DID YOU KNOW THAT... IS A SERIE OF NOTES THAT WE WILL BE PUBLISHING REGULARLY ON OUR BLOG, RELATED TO INTERESTING DETAILS ABOUT THE CZECH REPUBLIC, ITS SCIENTISTS, ARTISTS, INVENTIONS, ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, LANGUAGE AND OTHER CURIOSITIES RELATED TO TOPICS KNOWN WORLDWIDE THAT IN MANY CASES YOU WILL BE SURPRISED TO KNOW, FOLLOW US AND FIND OUT!!
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 51
there is an outdoor kinetic sculpture of Franz Kafka (Head of Franz Kafka by David Černý) in Prague. The sculpture is 11 meters high and has 42 rotating layers...
Félix 13.08.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 50
after the end of the communist regime several metro stations and streets in Prague changed their names, for example: Leninová (Lenin metro station) to Dejvická, Marshall Stalin street to Vinohradská, Cuban Revolution Square to Cuban Square
Félix 02.05.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 49
the Prague metro station, Náměstí Míru (Peace Square) is the deepest metro station of the Prague metro and the entire European Union. The station is 53 meters below the surface...
Félix 29.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 48
in different parts of Prague you will find original, curious and in some cases, controversial statues, some of them even provocative but certainly worth seeing, of the well-known Czech sculptor David Černý...
Félix 25.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 47
in Prague there is a monument dedicated to the victims of the communist period between 1948 and 1989. It was unveleid on May 22th 2002 and it’s the work of the sculptor Olbram Zoubek and architects Jan Kerel and Zdeněk Holzel...
Félix 22.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 46
to defenestrate means throwing someone out of the window (in Latin fenestra) and the word probably came up in connection with the Prague defenestration in May 1618, in which two Catholic deputies and their secretary were thrown from one of the windows of the Prague Castle by radical Protestants...
Félix 16.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 45
Johannes Kepler, a German astronomer who lived in Prague during 12 years published during this time his two first laws that describe the movement of the sun and the planets that are known as the Kepler’s Laws...
Félix 12.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 44
there is a Cuban Square in Prague...
Félix 08.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 43
there is a Mexican street in Prague...
Félix 04.04.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 42
the statue of Jan Žižka in Prague unveiled in 1950 on the anniversary of the battle of Vítkov (1420) when the hussites leadered by Jan Žižka defeated the Crussaders’ troops is considered one of the biggest equestrian statues in the world...
Félix 31.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 41
in the Kampa’s island in Prague there is a memorial of the Czech firefighters dedicated to the New York firefighters for their heroic performance on 09/11...
Félix 27.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 40
the Charles University in Prague is one of the oldest european universities in constant operation since 1348, ranked between the 3 tops universities in Central Europe and the 203 in the world...
Félix 20.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 39
in Prague there is the Church of the Infant Jesus of Prague that houses a statuette of Jesus as a child that is considered one of the most revered images in the Catholic world and
an important place of pilgrimage...
Félix 11.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 38
there is a statue of the Crucifixion at the Charles Bridge with a curious combination – a Christian scene with a Hebrew inscription ...
Félix 09.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 37
Jan Hus (1372 – 1415) was a Czech teologian, philosopher and reformer who inspired the Hussitism and he is considered one of the most important predecessor of Protestantism...
Félix 05.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 36
Plzeň (Pilsen) was the only Czech city liberated by the Allies during the the Second World War...
Félix 02.03.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 35
according to the legend Rabi Low created a monster (the Golem) to protect the Jews...
Félix 28.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 34
there is an Argentina street in Prague...
Félix 25.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 33
there is a José Martí street in Prague named after the Cuban national hero, who was also poet, philosopher, journalist, professor and publisher...
Félix 21.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 32
there is a Ronald Reagan street in Prague named after the USA president between 1981 and 1989...
Félix 18.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 31
the Czech city of Český Krumlov is a UNESCO listed town since 1992 and the city has a sister city agreement with Miami Beach, USA…
Félix 15.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 30
the famous melody Vltava by Bedřich Smetana and Hatikvah, the Israel anthem which music was composed by Samuel Cohen, have a similar start. Supposedly both melodies were inspired by Swedish folk music or Italian love song, but they used the same theme independently...
Félix 12.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 29
Antonín Dvořák composed his famous New World Symphony while working as a music teacher in New York in 1893...
Félix 09.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 28
on February 14th 1945 the Allies bombed Prague by mistake, numerous bombs fell in different parts of Prague, although the target was actually the Dresden train station, and as a result of the bombing there were about 700 casualties. Apparently adverse weather conditions such as fog and rain were the cause of this fatal error...
Félix 06.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 27
Oskar Schindler was born in 1908 in Svitavy, the territory of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and today territory of the Czech Republic. His history has been brought to the cinema in "The Schindler List" released in 1993 and his activity allowed to save many of his Jewish employees from death in the gas chambers...
Félix 03.02.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 26
the Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984, is the only Czech to be awarded this distinction...
Félix 31.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 25
the famous building of the Dancing House in Prague which was designed by Frank O. Gehry and Vlado Milunič was inspired by the famous dance partner of Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire...
Félix 28.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 24
the oldest and still active synagogue in Europe is located in Prague. It is the Old New Synagogue which was built around 1270...
Félix 25.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 23
on the Charles Bridge in Prague you can seen 30 Baroque statues of saints...
Félix 19.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 22
the Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world with an area of about 70,000 square meters…
Félix 16.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 21
the Semtex high-power explosive was invented in the late 1950s by Stanislav Wrocbera and Radim Fukátko, chemists working at the Synthesia Czecoslovakia Company. The explosive is named after the suburb of the city of Pardubice, where it was first produced in early 1964…
Félix 13.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 20
the Czech language is included by the U.S. Foreign Institute in the 4th from 5th categories according to the languages more difficult to learn by English speaking persons…
Félix 10.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 19
due to its lack of international and domestic conflicts as well as its low crime rate, the Global Peace Index in 2019 ranked the Czech Republic as the seventh safest place to live on earth…
Félix 07.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 18
the Czech city of Český Krumlov is a UNESCO listed town since 1992 and it has a sister city agreement with Miami Beach, USA…
Félix 04.01.2022
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 17
for 500 years the Charles Bridge was the only bridge in Prague over the Vltava River...
Félix 18.12.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 16
Madeleine Albright, who was Secretary of State in Bill Clinton's administration from 1997 to 2001, was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 1937 and 2 years later her family emigrated to London and later to the USA. She was also U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 1993 to 1997 and speaks fluently Russian and Czech...
Félix 10.12.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT... ? 15
some scenes from the film “Mission Impossible IV“, released in 2011 were actually filmed in Prague, such as the supposed escape from a prison in Moscow and also scenes at Prague's Hlavní Nádráží train station…
Félix 01.12.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT... ? 14
the film "Mission Impossible I" released in 1996 and starred Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt was partially filmed in Prague…
Félix 28.11.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT... ? 13
the film "Amadeus" won 8 Oscar awards, including Oscar for best director awarded to Czech-origin director Miloš Forman and Oscar for best costume design awarded to Czech designer Theodor Pištěk…
Félix 25.11.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 12
the film “Hair“ released in 1979 and starred Treat Williams as George Berger with the theme song "Aquarium/Let the Sunshine In" played by “The 5th Dimension“ was the first major success as a director for the Czech director Miloš Forman…
Laura 27.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 11
the song “Škoda lásky“ (Modřany’s polka) also known as “Beer Barrel Polka“ or “Roll out the Barrel“ is a Czech song composed by Jaroslav Vejvoda in 1927, this song became very popular during the World War II and supposedly the General Dwight Eisenhower said that it helped to win the war…
Laura 22.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 10
Jaroslav Heyrovský was a Czechoslovak chemist, inventor and university professor awarded with the 1959 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of the method of chemical analysis called polarography...
Laura 16.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 9
the Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Hiroshima known today as "Hiroshima Peace Monument" and located near the hypocenter of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima in 1945 survived the bombing and that this building is the work of the Czech architect Jan Letzel born in Náchod, Bohemia...
Laura 12.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 8
the first stone of Charles Bridge, the oldest in Prague, was placed by King Charles IV himself at 05:31 on July 9, 1357, the reason for this is that the King was superstitious and a great fan of numbers and if you pay attention the numbers are palindrome 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1 (1357 9 July at 5:31)
Laura 08.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 7
the Czech Republic is the country of the world with the highest consumption of beer with 142 liters per capita in 2019...
Laura 04.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 6
the word robot, known all over the world, is of Czech origin and was first used by Karel Čapek, at the suggestion of his brother Josef Čapek, in the play “RUR” (Rossum’s Universal Robots), premiered in Prague in 1921 and in New York in 1922.
Laura 01.08.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 5
the statue of Alma Mater located on the staircase of Havana’s University in Cuba is the work of the Czech sculptor Mario Korbel, who was based in 1919 in Cuba. He was born in Osík (Austro-Hungarian Empire) and territory of the present-day Czech Republic.
Laura 28.07.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 4
the name Budweiser corresponds to an adjective in German relating to the Czech city of České Budějovice, where beer of the same name is produced and whose Budvar brewery has the exclusivity of the Budweiser brand in several countries.
Laura 25.07.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 3
the word dollar is an anglicism of the word “thaler” which was the name of a currency that was minted in the XVI century in the mining town of Joachimsthal (nowadays Jáchymov) in the Bohemian region of Czech Republic.
Laura 18.07.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT...? 2
the knowledge of a few basic words in Czech language could have allowed a contestant of a recent edition of “Do you want to be a millionaire?” to earn
500,000 USD instead of 250 000 USD?
The question:
Confusing for English speakers: “Ano” is the word for “yes” in which of these languages:
A – Czech C – Korean l
B – Arabic D – Portuguese
Jitka 13.07.2021
DID YOU KNOW THAT…? 1
Ray Croc’s parents, the man who bought McDonald and made it the world’s largest fast food chain, were of Czech origin…
His history gave rise to the film “The Founder“ released in 2016 and starred Michael Keaton as Ray Croc
Félix, 10.07.2021
OPERACIÓN ANTROPOIDE – ATENTADO A HEYDRICH
En la cripta de la Iglesia de San Cirilo y San Metodio de la iglesia ortodoxa checoslovaca, que se encuentra cerca de la Plaza de Carlos, recordamos a los 7 héroes checoslovacos (Josef Bublík, Jozef Gabčík, Jan Hrubý, Jan Kubiš, Adolf Opálka, Jaroslav Švarc y Josef Valčík) que se refugiaron en ella después del atentado al Protector Adjunto de Bohemia y Moravia Reinhard Heydrich y donde los 7 murieron el día 18 de junio 1942.
Entre ellos estaban los autores del atentado a Heydrich, conocido como la operación Antropoide, planificada y preparada en el Reino Unido, de donde vinieron varios grupos de paracaidistas en el invierno 1941 - 42 y la misión de uno de ellos era liberar a los checos del temible y cruel nazi Reinhard Heydrich.
Los paracaidistas contactaron a los miembros de la resistencia checa con el objetivo de cumplir con su misión y asesinar al temible nazi y luchador contra la resistencia checa y el día 27 de mayo 1942, en el barrio de Libeň, por donde Heydrich pasaba yendo de su residencia en Nové Břežany al Castillo de Praga, lo esperaban Jan Kubiš con una granada británica, Josef Gabčík con un fusil y Josef Valčík para hacerle a los primeros dos señales con un pequeño espejo.
Heydrich venía en un coche descapotable, sin escolta, sólo con su chofer, y cuando su coche llegó a la curva, el Mercedes redujo la velocidad y en ese momento Gabčík intentó dispararle, pero se le bloqueó el arma, Heydrich se dio cuenta de lo que estaba pasando, se levantó del asiento, pero en eso Kubiš activó la granada y la arrojó hacia el vehículo. La granada estalló e hirió a ambos pasajeros. Los tres paracaidistas se dieron a la fuga. Heydrich fue auxiliado por una mujer checa y llevado al hospital de Bulovka en Praga. Parecía que Heydrich podría salvarse si fuera tratado a tiempo, pero como prefirió no ser atendido por doctores checos, Heinrich Himmler le envió al médico Karl Gebhardt, pero el tratamiento de sus heridas empezó tarde y a los ocho días después del atentado Heydrich muere.
Mientras tanto las tropas SS salieron a las calles de Praga para buscar a los atacantes. Detuvieron a miles de sospechosos, pero no lograron dar con su paradero. Empezaron a ofrecer recompensas por cualquier información acerca de los atacantes y sus colaboradores y también desataron una ola de ejecuciones en Praga.
Al final, el 16 de junio, uno de los paracaidistas parcialmente implicado, Karel Čurda, impactado con la ola de ejecuciones entre la población checa, pensando que iba a parar la ola de ejecuciones y delató los nombres de los colaboradores de los paracaidistas, de los que algunos se llegaron a suicidar a tiempo para no poder ser torturados por la Gestapo, pero decenas de ellos fueron detenidos y torturados de forma muy cruel y el día 17 de junio los nazis ya supieron que los autores del atentado están en la cripta de la iglesia. A las 4:15 del 18 de junio 1942, la cripta fue rodeada y asediada por 800 soldados y después de una lucha de 7 horas, algunos de los paracaidistas murieron defendiendo la iglesia y otros se suicidaron para no caer vivos en manos de la Gestapo.
En respuesta al atentado, los nazis asesinaron a varios miles de checos, entre ellos también a los hombres, mujeres y niños del pueblo de Lídice (10 de junio 1942) y Ležáky (24 de junio de 1942).
La Operación Antropoide fue el único intento exitoso de asesinar a un importante líder nazi en un país ocupado ellos durante la segunda guerra mundial.
Sobre la Operación Antropoide fue filmada y en 2016 estrenada en el cine la película Anthropoid de coproducción británico-francesa-checa.
Jitka, April 2017
CHRISTMAS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC
In most Czech households, preparations for Christmas Eve (December 24) begin in early December, when Czech women begin to make Christmas cupcakes, to clean the house and with the help of Christmas cards, that children write to the Child Jesus, asking for gifts, they go shopping. Some Czechs have been shopping since October, others leave it for the last days of Advent.
Being a nation, whose people are neither religious nor very practicing, the vast majority of Czechs usually celebrate this Christian holiday in the traditional way, without having to be practicing Catholics.
A few days before the 24th of December, they buy the Christmas Tree to adorn it and illuminate it on December 24th in the morning, because the Christmas Eve dinner is celebrated that same day at night. During that day many people keep the tradition of fasting until dinner, it means, to eat very little for the day or not to eat any meat, until the sunset, when the first star appears, the dinner can be served Traditional food (which does not include meat), and consists of fish soup, breaded carp with homemade potato salad and Christmas cupcakes. The carp for the soup and main course is usually bought fresh and live on the 23rd or the same day 24 in the morning.
After the main course, comes the dessert with traditional homemade cupcakes, carols are sung (children learn them in schools, choirs or at home) and in many homes also cut apples crosswise, and if a perfect star appears in the heart , next year will be good, a distorted star means a bad year or illness, and a cross can mean death, or the girls pull shoes over the shoulder and if the tip looks towards the door, they will get married soon, or pour a little molten lead into water and according to the way it takes they try to guess what's waiting for everyone in the next year.
After dinner, which in case of families with small children and impatient to see the gifts, can be quite fast, because when the bell rings on the Christmas Tree, everyone knows that the Child Jesus already passed by and put gifts underneath the tree and that's why it is time to hand out the gifts and open them.
Catholics and even many non-religious Czechs go at midnight to the Mass of Rooster, some to pray, others to hear the choirs singing carols or simply to continue enjoying the peaceful holiday (when for three days, the work stress stops) or for maintaining the tradition of their ancestors. Also in the days after Christmas Eve, churches are visited to see the births that are usually put inside or outside the churches, for example births of wood or straw, and in Prague, you can even do a tour of births, because all Churches have at least one.
The 25th and 26th of December are official holidays, Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (25th) and St. Stephen's Day (26th December). These are holidays marked by visiting families, family meals or dinners. St. Stephen's Day is usually eaten goose, duck or roasted turkey with sauerkraut and knedlíky.
Day 27 is a day of work, but the children have vacations and many parents take holidays also, to go with their children to the mountains, where they stay until the beginning of January to celebrate the New Year there, many times rather with their friends. The end of the year celebration is no longer a party as familiar as Christmas Eve.
Jitka, December 2016