1.	Bedřich Smetana

2.	Alfons Mucha

3.	Otto Wichterle

4.	Jaroslav Heyrovský

5.	Bohumil Hanč a Václav Vrbata

6.	Emil Zátopek

7.	Václav Havel

“Alfons Mucha

I´m interested in the fine arts. I admire especially the Art Nouveau style. This style is very decorative and marked by flowers, foliage and sinuous lines. Alfons Mucha is one of representatives of this style. He was born in Ivančice. He was a great painter and decorative artist, but he also mastered sculpture, interior design and jewellery making. His posters, prints and calendars reached a huge succes. This ‘style Mucha’ acted as a template for a generation of designers. Typical features of his style are beautiful long-haired women, framed with fruit, foliage and Egyptian-styled symbols.Mucha is known for his posters (especially those created for Sarah Bernhardt. He also designed stamps for the newly-founded state of Czechoslovakia. Mucha has also designed a Czechoslovak Banknote of 10 Korunas in his typical Art Nouveau Style.


Otto Wichterle

I couldn´t remember any Czech scientist and that´s why I had to open an encyclopedia and look up. Otto Wichterle was a very important man. He studied at the then Chemical and Technological Faculty of the Czech Technical University but he was also interested in medicine. After completion of his course he had some problems with the reign, because it blocked his activities. He was able to continue in his scientific work, however, by joining the research institute at the Baťa works in Zlín. He dealed with polyamides and caprolactam chemistry. He developed his research skills and his ability to put these to practical use. By working of his team Czechoslovakia could use caprolactam and its polymer, nylon-6 (under the name of silon). But above all he is known for inventing gel contact lenses."