Normalizace

Normalizace was the period that followed the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 that brought an end to the Prague Spring.  

"Normalisation" began in 1969 and lasted 20 years until the Velvet Revolution in 1989. 

It was the systematic restoration of hard-line control of the communist party in Czechoslovakia characterised by political repression, censorship, and enforced societal conformity.

In April 1969, Gustáv Husák replaced Alexander Dubček as First Secretary of the Communist Party.  There was no Stalin-style executions or gulags but rather administrative and bureaucratic oppression to keep people under control.  

• About 500.000 people who had supported the Dubček's reforms were kicked out of the communist party.  Many were demoted to manual labour positions regardless of their education or expertise.  
• Loyalty declarations were required to:
• Keep your job
• Study at university
• Hold cultural or academic positions
• Travel abroad
• Censorship was fully reinstated.
• Books, films, and music from the reform era were banned
• Artists, writers, musicians, and filmmakers were blacklisted
• Independent organisations were dismantled
• StB surveillance increased dramatically with informants recruited, or coerced to inform, in workplaces, apartment buildings and student dorms

Normalisation relied on quiet pressure, social isolation and the fear of consequences to keep people in check.  

Basically that the system will leave you alone so long as you don't challenge the system.  

This helps explain why today Czechs are often so skeptical towards authority, don't trust political slogans and value personal freedom.

Žabovřesky Walk

A while ago I found a map for a self-guided walk of Žabovřesky at the Tourist Information Office.  Since yesterday was Labour Day so decided to get some fresh air and go for a walk.  

Žabovřesky is one of Brno city districts, next to where I live, that covers 4,35 km² (about 1.7 miles²).  It dates back to the Middle Ages.  It was an independent municipality until it was annexed to Brno in 1919.  The name translates to "Frog screams."

Kounicovy koleje are student dormitories that were built in 1922.  Following the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, on 17 November 1939, about 200 students were taken from the dormitory and sent to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.  From 1940, the Gestapo used the facilities for interrogations and as a prison.  Tens of thousands of prisoners passed through the prison and at least 800 people died here.

After Brno was liberated, it became a prison for Nazis and collaborators from May to September 1945.  During this time at least 300 people died there from torture and were buried in mass graves at the Central Cemetery.    

In 1978, the dorms were declared a national cultural monument and in the garden is a memorial for the victims and to victory over Fascism.  

Since 1999, the dorms belong to the Brno University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Across the street from the dormitories is the headquarters of the Národní úřad pro kybernetickou a informační bezpečnost (NÚKIB).  The National Office for Cyber and Information Security is the central office for cybersecurity and cryptography.  NÚKIB has jurisdiction over the National Security Centre (NCKB).

Bohuslav Fuchs House was built in 1928, by the renowned architect who worked from a private studio in his villa.

In 1929, he resigned from his position as the city's main architect but continued to work from his home office.  He then connected his villa to the neighbouring house. 

Kino Lucerna is began screening films on 29 May 1915.  The single-storey Art Nouveau building still functions as a single-screen movie house.  It is the oldest operating cinema in Brno and the second oldest in Czechland.  

The Church of Our Lady Help of Christians was built in 1994 and consecrated in 1995.  The 500 seat church was built on the original site of Church of the Salesian Order.  The original church was built in 1939 but the order was banned in the 1950s by the Communist regime.

Sono Centrum is a multi-purpose facility that opened in 2016. The  "Death Star" is a nine-story building that combines a hotel, a music club, a conference hall and a restaurant.  

The Masaryk University Faculty of Law opened in 1919 and is one of four law schools in the country.  The present building opened in 1932 until 1939 when the Gestapo made it their headquarters until 1945.  Classrooms were used as cells and interrogation rooms.  Eventually the building was used by the Military Academy until after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 when it was returned to the Law Faculty. 

In 2010, a monument of former President Edvard Beneš was unveiled in front of the faculty.  The statue cost 1,6 million Kč (~$77K) and ame at the request of members of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires' Association and the Association of Czechoslovak Foreign Pilots 1939-1945.  Although not at some controversy as the Beneš Decrees played a significant role in relocating ethnic Germans from Czechoslovakia after the war. This is locally know as the Brno Death March.  Later this year it will be 75 years since he passed away.

The Chapel of St. Wenceslas was built in 1906 and is dedicated to the patron saint of Czechland.  The chapel facade is a protected cultural monument and the the building was renovated in 2018.

The Dušan Jurkovič Villa was built in 1906 by one of the best 19th century architects in Central Europe.  

Wilsonův les, Wilson's Forest, is a 34,4 hectare (85 acre) forest park on the southern edge of the Žabovřesky.  In 1888 it was called Kaiserwald, the Imperial Forest, to honour Emperor Franz Joseph I who was celebrating the 40th anniversary of his reign.  In 1918, it was renamed in honour of American President Woodrow Wilson who supported the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia.  During WWII it was called Kaiserwald again and from 1953 to 1991 it was known as Jirásek's Forest after writer Alois Jirásek.  I guess having a forest named after an American President isn't something that would have been something favoured by the Communist regime.

From the hill you get a great view of the city.

There's quite a bit to see just walking around Žabovřwsky.  Of course I supposed it couldn't be called "Frog Screams" if there wasn't some kind of frog motif.  

The art nouveau building, built in 1908, has a golden frog at the entrance.

The weather was perfect so it was great to walk around the neighbourhood all day.  Definitely need to explore some other Brno neighbourhoods as well.

The Slav Epic

The Slav Epic, Slovanská epopej), was painted by the famous Art Nouveau Alphonse Mucha between 1910 and 1928, and is a cycle of 20 large canvases.  The cycle shows the mythology and history of the Slavic people.

The paintings are on display in Moravský Krumlov, about 51 km (31 miles) from Brno.

Mucha worked on these paintings for 18 years and the cycle is considered his biggest success.  After finishing the cycle in 1928, it first went on display in Prague and Mucha bestowed it to Prague, on the condition that the city build a special pavilion to display it.

Mucha died in July 1939.  He was interrogated by the Gestapo because he was culturally important in Czechoslovakia.  During WWII, the paintings were hidden away to prevent the Nazis from seizing them.

After the 1948 Communist Coup, the communist government wasn't keen on Mucha who they considered a bourgeois artist and whose art wasn't in line with socialist realism.  So building a special pavilion to display Mucha's work wasn't a priority for the communist government so they were put on display in Moravský Krumlov in 1963.

The Slav Epic was on display in Moravský Krumlov for almost 50 years.  Prague waged a decade-long legal battle to move the paintings to the city which intensified in early 2010.  The city of Prague felt the paintings would be seen by more people...tourists...if they were located in Prague but none of the city's galleries had space for the pieces.  They are huge; up to 6 metres tall and 8 metres wide (19.8 feet tall by 26.25 wide).

In 2012 the paintings were moved to the National Gallery and stayed there until the end of 2016.  In 2017 they were taken on a two-year tour of Asia before returning to Prague in 2019.  The Asian tour was controversial and Mucha's grandson unsuccessfully sued Prague to stop the tour.

The paintings returned to Moravský Krumlov in July 2021 where they are to remain for up to five years.  In 2022, Prague signed an agreement to renovate Savarin Palace, in Prague, which is to be the painting's new home.  In my humble opinion, Prague being the capital and all, the city has more than enough things to see and do.  There weren't any problems with having the paintings in Moravský Krumlov and having the paintings outside of Prague brought tourists to South Moravia.  

Seeing The Slav Epic has been on my list of things to do for a long time.  Claudia and Nat went and saw it about 12 or so years ago but on a weekend when I was out of town somewhere.  It was worth the wait. 

Here's a Rick Steves video I found out on YouTube about Alphonse Mucha and The Slav Epic.

©Rick Steves

Emil Boček, R.I.P.

General Emil Boček turned 100 years old on 25. January.  He was a Brno native and the last remaining airman of Czechoslovak Royal Air Force.  On 25. March he passed away.

When he was 16, he illegally escaped the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and he joined the Czechoslovak foreign army in France.  Later he became one of the youngest recruited in to the RAF.

He was an aircraft mechanic in the 312th Fighter Squadron.  From 1944, he served as a fighter pilot in B Squadron of the Czechoslovak 310th Fighter Squadron.  He was credited with 26 operational flights, flying almost 74 hours. 

Although he was a hero and fought in the resistance, the Communists frowned that he was a member of the non-communist resistance and he left he military in 1946.

He had owned a car repair shop in Brno but he had to give up ownership when Czechoslovakia nationalised private property following the 1948 coup.  He continued to work at the shop and was never persecuted by the state.

The general was awarded the Order of the White Lion of Military Group, 3rd class in 2010.  In 2017 he was awarded the Order of the White Lion of the First Class Military Group for extraordinary services to the defence and security of the state and excellent combat activities.

Following his passing, Prime Minister Fiala said that "General Boček was fighting for our country to be democratic, free and independent."  

Here are two short videos, in Czech, that I found out on YouTube.

©TV Nova

©sleduju37p

Update April 2023:  Here's a video from the funeral, showing military honours, that I found on YouTube.

©Petr Komůrka

75th Anniversary of Communist Coup

Yesterday was the 75th anniversary of the Communist coup that put the Czechoslovak Communist Party (KSČ) in power for 41 years until the Velvet Revolution. 

Czechoslovakia had free elections in 1946.  The Communists took the largest share of the vote in Czechland but they were a distant second in Slovakia.

The Communists needed to take control of the country or the Red Army, stationed on the Hungarian border were prepared to invade and help take over.

The takeover led to Stalin-style show trials, such as the one against Milada Horáková.

Here's a video I found out on YouTube about the coup.

©Claude's History Course

Russian troops on the border threatening to invade unless they get what they want.  Sounds familiar.  

Я за Україну. Я за Україною. Слава Україні  Stojím za Ukrajinou!  I stand with Ukraine. 

Martina Navrátilová

Today is the second significant day of the year.  It is the Day of Czechs Abroad and it is meant to honour Czechs who emigrated.  The USA is the country with the largest number of Czechs living abroad and one of the most famous emigres is Martina Navrátilová.   

Martina Navratilova is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.  She dominated women's tennis in the 1970s and 1980s and with 59 major titles.  She won her first major title in 1974 and won her last major title in 2006, just before her 50th birthday.  She'd been winning major tennis titles for 32 years.  Wow!  Here's the official trailer from YouTube for Martina Navratilova: Unrivalled.

©US Open Tennis Championships

She was born in Prague in 1956.  She started playing tennis at a young ago and she won the national tennis championship in Czechoslovakia when she was just 15.  In 1975 she turned professional.  While on tour in the USA in 1975, when she was 18 years old, she asked for political asylum and was given a green card.  When she defected, the communists stripped her of her Czechoslovak citizenship.  In 1981 she became an American citizen.  After the Velvet Revolution and Velvet Divorce, she was able to gain Czech citizenship in 2008 and is now a dual citizen of the USA and Czechland.  

Once she was an American citizen she came out of the closet and has been an active spokesperson and role model for the LGBT community.  It's sad that she could not come out earlier but if she did then it could have disqualified her from gaining U.S. citizenship.

Here's a short video I found on YouTube that talks about her life and career.

©Juana Chaves

Here's a short video about the first time she returned to Czechoslovakia in 1986.  This was the first time that she was able to see her parents since she defected.  

©Tennisfamer

I'll be honest.  When I was moving to Czechland, if someone asked me to name a famous Czech I would have only been able to name Václav Havel, Věra Čáslavská, and Martina Navrátilová.  Thanks to living here, now I know way more but I'd have to say that Martina is still the best well known.

New Czech President

The results are in and Czechland is getting a new president.  Petr Pavel will replace incumbent president Miloš Zeman.  When he takes office in March he will be country's fourth president.

Here's what's gone over here.  Following the election in 2021,  Petr Fiala became prime minister and Andrej Babiš was out of a job.  For some reason he decided to run for president.

The first round of presidential elections took place on 13-14 January.  General Pavel ran as an independent candidate and won the first round of elections with 35,4% of the vote.  Babiš came in second with 34,99%.

Most of the other candidates put their support behind Pavel and he won the second round of voting with 58,33%.  He won by more than a million votes.  There was just over 70% voter turnout which was the highest turnout in any national election since 1998.   

President-elect Pavel enlisted in the Czechoslovak People's Army after graduating high school in 1983.  Following the Velvet Divorce, he served in the Czech Army and from 2012 to 2015 he was the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces. From 2015 to 2018 he was the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee; the first military officer from the former Warsaw Pact to hold the position.

While he doesn't have any political experience he does have a master's degree in international relations from King's College London and speaks English, French, and Russian. 

Pavel is a social progressive who supports gay marriage, euthanasia, and rejects the death penalty.  He is pro-Western, pro-EU, pro- NATO, and he supports Ukraine.  He was endorsed by Spolu, the centre-right governing alliance.

Following the Velvet Revolution, people chanted "Havel na Hrad" ("Havel to the Castle") for Václav Havel to become president (because Prague Castle is the official office of the president).

During the campaign, it became "Pavel na Hrad".

Babíš was endorsed by outgoing president Zeman and the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia.  Babiš tried to portray Pavel as a warmonger.  Babiš also caused additional controversy when he said that if Poland was attacked by Russia, then he would not comply with NATO's article 5, and would not go to Poland's defence.

Here's a short video I found on YouTube about the election.

©Al Jazeera

Hustopeče, Czech Republic

Kája's birthday was three week ago but we've been busy with work so we decided to celebrate later.  I surprised him with a wellness weekend in Hustopeče.

Hustopeče is a town about 30 km (~19 miles) southeast of Brno, located between Brno and Břeclav.  It is home to about 6.000 people and it is known for almonds and wine.

The area was settled by Germans in the 13th century who called it Auspitz and its first mention was in 1247.  The Germans brought viticulture to the area.  From the start of the 14th century to 1599, Hustopeče was owned by St. Thomas's Abbey in Brno.

In 1572, Hustopeče was given town status by the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II.  It belonged to the House of Liechtenstein from 1599 to 1848.  In the mid-18th century, Hustopeče was Moravia's largest wine-growing municipality.   

Following WWI, and the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the area became part of the newly independent Czechoslovakia.  After the 1938 Munich Agreement, which gave the Sudetenland to Germany, the Nazis took over.  It then became part of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.  

The 1910 census indicated that most of the town's inhabitants were ethnic Germans.  After WWII, the German-speaking population, even those who lived here prior to the Nazis, were expelled due to the Beneš decrees.

Almond growing is not that common in Central Europe.  It dates back to the 17th century.  In an effort to supplement food during Communism, the first large-scale orchards were planted in 1949.  

A lot of the almonds goes to making mandlovice (almond brandy).  The almond version of slivovice.  

There are three versions - normal, coffee-flavoured, and cherry-flavoured.  The original mandlovice is my favourite of all of the Czech "-ovices", followed by merunkovice, hruškovice, slivovice, and jablkovice (Calvados).

The town's main landmark is the Church of Saints Wenceslaus and Agnes of Bohemia.  The church was built in 1994 on the site of the original church that dated back to the early 14th century.  

The Baroque plague column dates back to 1736.

The Žumberák fountain dates back to 1595.  It used to be one of the town's few sources of drinking water.

Town Hall

The Neo-Renaissance town hall was built in 1906.  

Dům U Synků

The Dům U Synků is a Renaissance house dating back to 1579.  It was renovated in 2001and today the building is used for cultural purposes.  It is home to the City Museum and a Gallery.

The House of Lords of Vizovice was built from 1488 to 1492.  It was renovated in 2002.

At Calvary Hill is the Chapel of St. Rocha that was built in the 17th century during a plague epidemic.  It sits in a park overlooking the town.

T.G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia lived in Hustopeče from 1861 to 1868.  There is a 2 km (1.25 mile) trail that can be followed to see places associated with the family. 

His parents are buried in the town cemetery.

Near the town cemetery is the Red Army cemetery.  There are 101 individual graves and a total of 1.875 Soviet soldiers buried here.  Renovations that took place in 2005 were financed by Russia.

The earliest known Jewish community in Hustopeče was during the 15th century.  The Jewish cemetery dates back to 1886 with the last known burial taking place prior to 1942.  During the German occupation the cemetery was vandalised, and later the Communists removed all of the gravestones in the 1980s.  Now there is just a memorial plaque for the town's Jewish population that perished during the Holocaust.

The train from Brno to Hustopeče takes 45 minutes and we arrived at our hotel on Friday evening.  I booked us in at Hotel Amande and really enjoyed our stay.

The hotel restaurant was excellent and on Saturday we had the full wellness experience complete with a private relaxation room and massages.

I hear that from the second half of March to the beginning of April, the almond orchards are covered with pink flowers.  I'm sure that its beautiful and we'll need to make a return trip to visit some of the local wine cellars.