Kutná Hora (Czech pronunciation: [ˈkutnaː ˈɦora] ; German: Kuttenberg) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 22,000 inhabitants. The history of Kutná Hora is linked to silver mining, which made it a rich and rapidly developing town. The centre of Kutná Hora, including the Sedlec Abbey and the Sedlec Ossuary, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 because of its outstanding architecture and its influence on subsequent architectural developments in other Central European city centres. The historic town centre is also protected as an urban monument reservation, the fourth largest in the Czech Republic.
Just wanted to give the shout-out to those guys who speak English as an additional language (and I'm not just talking about second-language speakers, I mean those who picked up a bit at school as a 3rd or 4th language) who aren't quite fluent but when they run into an English-speaker who shares their special interest they're determined to give it a go and end up being way better at holding a conversation than they thought.
I went into a fantastic camera shop in Prague the other day and when I said 'Mluvíš anglicky?' to the guy behind the counter (because I know like three phrases in Czech) he made like a 'eh, not so much' hand gesture, but then I brought out my beloved Pentax Super ME and asked whether they could kit me out with a strap for it...
And he's like 'my colleague will find you the best one, and when you're done I will show you proper books of Czech photographers, because I can tell you are serious person with proper camera instead of this modern crap."
I left the shop having learned so much from this guy and his colleagues, all of whom claimed their English was okay at best, because I think something wonderful happens in our brains when we're motivated to learn language by what interests us rather than just told what to say by teachers thinking we'll need to describe every item in our pencil cases.
My knowledge of the cyrillic alphabet is shaky at best, but if someone wrote 'Петриківка' on a sign and stuck it at the entrance to a dark alley they could quite easily lure me to my death, because look at this stuff!
The half Luxemburger, half Czech Holy Roman Emperor who turned Prague into a European Centre for politics, education and art, and brought about the Golden Age of Bohemia
Early life
Charles IV was born in Prague, 1316 and baptised Václav (Wenceslaus), to King Jan Lucemburský (John the Blind) and Queen Eliška Přemyslovna (Elisabeth) of Bohemia. Following conflict between his parents - likely an attempted plot from his mother to overthrow his father - Charles was moved to the Parisian court of Charles IV of France. Here he would meet Blanche of Valois, his future wife. Their marriage was arranged shortly after and in honour of his new uncle-in-law, Charles IV of France.
At this point, Charles had surprisingly little in terms of formal schooling, but he quickly picked up a deep understanding of politics from Paris' intellectual atmosphere and exposure to scholars at the Paris University. It would be here that he would meet Pierre Roger, a Benedictine abbot. Charles was so captivated by him that he asked the abbot to become his tutor, from whom he would learn - among other subjects - Latin, Roman History and Law.
Time in Italy
In the spring of 1331, Charles would accompany his father on a campaign into Italy and for two years, whilst his father left on other business, Charles was left in charge of many northern Italian cities. These cities were rebellious and cautious of his rule, but his participation in municipal discussions, alongside Roger's education, helped him maintain control.
Time as Margrave
In October of 1333, Charles would finally make his return to Prague. By this point in time he hadn't stepped foot on Czech soil for 11 years and had completely forgotten the Czech language, but as a gifted scholar he quickly picked it back up within a few years. In 1334, his father gifted him the title of "Margrave of Moravia", which allowed him royal authority in absence of the King (Which was often. King Jan is known contemporarily as an "alien king" who rarely actually visited his own realm, greatly preferring life in Paris and fighting abroad). In his long, absence the nobles of Bohemia had grown in power, and by the age of only eighteen, Charles was effectively ruling a country of men who saw him as a threat to their power.
Charles sought as many allies as he could find, and one was his own mother's half-brother. Between late 1333-1335, the two would recover the royal prestige and power that had been lost through his father's absence through relatively peaceful diplomacy with Czech nobles, but in 1335, his father suddenly returned to Bohemia and stripped Charles of all of his powers. Instead of rebelling against his father, Charles accepted this fate with dignity, Within months Jan restored Charles's authority, recognising the necessity of his son's administration.
King of the Romans
In 1341, Charles was officially named the heir to the Bohemian throne, and thanks to his work as Margrave, Prague was made an individual Archbishopric in 1343 by Pope Clement VI (Who just so happened to be his childhood tutor and friend, Pierre Roger). In 1346, an alliance between his father and Clement VI led to the excommunication of the Holy Roman Emperor, Louis IV. Charles was elected the next Emperor. However, his ascension wasn't without opposition. Louis IV believed himself to still be the rightful emperor and warned that Charles would face civil war from his followers in the region, but Louis died a year later, thankfully preventing any war.
That same year, King Jan died. He allied himself with France during the Hundred Years War and, despite being completely blind at this point, charged the British at Crécy, where he was killed in battle. This finally made Charles King of Bohemia. Shortly afterwards Charles would move the capital of the Holy Roman Empire to Prague.
Legacy
Prague quickly developed to match this new title. The "Nové Město" (New Town) was constructed, a new district of Prague modelled after the more refined streets of Paris. The University of Prague was also built in a successful attempt to turn Prague into an international centre for education, and this would later be renamed Charles University in honour of Charles IV. The security of his reign would also inspire confidence in the safety of the Prague Groschen, an already valuable currency due to Bohemia's central location, cementing it as one of the major currencies of the Holy Roman Empire and parts of Eastern Europe.
Charles would pass away in 1378. He would be succeeded as King of Bohemia by his son Václav IV (Wenceslaus IV). Václav would also have been crowned Holy Roman Emperor, but he failed to attend his own coronation in Rome, and the seat was left essentially vacant until Charles' other son and Václav's brother Zikmund (Sigismund) was crowned in 1433, a decade after becoming King of Bohemia himself.
I am so grateful our country's minister of engiroment cancelled climate change last year because otherwise I would be frying myself in this STUPID HEATWAVE!
FACE CARD WC'26 • round of 24 • group AxB • younger players
CZECHIA NT - David Jurásek / 25 / def
SWITZERLAND NT - Johan Manzambi / 20 / mid
Who has the better face card?
Jurasek
Manzambi
Voting ended onJul 1
Welcome to the knockout stageeeee 🥳 And best of luck with making these difficult desicions - feel free to let me know who you voted for bc I am dying to know 👀
This weekend I traded some time in Prague for a weekend in London to visit some of my friends from high school. Since we've all gone our separate ways for college, it was nice to have a weekend where we could catch up. We spent our time wandering through different neighborhoods, trying new restaurants, and enjoying everything London had to offer.
Reconnecting with Friends:
The best part about my weekend was getting to spend time with people I hadn't seen in months. Between school, work, and everyone's busy schedules, it can be difficult to find time to see friends, so this trip felt really special.
We spent most of the weekend simply exploring and wandering around London. My friends and I weren't really interested in seeing the tourists attractions. We spent most of out times in restaurants and markets just catching up, laughing about our old memories, and making new ones.
My amazing friends and I.
Exploring London:
One thing I really enjoyed about London was how every neighborhood had its own personality.
We spent some time walking through Notting Hill, which was probably one of my favorite parts of the city. The colorful houses were just as pretty as they look in pictures, and the neighborhood had such a relaxed atmosphere. We also stopped by a bookstore while we were there. I wanted to buy a copy of Anna Karenina but I decided against it. The bookstore itself was so beautiful, I forgot to get a picture while I was there but trust it was gorgeous.
Another highlight was exploring the flea markets around the city. We visited the Brick Lane Vintage Market and Camden Market, where we spent hours browsing vintage clothing, accessories, and unique shops. Even though I didn't go with a long shopping list, it was fun seeing all of the different styles and hidden finds throughout the markets.
We also visited Kyoto Garden, which was a peaceful break from the busy streets, and spent time wandering through Soho and Bond Street. I loved how easy it was to spend hours just walking around because every street seemed to have something interesting to discover.
Flea market pictures
From the top left: Kyoto Garden, Bond Street. From the Bottom left: Random street (I don't remember where this was), Notting Hill houses.
My Favorite Meals:
One thing London definitely did not disappoint on was the food. Since we were constantly walking around, we ended up trying several different restaurants throughout the weekend, and each one was completely different from the last.
One of my favorite meals was at Akub, a Palestinian restaurant with beautifully presented dishes that tasted just as good as they looked. We also ate at Bulgogi Notting Hill, where I had Korean food, and BAO, a Taiwanese restaurant.
To finish off the weekend, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that ended up being one of my favorite meals of the trip. I don't even remember the name of it, but I definitely remember how good the pizza was.
From the top left: Akub, Bulgogi Notting Hill. From Bottom Left: Italian Restaurant, Bao.
Looking Ahead:
I don't have much coming up this next week so I'll most likely just take you through a day of classes.
