Czech At Brown

05/28/2026

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Czech women have shaped history, art, science, sport and politics for centuries. Yet many of their stories are still not widely known. Time to change that 👇

PART 1 - LEGENDS OF THE PAST

1. Sv. Ludmila (circa 860-921) - the first Czech female saint and grandmother of Saint Wenceslas. She introduced Christianity to the Bohemian royal family and was murdered for her faith. The spiritual mother of the Czech nation 🕊️

2. Anežka Česká (1211-1282) - princess who gave up royal life to become a nun, founded hospitals and care homes for the poor in Prague, and was canonized as a saint in 1989 - just weeks before the Velvet Revolution. Many saw it as a sign 🙏

3. Božena Němcová (1820-1862) - writer and poet considered the mother of Czech literature. Her novel Babička (Grandmother) is one of the most beloved books ever written in Czech and is still read in schools today 📚

4. Eliška Krásnohorská (1847-1926) - poet, feminist pioneer and tireless advocate for women's education. She wrote librettos for Smetana's operas and founded the first Czech grammar school for girls. A true trailblazer 🎓

5. Ema Destinnová (1878-1930) - one of the greatest opera sopranos in the world at the turn of the 20th century. She performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Royal Opera House in London and was a passionate Czech patriot 🎶

6. Eliška Junková (1900-1994) - racing driver who competed against men at the highest level in the 1920s and was considered one of the best drivers in the world. A pioneer of motorsport and a symbol of fearless determination 🏎️

7. Františka Plamínková (1875-1942) - teacher, politician, senator and one of the most important figures in the Czech feminist movement. She fought her whole life for women's equal rights and was executed by the N***s in 1942 ✊

8. Vítězslava Kaprálová (1915-1940) - composer and conductor of extraordinary talent who died at just 25 years old. In her short life she produced a body of work that placed her among the most gifted composers of her generation 🎼

9. Milena Jesenská (1896-1944) - journalist, writer and close friend and correspondent of Franz Kafka. She wrote fearlessly against fascism and paid with her life, dying in the Ravensbruck concentration camp 🖊️

10. Alice Masaryková (1879-1966) - sociologist, humanitarian and daughter of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. She founded the Czech Red Cross and devoted her life to helping others. A quiet but extraordinary force for good ❤️

11. Toyen (1902-1980) - one of the most important surrealist artists in European history. Born Marie Čermínová in Prague, she deliberately adopted a gender-neutral name and broke every boundary in art and identity 🎨

12. Milada Horáková (1901-1950) - lawyer, politician and fearless defender of democracy. She was the only woman to be executed in a show trial by the communist regime in 1950 and remains a powerful symbol of resistance and courage 🕊️

13. Lída Baarová (1914-2000) - one of the most celebrated Czech actresses of the 1930s whose life was overshadowed by her controversial relationship with N**i propaganda minister Goebbels. A complex and tragic figure of her era 🎬

14. Adina Mandlová (1910-1991) - beloved film star and one of the biggest names in Czech cinema of the 1930s and 1940s. Her glamour, talent and turbulent life made her one of the most talked-about women of her generation 🎥

PART 2 - MODERN ICONS

15. Marta Kubišová (1942) - singer whose song Modlitba pro Martu (A Prayer for Marta) became the anthem of the Prague Spring. She was banned from performing for 20 years by the communist regime and made a triumphant comeback after the Velvet Revolution 🎵

16. Věra Chytilová (1929-2014) - film director and leading figure of the Czech New Wave. Her 1966 film Sedmikrásky (Daisies) is considered one of the most radical and original films in European cinema history 🎬

17. Olga Havlová (1933-1996) - first wife of Vaclav Havel, a quiet and deeply principled woman who supported her husband through imprisonment and the presidency. A beloved figure known for her warmth and humanity ❤️

18. Adriena Šimotová (1926-2014) - one of the most important Czech visual artists of the 20th century, known for her deeply personal and poetic works on paper and canvas. Her art spoke about memory, fragility and the human body 🎨

19. Eva Jiřičná (1939) - world-renowned architect and designer based in London, celebrated for her elegant use of glass and steel. She has designed iconic staircases and interiors across the globe and is a CBE 🏛️

20. Helena Illnerová (1937) - biologist and leading expert in biological rhythms. She became the first woman ever to serve as president of the Czech Academy of Sciences. A giant of Czech science 🔬

21. Martina Navrátilová (1956) - tennis legend with 18 Grand Slam titles and widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. A proud Czech who became a global icon 🎾

22. Madeleine Albright (1937-2022) - born Marie Jana Korbelová in Prague, she fled twice - from the N***s and then the communists. She went on to become the first female US Secretary of State. Prague will always claim her 🇨🇿

23. Magdalena Kožená (1973) - one of the finest mezzo-soprano opera singers in the world today, performing on the greatest stages from Vienna to New York. A true ambassador for Czech culture 🎶

24. Martina Sáblíková (1987) - speed skating champion and one of the most decorated Czech athletes ever, with multiple Olympic gold medals and world championship titles over more than a decade of dominance ⛸️

25. Ester Ledecká (1995) - snowboarder and alpine skier who made history at the 2018 Winter Olympics by winning gold in two completely different sports. One of the most remarkable achievements in Olympic history 🏅

Which of these women inspires you the most? Drop her name in the comments 👇

05/21/2026

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🇨🇿 Top 15 Most Famous Czechs of All Time

You're learning Czech - but do you know who made this country famous? Here are our picks 👇

1. Václav Havel - playwright turned politician who led the Velvet Revolution and became the first president of democratic Czech Republic. A true symbol of peaceful resistance 🕊️

2. Franz Kafka - one of the most influential writers in literary history. Born in Prague, wrote in German, claimed by everyone. Prague will always call him theirs 😄 🪲

3. Antonín Dvořák - classical composer whose New World Symphony is recognized worldwide. He put Czech music on the global map in the 19th century 🎵

4. Gregor Mendel - Moravian monk and scientist who founded the science of genetics through his famous pea plant experiments. Without him, modern biology looks very different 🧬

5. Martina Navratilová - tennis legend with 18 Grand Slam titles and widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of the sport 🎾

6. Karel Čapek - writer and visionary who gave the world the word "robot" in his 1920 play. Science fiction owes him a lot 🤖

7. Milan Kundera - novelist and essayist whose work The Unbearable Lightness of Being made Czech literature essential reading around the world 📚

8. Emil Zátopek - long-distance runner who won three Olympic gold medals at the 1952 Helsinki Games - the 5K, 10K, and marathon - in a single week. A sporting miracle 🏅

9. Miloš Forman - film director who fled communist Czechoslovakia and went on to win two Academy Awards, for Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 🎬

10. Alfons Mucha - painter and decorative artist who became the defining face of the Art Nouveau movement. You've seen his work even if you didn't know his name 🎨

11. Jaromír Jágr - ice hockey icon, second all-time NHL scorer, and proud owner of the most legendary mullet in sports history 🏒

12. Bedřich Smetana - composer and pianist considered the father of Czech classical music. His masterpiece Má vlast (My Homeland) remains a deeply emotional symbol of Czech national identity 🎼

13. Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk - philosopher and statesman who founded Czechoslovakia in 1918 and served as its first president. The father of the nation 🇨🇿

14. Otto Wichterle - chemist and inventor who developed the world's first soft contact lenses in 1961. Millions of eyes around the world have him to thank 👁️

15. Jan Hus - 15th century theologian and church reformer whose ideas sparked a religious revolution across Europe, a full century before Martin Luther 🔥

Who would YOU add to this list? Drop your pick in the comments 👇

05/19/2026

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💰 Czechia ranks as the EU's least poverty-exposed country.

New Eurostat data shows that Czechia recorded the lowest rate of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU in 2025, at just 11.5% — well below the bloc's average of 20.9%, and far from the worst performers like Bulgaria (29%) and Romania (27.4%). euronews

Prague mirrors that national strength. Among 24 European capitals with available data, Warsaw (7.1%) and Prague (9.1%) are both in single digits, placing the Czech capital among the continent's most socially resilient cities.

The Eurostat methodology defines those "at risk" as people who are either below the poverty income threshold, severely deprived of basic goods, or living in households with very low work intensity.

05/19/2026

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05/10/2026

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05/10/2026

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🖼 A new exhibition is currently underway at the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, marking 200 years since the birth of Vojtěch Náprstek, a remarkable 19th-century figure who was not only the founder of a museum, but also an innovator, politician and early advocate for women’s rights.

👉 Find out more about this extraordinary person here: rozhl.as/jGf

05/09/2026

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Prague's Main Railway Station🇨🇿

05/08/2026

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📻 Filip Šír from the National Museum in Prague has been uncovering wartime radio broadcasts by the Czech duo Jiří Voskovec and Jan Werich, whose satirical sketches and songs aired from the United States helped counter N**i propaganda with humour.

🎙 Once nearly forgotten, these broadcasts are now being rediscovered, shedding new light on how the pair continued their artistic and political resistance after fleeing occupied Czechoslovakia in 1939.

👉 Find out more here: rozhl.as/jEe

05/03/2026

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🏰 550 years ago, a woman died who would become more famous after her death than she ever was in life.

🥀 Perchta of Rožmberk – known as the White Lady, the most famous ghost of Czech castles – was in reality a victim of political arrangements, family indifference, and brutal domestic abuse.

👉 Find out more about her dark and fascinating story: rozhl.as/jB2

05/02/2026

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☠ Blood in Bohemia is a special series of Czechast, the podcast in English about all things Czech. In it, Vít Pohanka teams up with BBC correspondent Rob Cameron to revisit some of the most brutal and defining moments in Czech history. Before the series begins, they sit down together to explain what drew them to these stories — and why they still matter today.

👉 Find out more here: rozhl.as/jB7