On Saturday, September 25, 2010, 5:00  PM, there will be a brief dedication of the newly installed bust of Czech female novelist Bozena Nemcova.  Free parking is readily available along East Blvd at the Garden’s site: 880 East Blvd.

With the return of Bozena Nemcova, the existing and original bust of composer Bedrich Smetana was returned to its original position atop the landmark wall and frieze depicting the migration of Czechs from their homeland to the United States.  Future restoration will bring back busts of educator and Sokol Gynastic societies organizer, Dr. Miroslav Tyrs, and Jan E. Purkyne, famed physiologist.

Besides the epic frieze and its four busts, the Czech Garden is noted for its statues of Thomas Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia, and Jan Amos Komensky, an early (1600’s) champion of universal education. His book, Orbis Pictus, was the first to use pictures in children’s education, which he argued began in the earliest days of childhood.

Around the expansive oval drive of the Czech Garden, there are four more busts celebrating Frantisek Palacky, a historian and statesman, Anton Dvorak, the composer of the well-known “New World Symphony,” the Reverend Jendrich Simon Baar, a priest and novelist, and Karel Havlicek, writer, journalist,politician and liberal nationalist who favored universal suffrage, when few fellow liberals did, and wrote about the tougher aspects of nationalism such as economics.

The total of 8 busts (two missing) and two statues is unique in the Cultural Gardens, as is the new solar powered lighting system for the statues.

Two major improvements were undertaken in the Czech Cultural Garden in 2009.

One; the two full size statues in the Garden, Comenius and Masaryk, were illuminated with the use of relatively new technology. A solar collector powers two LED flood lights, the system is backed up by batteries recharged by the solar collector. The installation was done by Photon Energy LLC, a new local company. The cost of this system was approximately $5,000 and was funded by a grant from the Foreign Ministry of the Czech Republic. This is a first use of solar energy in the park. It is a good application of this emerging technology since electric power is not readily available in the gardens. See attached photo-page illustrating the installation as well as the night time effect.

Two; The Czech Garden undertook the task of replacing a missing bust of Bozena Nemcova, a woman novelist famous for her novel “Grandmother”. The model was created by Paul Burik. The mold and the bronze casting were made by a local studio - Light Sculpture Works. The cost of approximately $12,000 was funded by a donation from the Victor Ptak family, grant from Holden Parks Trust and a donation of the artwork by Paul Burik. The bust was completed and placed at the Bohemian National Hall for viewing until spring of 2010 when better weather will allow for installation at the Garden and a dedication ceremony. See attached photo-page for the illustration of the process of making the bust.

As every year, the Czech Garden planted flowers and additional tulip bulbs were planted for next year showing. Also, three of the five existing busts were waxed as a preventive maintenance.

Lastly, several tours were conducted through the Gardens including the NASA Lewis Ski Club and The Czech and Slovak Society of Arts and Sciences – Cleveland Chapter. An annual wreath laying ceremony commemorating the establishment of Czechoslovak Republic was held in October.

Paul Burik, Czech Cultural Garden Primary Delegate

Click on the following links for the photos and text on each item.

Nemacova replacement bust’s manufacturing process

Solar lights installed in Czech Cultural Garden

Today, we are asking the Gardens community to help us identify details of some of our photos.  We have quite few images for which we know the date, the name of the place and/or the name of the event, but oftentimes we know nothing about individual the people depicted.  Many of us have visited, volunteered, and read extensively about the Gardens, while others have rich personal and family connections that go back in time.   Some of us know all the major historical themes, while others hold only small pieces of trivia about individual gardens, groups, people, and events.  But working together, we can answer questions that are both big and small.  Please click on the title or the “more” button to see the images and use the comments feature below to share your thoughts, insights and answers.

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Excerpts from Hans Kopp’s July 14, 2009 report on the concert:

A respectable crowd of native Germans, neighboring cultural garden members, and people touring the garden on foot or on bike. who took time out to enjoy this concert presented by Cleveland’s: “Deutscher Musikverein”.

The concert, under the direction of Rosie Wittine, was well received. It featured music from Vienna to the Rhineland and the North Sea. The selection ended with the rousing Radetsky March of Johan Strauss, Sr.

Christine Rappel, the president of the Musikverein, was thrilled that the band was given the opportunity to perform in the German Cultural Garden. She wants Musikverein to perform again in 2010 with an even larger band by augmenting Musikverein with additional musicians instrumentation from other local German bands.

To increase the attendance of those who would enjoy it, it will be publicized to a broader audience by using, for examples, flyers distributed at Judson sites and the German Altenheim.

A walking tour of the Czech and Slovak Gardens, sponsored by the Czechoslovak Society of Arts and Sciences, will take place on Sunday, August 9 at 4 PM.  All are invited.  Learn about the Gardens’ history and prominent features and figures represented in the gardens. Meet on East Boulevard at the Italian Garden. The tour will conclude at 6 PM with the Italian Garden opera performance by Opera per Tutti. For further information, email slovakgarden@tccgf.org or call (216) 916-7755 to leave a message for the Slovak Garden contacts.