Hostinská zařízení v boji za státní samostatnost Československa a při jejím vyhlášení
Pubs in the Fight for Czechoslovakia’s Independence at the Time of Its Declaration

Summary/Abstract: Pubs have long served as places of interpersonal communication, developed not only by by-passers, but mainly by regular house guests. Such communication included political discussions and disputes, frequently on the position of the Czech nationality in Central Europe and its historical role in it. Disputes on this topic were strictly forbidden during World War I and would be conducted illegally; their content became gradually radicalised until it acquired a revolutionary character, directing the insurgent expressions of the debaters towards their active involvement in the attempts to achieve the leaving of Czech lands (together with Slovakia) from the Habsburg monarchy. This process culminated with the relatively spontaneous declaration of state independence at the end of October 1918, in which pubs played a special role as centres – though considerably restricted – of social life: from common pubs up to fancy club houses of the middle-class elite.

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