Miroslav Tyrš and His World

Abstract

Although the Czech Sokol was created in the image of the German Turnverein, it developed a spirit and direction that were peculiarly Czech. This was largely due to the work of Miroslav Tyrš, who spearheaded the formation of the first Sokol club in 1862 and remained at the helm of the organization until just before his death in 1884. He charted the club’s ideological and national course, created and implemented its gymnastic program, and oversaw its organizational development. Tyrš’s activities were not limited to gymnastics although, like Jahn, it provided the arena for his most enduring accomplishment. He was active for a while in politics and devoted the last 15 years of his life to developing a Czech presence in the field of art and esthetics. The whole spectrum of Tyrš’s work was inspired by the vision of national renewal that had been articulated by the Czech Awakeners and manifested in the turbulent course of the 1848 Revolution. Tyrš’s generation came of age during the Revolution and went on to build the economic, cultural, and political organizations that mobilized the Czech masses in the last half of the century. Any discussion of Tyrš’s contribution to these efforts must begin with an examination of the origins and development of the Czech national movement he sought to advance.