Greetings from Trenčín, western Slovakia. A few stories coming your way from this neck of the woods in the next few weeks, including the Roman town you’ve never heard of, and the picturesque wooden village that is sick of being famous. robjcameron.substack.com

Missed Karlovy Vary? You can catch many of its best films this week at Šary Vary, with screenings in Prague and Brno. For a taste of the festival itself - and the beautiful spa town it's held in - here's my walk-through with Variety's Will Tizard: robjcameron.substack.com/p/inside-eur...

Emil Hácha was born on this day in 1872. He appears only briefly in this essay on Operation Anthropoid - at the funeral held at Prague Castle after Heydrich's assassination. But he’s a complex figure and one day I hope to write about Hácha himself. robjcameron.substack.com/p/anthropoid

Slowly saying farewell to Karlovy Vary - I guess my 15th or 20th. Part of the magic is that you can never quite remember. For those who've never been - and even those who have - here's a walk-through with veteran festivalgoer, Variety's Will Tizard. robjcameron.substack.com/p/inside-eur...

Definitely a Diet Pepsi kind of morning. And will finally get the chance to watch some films (Filipiana, Rose, The Last First: Winter K2). @KVIFF open.substack.com/pub/robjcame...

“[The Würtz Collection] is less a cabinet of curiosities than a research archive - evidence of bodies, trades, prejudices, jokes, technologies and social attitudes that conventional art history largely ignores,” art professor Simon McKeown. robjcameron.substack.com/p/break-the-...

Prague's Wenceslas Square is changing again. New tram tracks, new trees, new arguments about what one of Europe's best-known public spaces should look like. Cities are never finished - they're constantly rewritten. That's where this story begins. robjcameron.substack.com/p/the-city-b...

Bratislava's Námestie SNP is getting a thorough makeover. Was about time, but each such project takes the city a bit further away from its evocative past. Time can't stand still I guess. Cities are living things. robjcameron.substack.com/p/to-the-cas...

Long before Silicon Valley tried to optimise how we live and work, there was Baťa. The Czech company built a global shoe empire. But it also told its workers how to live. robjcameron.substack.com/p/the-everyt...

Update on Klempířgate: After skipping the opening ceremony Oto Klempíř did turn up at the Karlovy Vary film festival - mainly for a selfie with Dustin Hoffman. Read more on one of the reasons the Czech culture minister is keeping a low profile: robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

After the boos at the Strážnice folk festival, Culture Minister Oto Klempíř is staying away from Karlovy Vary - the Czech Republic’s premiere social and cultural event. Why? Mostly the furore over the future of Czech Television and Czech Radio. 👇 robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

Six months ago I hit "Publish" on the first edition of Based in Bohemia. Since then, almost 500 readers have joined me on a journey through Central Europe - from forgotten maps and buried cities to ruined castles and unlikely wartime stories. 👇 robjcameron.substack.com/p/six-months...

Rybné námestie evidently taken from the tower of St Martin's Cathedral, sometime before 1969 when they demolished the Neolog Synagogue to make way for the SNP bridge. More on lost Bratislava here: robjcameron.substack.com/p/to-the-cas...

A friend read my article about the fascinating Würtz Collection robjcameron.substack.com/p/break-the-... and sent me these amazing images, courtesy of the Facebook page Propagandopolis. They're Austro-Hungarian posters from WW1, showing disabled soldiers at work with prosthetic limbs.

Both Culture Minister Oto Klempíř and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka were booed at the annual Strážnice folk festival in past days. Several reasons for the hostile reception, among them Klempíř's plan to axe licence fee for Czech TV and Radio. More here: robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

On this day in 1914, a Czech chauffeur took a wrong turn in Sarajevo and changed the course of history. A single location can become synonymous with a turning point. That's one reason I've become fascinated by maps. robjcameron.substack.com/p/maps-matter

On this day in 1950, democratic politician Milada Horáková was hanged in the courtyard of Pankrác prison after a Communist show trial. Today, “establishing, supporting or promoting a Nazi, communist or other movement” is a criminal offence. In theory. robjcameron.substack.com/p/red-flag

Sweden spent 4 yrs consulting experts & public before overhauling its public broadcasters. Andrej Babiš wants it done and dusted by Christmas. Staff at @ceskatelevize.cz & Czech Radio say scrapping the licence fee will destabilise a key pillar of society. robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

"Survivors of totalitarian regimes always told me: you have to stand up to evil at the very beginning. You have to react to the first slap." Sacked Slovak TV/Radio journalist Soňa Gyarfašová told me why Czech colleagues are right to fight back. robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

For years we've watched the gradual erosion of public media across Central Europe. Slovakia shows where this road can lead. That's why so many journalists at Czech Television and Czech Radio are concerned about what's unfolding here in the Czech Republic. robjcameron.substack.com/p/what-czech...

The Venezuela earthquake happened barely 24 hours ago but almost immediately the Czech NGO @people_in_need swung into action. It’s astonishing to me that an NGO that does such good around the world should have been among those targeted by the govt. robjcameron.substack.com/p/foreign-ag...

Every conflict eventually comes back to maps. Borders aren't just lines. They're arguments about history, identity and power. This piece is one of the reasons I started this newsletter. robjcameron.substack.com/p/maps-matter

Anniversary of the birth of Jan Kubiš, the paratrooper who killed Heydrich. Kubiš died on the way to the SS military hospital at Podolí, after he was left unconscious by a grenade when the Germans stormed the paratroopers' hiding place. He was 28. robjcameron.substack.com/p/anthropoid

Today marks the anniversary of the destruction of Ležáky - the village that history forgot. Everyone knows Lidice. Far fewer know about the tiny settlement erased from the map because the Nazis discovered its (genuine) links to Operation Anthropoid. robjcameron.substack.com/p/anthropoid

A slice of humble pie. Back in April I suggested a Magyar victory wd be the final nail in the coffin of the Visegrad Group. Today he announced "The V4 is back." I guess the jury's still out. Even if so, it's unlikely to be the awkward squad of old. robjcameron.substack.com/p/ripples-on...

10 years ago my misguided and ill-informed fellow citizens took a leap into the unknown. Most, it seems, have decided they don't like the unknown. But how to return to the known? It'll take years. Some of us weren't willing to leave it to chance. robjcameron.substack.com/p/the-brexit...

Today's protest outside Czech TV against abolition of the licence fee. Many fear direct state funding will inevitably bring greater political influence over editorial output. Czech TV & radio both holding symbolic strikes today. Public media matters. They deserve our support.

Your daily dose of Bratislava nostalgia, this time courtesy of the Bratislava Retro Facebook page. Come, walk with me into the past if you have a few minutes to spare. robjcameron.substack.com/p/to-the-cas...

Today marks 85 years since Operation Barbarossa. Among the troops on the Eastern front were men from Hlučínsko, drafted into the Wehrmacht after Germany annexed the area in 1938. Most of these men were not ethnic Germans. Some barely spoke the language. robjcameron.substack.com/p/dont-shoot...

Prime minister Burnham (days? weeks?) won't undo Brexit. He knows that would cost Labour the Leave voters it wants back. But he's also said the UK could one day choose to rejoin the EU if public opinion shifts. And it certainly seems to be shifting. robjcameron.substack.com/p/the-brexit...