2025 Travel Diary

January 4, 2026 by Tracy's Travels

Horšovský Týn Castle and Chateau, Gothic chapel

This past year marked more day trips, some with friends and others with travel agencies. Of course, chateaus were high on my list, so I will start with those.

Bečov nad Teplou Castle and Chateau, Reliquary of Saint Maurus

At Bečov nad Teplou Castle and Chateau, the group admired the reliquary of Saint Maurus, one of the most precious objects in the country. The remarkable Romanesque artifact contained the remains of saints and hailed from 1225 to 1230. Its exterior featured 12 reliefs, 14 statuettes in silver, about 200 semi-precious and precious stones, gems and other masterful goldsmith works. During World War II it was hidden under the chapel floor. The reliquary was only discovered again in the 1980s. For a long time its location was a mindboggling mystery.

Stránov Chateau

Stránov Chateau

With my best friend I visited Stránov Chateau for the first time. The Neo-Renaissance wonder featured a Gothic tower and splendid arcades in a courtyard punctuated by a beautiful fountain. The Šimonek family had lived there during the First Republic, which was the chateau’s heyday, as well as in later years, until the Communists kicked them out during 1950. They were forced to leave with only several suitcases. While there wasn’t much original furniture, the descendants had commissioned interiors that resembled those from the First Republic’s days of democratic Czechoslovakia. Seeing the chateau for the first time was exciting, to say the least.

Krásný Dvůr Chateau

Krásný Dvůr Chateau, interior

The luxury of the 18^th and 19^th century nobility was evident at Krásný Dvůr Chateau, partially under reconstruction when we were there on this occasion. The exquisite furnishings from 18^th and 19^th century periods punctuated the visit. Unique historic portraits of dogs and horses caught my attention as the horses were rendered without tails, for instance. The Meissen porcelain, gilded clocks, ancient jewel chests, decorative wall painting and various intriguing canvases in the chateau gallery all exuded the grandeur of old times. Even the upholstery of the chairs was admirable. The Černín family had this chateau designed by well-known architect František Maxmilián Kaňka from 1720 to 1724. The Černín dynasty would hold onto the chateau until World War II.

Horšovský Týn Castle and Chateau, interior

Horšovský Týn Castle and Chateau, Gothic chapel, main altarpiece

Horšovský Týn Castle and Chateau offered numerous tours. This time I went with a travel agency on one tour; in the past I had been there with my best friend on both the castle and chateau main tours. Once again, I was most impressed with the early Gothic chapel, its stunning wall painting and magnificent altarpiece. The early Gothic arch welcoming visitors to the chapel was a splendid architectural specimen. I saw much intriguing furniture from the Renaissance. A cassette ceiling hailed from the 16^th century, and a superb tapestry dated from that century as well. Paintings from the Venetian School and splendid wall painting decorated another space. The Dancing Hall featured Rococo painting and a unique piano. In the Small Dining Room, I was surprised to see Edison light bulbs from 1906. The library included 15,000 volumes.

Doudleby Chateau

Doudleby Chateau

Doudleby Chateau

My good friend and I traveled with a travel agency to Častolovice and Doudleby chateaus, places to which I yearned to return for some years. Doudleby Chateau had undergone main reconstruction. It was stunning with its early Baroque wall and ceiling frescoes. Some were mythological, others religious and yet others symbolic. The lunettes of emblems with French writing were spectacular, too. I saw a parrot’s nest, flowers in a circle and a boat with a partially submerged oar, for instance. Finished in 1590, the chateau’s exterior includes unique sgraffito, open arcades and Tuscan columns. I was very impressed.

Elegant exterior of Častolovice Chateau

Častolovice Chateau exterior

The fantastic park at Častolovice Chateau

Častolovice hailed from the 13^th century and boasted an extensive English park, one of the most beautiful, in my opinion. Furnishings hailed from Renaissance, Baroque, Empire and Biedermeier periods. A Renaissance cassette ceiling dated back to 1600. In the vast Knights’ Hall, I admired paintings of 24 scenes from the Old Testament. The collection of portraits showing Czech rulers was extremely impressive, too. The Renaissance arcades and distinctive fountain plus aviaries outside were noteworthy as well. There was a small zoo, but I saw an irate turkey coming my way and decided not to pay admission. The park was punctuated by peacocks and other animals as well as ponds and fantastic flora, among other attributes.

Jaroměříce Chateau interior

Interior of Jaroměřice Chateau

Jaroměřice Chateau

With a travel agency I made a very memorable trip to Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou Chateau, the biggest Baroque chateau in the country. I hadn’t been there since the late 1990s. The Ancestors’ Hall amazed with a fabulous frescoed ceiling and masterfully carved wood paneling. The ceiling and wall painting in the Ballroom was just as exquisite. The Chinese Cabinet also made a great impression.

Church of Saint Markéta, Jaroměřice

Cupola of Church of Saint Markéta

Decoration on walls of Church of Saint Markéta

Yet that was not all there was to Jaroměřice. The town had much more to offer. Nearby was the Church of Saint Markéta, measuring 450 m2 with a splendid frescoed ceiling. Pictures of the Evangelists and Roman gods decorated the walls. The main altar, celebrating Saint Markéta and the creation of light, did not disappoint, either. Our guide even played for us the impressive historic organ.

Otakar Březina

Museum of Otakar Březina, art by František Bílek

Museum of Otakar Březina

The Museum of Otakar Březina was another highlight of Jaroměřice. Březina had been a poet who was in the running for the Nobel Prize eight times. In the apartment where Březina had lived from 1913 until his death in 1929, I saw not only editions of his many books and childhood photos but also fascinating works of art by his close friend František Bílek, whose villas I had visited in Prague and in south Bohemia. Březina had promoted democracy as he had developed steadfast friendships with Czech writer Karel Čapek and President of the First Republic Tomáš G. Masaryk.

Garden of Symbols, Museum of Otakar Březina

Garden at Museum of Otakar Březina

Garden outside Museum of Otakar Březina

The garden outside the home was unique and symbolic just like Březina’s poetry. Parts of the garden were dedicated to Karel Čapek, Bílek and the most influential owner of Jaroměřice Chateau, Jan Adam Questenberk. Many flowers, plants and small trees graced the well-kept garden. One section of this Garden of Symbols represented immortality because Březina had believed that death was not an end but rather a new beginning.

Museum of Otakar Březina

Garden of Museum of Otakar Březina

Yet there was more. We visited Březina’s grave, designed by Bílek, as well as an extensive garden center established in 1901. Karel Čapek had been a devoted customer during the 1920s and 1930s. I could imagine Čapek enthusiastically picking out plants as I perused all the interesting specimens and gazed at the cats who lounged around the center without disturbing the plants.

Museum of Otakar Březina, artwork by František Bílek

Museum of Otakar Březina, art by František Bílek

With a master’s degree in Czech literature, I was always enthusiastic to learn more about Czech writers, especially poets whose works I had never read. Březina’s writing was so complex and symbolic that I had always feared I would not understand it. Visiting writers’ museums was always a big thrill for me in any country but especially in the Czech Republic. It never failed to open up new worlds.

Radim Chateau, ceiling in main hall

Radim Chateau, dining room cabinet

Radim Chateau, historical globe

Another chateau that I visited for the first time was called Radim, not far from Prague. Built in 1610, it had served as a Renaissance countryside seat of nobles, and, while it did not contain many original furnishings, the owners had amassed a great deal of impressive artifacts from various periods, especially the Renaissance. Exquisite tapestries lined a hallway. I saw a Neo-Gothic throne and an altar in the same style, both masterfully carved. Renaissance furniture also was prominent. A decorated coffered ceiling from the early 17^th century and wall painting filled me with awe. The decorative main hall certainly did not disappoint.

Radim Chateau art gallery, painting of Kampa Island

Painting in Radim Chateau art gallery

Radim Chateau art gallery ceiling

What enamored me the most about this chateau was not the first floor interior, though, but the amazing art collection the owner had put together. The owner proudly showed me his impressive collection. I saw a hallway lined with landscapes, paintings of Kampa Island and the Charles Bridge as well as the Berounka river and the Pilsen countryside region. Landscape after landscape from various parts of the country amazed me. I gazed with awe at works by Otakar Nejedlý, Vlastimil Toman, Otto Stein, Vojtěch Hyněk Popelka and many others.

Religious art in Radim Chateau gallery

Russian icon, Radim Chateau art gallery

Yet that was not all the art to be seen. In another space there was a fascinating collection of religious works, including a copy of a Titian painting and a Russian icon. Visiting Radim Chateau was a double thrill for me – I loved the furnishings and painted ceilings as well as the art gallery. The entire chateau exuded charm and splendor.

Březnice Chateau interior

Březnice Chateau ceiling

I went back to Březnice Chateau, which I had not visited for some years. The Renaissance chateau from the 16^th century featured a former library with well-preserved ceiling and wall painting hailing from Renaissance days. The chateau showed off various styles – Renaissance, Baroque, Empire and Biedermeier. The Baroque chapel was stunning. The Renaissance dining room was full of historic grandeur. The armory was impressive, too.

Hluboká nad Vltavou Chateau exterior

One of my most favorites chateau was in Hluboká nad Vltavou, one of the most popular in the country, and I loved gazing at its masterful Neo-Gothic exterior. The wood-paneling with remarkable furnishings and the 57 tapestries from Brussels astounded. The library with 12,000 volumes and the armory were more than stunning. This chateau could never disappoint.

Domažlice Castle Museum, folk style wardrobe

Historical painting in Domažlice Castle Museum

I saw a castle museum in Domažlice, where I learned about the region. The other castle museum was in Kadaň, where there were displays of the history of the town and fortress-like edifice. In Domažlice the folk costumes of the area were prominently on display as were the beautiful ceramics notable for the region. Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV’s visit to Kadaň and the years the castle spent as a barracks as well as the dark Nazi period were elaborated upon during that tour.

Sculpture in Kadaň

Kadaň scenery

Yet there was more to Kadaň and Domažlice than merely their castles. We saw picturesque squares, churches, town halls, a monastery and much more in those towns. The path from the center of Kadaň to the castle was surrounded by lush flowers and plants as well as unique grotesque sandstone statues. The narrowest street in the country, Katova Street, is located in Kadaň. The monastery in Kadaň with its Gothic wall painting and other splendors was a real treat, too.

Town Hall in České Budějovice, main square

Sculpture in České Budějovice

Komerční Bank sculptural decoration

Another city sans chateau or castle that I visited was České Budějovice, one of the gems of south Bohemia for its unique and stunning architecture. Previously, I had only admired the vast main square of the city with its delightful Renaissance buildings and prominent town hall.

Former salt house in České Budějovice

Gothic wall painting in church in České Budějovice

Wall painting in church in České Budějovice

This time I saw the entire downtown area and soon learned that there was much more to the city than merely its picturesque square. The main church with Gothic (13^th century) and Baroque wall painting as well as a Neo-Gothic main altar was incredible. The former salt house’s unique roof was one to remember. A large bank’s sculptural decoration was more than impressive. Other buildings were architectural gems, too. Some boasted religious paintings on the exteriors. Narrow and romantic Panská Street was another highlight of the city. The architecture throughout the city was truly breathtaking.

Firetruck museum in Constantine Spa

We also visited a small enclave called Constantine Spa. On the charming small square was a claustrophobic museum of fire trucks hailing from 1900 to 1912. Each had one ladder, and they had once been driven by horses. While it was raining during our time in the spa town, we did see some beautiful greenery as we walked to a café with delicious desserts.

Votice Monastery, town museum, painting of region

Vladimír Kaska painting in Votice Monastery

Fresco on wall and ceiling of Votice Monastery

In addition to the monastery in Kadaň, I toured two other monasteries – Votice and Teplá. Displays narrated Votice’s turbulent history during Nazism and Communism. I admired the town museum at Votice monastery. Paintings of the town in decades past caught my undivided attention. The 17^th century frescoes on one wall and ceiling section at Votice were astounding. I also was amazed at the modern paintings of a local artist, Vladimír Kaska. His grotesque, playful, symbolic and colorful renditions delighted me. His works were so vibrant and dynamic. Discovering an artist whose works I did not know was one highlight of my trip there.

At Teplá Monastery

Teplá Monastery was founded in 1193, and King Václav I participated in the first mass. The Baroque church had been rebuilt in the 18^th century by a prestigious architect – Kryštof Dientzenhofer. Poignant wooden statues by Ignác Platzer stood out in the church as did astounding Baroque frescoes. The church, 62.5 meters long, also featured a Rococo altar decorated with Baroque paintings.

Teplá Monastery

Still, the library that contained about 100,000 volumes in Latin, German and Czech was for me the highlight of Teplá. The two floors of masterfully carved bookcases featured an elaborate balustrade. The fabulous fresco on the ceiling represented monks and angels celebrating with religious figures, including the Evangelists. The ceiling painting was so beautiful that it almost made me dizzy with delight.

Chovojen church

Medieval wall painting in Chovojen church

I also toured a small church in Chovojen, surrounded by fields and offering a view of nearby Konopiště Chateau. The Romanesque elements of the small church were noteworthy. The rare medieval frescoes amazed me. I even saw a painting showing the medieval solar system with the Earth at the center. So many amazing artifacts located in a small church filled me with awe.

Outside altar at Holy Mountain

Holy Mountain entrance

Another religious site that I toured with my best friend was Holy Mountain, which included a church featuring a pure silver altar and nine open chapels with spectacular biblical wall and ceiling painting. The unique attraction was breathtaking. I had been there many times, but showing it to my best friend was a highlight for me.

Sculpture in garden of Janoušek studio villa

Inspired by Japanese playing cards, created by Vladimír Janoušek

I was excited to discover the studio of the Janoušek couple, 20^th century artists whose workplace had been designed in the Brussels style of the 1950s and 1960s. They had used the architecturally unique studio from 1964 to 1986. In the garden stood several monumental sculptures, such as enormous figures in metal. During the tour I saw abstract sculpture from diverse periods of the artistic couple’s lives. Věra had made exquisite collages and tapestries as well as astounding sculptures of metal figures utilizing kitchen utensils and pans. Very colorful, these creations fascinated me. I had never seen anything like them.

Věra Janoušková sculpture made of kitchen utensils and pans

Věra Janoušková, tapestry

Vladimír’s work included a stunning large metal sculpture depicting the Fall of Icarus as well as a unique statue of Perseus. His combination of mythological themes and the abstract amazed me. I also was captivated by Vladimír’s creation of Japanese playing cards, so different from his monumental metal renditions. Various creations by both artists decorated shelves and showed how their styles had evolved. Panels on one wall showed photos of the two and their studio throughout the years and narrated the history of the couple’s accomplishments in a clear fashion. The studio was not without a charming library, either.

Sculpture in garden of Janoušek studio villa

I had never heard of the Janoušek artists before coming across an ad on the GoOut ticket site several months before my visit to the Smíchov house, mostly hidden from the street by garden greenery. Once again, I was excited to see an architectural wonder for the first time and learn about the couple’s unique abstract art.

Arnold Villa, reconstructed, in Brno

View from garden of Arnold Villa

Mahen Theatre in Brno

Another place I toured for the first time was the Arnold Villa in Brno, the capital of Moravia. Recently reconstructed, it hailed from 1862 and had been situated in the first colony of villas in Brno, very close to the famous Tugendhat Villa. While the original furnishings were long gone, the architect did a valiant job, including a film about the lives and times of the owners and a small collection of Jewish historical objects. Photos of the people who had lived there and in nearby villas gave the place a personal, intimate feel. While in Brno, I also toured the Mahen Theatre, the first electrified theatre in Europe. Its ceiling painting and exquisite chandelier astounded.

Kersko, sculptures of cats

My favorite restaurant, Hájenka Pivnice in Kersko

Ceramic cats made in Kersko shop I love

Of course, I visited Kersko with my best friend once again. It was one of our rituals. We ate at the rustic restaurant Hájenka, where a film based on one of Bohumil Hrabal’s books played in the background. The traditional Czech food was always delicious. We also bought coconut cookies – I hated coconut except for that in these cookies – at the local shop, which featured homemade ceramic cats inspired by legendary Czech writer Hrabal’s stray felines, revered and fed at his nearby cottage for so many decades. This wooded village brought me serenity in a poignant way that no place in Prague ever could. Hájenka was my favorite restaurant of all-time, and Kersko would always be a place close to my heart.

Interior at Přerov nad Labem architectural museum

Cottage in Přerov nad Labem museum

19th century schoolhouse in Přerov nad Labem museum

Přerov nad Labem, an open-air architectural museum, was another attraction to which I returned after many years. I admired the 18^th and 19^th century cottages and buildings with mannequins often dressed in the folk costumes of the eras. I loved folk style art – the furniture, ceramics and hand-painted glass as well as the clothing enamored me. It was hard to believe that so many people had lived in such small spaces. I also saw a one-room school where boys sat on one side, girls on the other. A shoemaker’s and a blacksmith’s were two other intriguing attractions.

Porcelain puppet theatre at Stránov Chateau

Medieval painting at church in České Budějovice

These travels took me to places I had treasured for years and to places I was visiting for the first time. I learned about Otakar Březina and the Janoušek artists. I marveled at the Neo-Gothic exterior and exquisite furnishings of Stránov Chateau for the first time. Votice Monastery was also new to me, and I learned much about its tragic history. I hadn’t been in Kadaň before 2025 and found the town charming with many sights. I finally saw the entire center area of České Budějovice and greatly appreciated its immense beauty. I thought I had known Brno well, but I was at the Arnold Villa and inside the Mahen Theatre for the first time in my life. The Church of Saint Markéta in Jaroměřice was for me another new attraction. There were so many firsts for me this past year. I was so grateful I had discovered Radim Chateau and Stránov. I also visited the Barberini Museum in Potsdam twice, which was a first for me, though I had been in Potsdam during 1992.

Hluboká nad Vltavou Chateau, exterior

18th century tiled stove in Březnice Chateau

Returning to so many places also brought me great comfort – Hluboká nad Vltavou, Krásný Dvůr, Březnice, Teplá, Jaroměřice Chateau, Holy Mountain, Chovojen, Kersko, Častolovice, Doudleby, Přerov nad Labem, Horšovský Týn, Kersko. While I only had time to go on day trips in 2025, I was astounded, as usual, by all the sights the Czech Republic has to offer as well as three one-day trips abroad, to museums in Potsdam and Vienna. After almost 30 years here, I was still discovering new places. Going on these trips made me realize that the world, though at times cruel and ruthless, is also full of wonder and delight.

Domažlice Castle Museum folk painting

Horšovský Týn Castle and Chateau chandelier

Garden center established in 1901, cat relaxing in basket near cash register

2025 Art Exhibitions Diary

January 2, 2026 by Tracy's Travels

Barberini Museum, Potsdam

During 2025 I visited many art exhibitions, and each one opened up a new world for me, giving me a new perspective on the time periods represented in the shows. I took two days trips abroad. I went to the Barberini Museum in Potsdam to see temporary exhibitions of works by Wassily Kandinsky and another of paintings by Camille Pissarro. I especially liked Kandinsky’s early works, in which color played such a symbolic role. Vasari, Stella and Mondrian were also represented.

Camille Pissarro, The Garden of Les Mathurins at Pontoise, 1876, Postcard from exhibition.

The Pissarro exhibition was close to my heart. I was overwhelmed by his landscapes, some punctuated by workers in the fields. His early Caribbean scenes and his renditions of Paris made significant impressions on me. His bold and vivacious colors amazed me and gave me a sense of serenity about the often chaotic and problematic world.

Claude Monet, Villas at Bordighera, 1884, Postcard

I loved the permanent exhibition at the Barberini with its vast Impressionist collection that included 40 works by Claude Monet, one of my favorite all-time artists. Most fascinating for me were Monet’s landscapes of Bordighera, Italy and his renditions of Venice. Paintings by Alfred Sisley and Auguste Renoir also captured my undivided attention. I was overwhelmed by the astounding Impressionist art in this museum. Seeing the permanent collection was a dream come true.

An early rendition of the palace in Potsdam

Potsdam City Museum, painting of the Third Reich era

Nearby was the Museum of the City of Potsdam, which I visited twice. I saw the developments of the city via paintings of villas, monuments and the luxurious palace from the glorious era of Frederick III. The furnishings and objects that accompanied each historical display were poignant. I especially was drawn to the exhibitions on the city during the Nazi and Communist eras.

Potsdam, Church of Saint Nicholas

Potsdam, interior of the Church of Saint Nicholas

I also visited Saint Nicholas’ Church across the square from the museum. Its colorful frescoes inside represented the Evangelists and Apostles. The exterior featured Corinthian columns, and the church stood 42 meters high. The reconstruction after World War II was laudable. In addition, I saw the Dutch section of Potsdam. It resembled a backdrop of a Vermeer painting.

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hunters in the Snow

Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, work by the Bassano family

At the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria I enjoyed the exhibition of works by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, the Bassano family and Giuseppe Arcimboldo along with some by the master of North Renaissance style Albrecht Durer. Bruegel the Elder is my all-time favorite (along with Monet) painter. I loved his landscapes, peasant scenes and religious works. His attention to detail was amazing as the many figures in his paintings were all engaged in various activities. The Kunsthistorisches Museum was known for their permanent collection of his Dutch Renaissance renditions. Arcimboldo, who worked for Habsburg emperors, was a significant painter in the 16^th century Italian Mannerist style. He is best known for his unique portrait heads made of objects, such as fruit, vegetables, flowers and fish. His works were the epitome of the grotesque, and nature was a recurrent theme in his paintings. The High Renaissance style was visible in his portrait heads, too.

Giuseppe Arcimboldo, portrait of a head

By Albrecht Durer during the German Renaissance

A prominent painter during the German Renaissance, Durer was a master at engravings, prints and watercolors, for instance. I loved his still lifes of nature as well as his portrayal of praying hands.

Kunstkammer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Kunstkammer, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

I also gazed at the artifacts in the permanent exhibitions – Egyptian and near Eastern art, Greek and Roman antiquities and masterpieces of European painting, such as those by Vermeer and Rembrandt. The Kunstkammer world of curiosities focused on gold, silver and ivory objects as well as paintings, sculptures, scientific instruments and miniatures. The art showed off a variety of styles courtesy of the Habsburg rulers. I couldn’t resist a cappuccino in the museum’s restaurant, permeating with a sense of grandeur as well as elegance. The restaurant was a work of art in itself.

Ivana Bachová, 1995, Fairy Pools

Jiří Kars, French Landscape, 1910-1914

Back in Prague, I went to another exhibition of 19^th and 20^th century Czech art at the Kooperativa Gallery, an intimate space located in an office building. The landscapes enthralled me, especially the French landscape by Jiří Kars. Artists Otakar Lebeda, Amálie Mánesová and Vojtěch Preissig were just a few of the painters represented in the thrilling exhibition. Sculptures by Ladislav Janouch and Jaroslav Horejš also were on display.

Václav Špála, Mill at Otava, 1929

Jan Zrzavý, Madonna, 1930

Also at the Kooperativa during 2025 was a stunning exhibition of modern 20^th century art. Václav Špála’s brilliant blues caught my attention in his rendition of a mill at Otava from 1929. Jan Zrzavý’s elements of Primitivism awed me in his Madonna from 1930. Vincenc Beneš’ view of Kampa Island and Preissig’s rendition of a village also enthralled me.

Cosmas Chronicle

At the chapel in the Clementinum, I viewed various editions of the Cosmas Chronicle, one of the most important books in Czech history, These medieval manuscripts narrated stories about Czech rulers of Bohemia and Moravia, for example. It remains the most significant story of the Czechs told through a historical lens. The oldest, the Chronicle of Leipzig, hailed from the 12^th century while the Chronicle of Vienna dated from the 13^th century.

National Museum, 100 Treasures, 100 Stories exhibition of artifacts from Chinese emperors

The illustrated manuscripts enthralled me. Each one was unique and remarkable. I have always been fascinated by illustrated manuscripts. (One of the highlights of my visit to Dublin, in fact, was seeing the Book of Kells and the manuscripts at the Chester Beatty Library Museum.) With a master’s in Czech literature, I am very enamored by Czech medieval works and could stare at them for hours, if allowed.

National Museum, 100 Treasures, 100 Stories

I also made a trip to the National Museum on Wenceslas Square. I saw the “100 Treasures, 100 Stories” exhibition on artifacts from the dynasties of Chinese emperors. The paintings and figurines of cats were my favorite. I also loved the renditions of villas, the sea and scenes from daily life during the eras of the emperors. The objects with dragons and elephants also enthralled me.

Military Aviation Museum, Kbely, Postcard

A vast museum that I visited for the first time was the Military Aviation Museum in the Kbely district of Prague. I was fascinated by the contents of the five large hangars – the war planes, the show planes, the training planes, the passenger planes. There was so much to see from so many eras. I was most drawn to the planes and bicycles from World War I. It was so intriguing to see how aviation had developed in the military sphere ever since the first planes were designed. One of the most significant objects for me was the space capsule in which a Czech astronaut had returned to Earth during the 1970s. The American Douglas planes also were very noteworthy. The sleek modern military helicopters also gave me sense of awe.

Covers of the magazine Respekt, Pavel Reisenauer

Painting by Pavel Reisenauer

The Kampa Museum in Prague hosted amazing exhibitions this past year. I admired paintings, photos, drawings, illustrations and covers of the magazine Respekt as well as his art for Lidové noviny’s supplement Orientace by the late Pavel Reisenauer. His paintings captured so many themes, including the periphery of Prague, solitude and emptiness. His magazine covers prominently commented on political and societal topics of the well-reputed magazine.

Václav Špála, The roofs of Malá strana

Emil Filla painting

Kampa also showed off the permanent collection of a Pilsen art gallery with significant Cubist works, such as those by Bohumil Kubišta and Špála, who painted the roofs of Malá strana with such excellence. Kubišta’s colorful religious works played a prominent role in the exhibition. Sculpture by Otto Gutfreund, such as his tortured Hamlet, was not lost upon me, either. Because there are often temporary exhibitions at this Pilsen gallery, the permanent collection is not often on display. One floor was filled with mythological paintings and still lifes by the stellar artist Emil Filla. I saw monsters in his works representing the dangers of Nazism and other grotesque figures playing prominently in his renditions. I especially enjoyed seeing the characteristics of Fauvism in Filla’s works.

Caricatures from French magazines, created by František Kupka, made up another exhibition at Kampa Museum. The publications were printed at the end of the 19^th century and beginning of the 20^th century. Through grotesque images, such as those of monkeys, I came to understand better the political and societal tensions in France and in the world.

Salvidor Dali painting in Eye to Eye exhibition

Franz Kafka by Andy Warhol

Another exhibition that I admired at Kampa was the “Eye to Eye” show of works with motifs of eyes. I saw how the eye can symbolize the soul and be an open door to the internal world. Vision was sometimes portrayed as a religious miracle. I was so moved by the paintings at this exhibition. The portrait of a curious Franz Kafka by Andy Warhol was one of many that affected me. Two works by Salvidor Dali also held my attention. Czech artists such as Toyen, František Muzika and Antonín Hudeček were represented, too. Sculpture by Karel Nepráš and Ladislav Zívr also were moving. A distorted head by Picasso was another masterpiece.

From Wunderkammer by Orhan Pomuk

At the contemporary art museum DOX, I was fascinated by the Cabinet of curiosities or Wunderkammer designed by famous writer Orhan Pomuk. The three-dimensional works in collage form told the story of Istanbul from 1950 to 2000 as well as events in Turkish history. I learned about the history of a country I knew little about. I had had no idea that Pomuk’s talent included more than writing.

A puppet of the Good Soldier Švejk saluting

By Jiří Trnka

At the Villa Pellé there was an astounding exhibition of the art of Jiří Trnka, who had been a puppet maker, sculptor, painter and director of animated film. He also held the distinction of being the co-founder of Czech animated film. I especially enjoyed seeing the puppet of the Good Soldier Švejk, based on the antimilitaristic, novel by Jaroslav Hašek, a Czech class that took place during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The humor and satire in the book are brilliant and profound.

Yet Trnka was known for so much more than his masterful puppetry. I loved his paintings of a fantastical, dreamy and fairy tale-like world. I admired his utilization of the grotesque in his sculptures and paintings. Illustrations from children’s books also were prominently displayed. I saw depictions from American, British and Czech fairy tales, for instance. I especially admired the illustrations from Trnka’s own book, The Garden, in which gnomes, bespectacled whales and naughty cats made appearances. His illustrations for Jan Werich’s children’s book Finfarum were very noteworthy, too.

Amálie Mánesová, Vrbičany Chateau, 1846

Cheb Antependium from Přemyslid Dynasty era

One excellent exhibition at the Wallenstein Riding Stables venue was a comprehensive showcase of women in art from 1300 to 1900. I marveled at the medieval works, tapestries, portraits and landscapes, for instance. I was drawn to the paintings of Venice’s Bridge of Sighs and the Ducal Palace because of my love for Italy. The religious Italian art was intense and dynamic. The prints from the 16^th and 17^th centuries made strong impressions on me, too. One Dutch painting influenced by the work of Frans Hals stood out for me, too. My favorites were the renditions by Amálie Mánesová, who hailed from the legendary Mánes family. Her painting of a chateau with landscape and her portraits were especially to my liking.

From Silent Spring Exhibition, František Kupka, Tale of Pistils and Stamens I, 1919-20

From Silent Spring Exhibition, Anna Hulačová, After Bugonia, 1984

At the Trade Fair Palace, I saw the exhibition “Silent Spring” about man’s relationship with nature from 1930 to 1970 and beyond. The surrealistic paintings and abstract sculpture from the 1960s captured my undivided attention. I also perused the permanent exhibition “The Long Century,” which focused on artistic tendencies from 1796 to 1918. Portraits of artists, landscapes, sculpture and art with a theme of the progress in transportation all were very moving. I especially was thrilled by František Bílek’s sculpture “The Blind Leading the Blind” This colossal work always made a strong impression on me. Auguste Rodin’s sculpture also enthralled me. Paintings by Monet, Pablo Picasso and Paul Signac greatly influenced me as did the works by many Czech artists.

From The Long Century, František Bílek, The Blind Leading the Blind

From the Long Century, Jakub Schikander, Early Evening at Hradčany, 1910-1915

At the end of 2025, I visited an exhibition of French advertising posters from the 1920s and 1930s at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. The 25 posters were bold, vivacious, grotesque and humorous. Many utilized caricature. I saw posters advertising progress in forms of transportation – trains, planes and ships. The travel posters were close to my heart. I gazed at the beaches of France and a townscape of Nice, for instance. I recognized the ad for cheese promoted by a gigantic red cow. The glass designs in the permanent exhibition at the museum also captured my attention. The dresses, shoes, ties and other garments were noteworthy. The interior of the building itself with stunning paintings on the walls and ceiling gave the museum such personality and a sense of grandeur.

I was thrilled with all the exhibitions that helped shape my year in a positive way. The exhibitions gave me solace and hope during a year riddled with sadness despite the excellent cultural events I experienced. Gazing at the art filled my heart with joy and gave me mental strength. I was thankful that I had been able to see so many influential exhibitions during 2025.

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

Stránov Chateau Diary

August 4, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

As I made my way from the grassy parking lot to the chateau, I wondered why I had only heard of Stránov that year, in 2025. After all, Stránov had been open to the public since 2004, even though reconstruction was in progress back then. The chateau looked impressive and romantic with a Neo-Renaissance appearance thanks to a 19^th century transformation.

I walked into the café/box office to buy my ticket. The room was quaint with dark paneling. Then I walked into the courtyard dotted with white tables and chairs, and I gazed at the elegant Neo-Renaissance arcades. A distinctive sandstone fountain also caught my attention. From the courtyard I could see a narrow garden area below. People were seated at the white chairs and small tables in the garden. The plant species and flowers were colorful and enthralling.

The guide explained that a Gothic castle had been built on the site in the 15^th century, replacing a fortress. Indeed, a Gothic tower still was a dominant feature of the chateau. It was even possible to climb it and take in the views. At the end of the 16^th century, the castle got a Renaissance makeover and became a chateau for residential living. During the 18^th century, more reconstruction was carried out – this time the chateau turned into a Baroque gem. The garden was also created during this period. The following century Stránov was made into the Neo-Renaissance structure that it is today.

However, the most important time in the chateau’s history began in 1917, when Josef Šimonek, a senator and entrepreneur with the Škoda auto manufacturer, purchased it. He had been so successful and well-respected in the business world that a noble title had been bestowed upon him.

During the First Republic, when Czechoslovakia was a democratic country under the guidance of President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Šimonek, his wife Božena and their two sons, Jaromír and Jiří, made the chateau their home. Black-and-white photographs of the family dotted the rooms as did a group photograph of a joyous acting ensemble that had shot a film there long ago. I saw artifacts from the sons’ childhood – a sled made in 1929 and well-worn miniature toy cars. A children’s theater stage with figures of a skeleton, king and queen caught my attention. The decoration on it was exquisitely hand-painted. The father even created a small zoo for the children.

Although Šimonek retired from Škoda Auto in 1918, he remained a senator in Parliament until he died in 1934. His son František resided there with his family until the Communists forced them to flee in 1950. František’s mother, Božena, left with her husband’s urn in a basket, never to return. She found shelter in a parish house without running water. She lived there until her death in 1976. I saw the suitcases members of the family had carried when they had to leave their home.

Once nationalized, the chateau became an orphanage. The Šimonek family didn’t get the chateau back until 2003. Before the arrival of the Communists in 1950, there had been 750 pieces of furnishings and objects. Returned to the family in the early 2000s were only 35 of those. Stránov was open it to the public during 2004 even though reconstruction was taking place.

Photo of acting ensemble that shot a film at the chateau many decades ago

Another relative also named Jaromír Šimonek, born in 1945, had called the nearby chateau Lobeč home for five years before being forced out with his family by the Communists in 1950. Growing up, he had his hopes set on studying about machines in Mladá Boleslav, a nearby town. However, the Communists did not permit him to study for his desired profession. He did, though, wind up learning how to repair agricultural machines and took a serious interest in mechanics. Later, he followed in his family’s footsteps and went to work at Škoda Auto. Eventually, he became the mayor of Lobeč. He died in 2021.

The interior of the chateau harkened back to the First Republic. The current owner had furnishings made to look like they had been created during that era, my favorite period of Czechoslovak history. There were a few original furnishings that had been preserved for use in the orphanage.

The interior was cozy with an atmosphere that made me want to open a good book and relax there. In one room with wine red-upholstered chairs and a table with a tea service, I could imagine having a cup of Earl Grey on a wintry evening while discussing the Čapeks’ latest play. I could imagine people seated in armchairs or at tables there, talking animatedly about what was new with Masaryk’s politics, Karel Čapek’s books and Josef Čapek’s artwork. While some of the paintings on the wall were for sale, others harkened back to past eras. The dining room chairs looked elegant with the family coat-of-arms decorating the backs. A beautiful piano also was on display.

In the large space used for weddings, I saw red upholstered chairs with tables complementing the red and gold striped curtains that gave the place an elegant look. I wanted to fall into the quaint wine red leather couch. I noticed the beautiful Bohemian crystal chandelier. On the wall a painting caught my eye. The tranquil landscape featured a calm river with homes dotting the embankment.

The chateau included a toy museum with old objects donated by a private collector. I saw early 20^th century dolls of girls in folk costumes and once much loved teddy bears of various sizes. Children’s baby carriages and dolls of various sizes graced the exhibition room. A rocking horse was also on display. I loved the miniature furniture, such as a cabinet filled with plates and tea cups. I also peered in one hallway at original folk costumes, exquisitely made.

I came away from the tour with a warm feeling for my favorite period in Czechoslovak history. I imagined raucous boys playing with miniature cars in the rooms as their father told them to keep the noise down while he read Lidové noviny. The furnishings had brought the chateau to life, giving it a distinct family atmosphere.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Original armchairs made for Josef Šimonek during the First Republic

Přerov nad Labem Open-Air Architectural Museum Diary

July 17, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

I have visited many open-air architectural museums, dotted with historical, rural buildings and structures, throughout my time in the Czech Republic as well as during my many trips to Slovakia. They serve an important ethnographical purpose. Přerov nad Labem’s skanzen, as they are referred to in Czech – was the first of its kind founded in Bohemia as the complex was set up in 1967. It is composed of buildings from the Central Labe Valley area. The structures were constructed in the 18^th or 19^th century and together make up a sort of village that has long since disappeared.

I saw many quaint and idyllic-looking log-built cottages as well as granaries, winch-operated wells, a small garden, a gateway with stucco, Baroque decoration and a sun motif, a gamekeeper’s lodge, an outdoor beekeeping display and more. A fruit drying kiln and belfry also made appearances. A dovecote had five floors and a hexagonal shape. I peered at a shoemaker’s, a seamstress’ and a basket weaver’s workshops.

The World War I Memorial plaque touched me emotionally as I perused the names of locals who had perished in The Great War. The other building that made a distinct impression on me was the old school classroom, with boys seated on one side and girls on the other. What I liked best about the buildings in which mannequins were dressed in 18^th or 19^th century clothing was the colorfully painted folk art closets, beds, cupboards, chests, the backs of chairs and other furnishings. Pictures painted on glass in a rural cottage also captivated me. I was dazzled by the folk costumes with delicate embroidery on display. In one cottage I peered at hand-painted prayer books and admired a gable with Baroque features. I also noticed that the folk art sculptural rendition of Saint John Nepomuk hailed from 1746.

I saw how the kitchens were set up for baking bread. Some had large open fireplaces with big chimneys. Tiled stoves were located in some kitchens. Spices were important for the cuisine, too. There was a collection of historical washboards and washing machines as well as irons, which, I found out, were first used in the Czech countryside only 100 years ago. A collection of various stoves stood out in one space. Many wheels and farming tools were present, too.

The history of the Old Czech Cottage, which dates from the 18^th century, is intriguing. During Czechoslovakia’s First Republic, which lasted from 1918 to 1938, Bedřich Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride was performed in front of the building that contains much folk art furnishings. When the Nazis were in control, evacuees were housed there after all the historical furnishings had been taken out. This is probably my favorite structure because folk art plays such an important role in the displays.

Skanzens always make me better appreciate the technological advancements of the modern world. In 18^th and 19^th century village life was so much more unbelievably difficult. I admire the idyllic cottages constructed with logs and old equipment utilized in the 18^th and 19^th century. The folk art displays have always been my favorite aspect of open-air architectural museums. Seeing kinds of villages that no longer exist except as museums is a real treat. I always am enthralled by the architecture specific to that area and by the architecture in general.

A Nativity scene, popular at Christmas time

While I love visiting chateaus and castles, I always appreciated skanzens. Open-air architectural ethnographical museums of long gone rural life provide an important purpose in the history of the country and serve as valuable historical landmarks.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka Exhibition in Pilsen Diary

June 28, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

During the summer and fall of 2024, the West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen showed off the riveting exhibition “Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka: Between Picture and Language.” It focused on the ways in which the visual world around Kafka had been influential in the language Kafka chose for his writings. There was a direct connection between the visual world and the literary world in Prague, Kafka would have seen the works on display in his everyday Prague life that boasted of a multilingual society immersed in the languages of Czech, German and Hebrew. Kafka resided in Prague his entire life – from July 3, 1883 to June 3, 1924, when he died at the age of 40 from tuberculosis. He spoke German as well as Czech and wrote in German. His parents spoke German mingled with Yiddish.

At the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century, posters were displayed all over the city. Designed in the Art Nouveau style, they showed off art exhibitions, cabaret shows, literary events, advertisements and much more. Japanese art played a role in the decoration of these posters. Later, the artistic focus was Cubist features. German-Czech spiritualism also was influenced by the time period. Silent films, both European and American, were popular in Prague. Going to the cabaret, ballet and theatre were pastimes of Praguers.

Exhibition Wordwede in Kinská Garden, Prague, 1903.

Modern French Art exhibition, Kinská Garden, Prague, 1902.

I would like to highlight several of the artists represented in the show, including the posters of Jan Preisler, a Czech painter and university professor. For a while his works promoted the Art Nouveau style, which is evident in this poster for an art exhibition. He also decorated Art Nouveau buildings in Prague. For example, the Hotel Central in Prague features his ornamentation. The triptych Spring was made for the Peterka building in the capital city. Preisler made a name for himself as a Secession artist, even though he would take on a different style later in his career.

Girl in Flowers, 1922, by Anton Bruder

Many of his works could be designated as Neo-Romantic, punctuated with allegorical Symbolism. His art often showed a fondness for fairy tales or moods characterized by depression and sadness. Preisler attempted to reveal the depth of one’s soul. Early in his career he became friends with Czech landscape painter Antonín Hudeček. Preisler was also influenced by the art of Edvard Munch as he helped plan the 1905 exhibition of Munch’s depictions in Prague. Preisler also had developed friendships with painters Bohumil Kubišta and Vincenc Beneš. He was very inspired by the poetry of Otakar Březina, a Czech artist who wrote in a complex, symbolist style and was nominated for the Nobel Prize eight times. Vitezslav Nezval and Josef Suk were other poets who made an impression on him. Perhaps his best known painting is the triptych “Spring,” from the turn of the century. It depicted the complex feelings of someone entering the 20^th century. Man experienced a nostalgia for the past, but, at the same time, was looking forward to adventures awaiting him in the new century. A person’s connection to nature was another theme promoted in this triptych.

Sculpture by František Bílek

Jan Žižka, by František Bílek, 1912

Sculpture that permeated the exhibition included that of Art Nouveau symbolist František Bílek, whose Secession homes in Prague and Chýnov I had visited. Miniature versions of several of his sculptures were on display. He utilized mostly religious themes with a sense of mysticism. While Bílek was best known as a sculptor, he also designed furniture and created graphic art, drawings and illustrations. An architect as well, he designed cemeteries and made gravestones, for instance. His woodcarving skills were astounding, too. A year later, in 2025, I would see Bílek’s amazing works in the former flat of Czech poet Otakar Březina, incorporated into a museum for the symbolist poet in Jaroměřice of the Vysočany region. To be sure, Bílek’s creations caught the attention of society during the Art Nouveau age.

The Interior, by Bohumil Kubišta, 1908

One of my favorite Czech painters of this period, Bohumil Kubišta played a role in the exhibition. One of the first to paint in a modern Czech style, Kubišta created a new path for artists as he helped establish the significant Osma group of painters who were oriented toward Munch’s style. In Kubišta’s paintings, bright color played a large role as did mysticism and symbolism. At times he took up religious themes. Kubišta often concentrated on the spiritual as the symbolism of life and death featured in many of his works. He emphasized the spiritual meaning of the countryside, too. The styles that made an impact on his work included Fauvism, Futurism and Surrealism. Self-portraits and still lives were common in his repertoire, too.

Landscape, by Georges Kars, 1910

I knew the name Czech-French painter Georges Kars from a Prague exhibition of Czech artists in Paris between the wars. While initially taken with Impressionism, Cubism and Fauvism, he found his own path with dynamic and vibrant compositions. He made a lot of women’s portraits, self-portraits, nudes and half-nudes in his figural works. Sometimes he rendered still lifes and landscapes. Kars utilized the neoclassicist style for his portraits, nudes and still lifes. His paintings were world-renowned, displayed throughout Europe, the USA and Japan.

During World War I he served for the Austro-Hungarian army and even was captured by the Russians. He survived the experience and continued painting after the war.

A Walk in a Park in Florence, by Bohumil Kubišta, 1907

Of Jewish origin, Kars escaped France during 1942 and settled in Switzerland. However, he was so traumatized by the persecution of the Jews that he took his own life, jumping to his death from the fifth floor of the Geneva Hotel. During 1949 he was buried with his family in Prague’s New Jewish Cemetery.

Brindisi, by Otakar Kubín, 1906

Another artist who was well-known while residing in Paris between the wars, Otakar Kubín, who also went by the name Othon Coubin, worked as a painter, sculptor and graphic artist, mostly living in France. Holding citizenship from France and Czechoslovakia, he made a name for himself rendering landscapes, mostly of Provence but also of Moravia. I loved his landscapes of Provence in the exhibition of Czech artists between the wars. These paintings were perhaps the highlight of his career.

While living in France during World War I, Kubín and his wife were interred in a camp imprisoning foreigners in Bordeaux. However, they were not held for long. In the 1920s, he held exhibitions in Paris with Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. Kubin was impressed with the Expressionism of Vincent Van Gogh. His depictions with figural motifs often were influenced by the death of his wife and son. His works were also seen in Japan, Switzerland and the USA. Some of his praiseworthy portrayals include a portrait of Kubišta, House in the Countryside, Cemetery Chapel in Boskovice, Imaginary Likeness of Edgar Alan Poe, Moravian Landscape and Auvergne Landscape.

The Metamorphosis, by Otto Coester, 1920

One of Kafka’s small black-and-white drawings as a young child was on display, and art promoting his various books also had a prominent place in the exhibition. Artistic renditions of The Metamorphosis were represented, for instance. German art and literature at this time also played prominent roles in society. An antisemitic attitude was seeping into some of the publications. The exhibition did not only concentrate on works in Prague but also art that had immersed itself into European society as well, providing a European context for these powerful renditions.

The Metamorphosis, by Wilhelm Wessel, 1924.

This exhibition took up my favorite Czech era of art – the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century. The Art Nouveau and symbolic nature of the works greatly impressed me as did emphasis on color in many paintings. I loved the expressionistic qualities of Munch’s artistic creations. Several paintings were by Japanese artists, and I saw a direct connection between the Czech Art Nouveau and the Japanese style. I could see the influence of Cubism in some paintings with many geometrical traits. I loved the Art Nouveau posters advertising exhibitions. The multifaceted visual experience of a person living in Prague during that era reminded me of the mixture of languages that had permeated culture and society.

The exhibition was thrilling as I thought back to that age and the various cultures people were experiencing. I felt that time period come alive through the artistic creations. Some of my favorite artists were represented, such as Bílek and Kubišta.

A Wave at Kanagawy, by Hokusai Kacušika, 1831

I also was enamored by the building in which the West Bohemian Gallery was housed. It had been used as a market place during the Middle Ages and boasted of a unique architectural style. I longed to learn even more about the end of the 19^th and early 20^th century as I left the exhibition and made my way to my favorite restaurant in Pilsen, U Salzmannů.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Restaurant U Salzmannů, Pilsen

The Great Synagogue in Pilsen Diary

June 15, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

It is very easy to get to Pilsen from Prague – only a one-hour bus journey, courtesy of the Student Agency bus company. From the bus station I took a tram three stops to Republic Square. The synagogue was within walking distance. I was curious about the second largest synagogue in the world and the third largest in the world with a capacity of 2,500 people.

I was very impressed by the façade and two towers. Under the gabled roof of the structure of capping brick and stone blocks is a large Star of David. The two towers flanking the middle portion of the building have imperial domes and a belfry as well as a crown and the Star of David. The onion-shaped domes reminded me of some of the churches I had seen in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

I gaped as I perused the spellbinding features. Built in 1892, the synagogue combines an Oriental interior with elements of Neo-Renaissance, found mostly in the corridors. The carved rostrum of the three-aisled ground floor has a simple, yet dignified design. Two stairways lead up to the platform with the rostrum. One of the things I admired most was the vaulted ceiling decoration of blue with gold painting with plant motifs. The use of gold for decoration throughout the synagogue was very pleasing to the eye. The staircase had a metal, golden balustrade. The vestibule included beautiful stucco decoration with gold as well. I also noticed the stucco décor with motifs such as David’s Star on the balustrade. I saw the organ, dating from 1890. I remembered reading that there had been a big choir here until World War II.

What entranced me the most, though, was not the exquisite vaulted ceiling, but the three stained glass windows above the cornice in the western side of the synagogue. Dating from 1893, the three windows show a design of circles and oblong shapes, geometric figures in bright colors. They seemed to glisten in the dim lighting. I walked to the upper gallery, where I could have touched them if I had wanted to. Instead, I just stood there, fascinated at their beauty.

I sat down in the balcony, where women had sat for generations because they were not allowed to sit with the men, and I pondered over the history of Jews in Pilsen. It all began in the 13^th century when Jews first came to this city, and King Přemysl Otakar II allowed them religious freedom. At the start of the 15^th century, most Jews bartered in spices, pepper and ginger, and two synagogues existed here during that time period. Yet during the reign of King Vladislav II, in 1504, Jews were expelled from Pilsen, and they didn’t return until 1584. Other hardships occurred.

Then things got better. Jews obtained more freedom during 1848-49, when the ghetto that had been created due to the reforms of Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Habsburg Empire Joseph II was destroyed. (Emperor Joseph II had been a devout Catholic and an enthusiast for Germanization.) Jews no longer had to pay special taxes. Then, finally in 1867, a constitution was passed, stating political and religious equality, allowing Jews to move house as they pleased and to own property. They were even offered state citizenship. It is no wonder, then, that many Jews headed for this city in the 1860s. The Jewish community of Pilsen thrived during the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th century, and Jews ran significant businesses in the city.

After World War II, the synagogue was returned to the Jewish community, but the last regular service took place in 1973 as the building became more and more dilapidated. Finally, it was closed down. Reconstruction occurred from 1995-97, and it reopened to the public on February 11, 1998. A service was held here once again, after 26 years, on September 20, 1998, celebrating the Jewish New Year. The first wedding in 61 years was held at this synagogue on June 6, 1999. There was extensive renovation during the 21^st century, too.

Before heading back to Prague, I took advantage of the beautiful, sunny weather and sat outside at a café on the main square. I also visited an art exhibition called Through the eyes of Franz Kafka, focusing on art in the Czech lands during the time period Kafka was in Prague. There I gazed at Kafka’s drawings, paintings by Czech artist Bohumil Kubišta and sculpture by Czech master František Bílek. I also saw some Japanese art that was popular during that era. I ate lunch in U Salzmannů, the oldest pub in the city and my favorite restaurant in Pilsen. The Czech food at that establishment is top-notch. I also stayed at the restaurant’s pension upstairs for several nights many years ago, during a theatre festival. I was very pleased with the accommodation. Since I only rarely drink alcohol, though, I did not try the legendary Pilsner Urquell beer brewed in this city.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

My favorite restaurant in Pilsen – U Salzmannů

From Pilsen art gallery exhibition Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka

From Pilsen art gallery exhibition Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka

From Pilsen art gallery exhibition Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka

Radim Chateau Diary

May 31, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

Peering at the paintings in the third floor art gallery and the furnishings on the first floor representative rooms, I came quickly to the conclusion that Radim Chateau was a hidden gem among sights near Prague. While there were not numerous spaces to visit, the ones viewed on tours of the representative rooms were outstanding in their content and beauty. Everywhere I looked in the gallery and on the representative floor, I saw magnificent artwork. Even the 19^th century tapestries and Romantized furnishings in the hallways told intriguing stories of centuries gone by.

I was stunned by the masterful artistry of Radim Chateau during my first visit in 2025. This Renaissance chateau in central Bohemia was built next to a fortress that was first mentioned in writing during the early 14^th century. The fortress had various owners. Then Karel Záruba from Hustířan had the chateau constructed in the early 17^th century. The two-floor structure was ready for use by nobles in 1610. However, Karel passed two years later, and the property became the possession of his son Jan, who took the side of the defeated Protestants during the Thirty Years’ War. Because the Catholics triumphed, the chateau was confiscated, and Jan had to flee the country. However, when Adam the Younger of Wallenstein took over the chateau and property, he returned it to Jan Záruba. Soon it was purchased by the legendary Šternberk clan. At that time, Radim became an administrative seat where clerks rather than nobles occupied the chateau.

Several owners came and went after 1634. Then, in 1685, the well-known Gallas family took over Radim and held onto it until the 18^th century. I thought back to the Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague, where the ceiling frescoes and ballroom with crystal chandeliers are superb. Getting back to Radim history: The next owner was a notable pioneer in the Czech publishing industry, the knighted František Jan Brahier. He printed breaking news in German. When Brahier died in 1721, he did not leave any heirs.

That is when the Kinský family came into the picture. A family that had had so much influence on horse breeding and horseracing, the Kinskýs sold the chateau to Prince Alois Josef Lichtenstein in 1783. This was an important purchase because the chateau stayed in this family for 143 years. During the Lichtenstein reign, the chateau once again served administrative purposes for a significant period of time.

A momentous occasion could have taken place in 1791, if fate had not gotten in the way. The Czech king Leopold II was returning to Vienna from his coronation in Prague and wanted to see Radim Chateau and take in some hunting there. However, plans had to be changed as Leopold II had to hurry back to Vienna without a hunting break. In the early 19^th century, there was much reconstruction.

The Lichtenstein’s parted ways with Radim in 1927, when Dr. Jaroslav Bukovský took charge. Many changes took place as he used the chateau for representative purposes. Electricity was added to the chateau, and what was once a French park came to flourish in English style.

During the Nazi Occupation, the German army used the premises, although the owner’s wife, Mrs. Bukovská, was still allowed to have a small apartment there. After May of 1945, the Russian military took control of the chateau. The Communists held it from 1950, when Mrs. Bukovská was still permitted to reside on the premises in a tiny abode. Most of the chateau was changed into offices, and a few apartments were installed. District offices remained in the chateau until the 1990s. Then in restitution the Bukovský family got the chateau back. After selling the chateau in 2005 to Antonín Dotlačil, much reconstruction took place.

The chateau was sold again, this time to the present owner, Bohuslav Opatrý, who is a music and art lover, having restored many of the paintings in his third floor collection. The park and garden underwent reconstruction as did part of the chateau. It was not until this century that Radim Chateau was open to the public.

While most of the furnishings are not original due to the Nazi occupation of the chateau and the dereliction that occurred during socialist times, it does boast original 19^th century flooring in the main hall. To be sure, the Communists destroyed most of the chateau interior. Yet, decades later, Radim would be resurrected by painstaking efforts that made it into the gem it is today. The painted ceilings in the bedroom, main hall and gallery have been preserved to a great extent. The painted decoration on several ceilings, such as a lobster and a horse, hails from 1607 to 1610.

In the bedroom that we entered first, I was intriguing by the Baroque bed with exquisite carving. In the dining room, I was speechless at the sight of low Renaissance chairs around a Renaissance table. In other rooms, I saw many Gothic chairs, often Romanticized into 19^th century style. A Mannerist cabinet with exquisite woodwork of figures and columns was a delight in one space. I spotted a portrait of Rudolf II among the pictures of rulers that decorated a high wall in the bedroom. I also saw in one space a 18th century globe decorated with allegorical figures of zodiac signs instead of continents. The ceiling decoration of a green-and-white pattern in the bedroom also awed me. So delicate and so much attention to detail.

In the administrative office of the Lichtensteins, I saw pictures of Austro-Hungarian generals. In the study, portraits of past owners as well as the current owner hung on the walls. I recognized Adam the Younger Wallenstein as well as Adam Kinský. There was even a portrait of Octavian Kinský, who was never the owner of this chateau but had made a name for himself with that clan, specifically in horse breeding and horseracing. Work related to his successes could be seen in Karlova Koruna Chateau, which I had visited several times. A more modern likeness of the current owner also decorated one wall. In an isolated space, I peered at a Neo-Gothic altar with medieval elements. Tapestries from the 19^th century were present throughout the chateau’s first floor and hallways.

The main hall, often used for weddings, was one highlight of the tour. The painted ceiling featured various objects and animals in bright colors. A 19^th century Petrov Grand piano also adorned the space. Paintings from various periods added to the décor.

Close-ups of the Mannerist cabinet

On a tour of the cellar places it was possible to see a Black Kitchen that was still functional as well as an armory and some bedrooms once used by princesses. This was another intriguing tour.

Portrait of Austrian general

However, the biggest highlight for this art lover was the gallery on the third floor. Nineteenth and early 20^th century landscapes dotted the hallway. I saw images of the slowly flowing Berounka River, the snow-covered Alps, charming cottages tucked into woodlands, the tranquil landscape in the Pilsen region, sights of Prague, portrayals of sheep, folk dancing figures and haymakers doing laborious work in the fields, mystical forests and other scenes. I was enamored by each painting as landscapes from this time period were my favorite. While most of the paintings were authored by lesser known artists who deserved much praise, one work was painted by the well-known Otakar Nejedlý.

Landscape with Berounka River, not by Nejedlý

This renowned Czech painter lived from 1883 to 1957. He was a pupil of the master landscape artist Antonín Slavíček. His travels to India greatly influenced his works. During World War I, he was mobilized to France where he painted places the Czech legionnaires had fought. After the war, he became an esteemed professor in Prague. He adored the south Bohemian countryside and was inspired by Romanticism, Impressionism and Expressionism.

Painting of sheep by Popelka

Vojtěch Hyněk Popelka created the renditions of moving sheep, and it was no surprise that he specialized in painting animals. He brought to life landscapes and animals in his works during the early 20^th century.

Painter Otto Stein, who also was an accomplished graphic artist, lived from 1877 to 1958. Several of his works were displayed in this gallery. After studying in Prague and settling in Munich, he took part in Munich New Secession exhibitions in the early 20^th century. During the war, he painted material used to promote the Austro-Hungarian Army. After the war, he became part of the Berlin Secession, having to move to that city. In 1922 his renditions were on display in Prague’s Rudolfinum. He gained acclaim in Germany and the USA.

In 1942 tragedy struck, and he and his family were deported to the Terezín concentration camp. He toiled in the technical department there and bided his free time with drawing. Miraculously, he and his entire family were spared, and, after the war, he moved to Prague. Then he went to live in the north Bohemian countryside, where he did a great deal of painting. He died there in 1958.

The German painter Adrian Ludwig Richter also had works on display in this gallery. He lived from 1803 to 1884 and also succeeded as a illustrator. His paintings featured the Romanticist style, inspired by Caspar David Friedrich. He was especially enamored with the countryside of north Bohemia and the ruins of Střekov Castle in that region. Richter also made 3,000 creations out of wood.

Vlastimil Toman (1930 – 2015) was a painter, graphic artist, illustrator, poet and photographer as well as professor. Several of his landscapes were represented in the gallery. He worked mainly in Třebíč, painting the Vyšocany and Moravian countryside. In the 1960s, he explored the styles of cubism, fauvism, expressionism and lyrical realism. In total, he had 24 solo exhibitions in Třebíč plus 50 collective exhibitions around the country.

Prague Castle in the distance

Čertovka on Kampa Island, Prague

My favorites were the renditions of Prague. One painting featured Prague Castle in the horizon, another showed the Charles Bridge. Yet another displayed the Judith Bridge, which preceded the Charles Bridge. One portrayed Čertovka on Kampa Island.

But there was more. A rather large space featured religious art. I saw numerous madonnas, scenes from the Bible and pictures of saints here as well as Gothic furniture. There was a range of styles, and works hailed from various eras, though none were modern. My head was swimming with this immersion into religious art.

From the third floor, it was easy to read the motto of Saint Benedict on the balustrade. “Tempora matuntur et nos matumar cum illus,” it read. It meant that times change, and we change with them. Other black-painted letters read “Ora et labora,” which translates from the Latin into “Pray and work.” The ceiling on the third floor was richly decorated with depictions of objects and animals.

Not only had I peered at masterfully carved furnishings and other notable objects in the representative rooms but I had also viewed numerous paintings in my preferred landscape genre. The religious art was very impressive, too. While the chateau’s representative spaces are not large, it is worth seeing for those interested in Czech history and sights with artifacts from various eras. Art enthusiasts are sure to love the third floor displays.

On that day there was a wedding, and the café offered various cakes and pastries outside as well as sausages that were cooked over a fire. Delicious bread was available, too.

I went to lunch at U Marka restaurant in Pecky, a small town nearby. The rustic interior was suitable for the delicious Czech food, which cost so much less than that in Prague. I had had a great day.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Paul Gauguin Exhibition in Vienna Diary

February 25, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

During the fall of 2024, I went to the Paul Gauguin retrospective “Gauguin Unexpected” in Vienna, Austria at the Kunstforum Wein. The last extensive showing of Gauguin’s works in Austria had taken place during 1960. The recent exhibition included not only Gauguin’s paintings but also graphic art and sculpture, tracing his career from Post-Impressionism to the initial stages of the modern era. More than 80 works were on display from October of 2024 to January of 2025.

Eugene Henri Paul Gauguin was born in Paris on June 7, 1848, the revolutionary year of turmoil in Europe. At the age of 18 months, he and his parents moved to Peru because his father had to leave France. He was related to high-ranking politicians there. However, his father died during the voyage and never made it to Peru. Gauguin and his mother lived a privileged life there. Due to political turmoil in Peru, Gauguin returned to France when he was still a child. Gauguin would serve in the French navy before becoming a stockbroker at age 23.

In his early career, he worked in Impressionist style and had exhibitions of works in this style during the early 1880s. He worked as a stockbroker for 11 years, and in 1873 married Mette-Sophie Gad from Denmark. They had five children. His marriage fell apart in 1882, when he turned to painting full-time, a time when stock market prices plummeted. He lived in Rouen and then Pont-Aven, where the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Georges Seurat and Eduard Degas impressed him so much that he changed his style. His Post-Impressionist works were unique in use of color, which was the dominant feature of the paintings. His thick and bold brushstrokes also played a major role.

In the summer of 1886, he was influenced by the Pont-Aven School and spent time in Brittany, where he created many landscapes and pastel drawings. I liked his Brittany-based landscapes from this period as well as the scenes of everyday life in this region of France. His employment of Synthesist features comes from this time period of bold colors and dark outlines. Complexity was absent in the subject matter of this time in his career. He pictorially recorded simple, daily life in Brittany. He also thought that African and Asian art held great significance. Japanese art especially enthralled him. Then travels took him to the Panama Canal and Martinique, where he was influenced by Indian people and Indian symbols. His landscapes from his tenure in Martinique are very noteworthy, as I found out at the exhibition.

For a while, he lived with Van Gogh at Van Gogh’s Yellow House in Arles. Van Gogh had bought three of Gauguin’s paintings and held him in great esteem. However, the two had a falling out, and Van Gogh even cut off his ear when Gauguin was present. That’s when Gauguin left Arles.

In the late 1880s, Gauguin began making zinc plates or zincographs. Rejecting the traditional limestone material, he opted to use zinc plates combined with yellow poster paper, which made for bold creations in bright yellow. One of my favorite features of this exhibition was the number of zincographs displayed. Some showed female forms with black outlines on a bright yellow background. The result was stunningly bold and brazen.

Entranced with the exotic and a supporter of colonialism, Gauguin wanted to flee from Western civilization. After six years in Tahiti, which was under French colonial rule that took advantage of natives, Gauguin left but decided to settle again in the Polynesian Islands during 1895 and never to return to Europe. His works showed off the Primitivism style as he depicted island natives as well as gods in the traditional religion via painting and sculpture. The colors were brash, overly aggressive, the settings wild. His figures did not have realistic boy proportions and showed off geometric qualities. In Tahiti he often produced his works on a rough surface, such as sackcloth or hessian. He used thick and bold brushstrokes. His Primitivism style would greatly influence Pablo Picasso’s works. I was impressed how the exhibition did not fully focus on his time in Tahiti but took into consideration his entire career equally.

Gauguin experienced problems with his heart, sight and ankle, for instance. He took morphine for the pain. At the end of his life, he spent much time writing as his pain sometimes did not permit him to paint. On May 8, 1903 Van Gogh died from syphilis in the Marquéses Islands at age 54.

A sign at the entrance to the exhibition addressed Gauguin’s sexism and promotion of post-colonialism, inviting people to look at Gauguin’s work in these contexts. Gauguin had married three young teenagers at various times while living in the Polynesian Islands. Gauguin’s use of Primitivism showed Polynesian women in a racist way, and his works from this era pictorially asserted the power of colonialism. I was impressed with the curator’s attention to the present perspectives.

Overall, I was most impressed by the Brittany and Martinique landscapes as well as by the zinc plates. I had mostly seen Gauguin’s work from his Tahiti tenure. I was glad to get an overview of his work throughout the decades and to see how he developed as an artist in a chronological manner. His use of vibrant color and bold brushstrokes also spoke to me.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

Marc Chagall Exhibition in the Albertina Photo Diary

January 28, 2025 by Tracy's Travels

I admired Marc Chagall’s works at the Albertina venue in Vienna, Austria during late October of 2024. I have always loved going to exhibitions in the Albertina. I recalled a comprehensive show of works by Durer at that venue some years ago. A long-time fan of Chagall, I loved his use of bright colors and atmosphere of playfulness in his paintings that had a dreamy, fantasy-filled quality. I was enamored with his mastery of color to express various emotions and to create new worlds. I loved his renditions of Paris, the Eiffel Tower often dominating his creations.

Before this show I hadn’t realized how strongly his Jewish background had influenced his art. Chagall’s paintings were punctuated with Jewish folklore and motifs. I saw a painting of a synagogue and portraits of rabbis, for instance. Many paintings boasted biblical themes. I also hadn’t realized how often he had rendered his hometown, both sadness and joy intermingled in the memories. His yearning to return to his hometown was extremely visible in his art.

The symbolic nature of his artistic creations also enamored me as I noted the many violinists, animals, half-human creatures, wooden houses, circus characters, roosters and floating married couples as well as beautiful floral arrangements. Because I had visited an exhibition in Prague’s Wallenstein Riding Stables about the interwar years of the École de Paris movement, I knew he had been associated with that era during his Paris sojourn.

The exhibition allowed me to become better acquainted with the artist’s life. Marc Chagall (1887-1985)was born as Moishe Shagal on July 6, 1885 into a Hasidic Jewish family in Vitebsk, located in today’s Belarus. During the late 19^th century the town was situated in the Russian Empire. His impressive, varied resume includes paintings, drawings, book illustrations, ceramics, prints, tapestries, stained glass and stage sets, but this vast exhibition focused solely on his paintings.

While he spent World War I in his hometown, he went to Paris before the war broke out, moving there in 1910 when he was 23 years old. In France he made friends with Guillaume Apollinaire, Ferdinand Léger and others creating avant-garde works. He often depicted Jewish themes and also evoked Paris in many paintings. During World War I, back in Vitebsk, he married Bella and held exhibitions in Russia as the war made it impossible for him to leave the empire. He founded an arts college in his hometown, too. However, he was in dire financial straits during the Russian Civil War. After World War I, much of his work was Moscow-based.

Following the Bolshevik Revolution, he moved to Paris for the second time, but fled during World War II after the Germans took control of France. The Nazis in occupied France took away Chagall’s French citizenship, and he and his wife were arrested. However, with the help of others, he and his wife found a way to escape to the USA. He felt like an outsider and didn’t speak English.

While he was in New York City, tragedy struck his hometown of Vitebsk, which was destroyed by the Nazis. Things would get even worse. Bela passed in1944 because it was not possible to get her any penicillin. It was no surprise then that Chagall’s late spouse appeared in many of his paintings. In 1948, though, he returned to Paris, and there his paintings focused on Jewish themes and his yearning for the existence of his hometown. Also, he would marry two more times.

He devoted much time to other fields as well. Some of his accomplishments included creating stained glass decoration in the cathedral in Reims and at the Art Institute in Chicago. He also made stained glass adornment for places in Switzerland and Israel. He became even better known for his ceiling painting of the Paris Opera. I remembered gazing in awe at this ceiling several decades ago. It was an experience I will never forget, even though I saw it so long ago. He also made sculpture and ceramics as well as tapestries.

Chagall died at the age of 97 on March 28, 1985 at the age of 97. He is buried with his third wife in a cemetery in Saint Paul-de-Vence, located in the Provence region.

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

2024 Travel Diary

December 23, 2024 by Tracy's Travels

David Caspar Friedrich, The Wanderer

As usual, this past year was punctuated by travel, though most trips only lasted one day or half of a day. Still, I was able to explore many sights within a two-hour distance of Prague. Once again, I realized that the Czech Republic blossoms with beauty in every niche of the country.

Perhaps the painting that best expresses my year of travel is one I saw at an exhibition of David Caspar Friedrich’s paintings from the Romanticist era. While admiring his “The Wanderer,” I saw the back of a male figure in the forefront, standing on a cliff as he peered at the mist-filled mountains beyond. It epitomizes why I love travelling: to discover new worlds, to muddle through that mist, reaching a clarity that allows me better to understand myself as well as to gain historical knowledge.

By David Caspar Friedrich, on display at Albertinum for temporary exhibition

In the Dresden Albertinum, I was mesmerized by Friedrich’s landscapes. Many featured vibrant colors and a brilliant use of light. He also created dark paintings with a chiaroscuro element that gave them a mystical appearance. Some of his landscapes included a solitary figure traveling alone in nature. Friedrich’s gnarled trees in barren environments were symbolic. I felt especially drawn to his portrayal of mountains in shades of pink.

By Marc Chagall, on display at Albertina in Vienna for temporary exhibition

By Paul Gauguin

By Hoogstraten, Rembrandt’s pupil

I spent three days in Vienna going to major exhibitions featuring works by Chagall, Gauguin and Hoogstraten, a star pupil of Rembrandt. I hadn’t realized how many of Chagall’s paintings took on Jewish themes and serious topics. I had always thought of Chagall’s art as fun-loving and colorful. My favorites were those inspired by Paris and the circus, created in bright blues and yellows. The Gauguin retrospective showed his works from various time periods, so it was possible to see his specific artistic developments. I was most impressed with his early landscapes. I had not heard of Hoogstraten, whose portraits brought out the soul in the sitters just as Rembrandt’s did. His intriguing use of perspective in some paintings also impressed me. Works by Rembrandt also enchanted me in this exhibition.

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, Character Heads

by Gustav Klimt on permanent display at Upper Belvedere

By Václav Špála, on display at Upper Belvedere

City of Vienna Museum, permanent collection

We also visited the Upper Belvedere Palace Museum in Vienna. While it is best known for its Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele creations, I was entranced with the medieval art in the basement and the Central European collection that featured Czech greats such as Jan Procházka, Bohumil Kubišta and Václav Špála. The Klimt paintings were extremely powerful as were all the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works. My favorite part of the museum involves the unique Late Baroque Character Heads by Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, who rendered alabaster busts of insane people with unique facial expressions. You could see into their souls. In Vienna I entered the City Museum for the first time. The exhibits trace the history of the city from the beginnings to modern day. I saw intriguing paintings, furnishings, posters and objects, among others.

by Eva Švankmajer

Puppets by Jan Švankmajer

Puppet by Jan Švankmajer

I also went to many exhibitions in the Czech Republic outside of Prague. In Kutná Hora I visited an exhibition of works celebrating the 90^th birthday of Jan Švankmajer, a surreal artist, along with creations by his wife Eva. The exhibition Disegno Interno included collages, graphic art, objects, book illustrations, drawings, paintings, animated film creations and puppet theatre of both artists from the 1960s and later. Their creations included works that resemble Rudolfine Mannerist renditions as kinds of cabinet of curiosities and art inspired by Giuseppe Arcimboldo. I also noted the inspiration of the Baroque tradition in puppet theatre. Other works fell into the categories of art-brut, eroticism, fetishes and collages influenced by Max Ernst. Much of their art was deeply rooted in the writings of Edgar Allan Poet and Lewis Carrol. Scenography for Czech film was another section. I realized for the first time that surrealist art had been influenced to a great extent by Mannerist trends.

From Through Kafka’s Eyes, graphic art about The Metamorphosis

Through Kafka’s Eyes, Oto Kubín, Brindisi, 1906

In Pilsen I went to an exhibition called Through Kafka’s Eyes, featuring the art that had surrounded Kafka at the end of the 19^th century and the beginning of 20^th century. I saw posters for Czech art exhibitions in the early 20^th century and those advertising 19^th century Japanese art as well as works by stellar Czech artists. Paintings by Kubišta, colorful and vibrant, were represented along with sculpture by František Bílek. Czech artists who spent their interwar years in Paris were included, such as Oto Kubín and Georges Kars. Kafka’s own Jewish-themed drawings were a highlight. German art and literature rounded out the intriguing exhibition.

Great Synagogue, Pilsen

Great Synagogue, Pilsen

I also took the time to visit the Great Synagogue in Pilsen, the second largest synagogue in Europe and third largest in the world. On the onion-shaped dome the Star of David stood out. What I admired most was the vaulted ceiling punctuated with blue and gold adornment. Another feature that amazed me was the artistic mastery of the stained glass windows with geometric shapes and figures. The interior is furnished in Oriental style with Neo-Renaissance elements.

Pilsen, U Saltzmannů

We ate at my favorite restaurant in Pilsen, U Saltzmannů, the oldest pub in the city. The Czech food at this establishment cannot be surpassed. I had fried chicken steak this time.

Škoda Museum

In Mladá Boleslav, about 70 kilometers from Prague, I visited for the first time the Škoda Museum, named after the popular Czech automobile manufacturer. The company began making bicycles with Václav Klement and Václav Laurin at the helm in 1895 and soon developed a rich tradition of producing cars. The automobiles on display ranged from vehicles made at the end of the 19^th century to those produced in the modern day. I liked the early bicycles, including a two-seater for postal carriers. The cars from the early 20^th century were also favorites.

In that same city, we also visited the Aviation museum of Metoděj Vlach, which explored the history of aviation with more than 25 airplanes in the main hall, some hailing from World War I. I saw the 1913 G-III by Gaston and Réné Caudron. It had an open cockpit and 9-cylinder rotary engine. The two-seater wooden plane constructed by the Beneš company called a Be-60 Bestiola featured a 4-cylinder engine and had been flown from 1936 to 1940. The adorable W-01 Little Beetle had been used for airshows in the 1970s.

At that museum, I also learned about the career of pilot Alexander Hessman, who also had starred in a 1926 silent Czechoslovak film. He was the organizer of the Czechoslovak aircraft for the 1936 Olympics. After the Nazi Occupation in 1939, he helped pilots escape with false passports, and he wound up fleeing from the Protectorate to France and then to the USA in January of 1940. After World War II, he returned to Czechoslovakia but fled from the Communist regime, settling in the USA, where he was a technical assistant with PAN AM in New York City.

Mexican mask, Museum of Glass and Jewellery, Jablonec nad Nisou

I traveled several times to north Bohemia this past year. One time I went to Jablonec nad Nisou, where the Museum of Glass and Jewellery was located because of the rich local tradition in these fields. I was immersed in the exotic jewellery of strung and woven glass seed beads by North American Indians, using products from north Bohemia. A mask of the jaguar hailed from the Huichol Indian tribe in Mexico. Glass seed beads from Jablonec nad Nisou were used to make a necklace by the South African Zulu tribe, dated from 1880 to 1900. Jablonec has been the location of the mint for the country’s currency, so many commemorative coins were on display.

I also was impressed by buttons made of glass, metal jewellery and black glass jewellery as well as wooden and plastic jewellery. Colorful handbags, masterfully designed, also made up the collection. The Waldes Museum of Buttons and Pins included more than 5,00 buttons, clasps and buckles with the oldest dating from 9 BC. The Bohemian glass exhibition showed off glass in many styles ranging from medieval and Renaissance to Empire and Biedermeier to Art Nouveau and Art Deco to modernism and contemporary. The museum also has the largest public collection of glass Christmas ornaments in the world with more than 15,000 objects. I saw ornaments of angels, birds, cats, dogs, Santa Clauses, gingerbread men and much more, all contemporary.

Josef Lada’s Villa in Hrusice

I made my first visit to Josef Lada’s Villa in Hrusice, where that author, painter, book illustrator and scenographer had lived while making some 600 paintings and 15, 000 illustrations. I saw his paintings of idyllic village life featuring all four seasons. Children threw snowballs and make snowmen in a quaint village in one painting while a squirrel was perched attentively on a tree branch, overseeing a tranquil village scene in another. Pub scenes showed humorous drunken brawls. I would have loved to have owned one of the charming cottages depicted in his paintings. I loved the paintings of knights and dragons from fairy tales as well as the paintings representing the months of the year. His paintings of scenes from Jaroslav Hašek’s antimilitaristic, multi-volume classic about the Good Soldier Švejk in the First World War caught my attention. Many of his paintings focused on holiday traditions. I also saw his humorous drawings and caricatures.

From the First Republic of Czechoslovakia

Poster by Václav Ševčík commemorating the day of the invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies, August 21, 1968

In Prague I took advantage of the stunning exhibitions this past year. I went to two excellent shows at Kampa Museum. One featured Czech graphic art from the founding of Czechoslovakia in 1918 to the present. I saw the first star-studded designs for the Czechoslovak flag as well as many political posters from the World War II era through Communist times to the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Václav Ševčík made a poster focusing on the day of invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies into Czechoslovakia on August 21, 1968, when the country’s liberal reforms were squashed. The poster shows a blood-red tear below an eye outlined in black on a white background.

Vítězslav Nezval, Alphabet, with typography by Karel Teige

Kampa Museum, Identity exhibition of graphic art, Cindy Kutíková

Other sections concentrated on magazine and book design. I saw beautiful children’s volumes illustrated by Lada, Josef Čapek and Jiří Trnka. I was drawn to the covers and typography of Karel Teige, an avantgarde interwar artist. The exhibition showcased contemporary times by displaying a colorful, large Quantum Beaded Sweater created in 2020 and 2021 by Cindy Kutíková, for instance.

Václav Tíkal, 1944

Otakar Nejedlý, Waterfall, 1913-14

Another exhibition at Kampa Museum focused on paintings from the private collection of entrepreneur Vladimír Železný, purchased for his Golden Goose Gallery. Called The Goose on Kampa, the show featured 70 paintings representing works from the beginning of the 20^th century through the 1960s, such as creations by Toyen, Jiří Štyrský, Špála, Emil Filla, Jan Zrzavý and Mikuláš Medek. One painting that caught my undivided attention was Václav Tíkal’s 1944. A hand partially covered in a ripped black glove showing the fingertips, thumb and part of the palm was emerging out of the frozen, snow-covered earth in a barren landscape.

Otto Gutfreund, Viki, 1912-13 from Cubist period

On that day I also explored the Kampa Museum’s permanent collection, specifically the sculptures of Otto Gutfreund, whose early works can be classified as Cubist. His later creations, made after World War I, featured traits of Civilism, which promoted themes of everyday life.

Bohumil Hrabal, 1952, Tragedy! What a Tragedy!

At the Museum of Czech Literature, I greatly appreciated a small exhibition due to my interest in the works of the late 20^th century Czech fiction writer Bohumil Hrabal. The modest show emphasized the artistic relationship and friendship of Hrabal and abstract artist Vladimír Boudník, who created the “Explosionism” style. I was most impressed by Hrabal’s collages from the 1950s. One featured a Singer sewing machine, a naked baby and barbed wire heading into the horizon as white crosses in a graveyard punctuated the picture. It was called “Tragedy, What a Tragedy!”

Oto Kubín, Chapel in Simione, 1926

Maurice Utrillo, Chateau de la Seigliere (Aubusson), 1930

The Wallenstein Riding Stables was the site of an intriguing exhibition about artists from Bohemia residing in Paris between the wars. They were part of the “Paris School,” which featured a variety of styles. Czechs Kars, Kubín (Othon Coubine) and Francois Zdeněk Eberl made strong impressions in the lively, vibrant Paris of the 1920s. The themes of the paintings were many: portraits, cityscapes, street life scenes, café and entertainment scenes as well as a focus on the circus and cabaret. I was drawn to Kubín’s landscapes of Provence. The lavender fields were my favorite. Also represented were foreign artists, including Marc Chagall and Maurice Utrillo.

Hendrick Goltzius, The Four Disgracers, 1588

Also at the Wallenstein Riding Stables, the exhibition “From Michelangelo to Callot: The Art of Mannerist Printmaking showed off more than 200 works of 16^th and 17^th century graphic art, drawings, paintings, jewelry, etchings, lithographs, ceramics and other artistic crafts that hailed from the Netherlands, Germany, France and the Czech lands. The Louvre lent Prague’s National Gallery many works. Some pieces in the collections were being displayed to the public for the first time. A superb small drawing by Michelangelo drew crowds, and art by Hendrick Goltzius, Paul Bril, Aegidius Sadeler and Niccolo Boldrini stood out to me.

Painting by Karel Kryl, temporary exhibition at House of the Golden Ring

Karel Kryl giving a concert

On my birthday I went to the House of the Golden Ring near Old Town Square. I saw an exhibition about the late dissident singer and songwriter Karel Kryl, whose music had been poetic, profound and political. He had lived in West Germany during much of the Communist era and had worked for Radio Free Europe. I realized how politically-motivated his songs had been and how he had supported the Poles as well as the Czechoslovaks in their fights for freedom. I was engrossed by his artwork, disturbing and grotesque scenes with one-legged clowns and half-human, half-creature figures.

Pieter Brueghel II

One of my favorite exhibitions of the year, taking place in Kinský Palace, was called “Get on the ice!”, featuring hockey and skating in paintings and other artistic creations. It reinforced the fact that ice hockey and skating have played significant roles in Czech and Slovak identity. I especially was impressed by the works of the Dutch masters who had inspired Czech painting. Pieter Brueghel II’s scene of skating on a pond caught my undivided attention. Czechs first represented skating on the Vltava River and on ice rinks.

Then hockey became the major theme, first portrayed realistically and then in the 1960s expressed in an experimental fashion. I was drawn to František Tavík Šimon’s “Ice Rink Under the Charles Bridge” (1917) with its large falling snowflakes and idyllic, historical setting. One example of the experimentation of the 1960s is Vojtěch Tittlebach’s “Hockey” from 1965, with abstract shapes and simple forms. The players in this painting had no facial traits. Jiří Kolář also added to the experimentation of the 1960s with his “Hockey Sticks,” composed of three wooden sticks decorated with paper collages, many of them maps and some historical scenes. The 1998 Czech Olympic victory at Nagano was celebrated in large photographs, including one that showed the moment Czech Petr Svoboda scored the winning goal while the crowd in Old Town Square erupted in joy.

New Realisms, Karel Čapek from series Cactuses, first half of the 1930s

One-Handed Ice Cream Man, Miloslav Holý, 1923

In Prague I also saw the New Realisms exhibition, which focused on modern Realist trends in Czechoslovak art from 1918 to 1945. The more than 600 works hailed from the Czech and Slovak lands as well as Germany and Hungary. I especially liked Karel Čapek’s photographs of cactuses and his dog Dašenka as this field focused on the everyday during this era. I also liked the many café scenes, realistic portraits of people, magic realism in landscapes, the focus on the societal and economic dilemmas in Czechoslovakia and the depiction of modern labor. I have always been interested in the paintings of Group 42 as their works had an existential quality, often punctuated by telegraph wires and deserted streets.

Francesco Bartolozzi, The Girl and the Kitten, 1787

One of my favorite exhibitions in Prague this past year was called “The Good Cat and the Treacherous One,” featuring cats in graphic art from the 16^th to the 18^th century. The art shows how some people revered cats while others hated felines. They often symbolized something or were shown for entertainment. Some considered them to be a form of the devil. Others gave them positive religious connotations. I especially enjoyed the Mannerist works by Goltzius and the graphic art by Wenceslaus Hollar, who portrayed cats with both positive and negative qualities. I saw pictures of cats symbolizing maternal love, sight, hearing, devotion, courage, yearning for freedom, foolishness, frivolity, cruelty, greed, treachery, lust and adultery. I also noticed cats as protectors against snakes. A French painting showed how, in 18^th century France, cats had epitomized personal and political freedom.

Clam-Gallas Palace

I focused mostly on day trips when traveling this past year. While I visited chateaus, castles and monasteries outside of Prague, I did also become acquainted with the renovated Clam-Gallas Palace in the capital city. The Baroque palace became the property of the Gallas family in the 17^th century. The palace has a rich musical and theatrical history as Mozart and Beethoven both performed there during the late 18^th century. The colossal exterior portal is decorated with statuary by Baroque master Matyáš Bernard Braun, and he also created the fountain portraying Triton.

Murano chandelier in Clam-Gallas Palace

The many monumental frescoes amazed as did the chandeliers, especially the 19^th century chandelier made of Chinese porcelain cups, saucers and vases. Frescoes depict the triumph of Apollo and gathering of the gods on Olympus, for instance. Allegorical figures representing sculpture, architecture and painting stand out in another fresco. I was very impressed with the former office of the first Czechoslovak Minister of Finance, Alois Rašín, though it was sparsely furnished. He had tried to gather support for the creation of Czechoslovakia during World War I and had even been imprisoned for taking part in the resistance. Rašín was assassinated in Prague during January of 1923 by a 19-year old anarchist.

Bohumil Hrabal’s cottage in Kersko

Kersko near Prague is one of my favorite tranquil spots in the country, a village where Hrabal resided from the 1960s until his death in 1997 and where he fed many feral cats daily. Hrabal’s two-story cottage opened to the public for the first time this spring. I saw the garden where he wrote some books and the charming enclosed terrace where he composed his works when weather did not permit him to spend time in his garden. I saw the chair in which Hrabal wrote his last literary piece, during 1995. The top floor was adorned with many paintings – a moving portrait of Hrabal by Jan Jirů, a drawing featuring heads of Hrabal from his youth to old age in a rendition by Jiří Anderle. Another portrayed cats on chairs in a forest setting along with Hrabal himself. Portraits of his family and a collage focusing on one of his books also caught my undivided attention. The place captured the soul of Hrabal, and I was very moved.

In the local shop, known for its ceramic figures of cats, there was an exhibition of drawings of Hrabal – at the pub, in Heaven, in Kersko, each rendition celebrating the author in a creative way. We ate at my favorite restaurant outside of Prague, Hájenka, a prominent landmark in Kersko. Whether I chose the chicken with cheese sauce, the meat with dumplings or the fried chicken steak, I was always delighted by the meal in a rustic, charming atmosphere.

Mariánská Tynice complex

I traveled about 35 kilometers north of Pilsen to pay a second visit to the High Baroque complex with pilgrimage church Mariánská Tynice, an aerial constructed by renowned architect Jan Blažej Santini during the 18^th century, using geometric forms such as quadrangles and triangles as features of his Baroque Gothic style. The church with a Greek cross plan had an impressive illusionary main altar of the Holy Trinity while the east and west ambits were constructed with open arcades featuring eight chapels. The masterful painting on the vaulting and walls celebrates the lives of the Virgin Mary and Cistercian saints. The cupola of the church is lit by eight windows.

Frescoes on the walls and vaults of the ambits

Part of the complex was the Museum and gallery of the North Pilsen region. I liked the Gothic altarpieces and Baroque paintings as well as the 19^th paintings of pilgrimage sights. The reconstruction of rooms resembling 19^th century and early 20^th century village life included a classroom, a countryside chapel and a pub.

Museum of the High-Rises, Kladno, ceramic tile on the facade

Gas masks in the nuclear bunker of the Museum of the High-Rises

In Kladno near Prague, I toured the Museum of the High-Rise, which was located in one of the six Rozdělov high-rises designed by Czech functionalist architect Josef Havlíček in the 1950s. He received acclaim during the interwar years as a member of the avantgarde and studied under Cubist architect Josef Gočár. The façade of the 13-floor building was created from ceramic material, and on that particular high-rise were ceramics of a cat and a dog. There was a small museum in one basement floor. We also visited the nuclear bunker, complete with numerous gas masks and many hard benches. The big rooftop terrace was a prominent feature for that time period. In the representative flat for the higher-ups, we saw 1950s furniture and a balcony. The flat measured about 65 meters squared, quite a luxury in that day and age.

Humprecht Chateau

View from Humprecht Chateau

I also visited many chateaus within a two-hour distance of Prague. Seventeenth century Humprecht Chateau in the central Bohemian Paradise region had an elliptical shape. Much of the interior featured hunting themes. I saw paintings of Venice, Biedermeier bookcases in the two libraries of about 4,000 volumes, a black kitchen with an original fireplace and utensils from the 17^th century. The main hall featured four frescoes from the 1930s, showing scenes from the life of the Černín family, the long-time owners of the chateau. Baroque furniture decorated several rooms. The picture gallery includes works from the 17^th century. What I liked best about the chateau were the panoramic vistas from the top floor.

Volman Villa

Also, not far from Prague, the newly reconstructed Volman Villa, a large, geometric functionalist structure built from 1938 to 1939, featured big terraces, a circular driveway, a monumental winding staircase and outer stairs that lead to a bridge heading into the building. It is possible to access the terrace from each spacious room. Volman used exotic materials such as travertine and marble for the construction. The marble bathrooms with beautiful pink and light blue bathtubs were vast. While there are now many trees obstructing the view, at one time it was possible to see the Labe River in the 40-hectare English park.

Grabštejn Castle, Chapel of Saint Barbara

I visited several castles and chateaus in north Bohemia – Grabštejn Castle, Jezeří Chateau and Červeny Hrádek Chateau. I was shocked at the vast improvements made during the reconstruction of Grabštejn and Jezeří as I had last visited the two about 20 years ago. Grabštejn, originally a 13^th century castle, took on the structure of a Renaissance chateau in the 16^th century. The 16^th century Chapel of Saint Barbara featured exquisite vaulting and wall painting that included 13 apostles. One tour featured the 18^th century administrative offices that made up the castle interior during that time period while another showed the rooms of the nobility, including a gigantic wall painting with chateau-like gardens and fountain. I saw furnishings and artifacts from the 16^th to 19^th centuries.

Jezeří Chateau, painting by Carl Robert Croll

While only a few rooms of Jezeří Chateau were opened about 25 years ago, now there are about 10 impressive spaces on the tour. I loved the paintings of Carl Robert Croll, renditions which showed the interior of the chateau during the early 19^th century. I was especially impressed with the room dedicated to Jan Masaryk, the son of the first president of Czechoslovakia and once the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was thrown out a bathroom window at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Communists after the 1948 coup. The Winter Garden was light and airy, punctuated by much greenery. The lavish Theatre Hall included sculptural and stucco adornment as well as an original fireplace. The paintings throughout were impressive, too.

Červený Hrádek, Knights’ Hall

Červený Hrádek dated back to the early 15^th century and gets it current appearance from the 17^th century. The Knights’ Hall from that era included lavish sculptural decoration with medallions featuring battle scenes and exquisite crystal chandeliers. Other spaces harkened back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries with period furnishings. Seventeenth century sculptor Jan Brokoff created sculptures, fountains and vases that decorated the monumental staircase. The English style park was beautiful, too. In August of 1938 the Sudeten Party leader Konrad Henlein and English Lord Walter Runciman had a meeting there, shortly before the Munich Agreement was signed.

Dobříš Chateau Park

Dobříš Chateau Park

Because the interior had been recently renovated, I returned to Dobříš Chateau not far from Prague. I was disappointed there were not as many rooms decorated with period furniture. Instead, the self-guided tour mostly featured spaces celebrating the Colloredo-Mansfield family’s accomplishments, which were very intriguing and noteworthy, to be sure. Still, I missed the longer, guided tour and former exciting interior décor of the Rococo and Classicist eras. The Writers’ Room remained on display, decorated the way the space would have looked when the chateau belonged to the Writers’ Union from the 1950s to the 1990s. It was possible to enter one side of the spectacular Hall of Mirrors, although it was roped off and walking through the room was not permitted. The fresco-filled hall amazed with 18^th century décor and eight Venetian chandeliers as well as monumental fireplaces.

Illusionary painting on the orangery in Dobříš Chateau Park

The park, measuring nearly two hectares, was the reason to visit the chateau. On that sunny summer day, it was spectacular to stroll through the Rococo style park established in the 1770s. It had five terraces, a fountain with astounding Baroque sculptural grouping and an orangery with illusionary wall painting.

Slatiňany Chateau

Interior of Slatiňany Chateau

I traveled to Slatiňany Chateau for the second time and noted the prominent hunting and horseback riding themes. The Auerspergs held on to the chateau for 200 years and were responsible for the charming interior. I loved the exquisite canopied beds decorated with religious paintings. The tapestries were another delight. In the Big Dining Room I admired a large painting of hunters and their dogs getting ready for the hunt as well as a stunning 18^th century Murano chandelier.

Vienna, Albertina, Monet, Waterlillies, in the permanent collection

I had many exciting adventures traveling in 2024 and had many impactful experiences at art exhibitions in the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Every time I go on a trip or to an art show, I come away changed, with a sharper perspective on life and with more enthralling knowledge.

Albertinum, Dresden, Hans Grundig, The Thousand-Year Empire, in the permanent collection

Tracy A. Burns is a writer, proofreader and editor in Prague.

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Tracy's Travels

My travels throughout the Czech Republic and beyond

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2025 Travel Diary

2025 Art Exhibitions Diary

Stránov Chateau Diary

Přerov nad Labem Open-Air Architectural Museum Diary

Through the Eyes of Franz Kafka Exhibition in Pilsen Diary

The Great Synagogue in Pilsen Diary

Radim Chateau Diary

Paul Gauguin Exhibition in Vienna Diary

Marc Chagall Exhibition in the Albertina Photo Diary

2024 Travel Diary