Mailbox

Today in Mailbox: disappearing bazaars in Prague, the Mánes café, a photo featured in Mailbox on our website in September, the Czech Republic’s space satellites. Listeners quoted: Chris Cavers, Jim Willetts, Joanie Schirm, Börje Sahlén, Mofizur Rahman.

Hello, this is Mailbox, Radio Prague’s weekly programme dedicated to your questions and comments.

The worldwide community of Radio Prague listeners has a new member. Chris Cavers who signed himself as “Canadian and World citizen” tuned into our programme rebroadcast on the CBC Overnight service:

“Early in the morning when sleep had ‘fled’ I listened to Czech radio yesterday. I was very impressed by the gentle presenter, as well as the tasteful music used between news items. I want to thank you for your work. It encourages us in the rather crass atmosphere of North America to be able, in this way, to witness an older, more civilized taste in communicating the news. I also wish your country much success in your new role of leading the EU. I intend to listen to your radio whenever possible.”

Thank you very much for those kind words. It is always good to know you are out there listening to our broadcasts, particularly if it is under difficult listening conditions or, as is the case with many of our Canadian listeners, in the small hours of the morning.

Jim Willetts who lives in the Czech Republic read a recent Letter from Prague by Chris Johnstone:

“I read your article about the disappearing bazaars in Prague. As much as I love Prague, diversity and curiosity is something I miss – for an international city there should be more nooks and crannies, more treasures to unearth.”

Joanie Schirm from Florida sent us this e-mail:

Mánes

“Dear Radio Prague, I enjoy your web site very much. I am the daughter of a Czech army doctor Oswald Holzer who in 1939 escaped to China when the Nazis arrived. I am writing a book about his very interesting life and will be visiting Prague in May as part of my research. I have many old letters and an article which mentions in the 1930s a place called Mánes Café. It apparently played a big part in my father’s social life when he was attending Charles University. I was wondering if you know much about it and if you might guide me to someone who would be able to provide a description, history, and if very lucky, some pictures from it during those times. I was wondering also if there is a book or article which describes it. I also wondered if it still exists.”

I believe that particular café was located in the functionalist building of the Mánes Association of Fine Arts on today’s Masarykovo Embankment in Prague. The artists’ association was founded in 1887 in Prague and was named after the famous Czech painter Josef Mánes. The association built its own complex of exhibition halls, restaurant and offices between 1928 and 1930. Today the white angular building houses a well-respected art gallery. The restaurant is not as popular as it probably was back in the 1930s. The building standing astride a former mill race, with foundations both on the river bank and an island on the Vltava River, was badly affected by the 2002 floods but has since been repaired.

Our listener from Sweden Börje Sahlén included a brief question in the postscript to his answer to the March listeners’ competition:

“A questions from me: who is the girl with a guitar on the picture featured in mailbox dated 2008-11-09?”

The person in the picture happens to be a young man and I am told by the internet department that it is just a random picture they used to illustrate the topic. He is not someone famous, at least not to our knowledge.

Our regular listener Mofizur Rahman from Bangladesh has this query:

“Does the Czech Republic have its own satellite in space?”

Czechoslovakia launched its first space satellite in 1978, called Magion 1, the first in a series of Magions, the last one being Magion 5 launched in 1996. In 2003, the Czech Republic launched a scientific microsatellite called MIMOSA (short for Micromeasurements of Satellite Acceleration). However, due to a technical fault, it never became fully operational. It’s still up there, orbiting the earth among other bits of cosmic debris.

Thank you very much for your letters and e-mails and please keep them coming. Now we have just enough time to repeat our competition question for March

In March we are looking for the name of the Austrian philosopher who was born in 1859 in the Moravian town of Prostějov and died in 1938 in the German city of Freiburg. He is known as the founder of phenomenology.

We expect your answers by the end of March at [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099, Prague. There will be small prizes for four of you who answer correctly. Thanks for tuning in today, Mailbox will be back again next week. Until then, take care.