A Talk by Professor Mark Cornwall, on 28th January 2025, 6.30pm, in the Embassy of the Czech Republic, 26-30 Kensington Palace Gardens, London W8 4QY. This talk explores the subject of secret police surveillance in communist Czechoslovakia in the 1980s. Prof. Cornwall draws on his own surveillance file, asking why, when and where he was being follo...
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Edward Peacock writes: "Congratulations to The Friends of Czech Heritage and Caroline Cannon-Brookes for such an interesting talk last night, illustrating historic links between Britain and Bohemia over the centuries. We saw the Bohemian Queen of England, Richard II’s wife Anne; we tried to reform the Church with Wycliffe and Hus; we went sightseei...
Richard Coudenhove-Kalergi is recognised as one of the founders of the Pan European movement in the inter-war period and whose influence can be seen in the founding of the European Union. His family château at Poběžovice is steadily being restored from its ruinous state by the local municipality and The Friends have given a grant towards the conser...
Brněnec is a village in the Pardubice Region. The Low-Beer family founded a textile-producing company here more than 200 years ago. The factory was confiscated after the occupation of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany in 1938 and in 1944 Oskar Schindler took it over. What happened next was the basis for Schindler's Ark, the historical novel by Thomas ...
EVENT FULLY BOOKED This is taking place from Sunday 25 August - Sunday 1 September. The resort town of Teplice nad Metují is situated in rolling, forested country of northern Bohemia near the Czech border with Poland. The Baroque Church of the Virgin Mary has a historic hermitage attached to it, which is being painstakingly restored by a small loca...
Professor Vladimír Šlapeta’s lecture in the Czech Embassy on 'Czech Functionalism' in the inter-war period, was a revelation. His unrivalled command of his subject gave the audience a privileged view of the astounding creativity of the Czechoslovak nation during this period. Image, from left to right: Ivan Margolius (architectural historian), Sir J...
On Saturday 18th May 2024 a recital was held in the Château of Červený Dvůr in South Bohemia to celebrate the completion of the restoration of the Mauricovna, or Park Keeper's cottage, in the grounds. On a glorious sunny evening we were entertained by a string quartet from the Czech Philharmonic with a sublime programme of Czech music. It was a mem...
The completion of the restoration of the Arnold Villa is welcome news and is another piece in the history of the Low-Beer family and their association with Brno and the Villa Tugendhat.The Friends joined a local working party of students in the grounds of the Arnold Villa in the summer of 2017 when they were undertaking initial clearance of the ove...
The Friends held a very successful volunteer working party at the Abbey Church at Žďár nad Sázavou in Moravia in late May when they were joined by members of the church. We accomplished two tasks. The first was the removal of the rotten pine shingle capping on the boundary of the Lower Cemetery (which was in fact never used for burials), designed b...
2nd-6th May 2024 in the Royal Pump Rooms on The Parade, All Saints Church, and Holy Trinity Church Thursday 2nd May7.30pm Concert - Amici della Musica: quartet Friday 3rd May12.00pm Recital - Martin Kasík: piano 7.00pm Coffee Concert - Guarneri Piano Trio Saturday 4th May11.00am Concert - Kukal String Quartet 3.30pm Talk: 'Dvořák in Britain' by Dav...