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Czech culture has been shaped by the nation's geographical position in the middle of Europe, theSlavic ethnicity ofCzechs, influences from its neighbors, political and social changes, wars and times of peace.
There are 16Czech locations listed among theWorld Heritage Sites byUNESCO,[1] six Czechs have been awarded aNobel Prize[2] and 173 have been nominated.[3]
The present-day Czech Republic is made up of three regions:Bohemia in the west andMoravia in the east, along with a smaller part in the north-east calledCzech Silesia, which altogether are known as theCzech lands. Bohemia makes up two-thirds of the country and is also the part with the capital city,Prague. There are several notable differences between the Bohemian and Moravian regions of the country, for example Moravians speakMoravian dialects instead of standard Czech, Bohemians generally drink beer while Moravians drink wine, and the latter are known to be more religious and rural.[4] The distinct traditions of the Moravian minority has also created a sense of nationalism.[4]
The Czech Republic has been home to many architectural jewels and renowned architects.Peter Parler's contributions to gothic Prague,Benedikt Rejt's late Gothic deconstructivistic work, father and sonDietzenhofers' baroque works,Santini's unique baroque style,Fanta's andPolívka's Art Nouveau landmarks of the early 20th century Prague,Rondocubist attempts ofGočár andJanák at creating a distinct national style for the new Czechoslovak Republic – all of these are great examples of the rich architectural tradition of the Czech lands. The Czechoslovak pavilion was awarded the best pavilion of the1958 World Expo in Brussels, earning the nameBrussels style for the Czech architectural styles of those years.Jan Kaplický was a renowned Czech postmodern architect, particularly known for his works in the United Kingdom and one of the best known contemporary Czech architects isEva Jiřičná, who won theJane Drew Prize in 2013.[5]
The art tradition in the Czech lands starts with engravings onmammoth tusks found inPavlov andPředmostí at Přerov,[6] and variousVenus figurines, the most famous being theVenus of Dolní Věstonice. Artists from medieval times are mostly anonymous. The three most notable might beMaster of the Litoměřice Altarpiece,Master of the Třeboň Altarpiece andMaster of Vyšší Brod. Another notable Czechgothic artist isMaster Theodoric, a court painter of the Holy Roman EmperorCharles IV and his work inKarlštejn.Karel Škréta's portraits,Wenceslaus Hollar'sengravings andetchings orFerdinand Brokoff's statues onCharles Bridge belong among the best examples of Czechbaroque art.
One of the most prominent Czechromanticist painters wasJosef Mánes, whose pupil was the versatile draftsman, illustrator and facade decoratorMikoláš Aleš. One of the leading figures ofArt Nouveau wasAlphonse Mucha, best known for his theatrical posters and decorative panels.Bohumil Kubišta created some of the most influential works of Czechexpressionism andcubism.Josef Lada was one of the most notable Czech illustrators of the 20th century together withZdeněk Burian, famous for his work inPaleoart. One of the founding figures of modern Czechabstract art wasFrantišek Kupka, whose paintingDivertimento II sold in 2020 set the new Czech auction record.[7]Zdeněk Miler was one of the most recognized Czech animators and cartoonists, known for his character ofThe Little Mole (Krteček in Czech). Possibly the best known contemporary Czech artist isDavid Černý known for his installations in public spaces.
The history of Czech cinema starts withJan Kříženecký, an early pioneer of cinematography from the end of the 19th century. The first major film studio,Barrandov Studios, was launched byMiloš Havel in 1933.[8]Otakar Vávra was among the most notable domestic directors in Czechoslovakia from the late 1930s onward. In the 1960s – leading up to thePrague Spring of 1968 – theCzechoslovak New Wave emerged, led by directors likeMiloš Forman,Věra Chytilová orJiří Menzel. Miloš Forman managed to flee before theinvasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 and continued his career in the United States, where he reached high critical acclaim and received twoAcademy Awards for Best Director for his moviesOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) andAmadeus (1984).[9] Jiří Menzel was another Academy Award laureate, winning the 1967 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with his first feature film,Closely Watched Trains.[10] A contemporary directorJan Svěrák is another laureate of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which he received for his dramaKolya in 1996.[11]
The Czech Republic also has a long tradition in animated movies. Probably the most notable animator isJiří Trnka – active from 1940s to 1960s – recognized especially for hisstop motion puppet movies.
Traditionally, the main meal of the day consists of two courses with the first being asoup. Traditional main courses in Czech cuisine are mostly meat-based, often accompanied by a sauce or a gravy with a side dish ofdumplings or potatoes. Mushroom and berry picking remain a popular hobby among many Czechs during the summer and early autumn.[12] Czech cuisine is also affected by the popularity of makingcompotes. Czechs are known to have the highest consumption of beer per person of any nation in the world. In 2020, the average Czech drank 143.3 liters of beer in a year.[13]
Among the most common traditional dishes are roasted pork with dumplings and cabbage (vepřo, knedlo, zelo in Czech),svíčková na smetaně, Czechguláš, orschnitzel (řízek in Czech) withpotato salad.
The most widely celebrated holiday isChristmas, beginning with a dinner on December 24. The traditionalChristmas dinner consists of a fried Czechcarp and apotato salad, but many people replace it with a chicken or porkschnitzel.
Easter, or "Velikonoce" (meaning "great nights"), is another major holiday in the Czech Republic. Red is a very commonly worn color during this time, because it symbolizes joy, health, happiness, and new life that comes with spring.[citation needed] Families elaborately decorateEaster eggs together. Another Easter tradition is the whipping of others' legs with thepomlázka, which is a willowswitch. Willow twigs are braided together and then are used by young boys to whip the girls' bottoms usually four times. This long-standing tradition is thought to bring health and youth to girls and women. The switch is calledpomlázka meaning "rejuvenator", implying that a female struck by apomlázka will become younger and prettier.
January first is New Year's Day. After a late morning start the main meal of the day is prepared, which should include pork for good luck and lentils for prosperity in the new year. It's bad luck to eat fish, your luck could swim away, or poultry, your luck could fly away.[citation needed] January 6 is the Feast of theThree Kings. In many Czech and Slovak villages, boys dress up as the three wise men “Kaspar, Balthazar and Melchior”. With a piece of chalk the boys write K + B + M (or K + M + B) above the doorways on houses, where people donate money for charity. This brings blessings on that home and its family for a year. The chalk letters should never be cleaned off, but only replaced the next year. This is also usually the day theChristmas tree is taken down.[14]
One of the most notable early baroque composers isAdam Václav Michna of Otradovice, who lived inJindřichův Hradec in the 17th century. He is the author of the oldest known CzechChristmas carolChtíc, aby spal. The biggest name among the Czech 18th century composers is probablyJan Dismas Zelenka, who was the director of the renownedDresden Hofkapelle. He was also a great inspiration forBedřich Smetana, who is generally considered one of the most influential Czech composers of 19th century classical music together withAntonín Dvořák andLeoš Janáček. Of these three, the one best known internationally is Antonín Dvořák, being well received in the Great Britain[15] and spending three years in the US as the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City.[16] Dvořák'sNew World Symphony became "one of the most popular of all time" according to Clapham.[17] 19th century Bohemia is also a cradle of the popular folk dancePolka. Among the Czech musicians of the 20th century,Karel Gott stands out the most, being the 42 times winner of theGolden Nightingale for the best male singer. He was one of the few musicians who were allowed to perform in theWestern Bloc during the Cold War, becoming known as the "Golden voice of Prague".[18]
Czech theatrical tradition played a big part in theCzech National Revival. Opening of theNational Theatre in Prague in 1881 was a great success of the Czech nationalists. In 1920,Karel Čapek published his science fiction playR.U.R., where he introduced the word "robot" to the English language and toscience fiction as a whole.[19] A famousavant-garde theatre formed in the 1920s was theOsvobozené divadlo (Liberated theatre in English) ofJan Werich andJiří Voskovec.Václav Havel – one of the leaders of the democratic dissent during the rule of theCommunist Party and the first Czech president – was also a playwright, best known for his 1963absurd playThe Garden Party, which criticizedconformism in socialist Czechoslovakia.