On this Day, in 1990: John Paul II became the first pope to visit Prague
On April 21, 1990, Polish-born Pope John Paul II came to Prague for a 2-day visit shortly after the fallContinue Reading
Tag: On this Day
On this Day, in 1943: the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising began
On April 19, 1943, a Nazi force consisting of several thousand troops commanded by Jürgen Stroop were ambushed by JewishContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1025: Bolesław the Brave was crowned as the first King of Poland
On April 18, 1025, shortly before his death, Duke Bolesław the Brave of Poland succeeded in obtaining the papal permissionContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1943, the Katyń Massacre was uncovered
On April 13, 1943, the German forces occupying western Russia announced that they had discovered mass graves of Polish officersContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1241: the Mongol Horde struck deep in the heart of Europe
On April 11, 1241, commanded by Batu Khan and his notorious general Subutai, the Mongol Horde annihilated the Hungarian armyContinue Reading
On this Day, in 2010: Polish President Kaczyński was killed in the Smolensk air disaster
On April, 10, 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 of the Polish Air Force crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killingContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1348: Charles University was founded in Prague
On April 7, 1348, Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV founded Charles University in Prague. Modelled on universities in Bologna andContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1901: Dvořák’s world-famous opera Rusalka premiered in Prague
On March 31, 1901, the premiere of the opera Rusalka, one of the most famous and successful Czech operas byContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1794: Tadeusz Kościuszko led an uprising against the Partition of Poland
On March 24, 1794, following the Second Partition of Poland, Tadeusz Kościuszko, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, announcedContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1939: the “Little War” broke out between Slovakia and Hungary
On March 23, 1939, the so-called “Little War” broke out between Slovakia and Hungary when Hungarian troops invaded eastern SlovakiaContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1393: John of Nepomuk was thrown off Charles Bridge to his death
On March 20, 1393, considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, St. John of Nepomuk was torturedContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1944: Nazi Germany invaded Hungary
On March 19, 1944, Nazi Germany invaded and occupied Hungary to stop the Axis power from signing a seperate peaceContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1848: the Hungarian Revolution broke out against Habsburg absolutism
On March 15, 1848, inspired by the upheavals of 1848 in Paris and Vienna, the Hungarian Revolution broke out inContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1939: Slovakia declared its independence to side with Nazi Germany
On March 14, 1939, Slovakia declared its independence from then-Czechoslovakia and became a client state of Nazi Germany until theContinue Reading
On this Day, in 1948: Jan Masaryk was found dead in mysterious circumstances
On the night of March 10, 1948, Jan Masaryk, the son of Tomas Garrigue Masaryk and then Foreign Minister ofContinue Reading