CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Auction lot No. 219 was mislabeled as a coffee bean grinder, but Don and Sheila Janda knew exactly what it was. As owners of the iconic Sykora Bakery in Czech Village during the 1990s, the couple regularly used the metal device to crush poppy seed for their kolaches, a beloved Czech […]
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Category: Czech
Photos: St. John’s Cemetery Czech histor
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — As part of its sesquicentennial celebration, the St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church history committee hosted a walking tour of St. John’s Cemetery that highlighted the site’s Czech roots. More than 30 people attended the free tour on Saturday, Oct. 5, one of the events to mark 150 years since the founding of […]
Cedar Rapids church marks 150 years duri...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — History was on display as St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church celebrated 150 years during its annual Czech Goulash Day on Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024. Founded by Czech immigrants in 1874, the parish retains its connection to that Bohemian history through the festival, with Czech food, music and more. Czech Goulash Day features […]
Photos: Czech and Slovak presidential vi...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Nearly 1,000 people watched Sept. 27, 2024, as the presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia dedicated the Buresh Immigration Clock Tower at the entrance to Czech Village. Read more at the Corridor Business Journal The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and […]
Slovak president welcomed to Iowa for ce...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Peter Pellegrini, the president of Slovakia, arrived in Iowa on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, as part of a multi-day celebration in Cedar Rapids. Pellegrini participated in a ribbon-cutting for The Slovak Epic exhibit at the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library with museum President and CEO Cecilia Rokusek and visited […]
What you need to know to attend the Czec...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — In a monumental event, presidents of both the Czech Republic and Slovakia will attend the dedication of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library’s renovated clock tower this Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. The event is a reprisal, of sorts, of the landmark visit by three presidents to dedicate the museum […]
Inside the immigrant clock tower transfo...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Visitors to BrewNost will see a sneak peek of the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library’s transformed clock tower on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. The Prague-style astronomical clock, or orloj, includes 12 figurines symbolizing immigration that were installed this week, hand-carved by Slovak artist Andrej Haršány, of Borová, a village […]
Czech festival coincides with 150th anni...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — A popular annual festival featuring Czech food and entertainment returns to St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church as the parish celebrates its sesquicentennial. Czech Goulash Day is set for 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, on the church grounds at 1224 Fifth St. SE, Cedar Rapids. See photos from a […]
Clock tower transformation underway in C...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Work has begun to transform the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library clock tower into a Prague-style astronomical clock. A dozen hand-crafted figurines recently arrived from Slovakia to be installed in the tower, along with fully digitized clock workings from the Czech Republic. Details of one of the figurines can […]
Museum plans reprise of Czech and Slovak...
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library has confirmed the visit of the presidents of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, echoing a monumental day that took place more than 25 years ago. On a chilly day on Oct. 21, 1995, U.S. President Bill Clinton, Czech President Václav Havel and Slovak […]










