Hello and welcome to a bonus episode of the History of the Germans.

Today I'm sitting here with Dr. Watslav Jurek,

research fellow in medieval studies at the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.

And most importantly, he is also the author of a forthcoming biography of our hero or anti-hero, Carl Charles Karel IV.

And the book amazingly will be available in English translation.

And the title Charles IV portrait of a medieval ruler.

Vazlap, thank you so much for coming on the show.

Thank you for having me in this interesting show.

Thank you.

So in the summary of your book, you call Charles IV an untouchable monument in Czech history.

So for us non-cheques, can you just give us an idea and how present Charles DeFer still is in the political

and mental makeup of Czechia today?

Charles, let's say, government achievement and foundational activities in art or architecture,

as where the monuments devoted to him, they are inseparable part of the historical consciousness of our day's Czechs. You know, the identity

of the inhabitants of Czech Republic is very much ensured in Middle Ages and openly

identifies with the Kingdom of Bohemia from the Middle Ages and there is also the similarity

and linguistic tradition and so on.

And his presence, the presence of Charles the Force in the contemporary life of Czech Republic is quite substantial. The name of the oldest university is Charles University.

The famous medieval stone bridge in Prague is called Charles Bridge.

There are several castles like Karlstein, but others as well.

There is a spot town in Karlovi-vary, Karlsbad, named after him.

So in short, he's omnipresent in historical memory.

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