Go to:

Surfing the Net off the Coasts of Bohemia and along the Shores of Slovakia

Introduction

Search Engines

Individual Topics

Concluding Thoughts

I. Introduction

1. Carolina : email news service covering the Czech Republic, produced by students of Charles University.

2. Czechoslovak History Conference

3. Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences

4. REESWeb: Russian and East European Studies Internet Resources

5. University of Kansas WWW Virtual Library: Czech Republic

6. Jan Culik - Central European Review

II. Start at the Beginning - Search Engines

1. Search Engines Worldwide: search engines sorted by country as well as region. Select Czech from the left menu bar. This launches a page containing a selection of Czech search engines.

a) Czech search engines : Seznam ; Atlas ; etc.

b) Slovak search engines : Zoznam ; Superzoznam ; etc

2. Czech Information System

3. Embassy of the Slovak Republic

4. Czech Embassy, Washington, D.C., USA

5. Consulate General of the Czech Republic, Philadelphia - Czech Information Links.

III. Individual Topics - Czech and Slovakian

2. Juraj Janosik (1866-1713) - Slovakia's Robin Hood

F. Cinema

1. Czech films : Jiri Menzel ; etc.

2. Slovak films : Andel milosrdenstvi (1994), "Angel of Mercy" ; Vladimir Godar (1956-) - film music

G. Personalities

1. Leos Janacek (1854-1928) - Moravian composer

2. Count Maurice Benyowsky (1741-1796) - Slovak adventurer

H. Honored Leaders

1. Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (1850-1937)

2. Alexander Dubcek (1921-1992)

I. Controversial Leaders

1. Antonin Novotny (1904-1975)

2. Klement Gottwald (1896-1953)

3. Jozef (Monsignor) Tiso (1887-1947)

J. Religious Personalities

1. Jan Hus (1370-1415)

2. The Hussites

3. St. John Nepomuk (d. 1393)

4. Ludovit Stur and His Followers

K. Religion in the United States

1. Moravian Church in America

  2. Slovak Lutherans
      - Paul Hinlicky
      - Jaroslav John Vadja (1919-) - Slovak Lutheran hymnwriter

L. Czechs and Slovaks in America

1. Slovaks in America - Library of Congress website

  2. Czechs in Nebraska
     -Wilber, Saline County
     - Nebraska Historical Society, Vol. 74 (1993) - on Czechs and Slovaks in Nebraska history
     - Willa Cather: My Antonia

Concluding Thoughts

1. Interview with a Bohemian Hermeticist

2. Czech and Slovak Heritage Tours

contact:

Dr. Louis J. Reith
Rare Book Cataloger
Georgetown University Library
Box 571174
Washington, DC 20057-1174

reithl@georgetown.edu

From the Coasts of Bohemia to the Banks of the Platte: Internet Resources

CZECHS AND SLOVAKS IN AMERICA

A. Historical Framework

* http://www.svu2000.org/conferences/nebr.htm [SVU Nebraska Conference]
* http://www.svu2000.org/conferences/release.htm [SVU Press Release]
* http://www.mzv.cz/washington/speeches/vondrasvu.htm [Vondra to SVU]
* http://www.muselik.com/czech/preserve.html [SVU survey grant]
* http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imcz/ndl.html [The Czechs in America]
* http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/su/slavic/acasatoc.html [Archives]
* http://www.new-presence.cz/99/10/vocadlo.html [Cermak hist. note]
* http://www.czechcenter.com/EllisIsland_short.htm [Czech immigrants]
* http://www.jewishgen.org/BohMor/early_immig.html [Czech Jewish imm.]
* http://www.inst.at/studies/s_0710_e.htm [Chicago literary works]
* http://www.nebraskahistory.org/publish/publicat/history/back93.htm [dual issue, vol. 74, nos. 3 & 4, Fall/Winter 1993]
* http://www.americanliterature.com/MA/MAINDEX.HTML [My Antonia (1918) by Willa Sibert Cather, complete text]

B. Czech & Slovak Genealogy

* http://www.ncsml.org/genealogy.htm [List of resources]
* http://www.csagsi.org/csagsi.htm [Czech & Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois resources]
* http://www.csagsi.org/lib2.htm [CSAGSI library collection]
* http://www.cgsi.org/base/book.htm [Czechoslovak Geneal. Society]
* http://www.czechcenter.com/czechs_news.htm [Czechoslovak America Genealogy Research - a web community]
* http://www.czechland.org/index.html [Czechland resources (Nebr.)]
* http://www.radiks.net/~journlst/page2.html [Nebraska Czech geneal.]

C. Nebraska Events and Festivals

* http://www.czechland.org/events.htm [Nebraska Czech festivals]
* http://www.cnweb.com/czech/index.html [Hastings Czech Festival]
* http://www.barnasdrug.com/czechdays.html [Wilber Czech Festival]

D. The Slovaks in America

* http://www.loc.gov/rr/european/imsk/slovakia.html [Slovak exp.]
* http://www.slovakculture.org/home.html [cultural foundation]
* http://www.languages-on-the-web.com/links/link-slovak.htm [Slovak language links]
* http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAEah.htm [A-H emigration]
* http://www.post-gazette.com/magazine/20010520slovaksmag2.asp [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 20, 2001]
* http://home.att.net/~fjpworld/svu1.html [Czechs & Slovaks in Florida - SVU paper, Aug. 2000]
* http://www.kaj.zcu.cz/staff/magstadt.htm [Stepanka Korytova-Magstadt, Ph.D. - curr. vitae - the new researchers]

Dr. Louis J. Reith
Rare Book Cataloger
Georgetown University Library
Box 571174
Washington, DC 20057-1174

reithl@georgetown.edu

Web Address: http://www.library.georgetown.edu/dept/speccoll/bohemia.htm

From the Slopes of the Tatras to the Shores of
the Danube: Seeking Slovakia in the Internet

Introduction:

The traditional library reference desk has, to some extent, been
replaced by the Internet and its search engine. As an experiment, let
us examine five reference-type questions and, with the help of the
search engine GOOGLE, see whether the Internet can help us in our
research.
five questions.

1) How can I find genealogical information about my Slovakian ancestor,
Dr. Josef Simek, originally from Malacky, later a medical doctor in
Mainz, Germany? To what resources can one turn?
2) At a Slovak Embassy reception in Washington, D.C., I once met
Ambassador Martin Butora and his wife Zora Butorova. They both made a
big impression on me. How can I find more about this diplomatic pair in
the Internet?
3) On a trip to Slovakia thirty years ago, I toured a historic Slovak
castle named Cerveny kamen [Red Brick Castle]. How can I find
information about the history of the castle and its original owners, as
well as photographs and guides for the castle today?
4) During my short time in Slovakia, I heard a lot about a "Robin Hood"
of Slovakia named Juraj Janosik, who is said to have robbed from the
rich in order to give to the poor. Who was Janosik and why is he so
important for Slovakian folklore?
5) I am working on a research paper about the role of religion and
ethnicity in modern Slovakia. Where can I look to find information
about this topic in the Internet?

I. IN SEARCH OF FORGOTTEN ANCESTORS (GENEAOLOGY)

1. Find a Czechoslovak genealogical society:

http://www.ncsml.org/genealogy.htm

2. Locate Czechoslovak genealogical sites on the Internet:

http://www.genea.cz/ruzne/svet.htm

3. Let's check out some Slovakian family sites in Eastern Slovakia:

http://feefhs.org/iar/slovakia.html

4. Here is a very useful "genealogy.net" site, in English and German.

http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/ESE/slovak.html

5. The SLRP (Surname Location Reference Project) helps me look for the
family name of "Simek."

http://www.feefhs.org/slovak/skdb1/slrp-s.html

6. Help! The link above only applies to American descendants of Slovak
ancestors in Ohio. I am looking for information about original
families back in Slovakia; this link tells me to submit my lineage
chart to Joe Harnack, in Independence, Ohio, by snail-mail. What
a bummer!

http://www.feefhs.org/slovak/skdb1/slrp-cp.html

7. Robert Simek, of the Czech and Slovak "Johnny Cash Revival Band."
This can't be a relative of mine, can it?

http://www.volny.cz/folsom/cesky/revival/simek.html

8. Here's another Simek in the Old Country! But he's from Kostelec,
a Czech community - as the last Communist mayor of this village of
365 people. No wonder the page won't turn up on my screen.
It's some kind of Slovak "homeland security."

http://www.praguepost.com/P03/2002/Art/1106/news1.php

II. TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE BUTORAS (Current Events, Politics)

1. The first place to look for information is obvious - the Slovak
Embassy's own homepage, for a short biographical sketch.

http://www.slovakembassy-us.org/butora.html

2. Our own Miroslav Rechcigl, Jr., of SVU, has posted his own
biographical sketch for the Butoras departure from Washington
in May 2003.

http://www.svu2000.org/headlines/b49.htm

3. During their years in Washington, the Butoras logged many miles,
and ate their share of delicious Slovak food, once in Kansas City.

http://www.gkcptp.com/picturealbum19.html

4. Like another famous pair, Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, Martin
Butora and Zora Butorova attended and spoke at many conferences,
alone, and together.

http://www.hhh.umn.edu/centers/cnt/conf/bios.htm

5. They even made it to Sugar Creek, Missouri, and left a photogrpahic
record of their appearance for a local website called "Sweet Talk."

http://www.sugar-creek.mo.us/nov01.html

6. From the boondocks of Missouri to the prestigious Hoover Institution
and Stanford University in California (Condoleeza Rice was
in the audience).

http://www-
hoover.stanford.edu/pubaffairs/newsletter/00summer/ambassadors.html

7. Like the Clintons, both Butoras have written books, and
like Hillary Rodham Clinton, Zora Butorova occasionally upstages
her husband.

http://www.bigbenbookshop.com/bratislava/slovakia.htm

8. Like Hillary Clinton, Zora Butorova also gave speeches on her own:

http://www.ihouse-nyc.org/html/hlbod.htm

9. The Butoras sometimes entertained in their residence at
7718 Carlton Place, McLean, VA 22102. Who ever heard of an
ambassador who couldn't party? And Mapquest shows us how to
find a map to get us there!

http://www.mapquest.com

III. CERVENY KAMEN, A SLOVAK CASTLE AND ITS INHABITANTS

1. First we go to an index of Slovakian castles.

http://castles.sk/index.php

2. From a list of names A-Z, we select "Cerveny Kamen" [Red Stone]

http://castles.sk/index.php?show=cas

3. Let's check out some recent photos of the historic castle.

http://castles.sk/index.php?show=img&castle=30

4. Now let's find a map to tell us how to get there.

http://castles.sk/map.php

5. A historical sketch of Nicholas Palffy, who bought the
castle in 1582 and married a daughter of the Augsburg
Fugger banking dynasty in 1583

http://www.snm.sk/ck/expozicie_a.htm

6. After visiting Cerveny Kamen in Slovakia, we find a palace in
Vienna with the same coat of arms - a deer leaping over a wheel.

http://www.palais-palffy.at
http://www.palais-palffy.at/eng/geschichte2.htm

IV. WHO WAS JURAJ JANOSIK? (1688-1713) [Hint: The Slovak Robin Hood]

1. A Slovak high school project provides us with student opinions.

http://www.gymlm.sk/links/3year/janosik/jj.htm

2. His home was not Sherwood Forest but Terchova in the Tatras.

http://www.terchovaregion.sk/terchova.asp?lang=en

3. Janosik even gave his name to a modern Polish folk ensemble, the
"Janosik Dancers," since he belongs to the folklore of both
countries, Poland and Slovakia

http://www.moniqueandmorley.com/janosik/about/purpose.html

4. We learn about Janosik's tragic death inside a nail-studded suit of
armor in the year 1713.

http://www.mak.sk/eng/janosik.html

5. From IMDB [Internet Movie Data Base] we learn that Polish
film director Agnieszka Holland has just made a film about
"the true story of Janosik and Uhorcika" - Prawdziwa historia
Janosika i Uhorcika.

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0323691

6. And what would a Polish film about the life of Janosik be without
a Polish movie poster to advertize the film:

http://www.polishposter.com/html/poster1049.html

V. RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY IN MODERN SLOVAKIA

1. Slovakia is primarily a Roman Catholic nation.

http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/dsk.html

2. One of the most interesting cities is the seat of the
Archdiocese of Bratislava-Trnava in Trnava.

http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dbrtr.html

3. The history of Trnava is closely connected with that of the
Jesuit Order.

http://www.adc.sk/english/trnava.htm

4. Trnava today is an important tourist center, "the Slovak Rome."

http://www.slovakia.org/tourism/trnava.htm

5. The Lutheran Church in Slovakia comprises 12% of the population.

http://www.iarelative.com/lutheran.htm

6. The church provides many interesting links and contacts.

http://www.ecav.sk/INTL/ENGLISH/welcome.htm

7. We learn of its history and present situation.

http://www.ecav.sk/INTL/ENGLISH/church.htm

8. At Comenius University in Bratislava, we seek out an old
friend, Prof,. Igor Kiss, dean of the Evangelical Theological
Faculty.

http://www.uniba.sk/webuk/e_index.htm
http://www.uniba.sk/webuk/uk_celkovy_pohlad/naj_info/e_naj_info.htm
http://www.fevth.uniba.sk/ENG/Faculty/Contacts.htm

9. Lutheran history goes back to Ludovit Stur, Jan Kollar, and Jozef
Hurban, early promoters of the Pan-Slav movement from their
Evangelical Lyceum in Bratislava in the 1830s.

http://www.slovak.sk/magazin_slovakia/496_Slovakia/history/history2.htm

10. The Byzantine Catholic Church in Slovakia represents a union
of Byzantine Catholic and Greek Catholic liturgies and traditions.

http://grkat.nfo.sk/eng/

11. The Jews of Slovakia have come back to the cultural and religious
life of Slovakia.

http://www.haruth.com/JewsSlovakia.html

12. With a Jewish population of several thousand, Slovakian Jews
make up the "smallest holocaust-surviving community in Europe."

http://www.slovakia.org/society-jews.htm

13. The Roma [Gypsies] form the second largest minority group in
Slovakia, about 80,000 people, or 4.8% of the population.

http://www.slovakia.org/society-roma.htm

Conclusion:
This short survey of Slovakia on the Internet indicates the seductive
nature of Slovakian history, culture, and modern tourism. An eager
Italian tourist named Carlo della Torre has provided younger
visitors to Slovakia with his own unabashed "Seduction Explorer Guide."

http://www.seduction.net/world2.htm

Whoops, perhaps that is not quite the "seduction" which is proper
for a website such as this!

Dr. Louis Reith
Lauinger Library
Georgetown University
Washington, DC 20057-1174
USA

E-Mail: reithl@georgetown.edu
Website address:
http://www.library.georgetown.edu/deps/speccoll/bohemia.htm

June 2003 - For presentation 26 June 2003 at the SVU Czech and Slovak
World Congress, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, "Media and Journalism," 1:30-4:00
P.M., Kessler Lecture Hall, Hickok Hall, Coe College Campus