Hanush's astronomical clock was truly magnificent.
Word of Prague's unparalleled astronomical clock spread rapidly throughout Europe.
This left the city council in a dilemma.
What if Hanush were to build an astronomical clock like this one, or even better, for another city?
If that happened, I was afraid that the greatness of the astronomical clock would be tarnished.
The city council has come up with a plan.
One day, after sending the servants home early, there was a knock on the door of Hanush's house.
As Hanush opened the door, three masked, muscular men appeared.
A startled Hanush backed away, but was soon caught by two masked men, his arms held by his hands, and he was forced to kneel by the fireplace.
The remaining assailant approached the stove, picked up a red-hot poker, and burned both of Hanush's eyes.
The three assailants left, leaving Hanush groaning in pain.
The city council's worries were completely resolved, as the blind watchmaker would be of no use anywhere.
-From the "Astronomical Clock" section

The Prague Spring had failed, but a few students thought that this was just one failure and that they should wake up the people again. They planned to wake up the people by doing the same action in the same place every month.
The first student to put the plan into action was a 20-year-old student at Charles University named Jan Palach.
On January 16, 1969, Jan Palach came out in front of the Central Museum and boldly put his plan into action.
Jan Palach poured gasoline on himself, struck a match, and set himself on fire. He collapsed on the spot, engulfed in flames, and was taken to the hospital, but died three days later on January 19.
Those who witnessed this sight were shocked, and soon the news spread throughout Czechoslovakia.
This was just the beginning.
The following month, on February 25th, at the very spot where Jan Palach had attempted self-immolation, an 18-year-old student named Jan Zajic attempted self-immolation and died at the scene.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Czechoslovak government at the time immediately imposed complete control over the area around the Central Museum, making it impossible for anyone to approach.
But this wasn't the end.
Czechoslovakians were shocked when on April 4th, three people, including 38-year-old Evšen Plocek, set themselves on fire in Jihlava, a provincial Czech town, not in Prague, hoping to give support to the actions of Jan Palach and Jan Zajc.
There must have been many who wanted to take action immediately and wipe out the righteous blood they shed, but the times were not on Czechoslovakia's side.
-From the "Wenceslas Square" section

On December 8, 1980, news of John Lennon's death reached Prague.
The news came as a great shock to the young people in Prague who had long been followers of John Lennon.
While 'normalization' is still in progress, young people who feel sad that there is no one in this world to speak for them or comfort them anymore have gathered on this wall, which is hard to find unless you look for it, and have started writing messages of remembrance in the hopes of comforting John Lennon on his final journey.
Because many students felt the same way, the wall was soon filled with tributes, and young people began calling it the "John Lennon Wall."
Most of the writings that initially filled this wall were memorials.
Then, in early 1981, someone wrote the lyrics to John Lennon's song [Imagine] on one side of this wall.
-From "John Lennon's Wall"

The following year, on May 23, 1618, the second incident of throwing stones from the window of the Old Royal Palace in Prague Castle occurred, and many European countries with intertwined interests joined the war, which also affected Wallenstein.
In the early stages of the war, the Protestants often won, and in the process, many of his fiefs fell into the hands of the Protestant nobles.
Wallenstein, who wanted to reclaim his lands, joined forces with the Austrian Empire and Count Charles of Bucquoy, a nobleman, to raise an army and waged a large-scale war to eradicate Protestantism throughout Bohemia and Moravia.
Among them, the war that made him famous relatively early on was the Battle of Villa Hora. In addition to this war, he participated in the form of a volunteer unit on the side of the imperial army and continued to lead the army to victory in the large and small wars that followed.
By 1622, he had acquired more lands than he had lost, and, symbolizing his expanded position, he was given the title of Count Palatine.
In 1623, during the war, another stroke of luck came to Count Wallenstein.
He had another political marriage with the first daughter of the Duke of Harrach, who was renowned as a wealthy man at the time.
His fortunes grew explosively, he was given the title of heir to the House of Palatine, and two years later, in 1625, he was given the title of Duke of Friedland.
Wallenstein, a wealthy man with the greatest wealth among the nobles of Bohemia through two political marriages, was the Count of the House of Wallenstein, the heir to the House of Palatine, and the Duke of Friedland. To show off his elevated status, he had a magnificent palace built right below Prague Castle.
This is the Wallenstein Palace.
-From the "Wallenstein Palace" section

--- From the text