Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
World War II
The First Republic had barely
stretched its legs when the
Munich Agreement of 1938 gave
Czech lands to Nazi Germany.
Nearly 80,000 Czechs died in the
Holocaust
(see p25)
. After the
war, the nation exacted revenge
by expelling its German citizens.
Top 10 Historical
Fig
ures
St Agnes
St Agnes (1211-82),
devout sister of Wenceslas I,
built a convent for the order
of the Poor Clares (the female
counterpart of the Franciscans).
St John of Nepomuk
Wenceslas IV arrested
Nepomuk (1340-93) over the
election of an abbot and threw
his body from Charles Bridge.
Jan Hus
Hus (1370-1415) preached
against Church corruption and
was burned as a heretic.
Nazi parade,Wenceslas Square,1939
Mordecai Maisel
The Jewish mayor (1528-
1601) was one of the richest
men in Europe
(see p22)
.
Tycho de Brahe
Astronomer at Rudolph's
court, Brahe (1546-1601)
suffered a burst bladder when
he refused to leave the
emperor's side at a banquet.
Edward Kelley and
John Dee
The English charlatans gained
Rudolph II's trust by converting
lead into gold, but were more
interested in necromancy.
Johannes Kepler
The German astronomer
(1571-1630) pioneered
studies of planetary motion.
Albrecht von
Wallenstein
Leader of the Catholics during
the Thirty Years' War, Wallen-
stein (1581-1634) built a vast
palace in Prague
(see p86)
.
Rise of Communism
Grateful to the Red Army for
liberating Prague in 1945, Czecho-
slovakia gave Soviet Communism
the benefit of the doubt in the
February 1948 elections.
Prague Spring
In 1968 First Secretary
Alexandr Dub≤ek introduced
economic and social reforms that
did not sit well with Moscow.
Warsaw-Pact tanks rolled
through Prague streets killing
more than 100 protestors.
Velvet Revolution
After 10 days of mass
protests in 1989, the Communist
government bowed to the
population's indignation. Czechs
proudly recall that not a window
was broken during the revolt.
Franz Kafka
Prague's best-known author
(1883-1924) was largely unpub-
lished in his lifetime
(see p44)
.
Emil Zátopek
“The Locomotive” (1922-
2000) won three long-distance
gold medals at the 1952
Olympic Games.
Velvet Revolution celebrations
Flooding in August 2002 caused a great deal of damage to
many historic landmarks in Prague.
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