Famous People Born In Prague

Considered one of the major authors of the 20th century, Franz Kafka was a Bohemian short-story writer and novelist. Franz Kafka is credited for being one of the earliest German-speaking authors to explore themes like absurdity, existential anxiety, and alienation. The term Kafkaesque is now widely used in the English language to explain those situations experienced by his characters.

Antonín Dvořák was a Czech composer who achieved worldwide recognition for his works. His life and career inspired the 1980 historical biographical film Concert at the End of Summer, in which Dvořák was played by actor Josef Vinklář. Canadian children's author Ian Krykorka has based many of his works on some of Antonín Dvořák's operas.

Bohemian-Austrian poet and author Rainer Maria Rilke is best remembered for his numerous poetry collections and his only novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. His works contain metaphors, contradictions, and elements drawn from Greek mythology. Though most of his works were in German, he had also written in French.

Wilhelm Steinitz was an Austrian-born American chess player. He is recognized as the first World Chess Champion, having reigned from 1886 to 1894. A multi-talented personality, Wilhelm Steinitz was also an influential chess theoretician and writer. Steinitz is also remembered for having a huge impact on the game and was a well-known player during his time.

Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor reigned as the king of Bohemia from 1346 until his death in 1378. In 1355, he became the first king of Bohemia to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor. Later, he was crowned king of Burgundy in 1365, making him the sole king of the Holy Roman Empire and all its kingdoms.

Herbert Lom was a Czech actor best remembered for his versatility as he portrayed suave villains during his younger days and then moved on to playing professional men as he aged. He also proved his comedy skills in The Pink Panther franchise. Lom worked well into his 80s before retiring in 2002. He died 10 years later in his sleep.

Petr Korda is a Czech retired tennis player best known for winning the Australian Open singles in 1998. He also won the Australian Open doubles in 1996 as well as the 1994 Hopman Cup for his country. In July 1998, Petr Korda tested positive for doping. He retired the following year shortly before he was to serve a 12-month ban.

Prince Rupert of the Rhine was a German-English admiral, army officer, colonial governor, and scientist. Renowned for his energy and quick-thinking, Rupert made long-lasting and impressive contributions to the doctrine and development of the Royal Navy. He is also credited with shaping modern Canada's political geography. 

Věra Čáslavská was a Czechoslovak artistic gymnast who won 22 international titles, including 11 European Championships, four World Championships, and seven Olympic gold medals. The most decorated gymnast in Czech history, Čáslavská is the only gymnast to have won at least one Olympic gold in each individual event. In 1998, she was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Vladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Buliwyf in the 1999 American historical action film, The 13th Warrior. He has also appeared in popular TV series like Vikings. Prior to his acting career, Vladimir Kulich played professional ice hockey and tried his hand at many other things, including a whitewater river rafting business.

Once a governess of the four daughters of the affluent Suttner family, Bertha von Suttner later married the sisters’ elder brother, Baron Arthur Gundaccar von Suttner. The Austrian novelist was known for her peace activism, which made her the first female to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech former artist and filmmaker. A self-proclaimed surrealist, Švankmajer's stop-motion animation work has greatly influenced artists like Brothers Quay, Terry Gilliam, Caroline Leaf, Vera Neubauer, Nina Gantz, and Tomasz Bagiński among many others. Jan Švankmajer is a recipient of many prestigious awards such as the Golden Bear, FIAF Award, and Raymond Roussel Society Medal.

The son of former footballer Jiří Rosický, Tomáš Rosický is known as The Little Mozart for setting the tone of the game on the field. He has represented teams such as Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal and has scripted history as the fourth-highest goal-scorer of his country.

Although he had been part of the Olympic silver-winning Czechoslovakian ice hockey team, Jaroslav Drobny gained more fame as a tennis player. He achieved the rare feat of having played Wimbledon for four different countries: Czechoslovakia, Bohemia-Moravia, Egypt, and, Britain. He also won 130 singles titles throughout his career.

Ester Ledecká is a Czech alpine skier and snowboarder. She is best known for winning gold medals at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics in parallel giant slalom. In the 2018 Olympics, Ledecká also won gold medal in the super-G event, becoming the first person to win two gold medals using two different types of equipment at the same Winter Olympics.

Czech former tennis player Jan Kodeš won three Grand Slam singles events during the early 1970s, including the French Open in 1970 and 1971, and the Wimbledon in 1973. .His accomplishments include winning 9 top-level singles titles and 17 doubles titles, receiving Czech Fair Play Award from the Czech Olympic Committee, and getting inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Czech figure-skater Vera Ralston represented her nation under her birth name Věra Hrubá at the 1936 European Figure Skating Championships, the 1936 Winter Olympics, and the 1937 European Figure Skating Championships. She later immigrated to the US and became a naturalized citizen. She made her name as an actress appearing in films like Storm Over Lisbon, Dakota, and The Fighting Kentuckian.

Patrik Berger is a Czech retired footballer who won four trophies playing for Liverpool between 1996 and 2003. Renowned for his powerful strikes and strong left foot, Berger was named Czech Footballer of the Year in 1996. He also competed in important tournaments for his national team and helped his team reach the finals of the 1996 UEFA European Championship.

Hans Kelsen was an Austria-born jurist, legal philosopher and writer on international law, known especially for his Pure Theory of Law and his defense of democracy. Author of the 1920 Austrian Constitution, he left his homeland in 1930 due to rising totalitarianism. He went to the USA, where he taught at well-known universities, concurrently producing important works like Principles of International Law.

Max Brod was a Czech German-speaking Jewish author, composer, and journalist. He studied law at the German Charles-Ferdinand University and proceeded to pursue a career as a journalist and composer. He worked as an editor and literary adviser for the Israeli national theatre for three decades. He was a close friend and biographer of writer Franz Kafka. 

Anna Kellnerová is a Czech professional showjumper who represented her country at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Kellnerová achieved national prominence when she became a two-time junior national champion. She has also won two national championship titles under the Young Riders category. In 2017, the Czech Equestrian Federation named her The Women Rider of 2016 under the Young Riders category.

Marie Bouzkova is a Czech tennis player who came into prominence in 2014 when she won the US Open girls' singles title. She competes in the WTA Tour and ITF Women's Circuit. Marie Bouzkova currently has 12 ITF singles titles and three WTA doubles titles under her belt.

Alena Šeredová is a Czech actress and model best known for her work in Italy. Over the years, Šeredová has appeared on the covers of popular magazines like Playboy Europe, Penthouse Europe, Quo, and Spy. Her popularity increased in 2011 when she got married to Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon; they separated in May 2014.

Karel Schwarzenberg is a Czech politician best known for his service as the Minister of Foreign Affairs on two occasions; from 2007 to 2009 and again from 2010 to 2013. He also served as Czech Republic's first Deputy Prime Minister in the Cabinet of Petr Nečas. Schwarzenberg is the recipient of several awards, including the Marietta and Friedrich Torberg Medal.

Jan Masaryk was a Czech politician and diplomat best remembered for his service as Czechoslovakia's Foreign Minister from 21 July 1940 to 10 March 1948. He became a popular national figure during the Second World War when he made wartime broadcasts to occupied Czechoslovakia; his broadcasts were titled Speaking to My Country.

Legendary Czech composer Julius Fučík, also known as the Bohemian Sousa, initially played the bassoon for the Austro-Hungarian Regiment and then bagged a job with the German opera theater in Prague. His best-known marches include the Florentine March and Entrance of the Gladiators. He spent his final years in Berlin.

Initially a bank clerk, Jaroslav Hašek later dedicated his life to writing. The Czech author is best known for his iconic historical satire The Good Soldier Schweik. He had also been imprisoned as a Russian prisoner of war during World War I and was known for his bohemian life.

Tomáš Necid is a Czech football player who plays as a striker. Necid had a terrific start to his career, winning the Czech Footballer of the Year award under Talent of the Year category in 2008. Tomáš Necid has played for popular teams like Slavia Prague, winning the Czech League in 2008 and 2009 and the Czech Cup in 2018.

Czech composer and violinist Josef Suk was considered one of the most promising students of the reputed Czech composer Antonín Dvořák. Suk along with two other students of Dvořák, Karel Hoffmann and Oskar Nedba, and a student of Hanuš Wihan founded the internationally reputed Czech string quartet called Bohemian Quartet. Major works of Suk are Asrael Symphony and Serenade for Strings.

Tomáš Satoranský is a Czech basketball player best known for his versatility as he can play in multiple positions. A five-time winner of the Czech Player of the Year award, Satoranský helped his national team qualify for their first FIBA World Cup in 2019. A Spanish Supercup winner, Satoranský currently plays for the Washington Wizards, apart from the national team. 

Hana Mandlíková is a retired tennis player best known for winning four Grand Slam singles titles. She also won the doubles title at the 1989 US Open. Mandlíková won the Fed Cup for Czechoslovakia on four occasions. Counted among the greatest players of all time, Hana Mandlíková was made an inductee of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1994.

Milena Jesenska was a Czech writer, editor, journalist, and translator. She is best remembered for translating Franz Kafka's works from German to Czech and for her romantic relationship with Kafka when she was still married to Ernst Pollak. She is also known for her action of saving the lives of many Jewish and political refugees when the Nazis occupied Czechoslovakia.

The Czech Republic’s highest-rated chess player, David Navara has 11 national championship titles in his kitty. He was named an International Master at 14 and a Grandmaster at 16. He has also won an individual gold at the 2012 Chess Olympiad, representing the Czech team.

Lída Baarová was a Czech actress whose professional life was overshadowed by her personal counterpart; she is best remembered as the mistress of Joseph Goebbels, a Nazi propaganda minister. Her life and career inspired the 2016 film The Devil's Mistress, a dramatization of Lída Baarová's life, in which Baarová was played by Slovak actress Tatiana Pauhofová.

Antonín Panenka is a Czech former football player best known for winning the 1976 UEFA European Football Championship with the Czechoslovakia national team. In 1980, he was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year. Antonín Panenka is credited with popularizing panenka, a style of penalty named after him.