Author: Ricky

Celebrating the Royal Wedding in the Czech Republic

Being interviewed on Czech TV ©
Being interviewed on Czech TV © - with my correct title on the screen in Czech

One of the things I have begun to learn as part of being the Anglican Chaplain in Prague is to expect the unexpected. So when on the afternoon of the Wednesday of Holy Week, whilst walking along Jugoslávských partyzánu, my mobile phone rang with a call from a number unknown to me, I answered it with my friendly “Ricky Yates speaking”, unsure what the response would be.

“This is Czech TV”, said a female voice in English. “We would like you to take part in our special programme next Friday covering the Royal Wedding”. Therefore, following an email exchange with Veronika Linková of channel ct24, yesterday morning at 08.30, a taxi arrived outside the Chaplaincy flat, to whisk me away to the studios of Czech TV in the southern suburbs of Prague.

Upon arrival, it was first into the ‘make-up room’ to make sure my face looked its best under the glare of the lights. Then it was downstairs to the lounge where I was able to avail myself of several glasses of water to lubricate an increasingly dry throat. Here I met Martin who was to translate for me. I was also able to see and hear the live broadcast coming from the neighbouring studio.

Next it was the technician who ‘wired me for sound’ with a clip on microphone on my lapel and the battery pack clipped to my back trouser pocket. I was also fitted with an ear piece through which I would hear what I was being asked in Czech, translated into English. Then finally came the call to go into the studio to be interviewed live on Czech TV.

The balustrade overlooking the British Embassy garden suitably decorated for the Royal Wedding © Ricky Yates

I had been told in advance that I would be asked about the Anglican Church and the Marriage Service but I had no forewarning as to what the exact questions would be. Some were what I expected such as the relationship between the Royal Family and the Church of England and what impact I thought the televised wedding would have on people’s attitude to the Church.

As the Roman Catholic Church is the majority Church in the Czech Republic, I was also expecting a question regarding differences between an Anglican and a Roman Catholic ceremony. But what I wasn’t expecting was the surprise expressed by one of the two joint presenters Hana Scharffová, that a wedding should take place on a Friday because she claimed, that would never be allowed in the Roman Catholic Church as Fridays are meant to be days of abstinence.

The tower of the British Embassy with the Union Flag flying © Ricky Yates

The question I certainly wasn’t expecting came from the other joint presenter Tomáš Šponar. He asked me about the level of support for the Royal Family within the Anglican Church in view of the outburst by Bishop Pete Broadbent on Facebook at the time of the announcement of the Royal engagement in November 2010. This was one piece of news that I didn’t realise had trickled down to the studios of Czech TV!

Unfortunately during the first part of my interview, the English translation into my ear piece was intermittent due to a loose connection somewhere. Fortunately, a combination of my limited understanding of Czech and both presenters occasionally re-phrasing their questions in English, allowed me to answer reasonably successfully. During a brief break, the technician who had wired me up, came back into the studio and sorted out the problem.

My questioning over, courtesy of Czech TV, I travelled back once more by taxi, but only as far as Mala Strana. There I was meeting up with Sybille as we had previously accepted an invitation to an event to celebrate the Royal Wedding that was not being televised! We were formally invited by the British Ambassador and her husband, to a Champagne Lunch at the British Embassy and more informally invited by ‘Sian and Richard’, to watch the Royal Wedding on TV beforehand. As we do not have a television ourselves, we were very pleased to have opportunity of watching it at the embassy.

The Embassy was suitably decorated to mark this special occasion as can be seen in the two accompanying photographs. As a memento of the day’s events, each guest was presented with a beautifully decorated gingerbread heart which can be seen below, laid out on a table, along with the visitors’ book.

Decorated gingerbread hearts to celebrate the Royal Wedding © Ricky Yates

Jan Hus – Leader of the Bohemian Reformation and Czech Hero

Statue of Jan Hus in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, Prague. © Ricky Yates

The photograph above is of the imposing statue of Jan Hus, located in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, in the centre of Prague. It is the work of the Czech sculptor Ladislav Jan Šaloun and was unveiled in 1915 to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of the death of Hus who was burnt at the stake on 6th July 1415.

Jan Hus was born around 1369 in the village of Husinec in South Bohemia. At a young age he moved to Prague, becoming a student at Charles University. He gained his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1393, his Master degree in 1396 and was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1400.

Bethlehem Chapel © Ricky Yates

The building in Prague most associated with Hus is the Bethlehem Chapel. The original Chapel, completed in 1394, was built for the express purpose of the service of preaching rather than for the celebration of mass. In 1402, Hus was appointed Rector of the Bethlehem Chapel and took up residence in rooms immediately adjoining the Chapel

Over the following ten years, the preaching of Jan Hus drew large crowds to the Bethlehem Chapel. He was very much influenced by the teaching and writings of the early English Church Reformer John Wycliffe, and in his preaching, called for reform within the Roman Catholic Church. He was particularly outraged by the selling of papal indulgences to collect funds for military purposes.

However, there are two significant things which Hus did or advocated which are reflected in the way he is now remembered by most Czech people. Firstly, he preached and wrote in Czech rather than Latin as he wanted his hearers and readers to fully understand what he was saying. Secondly, he wanted worshippers to be able to receive communion in both kinds – both bread and wine – and for lay people not to be forbidden to receive the chalice.

After a papal edict of September 1412, prevented Hus from preaching in Prague, he withdrew to the South Bohemian countryside where he continued to preach under the open skies and where he also completed most of his writings. In October 1414, having been assured of safe passage, he travelled to Konstanz to attend a Church Council which had been called to resolve a variety divisive issues within the Church at that time including the existence of three different individuals each claiming to be Pope! However, as part of the proceedings of the Council of Konstanz, Jan Hus was tried, found guilty of heresy and condemned to death. He was burnt at the stake in Konstanz on 6th July 1415.

The supporters of Hus were outraged and the Hussite movement flourished following his death, bringing about the Bohemian Reformation. Sadly, there were divisions between those who desired moderate reform and those who wanted far more radical change within the Church. Eventually in 1620, at the Battle of White Mountain/Bilá hora on the outskirts of Prague, the army of the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II defeated the forces of the Bohemian Estates and as a result, unreformed Roman Catholicism was reimposed upon Czech lands.

The Czech National Revival, which began in the late eighteenth century, regarded Hus as a Czech hero, not primarily for religious reasons but rather for political and cultural ones. His opposition to church control by the Vatican gave strength to those who opposed control of Czech lands by the Hapsburgs in the form of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He preached and wrote in the Czech language and therefore was a focus for opposition to the Germanisation of government, education and culture in Bohemia and Moravia. Therefore the statue of Hus located in Staromestské námestí/Old Town Square, in the centre of Prague, is surrounded by figures of victorious Hussite warriors and the figure of a young mother symbolizing national rebirth.

The Bethlehem Chapel fell into a dilapidated state and was partially demolished in 1786. Three original walls remained standing within which a sizable apartment building was constructed in the 1830s. Following the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia in 1918, there were moves by the new government to purchase the apartment complex and restore the Chapel. But nothing concrete ever materialised before the outbreak of World War Two.

At the end of the war in 1945, the apartment building was confiscated from its German owners and, between 1950 – 1954, the Bethlehem Chapel was restored with considerable care to its original form. Ironically this took place under the guidance of a Communist run Ministry of Culture. But even the Communists used the legacy of Jan Hus for their own purposes by portraying him as a proto-communist!

Inscription and painting on the interior wall of the Bethlehem Chapel © Ricky Yates

Inside the chapel, the earlier inscriptions on the walls have been restored on the basis of known texts with associated illustrations, as in this photograph. However, this second wall painting was not in the original chapel as it shows Hus being burnt at the stake!

Painting on the inside wall of the Bethlehem Chapel showing Jan Hus being burnt at the stake © Ricky Yates

All Czech Protestants also remember and celebrate Jan Hus and the symbol they use to do this is the chalice. This is because of Hus insisting that all Christian believers should receive communion in both kinds.

Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren Church in Žižkov, Prague © Ricky Yates

The picture on the left is of an Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren Church building in the Prague suburb of Žižkov. It too is called the Bethlehem Chapel/Betlémská kaple and was constructed in the cubist architectural style. On the left of the front façade is a bust of Jan Hus whilst on the right is a bust of John Calvin. But as can be seen in close-up detail below, above the front façade are a Bible and, on top of the Bible, a large gold chalice.

Bible & Chalice © Ricky Yates
Plaque commemorating Jan Hus on the exterior of St. Clement’s Church, Prague © Ricky Yates

The photograph above is of a plaque on the outside of St. Clement’s Church which also belongs to the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren. Like to statue in Old Town Square, this plaque was also erected on the 500th anniversary of the death of Jan Hus. With his picture, together with a chalice, thanks are given for ‘Svaté pameti otce Ceské Reformace – the holy memory of the Father of the Czech Reformation’.

 

Advice in Czenglish as to where not to subside

Advice in Czenglish as to where not to subside © Ricky Yates

On Monday 21st March, Sybille & I visited the re-built Bethlehem Chapel in central Prague where the leader of the Bohemian Reformation Jan Hus, used to preach to a congregation of up to three-thousand people. I’m planning to write an extensive blogpost about Hus very shortly. But in the meantime, here is my latest example of Czenglish which I came across inside the Bethlehem Chapel.

 

 

 

 

 

Flood defences and Communist artwork

New flood defence at Troja © Ricky Yates

On Mondays (my day off), and sometimes on Saturdays if I get the sermon finished in time, Sybille and I like to walk and explore different parts of Prague. Here are two pairs of pictures taken during two walking forays into different parts of the city during February 2011.

These first two pictures were taken in Troja, a suburb located on the other side of the Vltava from where we live and close to Prague Zoo. They show newly constructed flood defences, designed to protect the neighbouring housing and also the nearby zoo, from future flooding should the Vltava rise to levels similar to those experienced in the catastrophic floods of August 2002. These defences are quite new – when we were last here a few months earlier, major construction works were still underway.

The gap in the high concrete wall, allows road access to the riverside during times of normal river levels. But should water levels rise rapidly, then a sunken metal barrier can be raised between the two sections of the wall, blocking the road, but preventing floodwater from going any further.

New flood defence embankment and wall at Troja © Ricky Yates

The second picture shows the view alongside the river, at right angles to the first picture. The concrete wall with pillars on the left, is the continuation of the concrete wall in the first photograph. Again, there are sunken metal barriers between the pillars which can be raised in time of serious flooding. But when river levels are normal, the barriers are left down, allowing more light into the car park immediately behind the wall and the into the houses beyond.

Early Communist era artwork from 1951 © Ricky Yates

The second pair of photographs were taken in the suburb of Hanspaulka, a little further west from where we live. The housing in Hanspaulka mainly dates from the first four decades of the twentieth century. However, the suburb also contains a number of examples of blocks of flats built in the early years of the Communist era, to provide much needed additional housing for the growing population of post-war Czechoslovakia.

Much grandiose Communist era artwork on buildings in the Czech Republic has quietly been eliminated and destroyed. But this somewhat quaint piece above the doorway of a small-scale three or four storey block of flats, has survived. As it says, it dates from 1951, only three years after the Communist coup of 1948. It celebrates two archetypal labourers working in heavy industry, ironically located in a suburb where such heavy industry has never existed!

Location of Communist era artwork with twin bases for displaying flags © Ricky Yates

The second photograph puts the artwork in context, showing where it is located, above the entrance to the flats built to house the hardworking proletariat. It also shows another feature found on many buildings across Prague – the provision of metalwork, located immediately below the street number of the building, to allow the display of two flags. As I explained in an earlier post about public holidays in the Czech Republic, in the Communist era this was for the display of a flag of Czechoslovakia, alongside the flag of the country’s fraternal friend, the Soviet Union. These days, two Czech flags will be displayed!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Driving on the ‘right’ side of the road – some photographic history

Instruction in both Czech & German to drive on the right!

I started this blog more than two years ago, mainly to keep my friends and family back in the UK and elsewhere, up-to-date about my life, work and activities in the Czech Republic since moving here in September 2008 when I took up my new appointment as Chaplain of the English-speaking Anglican congregation in Prague.

I wrote about the original motivation behind my blog in a February 2010 piece entitled ‘Happy first birthday to my blog’. There I explained that I now know that many of my Prague congregation also read this blog and how I always have to be careful about whom or what I write! But what I never really expected is how much more widely this blog would be read. But using the tools provided by Google analytics, I’ve discovered that in recent months, my blog receives on average, more than fifty visitors a day.

One of the most frequent subjects that brings people here are those looking via search engines, for an explanation as to why two thirds of the world drives in left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles on the ‘right’, (as in the opposite of ‘left’) side of the road, whilst one third of the world drives in right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles on the ‘left’ (as in the opposite of ‘right’) side of the road. My two posts from June 2009 entitled ‘Driving on the ‘right’ side of the road’ and ‘Check this Czech car out’ both rank highly in Google and other search engines for enquiries of this nature.

As I wrote back in June 2009, the whole of Czechoslovakia drove on the left in RHD vehicles until the change to driving on the right was imposed overnight by Hitler, following his invasion of the country in March 1939. This is the reason why most of the vintage cars that now offer visiting tourists, guided tours around the historic sights of central Prague, are RHD. They all date from the pre-1939 era.

It has been a privilege in the past few weeks to have Johanna, a young lady from Finland, worshipping with us at St. Clements. She has come to Prague to undertake a creative writing course, in particular researching written accounts of the Czech experience of World War Two. As part of her research at the Prague Military Archive, Johanna uncovered two photographs that illustrate the change in driving practice imposed by Hitler. Knowing my interest in this subject, she kindly forwarded them to me.

In view of the wider interest in this topic, I’m posting them here as they are a fascinating record of how this change was imposed by the Nazi authorities in 1939.

Instruction in both German and Czech to drive on the right!