In 1975, a British RAF Vulcan bomber exploded as it approached the runway of Malta’s airport. That few cilivians died is near-miraculous. This article describes what happened and the view on the ground.
Tag: 1970-1979
In Famagusta, Cyprus, there is a building that used to be a cathedral dedicated to St Nicholas. It saw major events of the country’s history and is now a mosque.
Europe is full of ruins that paint a delightful picture of its turbulent past. It’s not every day you can see ruins that are as artificial as a fast food joint. Prague’s ruins of Baba are one such fake ruin.
I’ve written about Czech ossuaries before, and I’ve visited the one in Paris, but few know there is a Maltese chapel of bones. Well, there used to be one anyway.
You may think ‘fake news’ is a modern invention, but you’d be wrong. One of Czechoslovakia’s most famous disinformation campaigns was Operation NEPTUNE.
This article explains why Czechoslovak spies carried out such a nefarious plot.
I don’t think there’s anyone who hasn’t heard of the Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe. The recent Sky drama reanimated people’s memories of those days. Few are aware there almost was a similar disaster in Bohunice, in what was then Czechoslovakia.
We often hear of buildings being “in the way” of new developments. It’s a constant argument between conservationists and modernisers. Sometimes, ancient treasures are even lost in our quest to build our modern times. And then there are cases where people move mountains to preserve things, literally.
During World War II, Prague wasn’t as affected by bombing as many other European cities were. This was because planes didn’t have the range to reach Prague, and also because the Allies had more important targets in mind. This article describes the few Allied bombings of Prague, which happened towards the end of the war.
One of the great mysteries of this world is the Maltese cart ruts. They appear all over the islands. We still don’t know what they are, or what they were used for. This article explains what we do know about them, and the current hypothesis.
Olga Hepnarová is not a name that is familiar to many people even in Czechia. She is infamous here as the last woman to be executed by the state in 1975 after carrying out a terrorist attack in Prague in 1973.