Religion
The largest church is the Roman Catholic Church, though in 1991 fewer
than 40% of Czechs called themselves Catholics, and even fewer attend
church regularly. The next largest church is the Hussite Church and there
are numerous other Protestant denominations, the largest being the
Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. Prague has the largest Jewish
community in the republic, with about 6000 members; smaller enclaves are
in Ostrava and Brno.
Architecture & Art
Most travellers are impressed by the Czech Republic's architectural
splendours, which include some of the finest Baroque, Art Nouveau and
Cubist buildings in Europe, but Czechs have also excelled at less
noticeable art forms, such as illuminated manuscripts, religious
sculpture, and marionette & puppet theatre.
Music
Czech music runs the gamut from classical to jazz & punk. Apprentice
butcher Antonín Dvorák is generally regarded as the most popular Czech
composer. He is noted for his symphony From the New World, composed
in the USA while lecturing there. Czech jazz musicians were at the
forefront of European jazz after WW II but this came to an end with the
communist putsch. Keyboardist Jan Hamr, who escaped to the USA, became
prominent in 1970s American jazz-rock under the name Jan Hammer. Since the
Velvet Revolution, the jazz scene in Prague has been especially lively.
The grim industrial north, particularly Teplice, is the hub of the Czech
Republic's punk movement.
Literature
The most famous Czech writer is undoubtedly Franz Kafka, who, with a
circle of other German-speaking Jewish writers in Prague, played a major
role in the literary scene at the beginning of this century.
Internationally renowned 'modern' Czech novelists include Milan Kundera,
Ivan Klima and Josef Skvorecky. Much less well-known is the Czech poet
Jaroslav Siefert, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984. The playwright
Vaclav Havel now operates on a somewhat larger stage.
Food
Czech cuisine is basically central European, with German, Hungarian and
Polish influences. Meat is a huge feature, along with big portions of
dumplings, potatoes or rice topped with a thick sauce, and a heavily
cooked vegetable or sauerkraut; the standard quick meal is
knedlo-zelo-vepro (dumplings, sauerkraut and roast pork). Caraway
seed, bacon and lots of salt are the common flavourings. Vegetarians and
cholesterol sufferers beware!
Dances
Have a look at this pdf-file for information about the dance
Doudlebska Polka
To read the file you need the free software Adobe Reader from
Adobe or another pdf-viewer.
The Adobe Reader you can find on the homepage from
Adobe under Support -
Downloads.
National Anthem
To listen the national anthem click
here.
UP