2004 version of a presentation developed originally in 1997. A few of the slides contained video so will be blank (this is pre-YouTube) and others refer to recent events and are therefore out of date. It would take about 10 minutes to bring it up to date. License CC-BY-SA Feel free to reuse and reshare. Might also work as a format for other cultures.

1. Czech Trivia
A Guide to Czech History
and Culture for the Casual
Conversationalist
2004

2. East Europeans have a sharp
sense of history, and foreign
visitors who do not know
something of that history will be
found wanting. Visitors to the
region will find it prudent to learn
something of that history and
how it has shaped the characters
of the people they will encounter.
Yale Richmond, From Yes to Da

3. Which of these is not a
distinct region of the Czech
Republic?
a) Bohemia b) Lusatia
c) Moravia
d) Silesia
1.

4. b) Lusatia / Sorbia
Lusatia/Sorbia
Silesia

5. Lusatia and Silesia


Lusatia (Lausitz): region in
southern Brandenburg, eastern
Saxony and western Poland where
a west-Slavonic language (Sorbian
or Wendish) is spoken by up to
100.000 people
Silesia: mostly a part of Poland
but a tip extends into northern
Moravia where some Silesian
(Polish dialect) is spoken

6. The symphonic poem My
Country by Smetana does not
describe…
a) women’s lib
d) a castle
b) a river
e) a sea
c) a mountain
f) fields and woods
2.

7. e) a sea


Czech Republic is a landlocked country;
thus no sea in My Country
Czechs have always been fascinated by
the sea:
Czech national greeting is Ahoj (from the
naval ahoy!)
 Richard Konkolski was the first person
from a landlocked country to
circumnavigate the world single-handed
(only 37th in total)


8. My Country






Vyšehrad (the castle)
Vltava (the river)
Šárka (women‟s liberation)
Z českých luhů a hájů (fields and
woods)
Tábor (mountain)
Blaník (mountain)

9. What year was the oldest
university in Central Europe
established?
a) 863
b) 1348
c) 1415
d) 1620
3.

10. b) 1348

863 – Cyril and Methodius came to Great
Moravia with a Christian mission from
Constantinople and brought literacy to the
Slavs.

1415 – Jan Hus, a popular preacher,
reformer and a follower of Wyclif was burned
at the stake.

1620 – A battle of White Mountain started
the 30-year war and ushered in “300 years
of darkness” (i.e. Hapsburg rule over Czech
lands).

11. Charles IV.

Holy Roman emperor (1355–78) and
founder of Charles University (1348).
Under his rule, Czech lands were the
political and cultural center of Europe.
Map of Europe
of that time

13. Jan Hus

Reform preacher and linguist, author of
modern Czech spelling. Burned at the
stake for heresy. Inspired the Hussite
movement.

14. Jan Ţiţka


Successful military leader of the
Hussite forces. Under him, Czech
rebels defeated crusaders sent by the
Roman emperor. Famous for directing
battles despite his blindness.
Became a symbol of Czech ingenuity
and independence.

15. Jan Ámos
Komenský
(Comenius)


*1592 - †1670
Famous educator and bishop of the
Czech Brethren, sometimes
nicknamed the „Teacher of nations‟.
Wrote the first modern compendium
of pedagogy. Was exiled during 30Year War and worked on the
educational systems of Sweden and
Holland.

16. Orbis Pictus

17. Which of these words did not
originate in the Czech lands?
a) robot
b) kindergarten
c) pistol
d) dollar
4.

18. b) kindergarten

robot – First coined by a Czech novelist,
Karel Čapek in his play R.U.R. Derived from
Czech word robota meaning forced labor.

pistol – From Czech word píšťala flute, a
name of a deadly canon-like weapon used
by the Hussite fighters in the 15th century.

dollar – Adopted from German (Tahler)
name of coins produced from the silver
mines of Jáchymov.

19. Dollar’s
Predecessor from
1525

20. Which one of these important
people of Czech history was a
writer?
a) Čapek
b) Dvořák
c) Ţiţka
d) Masaryk
5.

21. a) Karel Čapek

Karel Čapek – Leading novelist and playwright
of the „First Republic‟. Coined the word „robot‟ in
his 1921 play „R.U.R.‟

Antonín Dvořák – World-famous composer.
Spent several years in the United States, where
he wrote his most famous symphony „From the
New World‟.

Jan Žižka –Military leader of the Hussite forces.
Under him, Czech rebels defeated crusaders
sent by the Holy Roman emperor.

22. Czech Composers

Antonín Dvořák
“From the New World” was
composed during Dvořák‟s
stay in the USA. It was first
performed at Carnegie Hall in
1893.

Bedřich Smetana
Symphonic poem Šárka, part
of the popular My Country
cycle, depicts a mythical
Czech story of women fighting
men.

23. Czech Pre-War
Writers

Jaroslav Hašek
(1883-1923)
Writer and journalist.
Wrote satirical short
stories. During WWI
took part in the
Russian Revolution.
Creator of “Good
Soldier Švejk” a
popular satire from
WWI translated into
many over 20
languages including
English.

Karel Čapek
(1890-1938)
Writer, journalist and
playwright. His 1928
sci-fi drama R.U.R. first
used the word robot.
His other works include
War of the Newts,
White Plague, The
Macropulos Thing,
Krakatit.

24. Czech Post-War
Writers

Josef Škvorecký (*1924)
Emigrated after 1968.
Currently lives in
Canada. Started and
runs publishing firm
68‟Publishers. Major
works: The Cowards,
Sins for Father Knox,
Swell Season, Tank
Platoon.

Bohumil Hrabal (1914-97)
Major works: I Served the
King of England, Larks
on a String, Closely
Watched Trains, Too
Loud a Solitude.

Milan Kundera (*1929)
Emigrated after 1968.
Currently lives in France.
Wrote his last novel in
French. Major works: The
Joke, Unbearable
Lightness of Being,
Laughable Loves,
Immortality.

25. What year was
Czechoslovakia founded?
a) 1948
b) 1968
c) 1938
d) 1918
6.

26. d) 1918




1918 – Foundation of Czechoslovakia after the
collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1938 – Czechoslovakia loses part of its teritory to
Germany after the Munich Treaty. Slovakia
breaks off, start of the so-called „Second
Republic‟.
1948 – Communist government takes power for
41 years.
1968 – Prague reforms stopped by invasion of
allied armies of East-Bloc countries.

27. Masaryk and 1918

28. 1938 - 1945

29. 1948

30. 1968

1968 – bullet-riddled National Museum after an
overnight invasion of the allied forces of the
Warsaw Pact on August 21.

31. 1989

On November 17, 1989 the police brutally attacked a
student demonstration in downtown Prague.

This resulted in massive protests from the entire nation
and ultimately led to the fall of the communist
government and election of Václav Havel as president
of Czechoslovakia on December 27, 1989.

The changeover was called Velvet Revolution because
it was carried out without violence.

32. Velvet Revolution in
Motion
The Demonstration...
…and its results.

33. Picture a Revolution!

34. Which of these political
parties is currently not in
government?
a) Civic Democrats
c) Christian Democrats
b) Social Democrats
d) Freedom Union
7.

35. a) Civic Democrats
The outgoing government was
composed of a coalition of:

Social Democrats

Christian Democrats

Freedom Union

36. Which of these personalities of
Czech culture and science did
not receive the Nobel Prize?
a) Jaroslav Seifert
b) Otto Wichterle
c) Jaroslav Heyrovský
d) Bedřich Hrozný
8.

37. b) Wichterle and d) Hrozný

Jaroslav Seifert
(1901-1986)
1984: Nobel Prize for
literature
Jaroslav Heyrovský
(1890 – 1967)
1959: Nobel Prize "for his
discovery and development
of the polarographic
methods of analysis"


38. Famous Czech
Scientists

Otto Wichterle
(1913 – 1998)
Inventor of substance from which
contact lenses are made as well as
an alternative to nylon.

Bedřich Hrozný
(1879 – 1952)
Deciphered the Hittite language
and discovered its Indoeuropean
roots.

39. Which one of these Czech
sporting heroes is still
professionally active?
a) Emil Zátopek
b) Věra Čáslavská
c) Martina Navrátilová
d) Antonín Panenka
9.

40. c) Martina Navrátilová

Former number 1 of World Tennis

Multiple Wimbledon winner

Took part in 2004 Semifinals
doubles at Wimbledon aged 47.

41. Czech Sporting
Heroes

Emil Zátopek

Long-distance runner:
multiple Olympic winner;
1952: the only person in
history to win 5km, 10km
and the Marathon.
Věra Čáslavská
Gymnast: multiple
Olympic winner; twice
won all gymnastic
discipline in European
championships; 1968:
four Olympic gold
medals;

Antonín Panenka
Footballer: celebrated
goal-scorer, member of
Czech team won 1976
European
Championships.

42. Recent Czech
Sporting Successes






Football (Soccer)
Canoeing
Javelin
Ice Hockey
Decathlon
Acrobatic ski
jumping

43. Which two of these famous
people were born in the Czech
lands?
a) John Kerry
b) Madeleine Albright
c) Miloš Forman
d) Andy Warhol
10.

44. b) Albright and c) Forman

Andy Warhol was born in Slovakia.

John Kerry was born in the US but his
ancestors come from Bohemia.
Miloš Forman
Film Director
Madeleine Albright
Politician
Emigrated after
1968. People vs.
Larry Flint, Amadeus,
Hair, One Flew Over
Cuckoo Nest,
Firemen’s Ball, Loves
of a Blond.
Emigrated after
1948. Former US
Ambassador to the
UN, former US
Secretary of State.

45. Find 10 famous Czechs
in this puzzle
M
Č
W
K
A
O
K
Ţ
D
A
A
T
O
J
L
I
C
V
S
P
Ď
M
H
Ţ
Ţ
I
O
A
E
K
E
A
H
I
M
Ř
R
K
Q
N
Š
A
Ţ
R
Á
Y
H
U
S
E
V
K
M
K
K
W
A
K
K
E
A
A
H
Y
X
F
Ý
Q
L
L
N
W
G
T
K
A
R
E
L
IV.
L

46. Find 10 famous Czechs
in this puzzle (solution)
M
Č
W
K
A
O
K
Ţ
D
A
A
T
O
J
L
I
C
V
S
P
Ď
M
H
Ţ
Ţ
I
O
A
E
K
E
A
H
I
M
Ř
R
K
Q
N
Š
A
Ţ
R
Á
Y
H
U
S
E
V
K
M
K
K
W
A
K
K
E
A
A
H
Y
X
F
Ý
Q
L
L
N
W
G
T
K
A
R
E
L
IV.
L

47. Thanks for your
attention!
Also see Czechly.com