C O N T E N T S

Transcription

C O N T E N T S

CONTENTS
CONTENTS
ADAMSON JOY.......................................2
BAUER LEOPOLD.....................................3
BEZRUČ PETR..........................................4
BLACHUT BENO......................................5
BUDÍNOVÁ SLÁVKA.................................6
BURIAN ZDENĚK......................................7
BRODSKÝ VLASTIMIL...............................8
DANĚK OLDŘICH.................................... 9
DRŽKOVIC VALENTIN............................10
DUŠA FERDIŠ........................................11
DVORSKÝ BOHUMÍR.............................12
ENGLIŠ KAREL.......................................13
FREUD SIGMUND..................................14
GABZDYL EMERICH...............................15
GERLICH EDUARD................................ 16
GILLAR JAN . ........................................17
GLÁZROVÁ MARIE................................18
HANDKE JAN KRYŠTOF.........................19
HANDZEL AUGUSTIN.............................20
HANZELKA JIŘÍ......................................21
JANÁČEK LEOŠ.....................................22
JIROTKA ZDENĚK .................................23
KOMENSKÝ JAN AMOS.........................24
KRISTIN VLADIMÍR.................................25
KUBLA RICHARD...................................26
LANDEK VENUS.................................... 27
LAUDON GIDEON VON..........................28
ŁYSOHORSKÝ ÓNDRA...........................29
MARTÍNEK VOJTĚCH.............................30
MENDEL JOHANN GREGOR...................31
MYRON JIŘÍ . ........................................32
OLBRICH JOSEF MARIA FILIP..................33
PALACKÝ FRANTIŠEK.............................34
PALISA JOHANN....................................35
PAŘÍK OTAKAR......................................36
POLÁŠEK ALBÍN.....................................37
SALICHOVÁ HELENA.............................38
SCHINDLER OTAKAR.............................39
SCHINZEL KARL.....................................40
ŠLAPETA ČESTMÍR.................................41
ŠLAPETA LUBOMÍR................................41
ŠUSTALA IGNÁC...................................42
TOMÁŠEK FRANTIŠEK ..........................43
VANČURA VLADISLAV...........................44
VEŘMIŘOVSKÝ JOSEF............................45
VLÁČIL FRANTIŠEK................................46
WŰNSCHE VILÉM..................................47
ZÁBRANSKÝ ADOLF..............................48
ZÁTOPEK EMIL......................................49
ZÁVADA VILÉM.....................................50
ŽÍDEK IVO.............................................51
Legend.................................................52
1
JOY ADAMSON
JOY ADAMSON
nee Joy Friederike Victoria Gessner
(1910 Opava – 1980 Kenya, brutally murdered)
Writer, Painter, Conservationist
1
Joy lived in Opava for twelve years. After her parents divorced she moved with her mother
to Vienna and never returned to her hometown again. In 1937 she left for Africa with her
first husband. Soon she married for the second time. Her second husband was Peter Bally,
a botanist, who introduced her to painting. She became an excellent painter and illustrator.
She was even awarded a prestigious English prize for her cycle of 700 botanic illustrations.
Between 1944 and 1952 she worked on a contract from the British Colonial Government
and created 600 portraits of members of various Kenyan tribes. Today these form the foundation of the permanent collection in the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi.
Thanks to her next husband, the founder of the African national parks, George Adamson, she took care of a young lioness and wrote the book ‘Born Free: About Elsa’ (1960).
‘Queen of Sheba: Story of Penny the Leopard’ was completed by her assistant Manzon
only after Joy’s death. Adamson also wrote her autobiography ‘The Searching Spirit’.
She established the ‘Elsa Wild Animal Appeal’ foundation the branches of which still exist in
the USA, Canada, Japan and Kenya. Thanks to the financial support provided by the foundation, amongst other activities the national parks of Meru and Tamburu were founded.
A plaque commemorating this world-wide famous native of Opava is placed on her
parents’ house at 48 Na Rybníčku Street.
2
2
Photo:
1. Painting of a Kenyan chieftain
2. Joy Adamson
3. The plaque on her parents’ house
Important Personalities of Moravia and Silesia
3
LEOPOLD BAUER
LEOPOLD BAUER
(1872 Krnov – 1938 Vienna)
Architect, Arts and Crafts Designer
Leopold Bauer was very talented and received many awards as early as a student at the
Vienna Academy under Professor Otto Wagner. Inspired by his teacher, he supported
modernism in architecture and became a member of the Vienna Art Nuevo movement in
1900. The contemporary critique considered this Krnov native to be the author of the first
modern house in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, the house of dr. Štěpán Haupt in
Brno on Vítězství Avenue. He also received appraisals for the design of the Head Office of
the Austro-Hungarian Bank in Vienna (currently the Austrian National Bank).
For his hometown of Krnov he developed the project of the firing range building (1908)
in which he applied features of historic architecture with folklore undertones. He also
adapted several burger villas (Kandler’s , Larisch’s and Chlupačka’s villas) and reconstructed the Tiroler Hotel (Slezský domov). His last piece of work was the weekend seat for the
Larisch family in Krnov-Ježník (1936) many features of which were influenced by North
American country architecture.
Bauer´s work can be found also in nearby Opava. The Breda Department Store (1927
– 1928) was considered to be one of the most modern in Europe. St. Hedvika´s Church
(1933 – 1938) was used as military storage during WWII. The church was consecrated
in 1993.
1
In 2000 a memorial featuring a bust of Bauer´s was unveiled in Krnov next to the Town
Hall. His parents’ house, number 93, formerly U bílého koníčka pub, has not been preserved to present date.
2
Photo:
1. The Leopold Bauer Memorial by authors Vlastimil Zilich, Ing. Arch. and Svatoslav Böhm
The bust was designed by the sculptor Pavel Charousek.
2. St. Hedvika´s Church in Opava
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PETR BEZRUČ
PETR BEZRUČ
by his real name Vladimír Vašek
(1867 Opava – 1958 Olomouc)
Poet
1
2
Petr Bezruč studied classical and Slavic philology at Charles University in Prague. He did
not finish university due to a mental breakdown and started work at a post office in
Brno. In 1891 he was transferred to Místek (known as Frýdek-Místek at present) where
he went through two relationships which had a considerable impact on his poetry. After
two years spent in Místek he returned to Brno. He worked at a railway post-office until
his retirement.
What motivated him to start writing poetry in 1898 was his mental and lung condition
His poetry received a lot of interest from the very beginning. The collection of poems
‘Silesian Songs’, was re-written several times; its final version with 79 poems was published in 1928. Apart from social ballads the collection contains poems responding to the
pertinent political situation and also intimate lyrical work. The undertone of the whole
collection was driven by author’s resentment of the national and social suppression of the
Silesian people. Amongst other pieces of Bezruč´s work are ‘The Blue Underwing’ (1930),
‘Poems by the Old Saurian’ (1957) and ‘Songs about the Sunny Land’ (1947).
Bezruč´s work inspires more than four hundred songs and compositions, many graphic
designs, bibliophilism, medals, paintings and sculptures and has been translated into
more than forty languages.
The Memorial to Petr Bezruč was constructed in Opava on the site where his parents’ house
once stood. In Frýdek-Místek, a plaque commemorating Bezruč´s work in the town can
be found in U Staré pošty Street. You can also see a bust of the poet in Československé
Armády Street and the Silesian Songs Memorial is located in Frýdlantská Street.
PETR BEZRUČ MEMORIAL
PETR BEZRUČ COTTAGE IN OSTRAVICE
Address: Ostružná 35
746 01 Opava
Phone: +420 553 625 024
E-mail: alena.chudarkova@szmo.cz
www.szmo.cz
Address: Ostravice 261
739 14 Ostravice
Phone: +420 558 682 356, +420 553 625 024
E-mail: alena.chudarkova@szmo.cz
www.szmo.cz
Photo:
1. Silesian Songs Memorial (1937), Frýdlantská Street, Frýdek-Místek
2. A plaque from 1933 on the building of the former post office in Frýdek-Místek
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BENO BLACHUT
BENO BLACHUT
(1913 Ostrava – 1985 Praha)
Opera Singer
Between 1927 – 1933 Beno Blachut worked as a boilermaker at the Vítkovice Steelworks. Only in 1935 did he start to study singing at the Prague Conservatoire where
he was taught by Louis Kadeřábek. Immediately after he completed his studies, he was
offered a contract by the Olomouc Opera. In 1941 he became a soloist at the Prague
National Theatre following a recommendation for the position by Václav Talich with
Eduard Haken.
He was a brilliant interpreter of Smetana’s operas - for instance his rendition of Jenik in
The Bartered Bride and Dalibor. His renditions of Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Lenskij in
Tchaikovsky’s Eugen Onegin or Beethoven’s Florestan in Fidelio were also well known.
Apart from theatre performances he often performed at concerts. His interpretation
of Janáček’s ‘Notes of One Who Disappeared’ and ‘Glagolite Mass’ or Dvořák’s ‘Stabat
Mater’ were very popular. Blachut’s favourite foreign composers were Haydn, Beethoven,
Schumann and Verdi. His concerts were not only held in his home country but also in
Moscow, Vienna, Paris, Venice and Leipzig.
During WWII he was invited to perform in the Zurich Opera but the Nazi authorities did
not allow him to travel abroad. Later, he used to decline offers to perform abroad. In
1958 he was awarded the title of ‘Artist of Outstanding Merit’ and five years later the
title of National Artist.
1
The house where Beno Blachut used to live is located at 80 Zengrova Street in Ostrava
– Vítkovice.
Photo:
1. Beno Blachut as Dimitrij
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S L ÁV K A B U D Í N O VÁ
SLÁVKA BUDÍNOVÁ
Theatre and Film Actress
1
Slávka Budínová studied at a Business Academy. She did not have a chance to complete
her studies however because, with the outbreak of WWII, the school closed down in
1942. Marie Rýdlová, an actress from the Ostrava Theatre, rescued her from a forced
labour transport to Germany by interceding for her. Thanks to this intervention Budínová
got a place as a theatre apprentice. In the position of actor student she did not perform
only in dramas but also in operas, operettas and ballets. After several years she had to
leave the theatre due to the ‘lack of talent’.
The situation also repeated itself at the Olomouc Regional Theatre. The main reason for
her lack of success was the fact that she was offered mostly roles of ingénues which did
not suit her. Only in 1960 when she was offered a contract at the E.F. Burian Theatre
in Prague did she start to win recognition as an actress in roles of strong minded and
high spirited characters (Kate in Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’, Fanka in Čapek’s
‘Highwayman’).
During the 1960s and 70s she performed regularly in film and television roles – ‘The
Caravan People’ (1966), ‘Night at Karlštejn Castle’ (1973), ‘Summer with a Cowboy’
(1976). She was also very successful in television series – for instance ‘Marriages of
Convenience’ (1968), ‘Sinful People of Prague’ (1968), ‘Mr. Tau’ (1972). The last opportunity to play in a film was offered to Slávka Budínová by the Director Jaromil Jireš
in a film entitled ‘Double Act’ in 1999.
2
Photo:
1. Photo from the film ‘Double Act’ with Lubor Tokoš (1999)
2. Slávka Budínová
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ZDENĚK BURIAN
ZDENĚK BURIAN
(1905 Kopřivnice, District of Nový Jičín – 1981 Praha)
Graphic Artist, Painter and Book Illustrator
Zdeněk Burian had the unusual talent of painting and drawing and therefore he was
offered a place in the 2nd year of the Academy of Fine Art in Prague at the incredibly
young age of 14. At the age of 16 he illustrated his first book and following this he
worked with many publishing houses and editors.
The year 1932 represented a milestone in his career. Following the magazine publication of a story by Eduard Štorch, ‘The Mammoth and Caribou Hunters’, Burian was contacted by Josef Augusta, Reader in Palaeontology at Charles University in Prague, with
an offer of cooperation. Thus seven books on prehistory were created which brought
Burian world-wide fame.
Burian was a perfectionist. Everything he ever painted was carefully studied first – every
movement, curve or colour. This was the approach he used to illustrate not only books
by Josef Augusta but also by Karl May, Eduard Štorch, Jack London or Rudyard Kipling.
His illustrations mapped a range of subjects from prehistory to the life of Indians, fortune hunters and explorers. He illustrated travel journals by A. F. Frič and A. Holub
published in magazine editions. More than a thousand of his oil paintings, gouache and
tempera paintings, and pastel drawings together with approximately fifteen thousand
pen-and-ink drawings are well known.
His parental home at number 198 in Štefánkova Street in Kopřivnice has not been preserved to present date; the Regional Museum holds a separate collection dedicated to
this native painter. The Zdeněk Burian Museum is open in a house where the artist lived
for several years as a child in nearby Štramberk.
ZDENĚK BURIAN MUSEUM
Address: Zauličí 456
742 66 Štramberk
Phone: +420 556 852 240
E-mail: mzb@stramberk.cz
www.stramberk.cz
Photo:
1., 2. Drawings by Zdeněk Burian
3. Zdeněk Burian Museum in Štramberk
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2
The Regional Museum in Kopřivnice
Address: Zahumenní 369
Kopřivnice 742 21
Phone: +420 556 871 106
E-mail: technika@tatramuseum.cz
www.tatramuzeum.cz
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VLASTIMIL BRODSKÝ
VLASTIMIL BRODSKÝ
(1920 Ostrava – 2002 Slunečná, District of Česká Lípa)
Film and Theatre Actor
1
2
During his Secondary School years, Vlastimil Brodský made his living as a dance instructor in cafes and bars. When he had to give up dancing because of a weak constitution,
he took up acting.
Due to his unusual physiognomy he played roles of old men when he was only thirty.
The type of actor he was combined a medley of playfulness and joy together with nostalgia and sadness. In theatre he gained fame in the unforgettable roles of Bondy in
Čapek’s ‘War with Salamanders’, military chaplain Katz in Hašek’s ‘Good Soldier Švejk’
and in Kouhout’s play ‘August, August, August’.
He acted in more than 150 films. When he was 14 he had a role in the film ‘The World is
Ours’. This was followed by Podskalský’s film ‘Where the Devil Cannot Get’ (1959) and
‘Men of the World’ (1969). Together with Jiří Menzel he created films such as ‘Closely
Observed Trains’ (1966), ‘Capricious Summer’ (1968) and ‘Larks on a String’ (1969).
Vlastimil Brodský was nominated for an Oscar for the role of Jacob the Liar in 1974. He
received the Golden Nymph Award for his performance in the TV play ‘Birds of Passage’
(1984) at the International Television Festival in Monte Carlo and was awarded the
Czech Lion Award for ‘The Indian Summer‘ in 2001.
As Hajaja the Imp he told children stories on radio, his voice can be heard in the series
of bed time stories ‘The Poppy Doll and Emanuel the Butterfly’. He wrote the book of
children’s stories ‘About Nothing’.
His parental home used to be located in the square of Ostrava
– Hrušov.
3
8
Photo:
1. Meeting of Hrušov inhabitants with Vlastimil Brodský in 1991
2. Photo from the film ‘Night at Karlštejn Castle‘
3. Photo from the film ‘Lost Face’ with co-actor J. Marvan
OLDŘICH DANĚK
OLDŘICH DANĚK
Scriptwriter, Dramatist, Writer
Between 1946 and 1950 Oldřich Daněk studied at the Prague Academy of Dramatic
Arts. Such appreciated actors as Karel Höger and Ladislav Pešek and director Jindřich
Honzel were some of his teachers. Following graduation he was offered a contract in
Hradec Králové where he not only acted but also directed. Later he became the artistic
director of the drama section of the F. X. Šalda Theatre in Liberec. In 1957 he moved to
Prague and worked at the Barrandov Film Studios until he was 70.
He belonged to the most productive Czech post-war dramatists. He wrote both theatre and
radio plays, scripts for theatre and television and historic plays. Some of his most famous
theatre plays are for example ‘The Duchess of Valdštejn Army’ (1979), ‘Two on a Horse and
One on a Donkey’ (1971) and ‘The War will Break Out after the Interval’ (1976).
Daněk frequently worked with Jan Otčenášek and together they created scripts for
television series ‘Once there Was a House’ and ‘What Happened in a House Today’ that
were hugely popular with the Czechoslovak viewers. Historic topics were used in his
television play ‘Břetislav and Jitka’ and ‘The Second First Lady’.
As a writer Oldřich Daněk specialised in the era of the latest Premyslids and Jan of Luxembourgh which is reflected in novels ‘The King Deserts the Battle’, ‘The King without
a Helmet’, and ‘Murder in Olomouc’.
1
In the place of the house where Oldrich Daněk used to live, 4 Poděbradova Street, there
currently is a park.
Photo:
1. and 2. Books by Oldřich Daněk: ‘The King Deserts the Battle’ and ‘The King without a Helmet’
2
9
VA L E N T I N D R Ž K O V I C
VALENTIN DRŽKOVIC
(1888 Velká Polom – 1969 Opava)
Painter, Graphic Artist
1
As a young man Valentin Držkovic graduated from the theological faculty and in 1911
he was ordained a priest. He utilised his talent for painting only at Vienna Academy
where he studied painting and graphic art. He made several study trips across Europe
to Carpathian Ruthenia, Italy, France and Germany. He took such masters as Tizian,
Rembrandt and Rubens as his examples.
At the beginning of his career he was strongly influenced by Art Nuevo and impressionism. At this period he concentrated on portraits in which he focused on the character
of the people he painted. These were servants, labourers, tramps, but also relatives and
friends. In 1929 Držkovic painted cycle ‘Pit Heaps’ strongly influenced by social issues.
The cycle was favourably evaluated by Paris critics at the Independent Artists Salon.
Graphic work forms a separate chapter in Držkovic’s art creations. Its topics cover motives from the native region, life in the country and social problems. There is a degree
of religious character present in the work which is understandable due to his theological education.
Valentin Držkovic belongs to the most significant personalities of the 1st half of the
20th century in the Ostrava region and to founders of social painting in the region.
The house where he was born, no. 10 U Spořitelny Street, can still be found in his native
village of Velká Polom. His grave in the local graveyard is also easily accessible.
2
Photo:
1. Churning Butter (1918)
2. Moulin Rouge (1929)
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FERDIŠ DUŠA
FERDIŠ DUŠA
(1888 Frýdlant nad Ostravicí, District of Frýdek-Místek
– 1958 the same place)
Graphic Artist, Painter, Ceramicist
Ferdiš Duša had no artistic education. He enjoyed travelling and visited Germany,
Switzerland, Italy, Ukraine, and Slovakia where he absorbed the local atmosphere and
learned to paint. In 1910 he started a job in a ceramic manufactory belonging to the
Jaroněk Brothers in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm; later he became an independent ceramicist
but his business was not very successful.
At about 1927 he left for Prague where he became a member of the art association
called Hollar and he took part in several exhibitions held by them. In 1955 he returned
to his native Frýdlant nad Ostravicí.
He is mostly appreciated as a graphic artist and illustrator. The foundation of his work is
created by cycles of wood engravings with topics from Těšín and Ostrava regions: ‘Těšín
Region’ (1920), ‘The Sad Country’ (1922). Later he focused on Slovakia: ‘Down the Váh
River’ (1933), ‘The Tatras’(1936). Topics with social undertones inspired by the political
and economic situation of the 1920s and 30s are frequent in his art (‘On the Pit Heap’,
‘Mining Disaster’). Duša illustrated poems by Petr Bezruč and Vojtěch Martínek. He enjoyed photography and wrote poetry.
His native Frýdlant nad Ostravicí opened a museum dedicated to the artist in 1963.
The museum is located in the house where Duša had his studio. His paintings, graphic
and ceramic art work are exhibited here. Artist’s extensive book collection is also worth
a visitor’s attention.
1
2
FERDIŠ DUŠA MUSEUM
Address: Hukvaldská 359
739 11 Frýdlant nad Ostravicí
Phone: +420 558 678 947, +420 558 439 653,
+420 608 423 636
E-mail: mu@frydlantno.cz
www.beskydy.cz, www.frydlantno.cz
Photo:
1. On the Pit Heap (between 1920 – 1930)
2. Ostrava (1926)
3. Ferdiš Duša Museum
4. Ferdiš Duša Museum – the Interior
4
3
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BOHUMÍR DVORSKÝ
BOHUMÍR DVORSKÝ
(1902 Paskov, District of Frýdek-Místek
– 1976 Svatý Kopeček near Olomouc)
Academic Painter
1
2
Bohumír Dvorský was supposed to become a bookbinder, however, he became attracted by painting. In 1924 he started to attend the Academy of Fine Arts, the studio
of landscape painting led by Otakar Nejedlý. He travelled a lot during his studies; apart
from trips to South Bohemia he travelled to paint in Italy, France and Corsica. After
completing his studies he lived in the Ostrava Region and before the beginning of WWII
he moved to Svatý Kopeček near Olomouc where he lived until his death.
During the period at the Academy he was influenced considerably by the landscape
painter Julius Mařák and during his trips to France he was strongly inspired by the selection of colour tones and style of Cezanne. During his stay in the Ostrava Region he paid
attention to industrial landscapes and social topics. Consequently, the colour schemes
of his paintings also changed. After his move to the Haná Region the colour tones grew
warmer and the prevailing topics of his paintings were bouquets and the so called ‘King
Rides in Folk Costume’.
Bohumír Dvorský is one of the most important Moravian landscape painters who often
presented his work at foreign exhibitions. In 1940 he participated in the Venice Biennale
and, again in Rio de Janeiro and Helsinki in 1948 and at Stockholm a year later. In 1971
he was awarded the title of National Artist.
The parental home of Bohumír Dvorský is at 238 Kirilova Street in Paskov.
Photo:
1. Spring at Svatý Kopeček (1940)
2. The Journey from Borovský dvůr (1940)
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KAREL ENGLIŠ
KAREL ENGLIŠ
(1880 Hrabyně, District of Opava
Economist, Politician, Lecturer
At university Karel Engliš was influenced strongly by Professor Albín Bráf who sparked
off his interest in Economics which Engliš developed even more during his work at the
National Statistics Authority for the Czech Kingdom and at the Ministry of Trade.
As an MP at the National Assembly he was involved in establishing Masaryk University
whose first Vice-Chancellor he later became. He acted as the Minister of Finance in six
consecutively appointed governments (1920 – 1931). Between 1934 – 1939 he was the
Governor of the Czechoslovak National Bank. During the First Republic he managed to
convert the Czech Crown into one of the most stable world currencies and to develop
a new concept for the state budget.
After the1948 coup he led a sequestered life. He was persecuted and, in 1952, he was
forced to leave Prague. Economic literature written by him was discarded from libraries
and destroyed.
Engliš came to new recognition only after his death. In 1991 he was awarded, in
memoriam, the T. G. Masaryk Order of Merit for work towards democracy and human rights. There is also the Karel Engliš Award which the Foundation of Universitas Masarykiana has been presenting to outstanding
economists since 1992. A private university named after this brilliant
economist was also established in Brno in 2001.
Nowadays, we can visit his parental house at number 77 in Hrabyně,
his grave at the local cemetery and, not far from the church in
Hrabyně, the Memorial of Democracy dedicated to this significant
Hrabyně native.
Photo:
1. The Memorial of Democracy (1992)
1
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SIGMUND FREUD
SIGMUND FREUD
(1856 Příbor, District of Nový Jičín
– 1939 London, Great Britain)
Physician, Psychologist, Founder of Psychoanalysis
1
2
3
Freud lived in his native Příbor for only three years of his life when his family moved to Vienna. In
1873 Freud was admitted to the Faculty of Medicine at Vienna University. After graduation he
worked in the Institute of Physiology and only in 1882 he started practising at Vienna General
Hospital initially in the Department of Internal Medicine and later in the Psychiatric Clinic.
When treating patients where he did not know the cause of neurosis he often used methods
of hypnotic suggestion pioneered by French doctor Bernheim. Sigmund Freud’s recognition in
psychology gradually grew. His research and achievements were only discussed in backstage
talks however and he remained persona non grata for specialists.
Freud’s findings on the sexual determination of human behaviour, experiencing, and mental
development were rejected at the time. In contrast to this, Freud’s Theory of Personality is applied in psychology even today and his findings on the impact of experience from childhood to
adult behaviour are still used now. Freud’s conclusion on the impact of the unconsciousness
on one’s behaviour and the importance of dream analysis and free associations for treatment of
patients cannot be forgotten either. His book, ‘The Explanation of Dreams’ (1900) offers many
incentives for this area of work.
The threatening outburst of war and Freud’s Jewish origin made him leave Austria in 1938 and go to
England where he died a year later. His four sisters who stayed in Austria became victims of holocaust.
The house where Sigmund Freud was born is preserved at 117 Zámečnická Street to present
date. The building bears a plaque and the famous Příbor native is also recognised in a local
museum with a room dedicated to him and also in a memorial by sculptor František Navrátil
and architect Zdeněk Makovský.
SIGMUND FREUD MUSEUM AND ROOM
Address: Lidická 50
742 58 Příbor
Phone: +420 556 725 191
E-mail: ovmnj@atlas.cz
www.muzeum.novy-jicin.cz
Photo:
1. The collection in the Sigmund Freud Museum and Room
2. Sigmund Freud Memorial located close to the square in Příbor
3. The parental home with its plaque
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EMERICH GABZDYL
EMERICH GABZDYL
(1908 Ostrava – 1993 Ostrava)
Dancer, Choreographer, Head of the Ballet Ensemble,
Lecturer
Emerich Gabzdyl’s career started as early as at the age of 14, when he was offered
a position in the ballet ensemble of the National Theatre of Moravia-Silesia. His teacher
was choreographer Achille Viscusi who started entrusting him with solo parts three
years later. When Gabzdyl was 18 he created his own choreography for the Gounod’s
opera ‘Romeo and Juliet‘ and Goldmark’s ‘Queen of Sheba‘. In 1927, visiting German
choreographer Max Semmler cast him in the main role of Richard Strauss’ ‘Legend of
Joseph‘ performed in Ostrava.
Between 1929 – 1932 he was on tours of Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. If Viscusi
taught him the basics of classical ballet, following the tour his dance skills were enriched
with modernist expressive techniques by Semmler.
Gabzdyl acted as a ballet, opera and operetta choreographer in the Brno Theatre between
1932 and 1938. He returned to Ostrava at the beginning of Nazi occupation. He put on
stage classical Czech and foreign ballets – ‘From One Fairytale to Another’, ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘Swan Lake’ – but also the premiere of a contemporary Czech ballet ‘Ondráš’ by
Hurník (1951) and Bažant’s ‘Maryčka Magdonova’ (1967) where he himself danced the
part of Old Magdon at the age of almost sixty.
1
The house in which Emerich Gabzdyl resided during his work in Ostrava is located at 54
Studeňská Street in Stará Bělá.
2
Photo:
1. Gabzdyl during choreography (The National Theatre of Moravia-Silesia, 1961)
2. Gabzdyl and Pírková (1927)
15
EDUARD GERLICH
EDUARD GERLICH
(1836 Odry, District of Nový Jičín
– 1904 Zurych, Switzerland)
Technical Consultant, Constructor of Mountain Railways
1
2
Eduard Gerlich studied technical subjects at Vienna University and, as an excellent student, was offered a lecturing post there. Two years later, though, he left the university and took up a position at the Department of Civil Engineering at the Ministry of
Railways. He took part in the construction work of Austrian mountain railways. Soon,
Gerlich was the manager of projects for the Arad-Severin line in Hungary, Riedl-Braunau
line in Upper Austria, Hof - Aš - Cheb line, Ostroměř - Jičín - Vrchlabí - Turnov - Poříčí in
the Krkonoš route and the Alfold railway in Hungary.
In 1875 Gerlich was entrusted with the preparation of the complicated project for
a railway line across the St. Gotthard mountain pass in the Alps which connects Milan
with the Rhine Valley and has always been considered problematic since there is a deep
and steep ravine on the Swiss side. Gerlich built a railway line with 57 tunnels between
1875 and 1882. The longest of these tunnels, St. Gotthard tunnel, had a respectable
length of 15 kilometres. The project, worth 57.6 million Francs was co-financed by
Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Gerlich was appointed Professor at Zurich Polytechnic in 1882 and he worked there until his retirement. He was considered a remarkable specialist and received many honours
and awards for his projects known all over Europe.
Eduard Gerlich’s parental home in Odry has not been preserved since it is not known
where its exact location is.
Photo:
1. Drawing of the St. Gotthard Railway in Switzerland
2. The present view of the road flyover of the tunnel
16
JAN GILLAR
JAN GILLAR
(1904 Příbor, District of Nový Jičín – 1967 Praha)
Architect, Urban Development Designer,
Furniture Designer
Jan Gillar studied architecture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague where his teacher
was Josef Gočár the founder of Czech cubism. During his studies, which he completed
in 1928, Gillar successfully participated in several competitions. In 1925, architects Jan
Gillar and Jan Zázvorka won a tender with their joint design of the National Liberation
Memorial on Vítkov Mountain in Prague.
In the early 1930s his perception of architecture was influenced by Soviet constructivists
and Bauhaus Director Hannes Mayer.
Some of the most important of Gillar’s designs come from his functionalist period. The
building of the original French School in Prague Dejvice (1931 – 1934) belonging to the
purest functionalist buildings in the Czech Republic, received recognition even abroad.
Some of his other projects include an apartment house in Prague – Holešovice (1936)
and a block of apartment houses in Prague - Nusle from 1936 – 1937. He also designed
sanatoria and nursing homes in Čáslav, Přelouč, Trhové Sviny and Klatovy and department stores in Kladno, Uzhgorod and Olomouc. There are many architectonic designs
and urbanistic projects in his inheritance which were never realised but are often exhibited and have won critical acclaim not only in our country but also abroad.
1
Photo:
1. Apartment house in Prague – Holešovice (1936)
2. French Schools in Prague – Dejvice (1931 – 1934)
2
17
M A R I E G L Á Z R O VÁ
MARIE GLÁZROVÁ
(1911 Horní Suchá near Karviná – 2000 Prague)
Actress
1
Marie Glázrová did not win recognition as actress in Moravia but became very successful in Prague where she relocated and lived until the end of her life. In the 1930s and
40s she was a member of the Vinohrady Theatre and the National Theatre and one of
the most popular actresses in our country. She played the part of Kate in ‘Taming of
the Shrew’ and her performance of Cleopatra in ‘Caesar and Cleopatra’ or Margaret in
‘Faust’ were also excellent. Her rendition of Maryša in three different productions in the
National Theatre (1943, 1945, and 1956) also won critical acclaim.
Film directors soon discovered Glázrová’s talent for psychologically demanding roles,
which she confirmed in films such as ‘The Guard no 47’, ‘The Little Town’, and ‘Rozina,
the Bastard’. Thanks to her unusually majestic manner she was also cast in the parts
of the princess in the film ‘Grandmother’ and ‘Queen Hippodamia’ in Vrchlický’s melodrama of that name.
Marie Glázrová often worked for the radio where she recited Czech poetry. Not only
poetry but classical music was also close to her heart and her husband Eduard Haken
was a National Theatre soloist for many years.
The house in which Marie Glázrová was born is still standing in Sportovní Street in Horní
Suchá. There is also a plaque commemorating her father, Dr. Vavřinec Glázer, who was
instrumental in establishing the local Czech school.
2
Photo:
1. Marie Glázrová
2. In the role of the princess in the film ‘Grandmother’
18
JAN KRYŠTOF HANDKE
JAN KRYŠTOF HANDKE
(1694 Janušov near Rýmařov – 1774 Olomouc)
Baroque Painter
This most important representative of Moravian Baroque painting started work in 1714
in Ferdinand Naboth’s workshop in Olomouc where he was given the task of decorating
the chapel in Lipky near Rýmařov. Handke was inspired by the classical trend in Baroque
which he knew from drawings, graphic work and paintings by Italian artists working in
Moravia (Etgens, Haringer). Further, he was influenced by his stay in Bohemia where he
studied the work of P. Brandl, M. L. Willman and J. K. Liška.
The composition of Handke’s paintings are full of characters set in biblical scenes the
inseparable part of which is architecture defined by and illusory stream of light.
His creations can be found in Olomouc in the Kaple Božího těla (Divine Body Chapel)
in the Jesuit College and in the church of Panna Marie Sněžná (Our Snowy Lady). The
decoration of the chateau chapel in Velké Losiny and in the Augustinian monastery in
Šternberk were also preserved. In addition, Handke was hired to decorate sacred buildings in Hradec Králové and in Polish Wroclaw.
In the 1740s Handke’s work was gradually influenced by the Rococo style and his paintings from this period often contain hunting still lives and allegoric scenes.
1
Handke’s altar painting has been preserved in the Navštívení Panny Marie Chapel (Visitation of Our Lady Chapel) in Lipky in Rýmařov.
Photo:
1. Lipky Chapel of Navštívení Panny Marie
2. The altar painting with the topic of the visitation of Our Lady from the chapel in Lipky
2
19
AUGUSTIN HANDZEL
AUGUSTIN HANDZEL
(1886 Ostrava – 1952 Jablunkov,
District of Frýdek–Místek)
Sculptor
1
Augustin Handzel studied at the School for Applied Arts in Prague, in the studio of professor Drahoňovský. Then he worked in Vienna for Goldscheider Company as a model
maker of majolica sculptures. When he returned to Ostrava in 1913 he started his own
ornamental plastering company which went bankrupt soon. From that point he worked
as a freelance artist.
In the first half of the 20th century Handzel’s sculpting work was inspired by Otta
Gutfreud. Statues on the front of the former Union Bank in Ostrava, sculptures at the
Silesian Ostrava cemetery, originally located in front of the Ostrava crematorium, are
from this period. Apart from cubistic trend in his work he also enjoyed everyday life
topics similar to those by Jan Štursa. This is reflected for instance in the statue of a ‘Girl
with a Cigarette’ or statues on the attic of Electra Palace in Ostrava. In the 1930s
Handzel departed from cubism and was much more influenced by a free interpretation
of subjects similar for instance to work by Vincenc Makovský. This trend continued in
his work even after WWII.
We can see Handzel’s sculptures in the collections of the Gallery of Fine Arts in Ostrava,
Moravian Gallery in Brno, Gallery of Fine Arts in Olomouc and in collections of the Silesian Regional Museum in Opava.
Photo:
1. Building of the former Union Bank in Ostrava
2. Girl with a Cigarette (1927)
2
20
JIŘÍ HANZELKA
JIŘÍ HANZELKA
(1920 Štramberk, District of Nový Jičín
– 2003 Prague)
Explorer, Journalist, Writer
Jiří Hanzelka and his school friend Miroslav Zikmund realised their dreams in 1948 when
they acquired an 8-cylinder Tatra 87 lorry from the Tatra Company and set out on
a three-year journey across Africa and South America. In 1959 they set out on their
second journey with a team of people and several Tatra 805 lorries. This time their destination was Asia, Australia and Oceania. This journey gave rise to the so called ‘Special
Report no. 4; Economic and Political Analysis of the Soviet Union’ which was published
only in 1990.
Hanzelka and Zikmund travelled across 83 countries about which they wrote numerous
travelogues, for instance ‘Africa – Dreams and Reality’, ‘Africa around Tatra’, ‘Towards
the Scull Hunters’. Due to their active participation in the Prague Spring they were not
allowed to officially publish after 1970 and could only use samizdat instead.
1
The parental house of Jiří Hanzelka has not been preserved, however the nearby town
of Kopřivnice opened an exhibition about the explorer in the Regional Museum. Another permanent exhibition entitled ‘With Hanzelka and Zikmund through Five Continents’
is located in Zlín chateau together with the H + Z Archive with more than 100m of written documents, 120,000 negatives and slides and about 50,000 positives and contact
prints, 150 films and about a thousand souvenirs and trophies.
THE MUSEUM OF SOUTH-EASTERN
MORAVIA IN ZLÍN
Address: Zámek Zlín
Soudní 1
762 57 Zlín
Phone: +420 577 004 611
www.muzeum-zlin.cz
Photo:
1. Zikmund and Hanzelka posing in front of their Tatra 87
2. Book ‘Towards the Scull Hunters’
3. In front the car club in Prague (1997)
THE REGIONAL MUSEUM
IN KOPŘIVNICE
Address: Zahumenní 369
Kopřivnice 742 21
Phone: +420 556 871 106
www.tatramuzeum.cz
2
3
21
LEOŠ JANÁČEK
LEOŠ JANÁČEK
(1854 Hukvaldy, District of Frýdek Místek
– 1928 Ostrava)
Composer, Collector of Folk Music, Teacher
1
One of our most world-wide recognised composers was appointed as choirmaster to
the Guild Assembly Svatopluk for which he also wrote his first choir compositions. He
completed his music education at the Organ School in Prague and at conservatoires in
Leipzig and Vienna. In 1911 he founded an organ school where some of his most successful students were F. Kolařík, K. Budík and F. Vojtěchovský.
He collected folk songs from Moravia, Lassko, Moravian Slovakia and Slovakia which he
published in collections with titles such as ‘Newly Acquired Moravian Songs’, ‘A Bouquet of Flowers’, and ‘National Dances of Moravia and Silesia’. His vocal compositions
were inspired not only by songs but also by rhymes and the poetry of Petr Bezruč (‘Halfar, the Teacher’, ‘Maryčka Magdonova’, ‘Seventy Thousand’).
Central to Janáček’s work are nine of his operas. The most often performed opera in
our country and also abroad is ‘Jenufa’(1904) which at the time when it was created
received very indifferent recognition. It started conquering world opera houses only
ten years later.
A plaque is mounted on the parental house of Leoš Janáček in the village of Hukvaldy
commemorating the birth place of this musical genius. Further, one can visit the Leoš
Janáček Memorial in the house where the master lived at the end of his life.
LEOŠ JANÁČEK MEMORIAL
2
Address: Hukvaldy č. p. 79 Podoboří
739 46 Hukvaldy
Phone: +420 558 699 252, +420 558 699 337
www.janacek-nadace.cz
Photo:
1. The parental house – formerly a school
2. Interior of the Leoš Janáček Memorial
3. A poster for the performance of Jenufa
22
3
ZDENĚK JIROTKA
ZDENĚK JIROTKA
(1911 Ostrava – 2003 Prague)
Writer, Editor, Radio Scriptwriter
Zdeněk Jirotka completed his secondary school studies at the School of Civil Engineering
in Hradec Králové. Soon he joined the army and was stationed as an officer in Košice,
Bánská Bystrica, Olomouc, Brno and Vyškov. During the first two years after the occupation, he worked at the Ministry of Public Work and later he concentrated only on
literature. His most successful book ‘Saturnin’ was published in 1943.
Jirotka’s specific style of humour is based upon implicit and hidden meanings of words.
His characters are carefully portrayed and the catchphrases they use have been well
known by the general public for several generations. The popularity of Jirotka’s very
first book was magnified by its adaptation for radio but primarily for film (in 1994,
directed by Jiří Věrčák).
The genre of parody was very close to Jirotka and in 1944 he published the book ‘A Man
with A Dog’ in which he concentrated upon a detective genre. Jirotka wrote numerous
radio plays and co-worked on the radio and television programme ‘Seven Times Liars’.
Although he made his living through literature all of his life, he worked at the Lidové
noviny and the Dikobraz, he was never able to continue in the success of his first two
books. Sixty years after the first edition of Saturnin, which unfortunately was after his
death – Jirotka’s work received a great honour. His book Saturnin was translated into
English and illustrated by Adolf Born.
1
In the 1920s Jirotka lived temporarily at 326 Jaklovecká Street in Silesian Ostrava. Due
to the fact that this part of the City of Ostrava has been re-numbered, we can only
speculate, in which of the houses Jirotka lived.
Photo:
1. Book Saturnin
23
JAN AMOS KOMENSKÝ
JAN AMOS KOMENSKÝ
(1592 near Uherský Brod – 1670 Amsterdam, buried
in Naarden, the Netherlands); Theologian, Philosopher, Writer, Educationalist and the last Bishop of the Brethren Unity
1
2
The exact birthplace of J. A. Komenský is unknown. At first he studied at the Brethren Academy in Přerov and following that at universities in Herborn and Heidelberg. In 1616 he was
ordained a priest and between 1618 and 1621 he was delegated to lead the Brethren church
in Fulnek. He wrote his first didactic works there and created a map of Moravia published in
1627 in Amsterdam.
After the battle of Bílá Hora he went into hiding during which he wrote the allegory ‘Labyrinth
of the World’ and ‘Paradise of the Heart’ which belong to the gems of 17th century Czech literature. In 1628 he moved to Polish Leszno where he created his most important pedagogical
and pansophic pamphlets. After his book collection, including also most of his own manuscripts,
was destroyed by fire, he left Leszno and lived in England, Hungary, Sweden and Holland.
Komenský published 62 philosophical, theological and didiactic pamphlets. The most famous
of them are ‘Labyrinth of the World and the Paradise of the Heart’, ‘The Big Book of Didactics’,
‘General Contemplation on Improvement of the Mankind’, ‘Open Gate of Languages’, ‘Letters to Heaven’, ‘School as a Play’, ‘World in Pictures’, and ‘Testament of the Dying Mother of
Brethren Unity’. He is considered to be the teacher of nations for his work towards recognition
of individuality of each pupil and creative teaching methods.
A memorial with a permanent exhibition about J. A. Komenský is located in Fulnek in the building of the original Brethren Church in front of which there is a bronze statue of Komenský by Jan
Štursa. Another Komenský statue by Julius Pelikán is in front of the local primary school. A monument to Komenský in the form of an obelisk with reliefs sculpted by Olbram Zoubek is located in
the Žákovský háj forest park on a hillside above the town square.
JAN AMOS KOMENSKÝ MEMORIAL IN FULNEK
Adresa: Českých bratří 80
742 45 Fulnek
Phone: +420 556 741 015
3
24
Photo:
1. Komenský statue by Jan Štursa
2. The Jan Amos Komenský Memorial in Fulnek
3. Labyrinth of the World and Paradise of the Heart
VLADIMÍR KRISTIN
VLADIMÍR KRISTIN
(1894 Ostrava – 1970 the same place)
Painter
Vladimír Kristin first studied playing of the piano and organ. In 1911 he moved to the
School of Arts in Vienna where O. Strnad and A. Kenner were his professors. He fought
actively in the WWI and acted as an officer in the Balkans and also in Italy. After the
war he returned to Ostrava and from 1924 was a stage designer in the National Theatre
of Moravia–Silesia.
He started painting more consistently only in the 1920s and was mostly inspired by the
topics of everyday life. He attempted to give a convincing account of the character of
Ostrava suburbs and the industrial atmosphere of the city – for example in the paintings
‘A Třebovice Garden’ and ‘Ostrava Periphery’.
In the 1930s Kristin concentrated more on landscape painting in which he was inspired
by Cezanne’s approach. Many still life compositions appear in his painting during this
decade. After the war his brushwork became more subjective and relaxed and he also
started specialising in realistic panoramas of Ostrava and the Hukvaldy countryside.
Kristin’s paintings can be found in the collections of the Ostrava Gallery, the Moravian
Gallery in Brno and the National Gallery in Prague.
Photo:
1. Yellow Water Pump (1931)
2. Marriage of Figaro, Act IV (The National Moravian and Silesian Theatre, 1934)
1
2
25
RICHARD KUBLA
RICHARD KUBLA
Opera Singer – Tenor
1
2
26
Richard Kubla demonstrated a talent for music from childhood. He learned to play the
violin and first performed in front of the public when he was only seven, in 1897.
He was a student at Musik-Bildungs-Anstalt in Moravian Ostrava and successfully performed at many concerts. In 1910 he first performed as a tenor at a concert of the
Singing and Opera School of Wanda Radkiewiz.
After his school leaving exams he wanted to study law but later he decided to start
a conservatoire in Vienna (1911 – 1914). Following the completion of studies he was
offered a post in the Vienna Folk Opera. At the beginning of the 20s he returned to
Bohemia and was a soloist in the German Theatre in Prague. He was also regularly invited to perform in the National Theatre until 1945. Due to his unusual talent, Kubla
was often invited to perform in Hamburg, Munich and also in Budapest, New York,
Chicago, and Cairo.
He had the parts of Jenik from the ‘Bartered Bride’, Dalibor from ‘A Kiss’, and Prince
from Dvořák’s ‘Rusalka’ in his repertoire. Kubla‘ s tenor was particularly suitable for
operas by Puccini and Leoncavallo.
Richard Kubla lived at 9 Českobratrská Street right in the centre of Ostrava.
Photo:
1. Kubla with grandparents
2. The house where Kubla resided
LANDEK VENUS
LANDEK VENUS
(23, 000 BC)
This is the oldest ‘personality’ from the Moravian-Silesian region. The Venus torso,
as old as approximately 25,000 years, was discovered at a mammoth hunter’s site on
Landek hill in Ostrava–Petřkovice in 1953. The 46 mm tall haematite statuette is rather
exceptional for two reasons: the material was rarely used in prehistoric times because
it is hard to carve. Venus’ parameters are also exceptional – her slim proportions are
unique world-wide. Her creator completely rejected the fertility cult so typical of other
prehistoric Venuses and carved her body in a rather cubist manner. We can presume
that, because of its form and size, the statuette could have been used by its creator as
a personal amulet.
The original of the Landek Venus is safeguarded in a deposit box in the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Science in Brno. The site where it was found is accessible all year round and is also the place where the Mining Museum is located. Visitors
can find out about the discovery of partly burnt coal in prehistoric fire places which proves
that coal was already used by mammoth hunters. An exhibition mapping the history of
coal mining in the Ostrava region with an authentic trip down the pit with a 250 metre
long tunnel is available to visitors. The museum also hosts a new exhibition on the history
of mining rescue services. The museum is the largest of its kind in the world.
1
THE LANDEK OKD MINING MUSEUM
Address: Pod Landekem 64, Ostrava-Petřkovice
Phone: +420 596 131 804
Fax:
+420 596 131 847
E-mail: hornicke.muzeum@okd.cz
www.muzeumokd.cz
Photo:
1. The Torso of the Landek Venus
2. The Landek OKD Mining Museum
2
27
G ideon von L audon
G ideon von L audon
1717 Livonia (current Finland) – 1790 Nový Jičín
Austrian Military Leader and General
Gideon von Laudon was born to an impoverished noble family of Scottish descent and
started his military career in the Russian Army at the age of 15. He left the Russian Army
soon after this and tried to get a position in the Prussian Army. He was turned down and
therefore entered the Austrian army in 1742. His army beginnings were rather complicated due to frequent conflicts with his superiors. He defended an offensive strategy
which was not typical for Austrian military leaders at that time. He gained recognition as
a commander only 14 years later during the Seven Year War (1756 – 1763).
He achieved probably his biggest success when he was more than seventy years old in
1789 when the Austrian army, led by him, conquered the Beograd Fortress and beat
the Turks. Thanks to this, Laudon received the title of Generalissimo and the highest
commander of the Austrian Army.
Whilst on a military expedition, he developed a fever to which he later succumbed in
Nový Jičín in 1790. General Suvorov visited the town a year later to pay his last respects
to Laudon.
1
The burger house number 45, where the general died has been preserved in the Square
in Nový Jičín. On the occasion of 200 years since the general’s death, a bust and a plaque
were revealed.
Photo:
1. Gideon von Laudon Bust
28
Ó N D R A ŁY S O H O R S K Ý
Ó N D R A ŁY S O H O R S K Ý
(Ervín Goj by his real name)
(1905 Frýdek–Místek – 1989 Bratislava)
Poet, University Lecturer, Translator
Óndra Łysohorský was strongly influenced by the Silesian Bard Petr Bezruč. Łysohorský,
as a newly emerging poet living in a nationally indistinctive environment, became
a speaker and an advocate of the Lassko people suppressed by the Germans, Czechs
and Poles. His poems inspired by proletarian poetry were highly appreciated by literary
critics such as B. Václavek, P. Eisner and F. X. Šalda. Łysohorský wrote his poetry in the
Lassko language, an artificial language based upon the dialects of Frýdek and Opava
and Czech, Polish and Slovak vocabulary. Apart from writing in the Lassko language,
he also used German, Czech and Latin.
Initially his poetry had a social content which, during the war, developed a strong antifascist undertone and frequent admiration for the Soviet Union. Later it also contained
features of love poems and reflexive lyrics. The anthology ‘Lassko Poetry’ was published
under the patronage of UNESCO in 1988 and contained all poems by Łysohorský written in the Lassko language between 1931 and 1977.
Although Łysohorský was little known in Czechoslovakia in the 1960s and 70s, contrary
to this is the fact that he was very popular in France, England, Switzerland,
Greece and Norway. In 1977 he was nominated for Nobel Prize in Literature.
1
Óndra Łysohorský’s parental home has not been preserved however the Beskydy Museum in Frýdek–Místek is home to a permanent exhibition about
the poet.
MUZEUM BESKYD FRÝDEK-MÍSTEK
Address: Hluboká 66, 738 01 Frýdek-Místek
Phone: +420 558 630 054 - 3
E-mail: muzeumbeskyd@telecom.cz
www.telecom.cz/muzeumbeskyd
Photo:
1. Former parental home of. Ó. Łysohorský
2. Collection of poems by Ó. Łysohorský
2
29
VOJTĚCH MARTÍNEK
VOJTĚCH MARTÍNEK
(1887 Brušperk, District of Frýdek–Místek – 1960 Ostrava)
Writer, Pedagogue
1
2
Vojtěch Martínek’s name is permanently connected with Ostrava where he completed
secondary school. After his graduation from the Philosophical Faculty of Charles University in Prague, he returned to Moravia to be active, not only as a teacher, literary critic,
patron of young literary talents (Z. Bár, A. C. Nor, and others) and one of the founders
of the Czech Radio in Ostrava. His name is further connected to the National Theatre of
Moravia and Silesia where he worked as a script editor between 1919 and 1923.
Martínek was a very famous poet and novelist. His work frequently covered social problems of the region, described the growth of industrial production and the coal-mining
industry and their impact on local people’s lives. His trilogies ‘The Order of Stone’ and
‘The Looms Rumble’ are well known and have been adapted for television. He also
wrote books for children: ‘The World of Miracles and Wonders’, ‘The Rainbow Bird’ and
‘The Magic Flowers’ which won the hearts of many small readers.
The town of Brušperk commemorated Vojtěch Martínek by placing a plaque on his parental home located in the street named after the writer. The collection of the Vojtěch
Martínek Memorial is located in the National House in the town square.
VOJTĚCH MARTÍNEK MEMORIAL
Address: Národní dům, Náměstí J. A. Komenského 9
739 44 Brušperk
Phone: +420 558 666 271
E-mail: infobrusperk@iol.cz
Photo:
1. Parental home of Vojtěch Martínek
2. The plaque on the parental home
30
JOHANN GREGOR MENDEL
JOHANN GREGOR MENDEL
(1822 Vražné-Hynčice – 1844 Brno)
Natural Scientist, Biologist, Founder of Genetics
Johann Gregor Mendel started his career in the Brno Augustinian Monastery in 1834
and less than twenty five years later he became the Abbot there. He is more widely
known as a scientist who, thanks to his cross-breeding of plants, is more considered to
be the founder of genetics than a clergyman.
His initial experiments were conducted on pea plants in 1856 but he presented them to
the public only in 1865. He used the theory of probability for his calculations, a method
unknown to most biologists at the time.
He was also successful in meteorological research – he took regular measurements for
many years and, as a founding member of the Austrian Meteorological society, he contributed to the development of meteorology in Moravia. He was also active in the
development of bee-keeping; he attempted to cross-breed light Italian bees with dark
Moravian drones however this experiment was unsuccessful.
Wide scientific public recognition was only given after his death. In 1900, German
botanists Carl Correns and Erich Tschermak confirmed the results of his research. Since
then Mendel has been considered the founder of the brand new scientific discipline and
his work ‘Experiments on Plant Hybrids’ has been translated into many European and
world languages.
An exhibition mapping the scientist’s life and work is located in Mendel’s parental home.
A statue of Mendel was revealed in front of the Augustinian monastery in Brno and
Mendelianum is located in the monastery.
PARENTAL HOME OF J.G. MENDEL
Address: Hynčice 69, 742 34 Vražné
Phone: +420 603 720 326
MENDELIANUM
Address: Údolní 39, 602 00 Brno
Phone: +420 542 216 216
E-mail: genetika@mzm.cz
www.mzm.cz
1
2
Photo:
1. The statue in front of the Augustinian Monastery in Brno
2. Parental home of J. G. Mendel
31
JIŘÍ MYRON
JIŘÍ MYRON
by his real name Bohumil Prošek
(1884 Humpolec – 1954 Ostrava)
Actor, Director, Theatre Manager
1
Despite his father’s ban, young Bohumil Prošek joined the theatre company belonging
to R. Rendlová–Porubská in 1904 and worked as an actor using the stage name Jiří
Myron. He officially changed his real name to his pseudonym only in 1951.
He worked as an actor in theatres in Prague, Kladno, Olomouc and in 1923 he settled
in Ostrava where he was not only offered the position of the first drama actor and director but later, in 1941–1946, he was also theatre manager. At the beginning of his
career he also played in operettas but from 1936 he focused only on drama. His most
significant roles include ‘King Lear’ (1937) and ‘Jan Žižka of Trocnov’ (1938).
He won recognition for his abilities for directing in theatres in Kladno, Olomouc and Ostrava. His skills in working with actors and in building the plot were highly valued. Possibly one of Myron’s most successful directing jobs was in Langer’s drama ‘The Mounted
Watch’ in 1934 which remained on the repertoire for four years.
After Jiří Myron’s death, the Folk Theatre in Ostrava changed its name to the Jiří Myron
Theatre and became the home stage for the drama, ballet, and operetta ensembles of
the National Theatre of Moravia and Silesia.
The house where Jiří Myron resided can be found not far from the theatre at 14 Zahradní Street.
2
3
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Photo:
1. Jiří Myron Theatre in Ostrava
2. J. Myron as Priest Hora in Šrámek’s Summer
3. J. Myron as Marmeladov in Dostojevskij’s Crime and Punishment
JOSEF MARIA FILIP OLBRICH
JOSEF MARIA FILIP OLBRICH
(1867 Opava – 1908 Düsseldorf - Germany)
Architect, Applied Art Designer, Painter
Josef Maria Filip Olbrich was born into the family of a miller and was brought to art
only by sheer coincidence. He did not complete his secondary school studies but started
work for a building company in Opava where his talent was spotted. Olbrich was offered the post of chief architect in the company. He completed studies at the State
Technical College in Vienna and then went on to complete a course in architecture at
the Academy in Vienna.
The end of the 19th century was the era of Art Nouveau. Young Olbrich was in favour
of this emerging trend of utilising new construction methods and materials. His views
on architecture were shaped by Otto Wagner, in the atelier of whom Olbrich worked
after the graduation and also by study trips to Italy, England, France, Germany and
North Africa.
In 1897 Olbrich, together with Josef Hoffmann and Jan Kotěra, founded the group of
Vienna Art Nouveau. They manifested their opinions on architecture in the Art Nouveau
Pavilion in Vienna - the construction of which Olbrich supervised (1898 – 1899).
Other architectural projects by Olbrich are no longer connected with Vienna but with
Darmstadt in Germany. Olbrich created projects of many villas and the Wedding Tower
with an exhibition hall (1905 – 1908).
1
He designed plans for the reconstruction of his parental home in his native Opava at 17
Ratibořská Street. The building was demolished in 1958.
2
Photo:
1. The Art Nuevo Pavillion in Vienna
2. Christiansen, Darmstadt
33
F R A N T I Š E K PA L A C K Ý
FRANTIŠEK PALACKÝ
(1798 Hodslavice, District of Nový Jičín – 1876 Prague)
Historian, Politician, Philosopher
1
2
František Palacký did not gain a university degree, he only attended the Evangelical Ly
ceum in Bratislava for five years. As a student, he supported himself by being a tutor for
noble families. In 1823 he moved to Prague where he visited archives and used to meet
with Josef Jungmann and Josef Dobrovský. He was an archivist for Count Šternberk’s
Family and later a historiographer for the Kingdom of Bohemia. He played an important role in establishing The League for the Advancement of the Czech Nation and The
Archive of the Czech Lands and, in addition in 1868, he also participated in laying the
foundation stone for the National Theatre.
‘The History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia’ in five volumes constitutes
his lifetime work. During the task lasting over 46 years he visited 70 European archives
and worked with records in German, Latin, Hungarian, Russian, English, French, Italian,
Spanish and Portuguese.
During the revolutionary years of 1848 – 1849 he held the posts of National Commi
ttee Member, MP for the Constitutional Assembly and Chair of the Slavonic Assembly.
Palacký supported the policy that the Austrian Empire should be maintained provided
that principles of Austro-Slavism will be applied.
To celebrate the 100th jubilee of his birth, a plaque was placed in Palacký’s parental
home in Hodslavice in 1898. A museum was opened there 70 years later and a Palacký
memorial unveiled at the nearby square.
FRANTIŠEK PALACKÝ MEMORIAL IN HODSLAVICE
Address: Hodslavice 108
742 71 Hodslavice
Phone: +420 556 705 555
3
34
Photo:
1. Čech, the Patriot of the Czech Nation on Říp Mountain, illustration from the History
of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia
2. Hodslavice – parental home
3. F. Palacký Memorial
J O H A N N PA L I S A
JOHANN PALISA
(1848 Opava – 1925 Vienna)
Astronomer, Discoverer
Johann Palisa chose to study mathematics and astronomy at Vienna University. During
a practical course at the observatory in Vienna he already drew attention to his skills
and, at the age of 23, took up a post in Geneva, Switzerland. Following this, he accepted the position of Director of the Marine Observatory in Croatian Pula where he had
excellent conditions to pursue his first discoveries.
At the beginning of the 1880s he participated in a French expedition to the Karolina
atoll in the Atlantic Ocean where he observed the eclipse of the Sun and he refuted the
existence of planets between the Mercury and the Sun as was presumed at the time.
Despite many exciting work offers following his return, he decided to return to Vienna
which had a brand new observatory and excellent research conditions.
Palisa discovered 121 asteroids and comet 1879V and named one of the asteroids
after his native town of Opava. Further he built a chronodeik, a device for telling the
time, and he was also a pioneer in the use of time zones. He campaigned for the permanent implementation of summer time; this time shift was adopted only temporarily
during WWI. Nowadays, astronomers still use Palisa’s Lexicon of Stars and Catalogue
of 1,238 stars.
1
Palisa’s parental home, with a commemorative plaque, is located in Horní náměstí
square in Opava. Further, the planetarium and observatory in Ostrava were named
after this scientist.
J. PALISA OBSERVATORY AND PLANETARIUM
Address: VŠB - Technická univerzita Ostrava
Tř. 17. listopadu 15,
708 33 Ostrava - Poruba
Phone: +420 596 911 005, +420 596 911 007
E-mail: http://planetarium.vsb.cz/
Photo:
1. J. Palisa Observatory and Planetarium in Ostrava – Poruba
2. Vienna Observatory
3. Pula Observatory
2
3
35
O TA K A R PA Ř Í K
OTAKAR PAŘÍK
(1901 Frýdek–Místek – 1955 Ostrava)
Conductor, Pianist
1
2
36
Otakar Pařík studied piano at the German Academy of Music where his teacher was
C. Ansorge whilst, at the same time, studying organ at the Prague Conservatoire under B. A. Wiedermann. As young as 20 he was already a member of the Czech Trio
(together with B. Šik and O. Jiroušek) and he accompanied the prominent soloists Jan
Kubelík and Emma Destinnová.
Between 1937 and 1945 he acted as the first bandmaster of the Big Radio Orchestra
in Prague. After the war, he was appointed the head of the Film Symphonic Orchestra
and, on 3rd May 1954, he also conducted the first public performance of the newly
established Ostrava Symphonic Orchestra. He was the Artistic Manager of the orchestra
between 1954 and 1955. He preferred symphonic compositions by Bedřich Smetana,
Antonín Dvořák and Josef Suk.
He recorded music for about 60 films, for instance ‘Siren’ by E. F. Burian, ‘Špalíček’ and
‘Princ Bajaja’ directed by Trojan.
His birth certificate states that he lived at house 1 in the square in Místek. The houses
in Místek have been re-numbered and therefore it is difficult to establish which of the
houses it was.
Photo:
1. Janáček Music Lassko 1955
2. Otakar Pařík’s birth certificate
ALBÍN POLÁŠEK
ALBÍN POLÁŠEK
(1897 Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, District of Nový Jičín
– 1965 Florida, USA)
Sculptor and Painter
Young Albín Polášek was an apprentice in several workshops and trained to be an upholsterer, weaver and saddler. In 1901 he emmigrated to the USA. He worked in an altar
manufacturing company and saved up enough to be able to start a course in sculpting
at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Thanks to his talent, he was
awarded a three year scholarship at the American Academy in Rome.
In 1916 he was appointed as head of a sculpting studio in the Art Institute in Chicago. He
returned to his home country in the 1930s. In 1949 he relocated to Florida permanently.
A year later he suffered a stroke and was paralysed in one half of his body until his death.
His Florida studio is home to the Polášek gallery, sponsored by his fund.
Polášek’s work is influenced by classicism but also exhibits tendencies towards realism
and symbolism. His statues of ‘Radegast’ on Pustevny, ‘Cyril and Metoděj’ on Radhošť ,
and ‘Ondráš’ on Lysá hora became symbols of the Beskydy Mountains. Czech ex-patriots living in America funded these statues.
The sculptural group ‘The Prehistoric Fight’ and a statue named ‘The Architect of his own
Fortune’ are located in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm. Other pieces of Polášek’s work ‘The Stations
of the Cross’ and the sculpture of ‘Suffering’ are placed in the church of St. Jan Křtitel
Polášek was also the designer of the President Wilson memorial which was destroyed by
the Nazis and originally located in front of the Main Station in Prague. His statue of T. G.
Masaryk in Chicago is also well known.
Photo:
1. A. Polášek in his studio
2. Radegast statue on Pustevny
3. Polášek’s self-portrait
3
1
2
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H E L E N A S A L I C H O VÁ
HELENA SALICHOVÁ
(1895 Kyjovice, District of Opava
– 1975 Polanka nad Odrou, District of Ostrava)
Painter, Graphic Artist, Folk Heritage Collector, Writer
1
Helena Salichová taught at a local school in Klimkovice during WWI. In 1919 she went
to Prague to study at the Academy of Fine Arts and became the very first Silesian student
of this prestigious school of art. After graduating, she settled permanently in Polanka nad
Odrou fully concentrating on collecting folk heritage, writing and graphic art.
She did not only collect Silesian stories but also songs of which she obtained almost
fifteen hundred. Leoš Janáček adapted ten of them and the collection is named ‘the
‘Silesian Songs from Helena Salichová Collection’. In 1947 Salichová wrote the chronicle
‘From the Old Times’ in a dialect that is currently almost unknown.
After the WWII, she created a cycle of lithographs called ‘Constructing Silesia’ which
became a manifesto for the reconstruction programme of Polanka and the nearby vi
llages destroyed by war. She also initiated a programme of so called ‘god-parenting’
where the godparent for Polanka was the town of Tábor and Prague was the godparent
for Klimkovice.
Her tomb, designed by academic sculptor Miroslav Rybička, is located in Polanka cemetery. The house where she lived bears a plaque. The Helena Salichová Hall was established in the local museum in Klimkovice where her work is on permanent display.
MUSEUM KLIMKOVICE
2
Address: Lidická 1, Klimkovice, budova zámku
Phone: +420 737 933 758
www.mesto-klimkovice.cz
3
Photo:
1. H. Salichová in her studio
2. H. Salichová’s grave
3. Klimkovice Museum
38
O TA K A R S C H I N D L E R
OTAKAR SCHINDLER
(1923 Stará Plesná – a City District of Ostrava
– 1998 Berlin)
Painter and Stage Designer
Otakar Schindler drew attention to his abilities soon after the war when he established an amateur drama company called ‘Kytice’ in Ostrava. In 1955 the company, now
a professional ensemble, changed its name to the ‘Petr Bezruč Theatre’. When in 1959
a group of graduates from Prague Academy of Dramatic Arts with director Jan Kačer
came to Ostrava, Schindler’s skills went from strength to strength and he was frequently
hired as a stage designer in theatres in Ostrava, Prague, Brno, Liberec, Cheb, and Plzeň.
In 1957 he moved to the Realistic Theatre in Prague where he made a successful team
together with director Luboš Pistorius.
He created amazing surrealistic collages in his stage designs and costumes in which he
utilised fragments of surplus objects which he found in skips or in theatre prop storerooms. This was his way of connecting theatre with reality.
Some of the most famous plays for which he designed the sets and costumes were
‘Hiding on the Stairs’ by Nezval (staged in the Petr Bezruč Theatre in Ostrava in 1964
and directed by Kačer), Chekhov’s ‘Seagull’ (The Drama Club Prague, 1975, Kačer) and
Giraudoux’s ‘Ondina’ (The Reality Theatre, Prague, 1982, directed by Pistorius).
From 1968 he helped to create more than 50 productions of plays for television, 15
stage designs for puppet theatres, and had exhibitions in many European countries. He
did not only enjoy creating stage sets but also painting.
1
2
The gamekeeper’s lodge no. 87/91, where Otakar Schindler was born, has been preserved in Stará Plesná.
Photo:
1. Parental home in Stará Plesná
2. Portrait of Eva (1983)
3. Israel Impressions: Olivet Mountain (1995)
3
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KARL SCHINZEL
KARL SCHINZEL
(1886 Edrovice – part of Rýmařov – 1951 Vienna)
Inventor of Photographic Development Processes
1
2
All that Karl Schinzel’s father wished was that his son should be a merchant. Karl,
however, was not happy with this profession and therefore attended evening classes
at a secondary school and later became an exclusive student at the Technical University
in Vienna. As young as 19, he published information on the three-layers of material
required for colour photography which was named catachromy. His inventions in this
field were so remarkable that KODAK representatives contacted him with an offer of
co-operation. Another of Schinzel’s successes was to discover a faster way of developing film using the application of gradual spectral light. He called this improved process
KODAKCHROM.
He created 250 patented inventions in the course of his life. Apart from progressing
colour photography he also helped to move forward the development of film sound,
printing technology and X-rays. During WWII he worked in Berlin for Weiss-Ikon and
after the war he returned to Vienna.
In 1996 the Museum in Opava organised a symposium on colour photography to commemorate Schinzel’s 80th birthday and a numismatic association issued a commemorative coin for the occasion. The village of Edrovice values its world-wide known native
and has placed a plaque on Schinzel’s parental home in Fučíkova Street.
Photo:
1. Parental house
2. The plaque on the parental house
40
Š L A P E TA B R O T H E R S
ČESTMÍR ŠLAPETA
(1908 Frýdek-Místek – 1983 Olomouc)
LUBOMÍR
ŠLAPETA
(1908 Frýdek-Místek – 1999 Munich)
Architects and Construction Designers
It is not usual for twins to enter the same profession. The Šlapeta brothers passed
their school leaving exams at the Civil Engineering College in Brno and then studied
at the State Art Academy in Wroclaw. They travelled together to France and the USA
between 1930 and 1931. They opened an architect’s studio in Ostrava and following
this a branch office in Prague. In 1936 Lubomír decided to go it alone and relocated
to Olomouc.
The brothers created projects for villas, schools and theatres. The authorities prevented
them from working after 1948. Čestmír solved this problem by emigrating to Germany. Lubomír aimed at the refurbishment of Roman-Catholic churches after 1972.
His projects were connected with the directives of the 2nd Vatican Council that decided that priests should face the congregation during a Mass. In compliance with this,
Lubomír reconstructed more than 50 Moravian and Silesian altars. St. Mikuláš Church
in Tichá near Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (1967 – 1976) which was designed by Lubomír
Šlapeta was unique at the time when the project was created.
The Šlapeta Brothers belonged to the most significant architects of the era between
WWI and WWII thanks to whom high standards of architectural projects started to appear even in the North Moravia. It is a great pity that many of their projects were never
implemented and only remained in the planning stage.
1
Two villas designed by the Šlapeta Brothers are located in the Silesian part of Ostrava. The
first of them is located in Čedičová Street and the second in Bukovanského Street.
2
Photo:
1. The villa of Eduard Liska, JUDr., in Čedičová Street
2. The house of Mr and Mrs Urbánek in Bukovanského Street
41
I G N Á C Š U S TA L A
IGNÁC ŠUSTALA
(1822 Kopřivnice, district of Nový Jičín – 1891 Vienna)
Entrepreneur, Founder of the Future TATRA KOPŘIVNICE
1
In 1836 Ignác Šustala began an apprenticeship in the Jan Kudlík manufacturing plant
in Koloredov near Místek where horse-drawn means of transport were made. It was
a sheer coincidence that after his studies he started work for the company of the imperial and royal coach supplier Philip Koller where he worked his way up and in 1850 he
started his own business manufacturing coaches and barouches in Kopřivnice.
His workshop was first located in his brother’s barn in Fojtství. Gradually he expanded
his production and eventually became a factory owner who, from 1881, manufactured
also railway carriages.
The turning point for his enterprise came in the beginning of 1890s when a representative of the Vienna bankers David von Gutmann advised him to change his factory into
a share-hold company.
Šustala was unable to accept the fact that the company would be managed by people
who were not founders and who did not understand the production techniques. He unexpectedly died of heart failure and did not live to see the moment when the company
changed its name to Tatra at the beginning of 1920s. Tatra became one of the most
famous car manufacturers in Bohemia and, in 1897, produced the ‘Präsident’ which
was the first automobile in Central Europe.
Ignác Šustala is commemorated in an exhibition at the Fojtství Museum
where there is a plaque in honour of this famous son.
THE FOJTSTVÍ MUSEUM
(The Permanent Exhibition
in Honour of Ignác Šustala)
Address: Záhumenní 1
742 21 Kopřivnice
Phone: +420 556 812 610
E-mail: regmuko@tatramuseum.cz
www.tatramuseum.cz
2
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The Regional Museum
in Kopřivnice
Phone: +420556 871 106
www.tatramuseum.cz
Photo:
1. Commemorative plaque on the building of the Fojtství Museum
2. The Präsident
FRANTIŠEK TOMÁŠEK
FRANTIŠEK TOMÁŠEK
(1899 Studénka, District of Nový Jičín – 1992 Prague)
Clergyman, Cardinal
František Tomášek suffered from a serious lung condition but, despite doctors warnings, he studied at the Theological Faculty in Olomouc and was ordained as a priest in
1922. In 1938 he completed a PhD. in theology. He lectured at the university until 17th
November 1939 when the Nazis closed down the Czech universities. He returned to
university as an emeritus professor of pedagogy and catechetics after the war.
From 1949, when he was appointed as the Archbishop of Olomouc, the totalitarian
leaders became uncomfortable with his presence. He continued in his university work
until 30th June 1950; he was arrested a year later and held prisoner in the Želiv detention and forced labour camp for four years.
In 1965 he was appointed as the Apostle Administrator of the Prague Archdioceses,
in 1976 as the cardinal and consequently the Archbishop of Prague. He performed his
duties in this post until 27th March 1992 when he resigned his position due to his age
and ill health.
František Tomášek contributed to the development of Christianity under the communist
regime. In 1989 he led a pilgrimage of believers from Czechoslovakia to Rome to be
present at the canonisation of Anežka of Bohemia. He was also actively supporting the
Velvet Revolution.
Studénka is very proud of its son and commemorates Tomášek with a plaque on his
parental house which is now home to a local school named in his honour.
1
2
Photo:
1. Cardinal F. Tomášek
2. The plaque
43
V L A D I S L AV VA N Č U R A
VLADISLAV VANČURA
(1891 Háj u Opavy – 1942 Prague)
Writer, Playwright, Film Director and Script Writer
1
2
Although Vladislav Vančura graduated from Medical School, he devoted his life mainly
to literature and film. He wrote lyrical prose ‘The Amazonian Stream’, ‘The Tall, The
Fat and the Brightsighted, and novels such as ‘Jan Marhoul, the Baker’and ‘Fields for
Ploughing, Fields of War’. He was interested in love and anti-war topics which is reflected in ‘Escaping to Buda’ and history which resulted in ‘Markéta Lazarová’. Also, his
book of children stories ‘Kubula and Kuba Kubikula’ is well known. Vančura’s literary
work climaxed with the three volumes of ‘Scenes of Czech History’ which covered the
period of our history until the last generation of the Premyslids. Many of his books were
adapted for the screen. Films such as ‘Markéta Lazarová’ (from 1967 directed by Vláčil)
and ‘The Capricious Summer’ (from 1968 directed by Menzel) belong to the golden
fund of Czech cinematography.
Vančura was also active as a film director with films such as ‘Before the Exams’ (1932) and
‘Unfaithful Marijka’ (1934) and as a playwright in ‘Teacher and Pupil’ and ‘The Ill Girl’.
The last of his plays ‘Josephina’ only had its premiere after the author’s death in 1947.
Vančura was arrested and executed following the assassination of Heydrich in 1942.
He was awarded the title of the National Artist in memoriam for his life-long work. The
President of the Republic awarded him in memoriam the White Lion Order for Victory
and the Czechoslovak War Cross.
There is a Vančura memorial created by architect Jindřich Czeniek in his native village of
Háj u Opavy. The village also named Vančura an honourable citizen in 1995.
3
Photo:
1. The Vančura Memorial in Háj u Opavy
2. Vančura’s villa in Prague
3. Picture from the film Capricious Summer
44
JOSEF VEŘMIŘOVSKÝ
JOSEF VEŘMIŘOVSKÝ
(1896 Kopřivnice, District of Nový Jičín
Racing Car Driver
Josef Veřmiřovský devoted his life to cars and especially to those made in his home
factory Tatra - Kopřivnice. He started work there immediately after he completed apprenticeship and, in 1925, became a Tatra demonstrator driver.
Five years prior to this he participated in the ‘Information Ride Around the Republic’ organised by the Czech Car Club. He also gained fame due to the Ecce Hommo car race and
drew attention to his skills from the very first year of the race. He won the race several
times competing not only with two-cylinder engine cars but also with four-cylinders.
In the course of the 1920s and 1930s his name was recognised not only in our country
but also abroad. Veřmiřovský took part in a 5,300km long race from Leningrad – Moscow – Charkiv – Rostov – Vladikavkaz – Tbilisi and back and won two first prizes for
Tatra: for vehicle durability and for fuel economy.
Apart from being an excellent racer he also collected and archived documents and
photographs relating to Tatra. Veřmiřovský was a co-founder of the Tatra Museum in
Kopřivnice and rescued many valuable historical vehicles for the museum’s collection.
Although Veřmiřovský’s parental house has not been preserved in Kopřivnice, there is
a large display about his achievements in the Regional Museum.
The Kopřivnice Regional Museum
Phone: +420 556 871 106
www.tatramuseum.cz
Photo:
1. The Nesselsdorf
1
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FRANTIŠEK VLÁČIL
FRANTIŠEK VLÁČIL
(1924 Český Těšín – 1999 Prague)
Film Director, Painter, Graphic Artist
1
2
František Vláčil was interested in film directing from being a student of aesthetics and
art at the University of Brno. He made his first films in the 1950s in the Čs. armády Film
Studio. ‘The Dove’ shot in 1960 was his debut at the Barrandov Film Studios. In ‘The
Dove’ Vláčil considerably limited dialogues and opened space to pictures. He also applied the same technique based on his art education and an unusual understanding of
psychology of film characters in his later films.
He was frequently inspired by Czech history as can be shown in films ‘Devil’s Trap’
working with the theme of non-Catholic persecution after the Bílá Hora defeat or the
film adaptation of Vančura’s ‘Markéta Lazarová’ (1965 – 1967) which, at the time, was
considered to be one of the best films ever shot in the history of world cinematography.
Vláčil enjoyed working with novel and script writer Vladimír Körner. Their work is characterised by themes of the human desire of freedom which is reflected in films such as
‘The Valley of Bees’ and ‘Adelheid’.
Vláčil also directed outstanding films such as ‘The Smoke of Potato Tops’ and ‘The
Shadows of the Hot Summer’ together with the biographic film of Antonín Dvořák
‘Concert at the End of Summer’. František Vláčil was awarded the Czech Lion Prize for
his contribution to cinematography in 1995.
The town of Český Těšín regularly commemorates František Vláčil by organising exhibitions and film performances. Unfortunately, there are no details on his parental house.
3
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Photo:
1. F. Vláčil - shooting a film
2. Exhibition on F. Vláčil
3. Petr Čepek in ‘Adelheid’
VILÉM WŰNSCHE
VILÉM WŰNSCHE
(1900 Šenov, District of Frýdek-Místek
Academic Painter
Vilém Wünsche worked in a mine until the age of twenty one. In 1922 he was awarded
a place at the School of Applied Arts in Prague where he studied under the guidance of
Professor Arnošt Hofbauer. He further expanded his knowledge and skills at the Academy of Arts where his teachers were Josef Loukota, Jakub Obrovský and Max Švabinský.
Thanks to Švabinský, Vilém Wünsche was awarded a scholarship and went to study in
František Kupka’s Paris studio in 1928.
After he completed his studies, he returned to Šenov permanently. The prevailing
themes of his paintings were landscapes and villages. His painting techniques were
considerably influenced by the ‘Barbison School’ which he became familiar with during
his stay in France. Later in his life, the themes of his painting changed to the everyday
reality of a miner’s life where his technique was influenced by the Dutch genre painting
of the 17th century and Honoré Daumier’s paintings. He presented themes
of working and resting miners using a prominent space contour and limited
colour range.
At the beginning of the war he was imprisoned in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp which inspired many of his paintings of outstanding expressivity.
Wünsche was awarded many prizes and a year before he died he received
the title of National Artist.
1
Vilém Wünsche’s parental house is located at no 306 Obecní Street in Šenov
and bears a plaque commemorating the work and life of the artist.
2
Photo:
1. Church in Šenov (1931)
2. Going to Work (1934)
47
ADOLF ZÁBRANSKÝ
ADOLF ZÁBRANSKÝ
(1909 Rybí, District of Nový Jičín – 1981 Prague)
Painter, Graphic Artist, Illustrator
1
Adolf Zábranský studied at the Academy of Applied Design under the guidance of
František Kysela and the Academy of Arts in Vilém Nowak’s studio. He joined the
Mánes group of fine artists in 1943 and 6 years later also the Union of Czechoslovak
Fine Artists.
Zábranský was a distinguished painter, newspaper illustrator and poster designer. His
graphic drawings in the Hrzán Palace and Ledebur Garden in Prague are well known.
He was most appreciated for his book illustrations. He always attempted to achieve the
optimum link between the text and illustrations of a book. As an example, he illustrated
Olbracht’s ‘From the Old Chronicles’ (1952) in which he was inspired by Mikoláš Aleš,
Baar’s ‘Hanýžka and Martínek’ (1939) and ‘The Nation’s Favourite Stories’ by Beneš
Třebízský (1941).
He was awarded the titles of Renowned Artist in 1959 and National Artist in 1970. His
illustrations brought him an international recognition which was proven by the Hans
Christian Andersen Award from 1972. In 1974 he was awarded a prize from the Albatros
Publishing House and the IBBY* European Prize two years later.
*) The International Board on Books for Young People
2
48
Photo:
1. Illustrations from the book The Golden Gate from 1963
2. The House on the Hill (from about 1940)
E M I L Z ÁT O P E K
E M I L Z ÁT O P E K
(1922 Kopřivnice, District of Nový Jičín – 2000 Prague,
buried at the Moravian Walachia Slavín in Rožnov pod
Radhoštěm); Sportsman, Several Times Olympic Winner
Emil Zátopek was a four times Olympic winner, eighteen times world record holder and
the best world sportsman in 1949, 1951 and 1952 who achieved his success in the category of long-distance running in 5,000m, 10,000m and the marathon. In 1954 he beat
the world record by completing the distance of 5,000m in 13:57.2 and was the first
Czechoslovak athlete to get under the 14 minute time limit. He was the first Czech to
run 10,000m under 30 minutes in 1948 and six years later he was the first person on the
planet to get to the finishing line of the 10,000m race in less than 29 minutes (28:54.2).
He achieved his biggest successes at the Olympic Games in London (1948) and Helsinki
(1952). In London, he won a gold medal in the 10,000m and silver in the 5,000m races.
His triumphs in Finland were a gold medal in the 10,000m, 5,000m and the marathon
in which he competed for the first time in his life! His wife, Dana, also achieved a gold
medal in the javelin at these Olympic Games.
In 1948 Zátopek was awarded the Guth-Jarkovský Prize and, following this, the UNESCO
Fair Play Award Paris ’75. In 1999, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the
founding of the Czech Olympic Committee, he was awarded the title of the Olympic
Competitor of the Century. Further, he was awarded in memoriam the Pierre de Coubertin Medal and the Golden Order for his achievements in athletics.
1
2
The Zátopek memorial was unveiled in front of the Technical Museum of Tatra Kopřivnice
in 2002. There is a hall of fame dedicated to both him and his wife in the museum. A bust
of Zátopek was also unveiled in the Vítkovice Sports Stadium in Ostrava in 2003.
THE TECHNICAL MUSEUM IN KOPŘIVNICE
Phone: +420 556 871 106
E-mail: regmuko@tatramuseum.cz
www.tatramuseum.cz
Photo:
1. Zátopek Memorial in front of the Regional Museum in Kopřivnice
2. Mr. and Mrs. Zátopek
49
V I L É M Z ÁVA D A
VILÉM ZÁVADA
Poet, Publicist, Translator, Librarian
1
2
Vilém Závada’s relation to literature was considerably influenced by his secondary school
teacher Vojtěch Martínek. Závada’s first collection of poems was ‘Memorial Ceremony’
from 1927 which showed strong inspiration from the poetry of Petr Bezruč. The topic
of the poems was the comparison between the industrial Ostrava region and the countryside of the Beskydy Mountains.
The following collection ‘Siren’ was full of tragic feelings and desperation; ‘Going on
Foot’ was affected by war events. Another collection, ‘The City of Light’ in which the
author responded to the events of 1948 was rather tendentious. The trilogy ‘One Life’,
‘On the Thresh’ and ‘Life, Thank You’ is considered as the poet’s autobiography and
a record of his memories. In the 1950s he wrote children’s poetry which was published
in collections ‘I Love My Mum’ and ‘I Will Start a Nursery’.
Závada’s effort was also focused towards literature and translations. He prepared anthologies of works by leading Czech poets such as Machar, Dyk, Čech, and Neruda.
He edited journals: ‘The Aventinum Debates’ and ‘The Journal for Art and Critics’. In
the 1930s he was employed as a librarian in the National University Library and was
appointed as its director in 1948. He was active in the Union of Czechoslovak Writers
where he led the section of new authors. Závada was awarded the National Artist title
in 1966. His poetry was translated into many languages.
The house where Vilém Závada was born and in which his family lives to present days is
located at no. 29 Palkovská Street in Ostrava–Hrabová.
3
50
Photo:
1. V. Závada and his family.
2. The Parental House
3. Poems – V. Závada
IVO ŽÍDEK
IVO ŽÍDEK
(1926 Kravaře, District of Opava – 2003 Prague)
Opera Singer
Ivo Žídek studied singing under Professor Vašek’s guidance from 1945; his teacher of
the theory of music was Josef Schreibr. He performed undercontract in the Ostrava
Opera from the age of 19 and stayed there until 1948 when he went to the National
Theatre in Prague. Žídek’s lyrical tenor ensured that he was in great demand and was
often invited to perform at the State Opera in Vienna and on opera stages in Stuttgart
and Berlin.
He sang in operas by Dvořák, Smetana, and Fibich but also parts of Ríša in Kvapil’s ‘May
Fairytale’, and Plaváček in Karel’s ‘Three Strands of Hair of the Wise Old Man’.
Ivo Žídek used to introduce music by B. Vomáčka, A. Šatra and J. Vřešťák to the Prague
Spring Music Festival. He used to perform at Austrian and Dutch music festivals frequently where he was very popular. He released many records including several complete opera works. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989 Žídek was appointed as the
Director of the National Theatre in Prague and remained in the post where he could
utilise his life-long experience until 1991.
1
Moravia has never forgotten this famous son. In the middle of the 1990s Ivo Žídek
became an Honorary Citizen of Kravaře. His parental house in Alejní Street where
Žídek and his parents lived until he was 12, when they left Kravaře, was converted
into a nursing home.
Photo:
1. Ivo Žídek – in opera by C. Debussy
2. Ivo Žídek in the part of Hoffmann in J. Offenbach’s opera
2
51
BIBLIOGRAPHY
B ibliography :
Biografický slovník severní Moravy a Slezska
- sešit 1., Ostrava 1993
Nová encyklopedie českého výtvarného umění, kol. autorů, Praha 1995
Kdo byl kdo v našich dějinách ve 20. století, Churaň a kol., Praha 1998
Kdo byl kdo – naši olympionici, Praha 1999
Slovník českých filosofů, kol. autorů, Praha 1993
Slovník českých spisovatelů, kol. autorů, Praha 2000
Český biografický slovník XX. století, Paseka 1999
Biografický slovník širšího Ostravska, díl 4., Opava 1981
Klíč k rodným chaloupkám, Kovařík, Praha 2004
Dějiny Ostravy, Jiřík a kol., Ostrava 1993
Forma sleduje vědu, Teige, Gillar a evropský vědecký funkcionalismus 1922 - 1948
52

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