Albert Einstein developed key aspects of relativity during his 1911-1912 stay in Prague, lecturing at the local university.
Tag: 20th Century
In 1903, a British navy drill off Corfu ended disastrously when HMS Orwell collided with HMS Pioneer during a night exercise.
The town hall building in San Sebastian, built in the 1880s, has a rich history including the gambling ban in 1923. The ban led to the building’s closure for almost 20 years before it was revived as a Town Hall in 1943. Today, it stands as a grand Belle Epoque landmark.
Anti-Jewish sentiment has long been a problem – even before the Nazis. This article describes the infamous Hilsner affair from Bohemia.
In Porto, in between the Igreja do Carmo and Igreja dos Carmelitas, there exists a hidden, narrow three-storey house called Casa Escondida. Some claim this house inspired J.K. Rowling, but did it?
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.
On 11 September 1944, a massive, intense air battle took place over the mountains between Germany and what was then Czechoslovakia. The memory of this battle is still alive today.
Colonel Alfred Redl was chief of intelligence for Austro-Hungary at the beginning of the 20th century. He also was a double-agent for Russia, France and Italy. There is a direct connection between his actions and the start of World War I. This article is his story.
I’ve written lots about how Germany and German influences affected Bohemia and Czechia. This is what led to a backlash after World War II.
This article explores the little-known story of how Czechoslovakia expelled Germans after the war.
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.