, the war period and the present.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew

Pilsner Urquell, Czech “Prazdroj”

Gate to the brewing factory

Historical centre of the town

Pilsen Town hall

Aerial view of Pilsen with Škoda factory on the bottom

brewing factory

underground built in 13th century – safe storage of food (and beer!) but also shelter for the residents of Pilsen and communication route

“Celebrations of freedom” – people celebrate liberation of the city by American army in 1945

more info on the image’s captions

Plzeň is a city in West Bohemia and the metropolis of the Pilsen region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the country and the second largest in Bohemia.

Pilsen is known as an industrial and brewing city. In large factories the former Škodovka are manufactured vehicles and industrial machinery. On the other side of the city are brewed well-known beers Prazdroj and Gambrinus.

Bottom-fermented lager is globally known as Pilsner or Pils under the German name of the city Pilsen. 

  Pislsen has rather interesting coat of arms: Silver greyhound is the oldest. It symbolises loyalty of citizens to the king during the Hussite wars. Two-humped camel was stolen by Pilsen citizens from hussites, when they were unsuccessfully beseinging Plzeň. Last two squares were given to the city by pope. The central shield was put there by citizens themselves in 15th century  – it’s open gate of the city with knight, representing the founder of the city Václav II.

Quick Czech history: 17th and 18th century

Previously:  Uprising of the Czech estates and Thirty Year’s war

 
Swedish siege of Prague was the last engagement of the Thirty Years’ War, which took place in 1648, when Swedish troops operating in Bohemia tried to occupy and plunder the city. Swedes took the art collection of Rudolf II. with incalculable value, such as Codex or Codex Gigas Argenteus. Part of the loot still remains in Sweden, the other artefacts have been returned to the Czech Republic. This painting can be now found at the end of Petřín Mirror maze. You can throw coins on it. 

Events following the Battle of White Mountain in 1620:

Protestant Czech nobility and yeomanry were decimated and their possessions were given to foreigners. Disproportionately higher corvée duties were often forced on the serfs in the late 17th century. These changes led to rebellions of the serfs who were always violently suppressed.

Violent or non-violent turning of non-Catholics to the Roman Catholic faith still continued, which led the earlier religiously divided Czech lands to become homogeneous Catholic environment.

Bible of Kralice (“Bilbe kralická”;the first Czech-written bible) and many other books came on the index. Forbidden books found during house searches were collected and burned. 

Frequent lack of sources from this period made later historiographers often interpret the historical period as very declining (“the dark times”), but it was so only in certain directions and only to a certain extent. In fact since the second half of the 17th century the political situation and economic re-development of the Czech lands stabilized.

Monument of the time and contrary to the thesis of cultural decline is the number of Baroque churches in the country and top Czech baroque buildings built mainly in the first half of the 18th century.

  

Both of them are temples of St. Nicolas (first can be found in Lesser Town and second on Prague’s Old Town Square)

After the death of Karel VI. Habsburgs died out in the male line. The ascension to the throne of Maria Theresa was used by Prussian Hohenzollerns. Prussian King Frederick II., joined by the Duke of Bavaria and Saxony, invaded the Czech Kingdom in 1741. Although Maria Theresa won a majority of the Czech lands back, Silesia (save from small part) fell to Prussia. 

Maria Theresa (Marie Terezie) was attempting to rationalise the administration of her empire, which led to a policy of centralization and bureaucracy. What remained of the Czech kingdom merged with the Austrian provinces in the monarchy. Czech office was also abolished in Vienna.

This was the definite end to the previous autonomy of Czech lands within the empire. 

The real changes were brought by the reforms of Emperor Josef II. (1780-1790). 

Joseph II. also tried to centralize his empire. For this reason he wanted German to become the only unifying language. It was common that those, who wanted to achieve higher education, had to know German language. This and the abolition of serfdom, which allowed migration to cities, unintentionally gave later one of the impulses to start fight for the defence of the national language (in the Czech lands known as National revival or “Národní obrození”). But at the beginning Joseph’s measurement was more practical move than nationalistic one. The real birth of nationalism in Czech lands (and Europe in general) slowly came up later after the French Revolution in 1799.

 
Hated by Catholic Church because he closed many monasteries but loved by peasantry. Joseph II. during his lifetime won the sympathy of the Czech people and he was also one of the few ruling Habsburgs who knew Czech. Many legends, poems and songs were created about him and his name is until now one of the most common first names in the Czech Republic. 

Second picture: His mom, Maria Theresa, in Czech Marie Terezie.

Next: Czech national revival

The president of the Czech Republic

The president in a parliamentary republic is representative symbol of the state outside.

His national powers are limited and often only formal. By far the most important is:

• the power to dissolve the parliament (usually only in cases determined by the Constitution)
• call new parliamentary elections.

Until now the president of the Czech Republic was elected by the parliament (as it’s common for parliamentary republics).

Newly from 2013 the president in the Czech Republic is elected directly by the citizens.

 

Previous president Václav Klaus (2003-2013) and current president Miloš Zeman (2013-2018)

“knedlo” (bramborový knedlík = potato dumpling)

“vepřo” (vepřové maso = pork meat)

“zelo” (zelí = cabbage)

“knedlo-vepřo-zelo”

Vepřo knedlo zelo is probably one of the most typical Czech foods. It consists of three parts:pork roast (vepřo) with potato or bread dumplings (knedlo) and steamed cabbage (zelo). By many it’s not considered a full meal without chilled glass of beer.

More about Czech cuisine.

Why is Gott so popular if he had good relations with communists? (question to this post)

“good relations” in the sense “got along with it and didn’t complain”

Not all people were heroes and Gott himself said he never was one. I wish I could say that we as nation (or nations with Slovaks) actively fought against the regime but to be honest Gott did what most of us did – nothing. 

He appeared at the time almost in every TV show (and guess by who TV was controlled) but standing against the regime would immediately end his career. 

I actually value him for the fact that he never emigrated to build his fame in Austria or West Germany, even though he had the opportunity numerous of times he went abroad.

It’s easy to judge people without knowing how living in Czechoslovakia between 1948-89 was. If you said something against the party, your whole family could suffer from consequences. I hold great respect for everyone who stood up and tried to fight it but I also understand why others didn’t.

Or maybe I can’t understand because I wasn’t living it (too young) but at least I hope that I gave you satisfying answer 🙂

Thank you for asking!