Just like other European nations, the Czechs have a treasure trove of fairytales that has been lovingly handed down over the centuries. Some...

Once upon a time, every river bend, every mountain peak and every church tower had its own story to tell; adventurers and pitch-burners...

Are halušky and škubánky a mys­tery to you? Have you never heard of lívance and vdolky? Then you’re on the right track with this culinary...

In December 1936, the Nazi state stripped Thomas Mann of his German citizenship. But this blow missed its mark – the Nobel laureate and most...

Parentless children, stranded by the war — Swiss teacher Olga Fierz tells the moving story of a unique rescue mission in a topsy-turvy era....

The bearded Rübezahl lives in the Riesengebirge, the Giant Mountains with their snow-capped peaks; here, his moods and whimsies are...

In one of the most fascinating technological success stories in the world, Škoda combines the traditions of a hundred-year-old motoring...

Alphonse Mucha is world famous for his seductively beautiful panneaux and posters. As a decorative artist he shaped the appearance of a...

Egon Schiele had many faces: the exceptionally talented artistic genius; the sensitive creator of peaceful landscapes and the shameless...

Just as in the days of the Emperor, people flock to the Czech Republic today to savour tasty local specialities, ranging from the fine...

When Austria was still Bohemian ... that was “many years ago”, and now when Austrians and Czechs look at each other across the border,...

In his memoir A Musician’s Blood (Musikantenblut) the apprentice locksmith and later court musician Wenzel Abert (1842-1915) describes his...

From Tafelspitz to Kaiserschmarren – the Imperial Court Kitchen was more than just a collection of fine delicacies, prepared by the best...

Established in the late 18th century, Franzensbad (Františkovy Lázně) with its bubbling, healing spring, elegant buildings and extensive...

The most well-known Austrian animal story is familiar to generations of readers and has become a true classic, with many film and television...

August 1944. Young Czech forced labourers are fleeing Vienna to set up a resistance group in Moravia. 21-year-old Božena works in a...

In his masterpiece, the story High Forest, Adalbert Stifter describes the love of two sisters at the time of the Thirty Years’ War. At their...

O Prague, O solemn city, O city of martyrs, musicians and pretty maids …, O Prague, how much of my freedom-loving soul you have taken from...

The Bohemian Forest: it is like a melancholy song that truly tugs on our heartstrings. Monotonous, unchanging, the wood and gloomy moorland...

I could only live in three cities: Weimar, Karlsbad and Rome.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe

The sun, a great poet, wrote a lovely tale down on our earth with a golden pen.

Jiří Wolker

These tales from Moravia’s hidden capital were published in 1892 and illustrated by José Hilber. This beautiful edition will delight any...

This elegant edition of tales from Brno is based on a collection made by Leopold Masur, which appeared in 1934 in what was then...

These stories, published in 1840, brought the young Adalbert Stifter literary acclaim. He had long seen himself as a painter and scarcely...

A simple pitch burner moves to the forest with his family to avoid the plague. It is a worthwhile undertaking to compare the two versions of...

This cultural study is the most exhaustive collection of Bohemian folk dances as recorded by Alfred Waldau from the mid-19th century...

But the book also tells of magnificent concert performances, accomplished pieces of theatre and especially of exhilarating friendships in...

Diether Krywalski is an author and editor of literary studies and guides, and a contributor to the Lexikon der Weltliteratur. In recent...

The Czech author Božena Němcová (1820-1862), born in Vienna, paints an entirely unsentimental portrait of the country habits and customs of...

This anthology of German tales from Moravia is devoted to a small Central European country that is still little known to this day. The...

The Czech poet Vítězslav Nezval (1900-1958) produced an extensive body of modernist work. As well as drama and translations, he left a...