On this Day, in 1992: 30,000 Poles rushed to McDonald’s first restaurant in Warsaw
On June 17, 1992, three years after the collapse of communism in Central and Eastern Europe, US fast-food giant McDonald’sContinue Reading
Tag: On this Day
On this Day, in 1940: 728 Poles were sent to Auschwitz in the concentration camp’s first mass transport
On June 14, 1940, Nazi authorities organised the first mass transport to the Auschwitz I concentration camp, deporting more thanContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1391: the Bethlehem Chapel was founded in Prague
On May 24, 1391, the Bethlehem Chapel was founded in Prague’s Old Town as the first preaching chapel in Europe,Continue Reading
On this Day, in 1955: the Warsaw Pact came into existence in Central and Eastern Europe
On May 14, 1955, eight countries including the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary, signed the Warsaw Treaty, bringing intoContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1911: Czech aviation pioneer Jan Kašpar completed a historic long-distance flight to Prague
On May 13, 1911, Czech aviator Jan Kašpar successfully flew from Pardubice to Prague in what was, at the time,Continue Reading
On this Day, in 2004: the four Visegrad countries joined the EU in a historic enlargement to the east
On May 1, 2004, the so-called “Visegrad 4” (V4) countries of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary were partContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1713: “Slovak Robin Hood” Juraj Jánošík was executed aged 25
On March 17, 1713, Slovak highwayman and “Robin Hood” robber Juraj Jánošík was executed at the age of 25, soonContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1978: Vladimír Remek became the first non-Soviet, non-American astronaut to go to space
On March 2, 1978, Czech cosmonaut Vladimír Remek became the first and only Czech to fly to space, and theContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1998: the Czech ice hockey team beat Russia to win its first Olympic gold
On February 22, 1998, an all-star Czech ice hockey team beat Russia in the finals of the Nagano Winter GamesContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1946: Czechoslovakia started the forced deportation of ethnic Germans
On January 25, 1946, the government of a newly restored Czechoslovakia started the forced deportation of ethnic Germans and HungariansContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1421: Jan Žižka defeated the imperial forces at the Battle of Kutná Hora
On December 21, 1421, thanks to what some historians believe to be the first mobile artillery manoeuver in history, HussiteContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1893: Dvorak’s New World Symphony premiered in New York
On December 16, 1893, Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s most celebrated and popular piece, the Symphony 9 – more commonly knownContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1808: Napoleon’s Polish cavalry led the legendary Charge of Somosierra
On November 30, 1808, 125 Polish “chevaux-légers” serving in Napoleon’s army famously hurled themselves through the fog at the BattleContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1921: Leoš Janáček’s opera Katya Kabanova premiered in Brno
On November 23, 1921, the opera Katya Kabanova by acclaimed Czech composer Leoš Janáček was first performed in Brno, Czechoslovakia.Continue Reading
On this Day, in 1335: the Kings of Bohemia, Poland and Hungary held a historic meeting in Visegrád
On November 19, 1335, in the most important diplomatic event in Central Europe of the 14th century, Casmir III ofContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1806: Jan Henryk Dąbrowski led an uprising against Prussian occupation
On November 3, 1806, leading the first units of the French army, Polish General Jan Henryk Dąbrowski entered Poznań andContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1938: the First Vienna Award forced Czechoslovakia to surrender territory to Hungary
On November 2, 1938, orchestrated by the foreign ministers of Germany, Joachim von Ribbentrop, and of Italy, Galeazzo Ciano, theContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1956: the Hungarian Revolution toppled the Communist regime
On October 23, 1956, a peaceful student demonstration against the Communist regime in Budapest escalated into a full-scale revolution, whichContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1552: István Dobó repelled the Ottoman forces at the Siege of Eger
On October 18, 1552, after 39 days of bloody, brutal, and heroic fighting on the walls of Eger, captain IstvánContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1944: Ferenc Szálasi and the Arrow Cross Party took power in Hungary
On October 15, 1944, Adolf Hitler launched Operation Panzerfaust and forced the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary Miklós Horthy to abdicate inContinue Reading