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Czech Republic – the country of castles
Czech Republic – the country of castles
When talking about trips to the Czech Republic, the first thing we remember is its architectural masterpieces. Many ancient castles and towns are well preserved or carefully restored. Not only Czech, but also foreign architects, who considered Bohemia their second homeland, worked on the appearance of the most beautiful buildings. Among them are the Germans K. Dientzenhofer, who with his son built 120 churches, Peter Parler, who worked in the late Gothic style. Carlo Lurago and Domenico Orsi are natives of Italy.
The architecture of Bohemia is intricately intertwined with political events. Emperor Charles IV, crowned in Germany and Rome, paid much attention to Bohemia. During his reign, Gothic style prevailed.
During the Thirty Years' War, the nobility allocated a lot of funds for construction. At that time, the Baroque style prevailed, in which the castles built at that time in Valtice and Vranov were designed.
During the years of the revival of national self-awareness (XIX–XX centuries), a craving for the construction of majestic buildings in cities arose. The capital's National Museum and National Theater belong to this era.
Literature
The oldest works date back to the 14th century. Among them is “Network of True Faith” by P. Helchytsky. Despite the fact that Czech literature experienced a serious crisis, the Renaissance of the 19th century. gave such masterpieces as “May” by K. G. Mahi and “Little Country Tales” by J. Neruda. But the most famous Czech writers are K. Capek and J. Hasek. Their creations “The War with the Newts” and “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” (respectively) gained worldwide fame.
After the Second World War, leftist tendencies were initially welcomed with a bang. But as a result of the “tightening of the screws,” many free-thinking writers were forced to leave their homeland and create in exile. This is M. Kudera, J. Zeyfort, P. Kohout.
Movie
The only film academy in Eastern Europe is located in Prague. The most famous Czech director is considered to be M. Forman, who directed a number of films in the USA, including One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Returning to his homeland, he filmed the famous “Amadeus”.
Music
Czech classical music is inextricably linked with such names as B. Smetana and A. Dvořák, which appealed to the urban intelligentsia. Sacred music was carefully preserved by ministers of churches and monasteries. The folklore genre was also revived and became the property of Europe.