CZECHOSLOVAKIA

[Music] [Music] so [Music] this is the classical scenery of romantic mountain forest and cornfield that was once loved by the novelists of a more sentimental time than ours but it was here against an appropriately theatrical background almost too suitable to be true but much of the power struggle of feudal europe was played out like stones behind the plow this ground has thrown up kings and dynasties saints and robber barons to flourish for a time and to be cut down like the ripe corn at harvest time with the passing centuries legend and reality have blurred into each other but the foundations of both remain for us to see the ancient castles of czechoslovakia are enough to excite anyone into a sense of history even without the aid of organized pageants within their battlement in precincts [Music] what the pageants and the actors however authentic their costumes or their scripts may be cannot convey is the stone paved severity of medieval life even at the most exalted level stone walls stone floors stone seats with only an occasional tapestry and some scattered rushes to soften the harshness of castle life neither the table manners of the 14th century nor the entertainment were notable for their refinement but it was a hard and dangerous life and it bred the formidable men who built to be remembered and will indeed not be forgotten as long as visitors beat a pathway to their stronghold [Music] [Music] in even earlier times before codes of chivalry had reached their final elaboration these ancient forests at the heart of europe housed the founder of the great native czech royal line a peasant chosen in marriage by a princess a union from which was to descend the good king wenceslas a gentle saint who got murdered for his moderation and whom we sing about at christmas this was the landscape that he knew this was the landscape and these much the same simple tasks about the farm that the peasant founder of the dynasty knew well the young viltava river winds through the town of cesky krumlov the gem of southern bohemia which has somehow managed to live on almost unaltered from the 16th century the old town is dominated from every viewpoint by its tremendous renaissance castle the castle of cesky krumlov is one of those border keeps that grew from the rising power of its land owning proprietors who lived by their motto listen look and keep quiet if you wish to live in peace [Music] born gothic and graduated to barack century by century the castle added archway and courtyard gatehouse and portal to its great labyrinth of stone and iron [Music] so the emperor charles iv gave carlsbad its name in the 14th century but it was for monarchs of the late 19th century that this elaborate plumbing was devised when carlsbad was a favorite haunt of among others king edward vii and the german emperor wilhelm ii [Music] then as indeed now taking the cure meant bathing drinking the warm mineral waters and in general leading a peaceful life in a very beautiful spot [Music] good carlsbad is a magnificent example of what wise men can do with a landscape a well-arranged scattering of dignified buildings filling yet not spoiling a deep wooded valley music is deeply rooted in the czech way of life and it was to the landscape of his own country that bedrich smetana turned for inspiration in his portrait in music of bohemia's woods and fields the city of prague on the mighty voltava river has been a lodestone for artists and musicians of central europe for a thousand years and in relatively recent times beethoven lived and wrote here [Music] despairing of recognition in vienna mozart walked these courtyards and is remembered in music by students of today [Music] [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] so [Music] cultural capital of central europe though it undoubtedly was prague and its citizens have never been ashamed to be seen in the famous beer houses of the city for their relaxation workers and students managers and ministers can be found at ufleku and other famous taverns of old prague where a special dark brown beer has been served to its customers since 1499 um [Music] uh [Music] perhaps no sacred building in europe took longer to complete than the tremendous pile of sandvitus cathedral that hangs over prague like a petrified thundercloud begun by the emperor charles iv in the 14th century the last stones were not finally laid until 1929 wars invasions crises and turmoil interrupted the long work of building as they have interrupted the history of the nation but when the same princess who chose a peasant for her prince urged him to build his castle here she prophesied i see a great city whose glory will touch the stars honor and praise shall be given to it and it shall be renowned throughout the world [Music] so so so [Music] so you