1.
Czech Republic
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The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, is a nation state in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west, Austria to the south, Slovakia to the east and Poland to the northeast. The Czech Republic covers an area of 78,866 square kilometres with mostly temperate continental climate and it is a unitary parliamentary republic, has 10.5 million inhabitants and the capital and largest city is Prague, with over 1.2 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the territories of Bohemia, Moravia. The Czech state was formed in the late 9th century as the Duchy of Bohemia under the Great Moravian Empire, after the fall of the Empire in 907, the centre of power transferred from Moravia to Bohemia under the Přemyslid dynasty. In 1002, the duchy was formally recognized as part of the Holy Roman Empire, becoming the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198 and reaching its greatest territorial extent in the 14th century. Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the whole Crown of Bohemia was gradually integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy alongside the Archduchy of Austria, the Protestant Bohemian Revolt against the Catholic Habsburgs led to the Thirty Years War. After the Battle of the White Mountain, the Habsburgs consolidated their rule, reimposed Roman Catholicism, the Czech part of Czechoslovakia was occupied by Germany in World War II, and was liberated in 1945 by the armies of the Soviet Union and the United States. The Czech country lost the majority of its German-speaking inhabitants after they were expelled following the war, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia won the 1946 elections. Following the 1948 coup détat, Czechoslovakia became a one-party communist state under Soviet influence, in 1968, increasing dissatisfaction with the regime culminated in a reform movement known as the Prague Spring, which ended in a Soviet-led invasion. Czechoslovakia remained occupied until the 1989 Velvet Revolution, when the communist regime collapsed, on 6 March 1990, the Czech Socialistic Republic was renamed to the Czech Republic. On 1 January 1993, Czechoslovakia peacefully dissolved, with its constituent states becoming the independent states of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic. The Czech Republic joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004, it is a member of the United Nations, the OECD, the OSCE, and it is a developed country with an advanced, high income economy and high living standards. The UNDP ranks the country 14th in inequality-adjusted human development, the Czech Republic also ranks as the 6th most peaceful country, while achieving strong performance in democratic governance. It has the lowest unemployment rate in the European Union, the traditional English name Bohemia derives from Latin Boiohaemum, which means home of the Boii. The current name comes from the endonym Čech, spelled Cžech until the reform in 1842. The name comes from the Slavic tribe and, according to legend, their leader Čech, the etymology of the word Čech can be traced back to the Proto-Slavic root *čel-, meaning member of the people, kinsman, thus making it cognate to the Czech word člověk. The country has traditionally divided into three lands, namely Bohemia in the west, Moravia in the southeast, and Czech Silesia in the northeast. Following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia at the end of 1992, the Czech part of the former nation found itself without a common single-word geographical name in English, the name Czechia /ˈtʃɛkiə/ was recommended by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2.
Slovakia
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Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Slovakias territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks, the capital and largest city is Bratislava. The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries, in the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samos Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separate Slovak Republic existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reëstablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite, in 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country maintains a combination of economy with universal health care. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009, Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its legal tender, the Euro, is the worlds 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, in 2016, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone, the car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output, and a quarter of its exports. Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC and these ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia. Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era come from the Prévôt cave near Bojnice, the most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium, discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone, the statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina and these findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The Bronze Age in the territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC
3.
Austria
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Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany. In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, today, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz, Salzburg and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria also signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum later became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was later claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
4.
Theresienstadt concentration camp
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Tens of thousands of people died there, some killed outright and others dying from malnutrition and disease. The fortress of Theresienstadt in the north-west region of Bohemia was constructed between the years 1780 and 1790 on the orders of the Austrian emperor Joseph II. It was designed as part of a projected but never fully realised system of the monarchy. Theresienstadt was named for the mother of the emperor, Maria Theresa of Austria, by the end of the 19th century, the facility was obsolete as a fort, in the 20th century, the fort was used to accommodate military and political prisoners. From 1914 until 1918, Gavrilo Princip was imprisoned here, after his conviction for the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife on June 28,1914, Princip died in Cell Number 1 from tuberculosis on April 28,1918. After Germany invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia, on June 10,1940, the first inmates arrived June 14. By the end of the war, the fortress had processed more than 32,000 prisoners, of whom 5,000 were female. The prisoners were predominantly Czech at first, and later other nationalities were imprisoned there, including citizens of the Soviet Union, Poland, Germany, and Yugoslavia. By November 24,1941, the Nazis adapted the Main Fortress, located on the west side of the river, as a ghetto. Jewish survivors have recounted the extensive work they had to do for more than a year in the camp, to try to provide basic facilities for the tens of thousands of people who came to be housed there. From 1942, the Nazis interned the Jews of Bohemia and Moravia, elderly Jews and persons of special merit in the Reich, Theresienstadt thereafter became known as the destination for the Altentransporte of German Jews, older than 65. Although in practice the ghetto, run by the SS, served as a camp for Jews en route to extermination camps. On November 11,1943, commandant Anton Burger ordered the camp population, approximately 40,000 people at that time. About 300 prisoners died of hypothermia as a result, during a 1944 Red Cross visit, and in a propaganda film, the Nazis presented Theresienstadt to outsiders as a model Jewish settlement, but it was a concentration camp. More than 33,000 inmates died as a result of malnutrition, disease, whereas some survivors claimed that the prison population reached 75,000 at one time, according to official records, the highest figure reached was 58,491. They were crowded into barracks designed to accommodate 7,000 combat troops, in the autumn of 1944, the Nazis began the liquidation of the ghetto, deporting more prisoners to Auschwitz and other camps, in one month, they deported 24,000 victims. The Small Fortress was part of the fortification on the side of the river Ohře. Beginning in 1940, the Gestapo used it as a prison, the first inmates arrived on June 14,1940
5.
Brno
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Brno is the second largest city in the Czech Republic by population and area, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the center of the South Moravian Region in which it forms a separate district. The city is also a significant administrative centre and it is the seat of a number of state authorities, including the Ombudsman, and the Office for the Protection of Competition. Brno is also an important centre of education, with 33 faculties belonging to 13 institutes of higher learning. Brno Exhibition Centre ranks among the largest exhibition centres in Europe, the complex opened in 1928 and established the tradition of large exhibitions and trade fairs held in Brno. Brno hosts motorbike and other races on the Masaryk Circuit, an established in 1930. Another cultural tradition is a fireworks competition, Ignis Brunensis. The other large preserved castle near the city is Veveří Castle by the Brno Dam Lake and this castle is the site of a number of legends, as are many other places in Brno. Another architectural monument of Brno is the functionalist Villa Tugendhat which has been included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, one of the natural sights nearby is the Moravian Karst. The etymology of the name Brno is disputed and it perhaps comes from Old Czech brnie muddy, swampy. Alternative derivations are from a Slavic verb brniti or a Celtic language spoken in the area before it was overrun by Germanic peoples, throughout its history, Brnos locals also referred to the town in other languages, including Brünn in German, ברין in Yiddish and Bruna in Latin. The city was referred to as Brunn in English. The Asteroid 2889 Brno was named after the city, as well as the Bren light machine gun, one of the most famous weapons of World War II. In the early 11th century Brno was established as a castle of a prince from the House of Přemyslid. Brno was first mentioned in Cosmas Chronica Boëmorum dated to year 1091, seats of these rulers and thus capitals of these territories were castles and towns of Brno, Olomouc, and Znojmo. In the late 12th century, Moravia began to reunify, forming the Margraviate of Moravia, since then, until the mid of the 17th century, it was not clear which town should be the capital of Moravia. Political power was therefore divided between Brno and Olomouc, but Znojmo also played an important role. The Moravian Diet, the Moravian Land Tables, and the Moravian Land Court were all seated in both cities at once, however, Brno was the official seat of the Moravian Margraves, and later its geographical position closer to Vienna also became important
6.
Hluk
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Hluk is a town in Uherské Hradiště District in Zlín Region of the Czech Republic,10 km southeast from Uherské Hradiště on stream Okluky. In 2011 it had a population about 4400, the town was first mentioned in year 1294. The name of Hluk is very likely derived from Latin word hlucium, the first written mention of the village dates from 1294. The original name of the city Hluk was established, according to extant sources, from the Latin word hlucium to noisily running water stream Okluky, which flows through the town. Perhaps it is also the connection between the name and the city of Hluk Lucká province, which was the center of Hluk possible. Hluk Keep The Church of St. Jan Smital, painter, dominik Černý, a painter painting national costumes of Hluk and the city of Hluk. František Hořínek, teacher, chronicler, who wrote Slovácké městečko Hluk The city is famous for its traditional Ride of the Kings and this folk tradition commemorates historic event, when King Matthias Corvinus after losing the battle fled through Hluk in female disguise. The parade is accompanied by hundreds of costumed citizens of the city, surrounding municipalities, foreign, the Ride of the Kings is also linked to the annual brass band festival and a folklore festival. In Hluk also has many bands and dulcimer music. Among the most famous include DH Šarovec and DH Kosenka, furthermore, CM Babica, CM Ženičky, CM Šefranica. Children sets operate at Hluk Elementary School and serves as a child to the adult ensemble Okluky. The ensemble was founded in 2014 and is one of the youngest Folklore group in Hluk, every year, also held parties with rich Czech-Esperanto program and in 1937 was staged drama Jízdní hlídka with Legionnaires theme by František Langer in Esperanto translation Kavaleria patrolo. Autopal is a factory for the production of lighting and air conditioning equipment manufactured at Visteons global. The plant in Hluk is called the Plant 3 which specializes in refrigeration, niob is an organization focused on the development, design and manufacture of equipment for the food industry. Since its founding in 1992, it acts as a base of the parent company Inotec GmbH. He specializes in the supply of technology for automation of manufacturing processes, oficial website History of Hluk Roman Catholic Parish of Hluk Elementary School
7.
Feast of the Cross
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In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. While Good Friday is dedicated to the Passion of Christ and the Crucifixion, in English, it is called The Exaltation of the Holy Cross in the official translation of the Roman Missal, while the 1973 translation called it The Triumph of the Cross. In some parts of the Anglican Communion the feast is called Holy Cross Day, the celebration is also sometimes called Holy Rood Day. As per Christian faith the True Cross was discovered in 326 by Saint Helena, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena and Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross, the date of the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335. Organization of these celebrations is now left to the decision of episcopal conferences in view of local conditions, September 14 is the titular feast of the Congregation of Holy Cross, The Companions of the Cross and the Episcopal Churchs Order of the Holy Cross. This date also marked the beginning of the period of fasting, except on Sundays and ending on Easter Sunday, the Rule of St. Benedict also prescribes this day as the beginning of monastic winter which also ends at Easter. Under Constantine, around 327, Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem and it was in the course of these excavations that the wood of the Cross was recovered. The feast was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century, the Second Council of Nicæa of 787, drew the distinction between veneration of the cross and worship or latria, which, according to the teaching of the faith, belongs to the Divine nature alone. Petavius noted that this cult must be considered as not belonging to the substance of religion, the honour paid to the image passes to the prototype, and he who adores the image, adores the person whom it represents. In the Gallican usage, beginning about the seventh century, the Feast of the Cross was celebrated on May 3, pope John XXIII removed this duplication in 1960, so that the General Roman Calendar now celebrates the Holy Cross only on September 14. The Syriac Church of the East celebrates the finding of the Cross on September 13, the Syriac Church considers the Sign of the Cross to be a seventh sacrament, by which all of the other sacraments are sealed and perfected. Saranaya hold a shara every year in cities like Chicago, Illinois, and Modesto, California, the shara in Modesto is held every Sunday prior to September 13 at East La Loma Park, where they sacrifice lambs in remembrance of the Feast Of the Cross. People gather and feast and sing and dance to celebrate a happy day, September 14 is always a fast day and the eating of meat, dairy products and fish is prohibited. The Feast of the Exaltation has a one-day forefeast and an eight-day afterfeast, the Saturday and Sunday before and after September 14 are also commemorated with special Epistle and Gospel readings about the Cross at the Divine Liturgy. Those portions of the vespers and matins which in local customs take place before the Icon of the Feast instead take place in front of the Holy Table. The bringing out of the cross and the exaltation ceremony occur at matins, the cross remains in the centre of the temple throughout the afterfeast, and the faithful venerate it whenever they enter or leave the church. This same pattern of bringing out the cross, veneration, and this is a lesser feast, and does not have any of the liturgical peculiarities of the September 14 feast
8.
The Cunning Little Vixen
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The Cunning Little Vixen is an opera by Leoš Janáček, composed 1921-23. Its libretto was adapted by the composer from a novella by Rudolf Těsnohlídek and Stanislav Lolek. The opera incorporates Moravian folk music and rhythms, described as a comic opera, it has nonetheless been noted to contain a serious theme. Interpretations of the work varied, ranging from childrens entertainment to a tragedy. It was probably the German name, used for the 1965 Felsenstein movie, the first three audio recordings, all from the Czech company Supraphon used, naturally, the original Czech name. Then Decca recorded the opera with the Vienna Philharmonic in 1981, when Janáček discovered Těsnohlídeks comic-strip-inspired story and decided to turn it into an opera, he began work by meeting with the author and beginning a study of animals. With this understanding of the characters involved, his own 70 years of experience. He transformed the originally comedic cartoon into a reflection on the cycle of life. As with other operas by composers, this late opera shows a deep understanding of life leading to a return to simplicity. It was given its premiere performance on 6 November 1924 in National Theatre Brno conducted by František Neumann, with Ota Zítek as director, the opera received its Italian premiere at La Scala in 1958 with Mariella Adani in the title role. The work was first staged in England by the Sadlers Wells Opera Company in 1961 – under the direction of Colin Graham, conductor Colin Davis, scenery, in May 2014 the Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst performed an innovative version directed by Yuval Sharon. This production returned the opera to its roots by utilizing animation and hand drawn video sets by the artists Bill Barminski, the production featured the use of hole-in-the-wall carnival cutouts to place the singers heads on the animated bodies of the animal characters. In 1981, the New York City Opera mounted a production in English based on images created by Maurice Sendak and it starred soprano Gianna Rolandi as Vixen Sharp-Ears and baritone Richard Cross as the Forester. In the forest, the animals and insects are playing and dancing, the Forester enters and lies down against a tree for a nap. A curious Vixen Cub, inquisitively chases a frog right into the lap of the forester who forcibly takes the vixen home as a pet. Time passes and we see the Vixen, now grown up into a young adult, tied up in the foresters yard with the conservative old dachshund. Fed up with life in confinement, the vixen chews through her rope, attacks the Cock and Chocholka the hen, kills the other chickens, jumps over the fence, the vixen takes over a badgers home and kicks him out. In the inn, the pastor, the forester, and the schoolmaster drink, the drunken schoolmaster leaves the inn and mistakes a sunflower behind which the vixen is hiding for Terynka and confesses his devotion to her
Czech Republic
