Stuff you don't find in guide books
Following the fall of the Iron Curtain Soviet troops started to leave Europe. Czechoslovakia, as it then still was, was happy that the ‘temporary deployment’ of Soviet troops was coming to an end.
This article looks at the intent behind the occupation, and the events leading up to the Soviet’s departure.
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.
In the 19th century, various states on the Italian peninsula united to become a single, new country. While some papal states merged with the others, the Vatican refused to be under the control of an earthly ruler. It even considered moving the seat of the Holy See to Malta.
You’d think a city of Dublin wouldn’t be the place to hide a castle. Yet many Dublin natives had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Drimnagh castle. This article describes the history of one of Ireland’s few moated castles.
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.
Many people marvel at European historical sites. Few realise that what we see today may be quite different from what was in use. People restored, rebuilt or enhanced many sites over the years. Sometimes the restoration and re-imagining of some historical sites is a crucial part of the story. This article explains the changes in Bouzov castle, in Czechia.
In the 19th century an offshore British bank in Malta issued its own banknotes. It’s unusual to think of a private company issuing banknotes, more so in a small country like Malta. This article explains why this bank did so and why it was in Malta.
European geopolitics in the 1930s caused plenty of uncertainty. The British worried about riots in the Middle East, and the possibility of another major war with Germany. They hatched a secret plan to reinforce Malta’s money supply in case of war.
While travelling overland across Europe, it’s easy to enjoy the scenery and hospitality without a second thought to horrific acts which took place over the centuries. We often don’t realise how special our generation is to live in a Europe where there hasn’t been a major war in over 70 years.