Search results for ""Author Derek Paton""

Most, one of the most impressive historical cities of Northern Bohemia, was destroyed in the sixties and seventies for coal mining. When plans to redevelop the city began, hope and expectations ran high; in the end, however, Most became a symbol for the heartless incompetence of Czechoslovak communism. In this book, Matěj Spurný explores the historical city of Most from the nineteenth century into the years following World War II, investigating the decision to destroy it as well as the negotiations concerning the spirit of the proposed new city. Situating postwar Most in the context of cultural and social shifts in Czechoslovakia and Europe as a whole, Spurný traces the path a medieval city took to become a showcase of brutalist architecture and the regime’s technicist inhumanity. But the book, like the city of Most itself, does not end in tragedy. Fusing architectural and political history with urban and environmental studies, Spurný’s tale shows the progress that can be made when Czechs confront the crimes of the past—including the expulsion of local Germans and the treatment of the Romani minority—and engage with rational, contemporary European concepts of urban renewal.

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At the end of the fifteenth century, when the Jagiellons and first Habsburg rulers sat on Prague’s throne, the character of the city’s municipalities began to transition from medieval to Renaissance. In Renaissance Prague, historian Eliška Fučíková paints a vivid picture of the Bohemian capital during this time of sweeping change. As Fučíková reveals, this period saw the evolution of new architectural motifs across the city. In particular, there was a distinct transformation of Prague Castle, including the construction of well-known features such as the Ball Game Hall and Queen Anne’s Summer Palace. Featuring a concise historical overview and a guide to prominent figures of the time, as well as a variety of illustrations—from artwork to archival images, contemporary photographs, and maps—Fučíková’s book is a beautiful, enlightening tour through the Renaissance metropolis of the Bohemian Kingdom.

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Since its birth as a city, Prague's appearance, character, and life have been shaped by the River Vltava. The flow of the river enabled the settlement of the Prague basin, the creation of the capital of the Bohemian Kingdom, and, later, the Czech state. In the course of their joint history, the city has gradually tamed the river, and as Prague has changed, so too has its river. This exquisitely illustrated book celebrates both the historical and living bond between Prague and the Vltava. After first exploring the river's major transformations most radically those of the nineteenth century, when the river banks became riverside roads, centers of social life, and elegant promenades all overhung with architecturally imposing grand houses Katerina Beckova takes readers on a stroll, in photographs, through the contemporary city. She tells the stories of its flour mills, bridges, islands, embankments, monuments, and community spaces, linking unique, riverside panoramic views of the town with fascinating insight into the evolution of Prague's everyday life over time. Also including historical and documentary illustrations, maps, and lists of key figures, locations, and landmarks (both today's and yesterday's) with the various names they have had over the centuries, Prague: A City and Its River is both a cultural guide and beautiful work of art an enlightening homage to the river that continues to shape one of the most historic and beautiful capitals of Eastern Europe.

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