Study of Czech Culture

It's been a couple weeks now since my memorable Euro Trip and I want to make one more post, regarding Czech Culture. I actually got to experience four days in the Czech Republic, in two different cities (Brno and Prague). As I previously wrote, the city of Prague is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen right there with Paris or Rome. The architecture is truly sublime with it's castles, churches, bridges, and spires it is liking walking into a time machine into the medieval age. In this post however I'll try to advert away from the city and rather give a larger perspective of the Czech culture. 

From my perspective it was a very different feel stepping into Central Europe for the first time. My first experience in Vienna was exactly what I expected, a city overrun with beautiful architecture and tourists. However taking the train to Brno was quite unique, like stepping into an entirely different world. A world of the former Soviet Union, in a territory that was once overrun by communism. The train station was quite dirty and poorly managed. It reminded me of the chaos I briefly experienced in Nicaragua. I was glad to have left the train station but even walking thru the streets was quite different then most European cities. It was more authentic and less tourism, with locals drinking in the streets. The architecture was also quite impressive in Brno I must say. 

It was that night I quickly understood how Czech was regarded as the world's number one nation of beer consumption. Everyone was drinking, the beer was extremely cheap, and the glass mugs were quite abundant. I think that night I began to feel a new sense of awe with this Czech culture that embraced beautiful architecture and having fun times. The next day I was even more amazed by the city of Prague. This time it was overrun by tourists, as the European cities I've seen before, but that did not take away from it's beauty. Walking thru Old Town was one of the most surreal couple twos I have experienced, and I truly felt something quite new in this country. 

It's fair to say that Czech culture is perhaps not as worldly renown as many other cultures. They've never really been a political power, won the world cup, or have any recognizable cuisine. Part of this is because the nation is still rather young, having first established its sovereignty as Czechoslovakia in 1918. Before this the nation was known as the region of Bohemia and answered to the Holy Roman Empire. From the 1600s the region came under the influence of the Austrian Empire, up until it's dissolution after WWI. However even after establishing it's independence the Czech nation didn't have much time to establish as it was once again influenced by Nazi Germany and the Communist Russia. It was not until the 1990s with the fall of the Soviet Union and the split of Czech and Slovakia that this new Czech Republic was established.

I'm going to bypass the history of Bohemia having already written about the history of Austria and Prague. Instead in this post I want to focus on the Czech identity, which although is still new it pertains to a territory that has been inhabited for thousands of years. When I think Czech I first think of their best soccer player Pavel Nedved. But then I think of their great classical musicians Bedriech Smetana and Anton Dvorak. I also think vampires for some reason (perhaps this is more Transylvania but still close). But there can be no question that the ultimate gem of Czech pride has to be the city of Prague which is a true testament to time. 

Czech Architecture

I already wrote quite a lot about the architecture of the city of Prague, but it must appear in this overall study of it's culture. The country's architecture is what makes it so very unique from other nations. It has a very mysterious allure to it, much ado to it's gothic style of buildings. This includes the Prague Castle, the Tyn Church, the St. Vitus Cathedral, the Charles Bridge, and many other towers and buildings in the city. Even the city of Brno had various cathedrals of Gothic structure. The country is also renown for having the most castles in the world, a mesmerizing region with hundreds of spires. 

Czech Religion

One thing I came to understand in my studies of Prague, was that the region was a center place for the birth of the Counter Reformation. The theologian, Jan Hus began one of the earlier reformation movements against the Catholic Church during the early 1400s. He was later killed as a heretic but inspired an entire Bohemian Reformation movement led by his impassioned Hussite followers. One could make the case that Martin Luther was later inspired by these events that shaped Germany and swept across all of Europe. The conflict of Protestant vs Catholics was fierce in Prague, and the Thirty Years War was initiated by a mob murder (The Defenestration of Prague 1618).

Sadly despite it's numerous Catholic cathedrals, Czech is not the religious nation it once was. Quite surprising however is that they have various saints such as Ludmila of Bohemia and Wenceslaus Duke of Bohemia. This is the same Wenceslaus who is referred to in one of my all time favorite Christmas Songs, "Good King Wenceslaus". Although he was not a king of Bohemia, he reigned as Duke from 921 to 935 AD and through his righteousness he posthumously acquired the reputation as a king. He was rich in faith and gave to the poor, so much so that he would endure pain for the sake of others (as implied in the song). 

Czech Music

Two of the most significant Czech composers of the classical era are Bedrich Smetana and Anton Dvorak. I think I first heard the classical piece of Ma Vlast in the film Tree of Life and was so moved by the unique piece of music. This masterwork by Smetana is so enigmatic with it's building melody that flows like the Vltava river that inspired him. The title Ma Vlast means "My Fatherland" which is a celebration of Czech legacy and culture (on par with Wagner's mythological celebration of Germany). It is is one of my all time favorite classical works and for that reason alone is worth giving great praise to Smetana. He lived from 1824-1884 mostly in Prague and was a passionate about the cause of Czech nationalism which began with the Prague Uprising of 1848. 

Its fair to say Smetana influenced the other great Czech composer Anton Dvorak whose work began to emerge in Prague during the 1870s. Dvorak's music was different from Smetana's in that it incorporated more folk traditional elements of the Bohemian countryside. His greatest work was the Humoresques which he actually wrote during a visit in the United States in 1894. The third great Czech musician worth mentioning here was Leos Janacek who was influenced by Dvorak. He emerged in the early 1900s, and incorporated folk themes as well as eastern Slavic music into his musical compositions. 

Czech Sports

As I mentioned above the first Czech athlete that comes to mind is Pavel Nedved, who captained the Czech soccer team in the 2006 World Cup. Other great Czech soccer stars are Petr Cech (with his iconic goalkeeping helmet) and Tomas Rosicky who played for Arsenal for 10 years. Although Czech Republic has hardly been a powerhouse in recent tournaments they were runner-ups twice in the 1934 and 1962 World Cup. They made it to the Quarter Finals in the last Euro Cup 2020 where Patrick Shick emerged as their new promising superstar.

The most popular sport in Czech Republic is not soccer but rather ice hockey. The team has collected a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics and many other championships in the international hockey tournaments. The also have a very successful tennis tradition with superstars such as Martina Navratilova (winner of 18 grand slam titles), Ivan Lendl (winner of 8 titles), and the more recent female stars Petra Kvitova (two-time grand slam champion), Karolina Pliskova (two time grand slam finalist), and Barboa Krejcikova (champion of the 2021 French Open). 

Czech Cuisine

As I mentioned before, Czech is the leading nation in the world of beer consumed per capita. I would have thought this title would have belonged to Germany or Ireland, but it belongs to Czech Republic by a significant margin. The most popular beer in Czech is the pilsner (pale lager) and the brand Pilsner Urquell. 

While there I enjoyed two very tasty meals of ribs and the Bohemian country platter which included duck, pork roast, sausage, and sauerkraut. Another popular dish in Czech is the Svickova, which is steak with vegetables and heavy cream. Goulash stews are also common as they are in most of central Europe. Pastries are popular deserts in Czech and the strudel is the most common served in most coffeehouses. 

Movies set in Czech Republic

• 
  Anthropoid (2016): This is a great historical film pertaining to Czech nationalism. It is the true story about Operation Anthropoid, where two Czech rebel fighters during WWII  assassinated Hitler's right hand man Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. These two Czech fighters Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis are able to infilitrate their occupied nation and assassinate the Nazi commander. The response by Hitler was a cruel one in which 5000 Czech citizens were massacred. It remained however the most significant Nazi assassination and a proud national moment for the Czech Republic. 
  

• Mission Impossible (1996): The opening scene of the movie takes place at night in Prague. It is here that the villain played by Jon Voight has Tom Cruise's team assassinated. Jon Voight then stages a plunge off the Charles Bridge and into the Vltava River. The movie then goes all over the place, but this opening scene in Prague establishes the plot. 

• Casino Royal (2006): Just like with Mission Impossible, the opening scene of Casino Royal also takes place at an embassy in Prague. The new James Bond played by Daniel Craig assassinates a British traitor and then begins a hunt all across Europe. There aren't really any major exterior shots of Prague in this film, but it's one of my favorite actions films worth mentioning here. 

• Kafka (1991) It is a semi auto-biography of the famed Bohemian author Franz Kafka who is famous for writing The Metamorphosis, The Castle, and the Trial. The film establishes a unique setting relating to Kafka's bizarre writings. Directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Jeremy Irons, the film was a bit of a disappointment however has now become a cult film. Most of the movie is shot in Prague with many of it's iconic building structures.

• Underworld (2003): The popular vampire series starring the beautiful Kate Beckinsale takes place all across central Europe including Budapest and Prague. Many of the car chases and fights were filmed in Prague. Although I was not a big fan of the gothic movie, I am a fan of Beckinsale.