National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library

09/02/2026

Happy Slovak Constitution Day! 🇸🇰

09/01/2026

Happy 90th anniversary, Radio Prague International! 🌟

RPI turns 90! 🎉

On August 31, 1936, at 10:00 a.m., a Czech signal travelled from Prague to the world for the very first time. The broadcast was opened in English by Eduard Svoboda, technical director of Radiojournal — marking the beginning of an era that has now lasted nine decades.

Today, 90 years later, we want to hear from you, too. Tell us where you’re listening to us from: https://english.radio.cz/reception-report

Selected listeners will receive a special anniversary QSL card, created especially to mark this milestone. 🎁

08/30/2026

We commemorate the anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP), August 29, 1944, the armed resistance movement that broke out in Slovakia to fight the arrival of occupying N**i troops and the collaborating puppet government. It was one of the largest anti-fascist uprisings in Europe during the WW II. It lasted two months and was suppressed by the German forces. Many partisans and their families were executed and villages suspected of participating in or aiding the resistance were burned down in retaliation.

There are many memorials in Slovakia commemorating this day and its aftermath. Pictured is a Slovak National Uprising Memorial in Zvolen, Slovakia. Zvolen was an important industrial, military, and railway stronghold for the resistance. Also pictured is a replica of the armored train “Hurban” used in the uprising during WW II. Zvolen castle visible in the background. During the uprising, the castle was used by the resistance forces.

08/28/2026

FREE CONCERT — Prague opera star Ester Pavlů returns to the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library with Katelyn Bouska for a dazzling evening of opera on Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. Reserve your spot: https://ncsml.org/event/ester-pavlu-katelyn-bouska-concert/

08/27/2026

HANDPICKED — The curatorial team is hard at work selecting beautiful artifacts for "Legacy of Bohemia." Opening September 5, the exhibit features Egermann glassware, Amphora ceramics, Moser Glassworks, Domažlice pottery, garnet-covered kroj (folk dress) caps, items depicting The Bartered Bride, and so much more.

08/25/2026

HAPPY CAMPERS — We had so much fun this summer hosting a camp for children! The theme was America 250: Czech & Slovak Footprints Across the U.S., and kiddos learned about the contributions of Czech and Slovak people such as Art Nouveau, robots, parachutes, sundials, and so much more.

Big thanks to the Smithsonian interns Casey and Emily for leading the camp, and to Cedar Rapids Kernels Foundation, Farmers State Bank, and the Joan Chadima Memorial Fund for supporting education at NCSML.

We're wishing students and parents a happy back to school time!

08/22/2026

👀 We spy kolache from the NCSML Kolach Krew! Thank you, Hello Cedar Rapids 😍

08/22/2026

Today is the anniversary of the invasion of the Warsaw Pact troops to Czechoslovakia, orchestrated by the Soviets under the premise of revolutionary threat from the West. The invasion happened overnight from August 20 to August 21, 1968. Around 500,000 troops and over 6,000 tanks rolled through Czechoslovakia in Operation Danube and put an end to an attempt for “Socialism with human face” and crushed the hope for change, the so called Prague Spring. The unarmed population fought back by switching up street signs in many places to confuse and slow down the invaders.

The invasion halted Alexander Dubček’s reforms, restored communist control and started the period paradoxically called Normalization. This would last until 1989, the year of Velvet Revolution.

There are many pictures from this invasion. But this iconic photo, taken by photographer Ladislav Bielik, depicts a man ripping his shirt open to show soldiers that he is not armed, facing the tank barrel with his bare chest.

08/21/2026

Today marks 58 years since the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia. The invasion thwarted Alexander Dubček's Prague Spring liberalization reforms and strengthened the authoritarian wing of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.

Penned by one of the best-selling Slovak authors, Jozef Banáš, "Stop Dubček! The Story of Man Who Defied Power" is an excellent account of Dubček’s political and private life, primarily his role during the Prague Spring 1968 and years that followed.

https://store.ncsml.org/product/stop-dubcek-the-story-of-man-who-defied-power/