Photo: Ondřej Přibyl, Revolver Revue
One of the winners of this year’s Most Beautiful Czech Books of the Year Award is Birds of Prague 1800-2020, published by the Czech Ornithological Society and Revolver Revue. It follows up on the work of the pioneering Czechoslovak ornithologist Veleslav Wahl, who was executed in 1951 by the Communist regime for alleged treason. The impressive volume contains not only the original book from 1944. It also includes Wahl’s biography and maps the development of bird communities in the city over the last decades. I discussed the book with Petr Voříšek from the Czech Ornithological Society, who initiated its creation.
“In the 1990s, I came across Veleslav Wahl’s last will, which was written the night before he was executed.
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Author: Ruth Fraňková