Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
rather choose a fictional character as their greatest countryman
over any of their flesh-and-blood national heroes—say, Charles IV
(the 14th-century Holy Roman Emperor who established Prague
as the cultural and intellectual capital of Europe), Jan Hus (the
15th-century religious reformer who challenged the legitimacy
of the Catholic Church), Comenius (a 17th-century educator and
writer, considered one of the fathers of modern education), or
Martina Navrátilová (someone who plays a sport with bright
green balls)? The more cynically inclined—many Czechs among
them—might point out that the Czech people have largely stayed
behind their mountains for the past millennia, with little interest
in, or influence on, happenings elsewhere in the world. Perhaps
Cimrman is so beloved because he embodies that most prickly of
ironies: a Czech who was greater than all the world's greats, but
who for some hiccup of chance has never been recognized for
his achievements.
Personally, I like to think that the vote for Cimrman says
something about the country's rousing enthusiasm for blowing
raspberries in the face of authority. Throughout its history—
from the times of the Czech kings who used crafty diplomacy
to keep the German menace at bay, to the days of Jan Hus and
his questioning of the very legitimacy of any ruler's power, to the
flashes of anti-communist revolt that at last sparked the Velvet
Revolution in 1989—the Czechs have maintained a healthy dis-
respect for those who would tell them what is best or how to
live their lives. Other countries soberly choose their “Greatest”
from musty tomes of history, but the Czechs won't play this silly
game. Their vote for a fictional personage, says Cimrman's co-
creator Svěrák, says two things about the Czech nation: “That it
is skeptical about those who are major figures and those who are
supposedly the 'Greatest.' And that the only certainty that has
saved the nation many times throughout history is its humor.”
Cimrman would agree. A man of greatness, he was always
a bit skeptical of those who saw themselves as great, or who
marched forward under the banner of greatness. As Cimrman
liked to say, “There are moments when optimists should be
shot.”
Palladio. Inside, the gory depictions of the Trojan War tell you
about the taste and character of the owner. (A handy WC is to the
left of the amphitheater.) The bizarre grotto wall farther on the
left was an expression of an uncertain age. It creates the illusion
of caves and holes, stalagmites and stalactites, interspersed with
partially hidden stone goblins, frogs, and snakes (count how many
you can find). The wall continues into a cage with live owls, com-
pleting the transition from dead to living nature. The twisted cries
of the owls deepen the surreal sensation of the place. Exit through
