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"Fiat lux!" Public Lighting in Czech Towns in 19th and the Beginning of 20th Century
Jelínek, David ; Himl, Pavel (advisor) ; Pokludová, Andrea (referee)
The phenomenon of introducing public lighting in Czech cities is mainly associated with the increase in population in regionally important centres of industry, trade, craft, or administration. Unlike classical historiographical monographs, this work aims to investigate how the introduction of public lighting took place, who was involved in it, and what was at stake. Through the analysis of literary sources, particularly newspaper articles (both national and local) and archival records, the thesis seeks to highlight the attributes of light not only as a purely practical urban element, but also as a carrier of symbolic levels of security and progress. It is shown that light played an important role as a maintainer of security and prevented criminal behaviour by its presence. It is further revealed that light was a manifestation of civilization, education, and progress. Having public lighting on the streets was therefore not only a practical but also a symbolic issue. It was also reflected in the electoral programs of local political parties. It was not, however, the municipalities that incurred considerable costs in upgrading the lighting infrastructure (setting up gas plants, power stations, laying pipes); it was private entities that entered into contracts with municipalities for decades. However,...
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Prague Municipal Clerks 1900-1950
Knotková, Veronika ; Rákosník, Jakub (advisor) ; Ledvinka, Václav (referee) ; Pokludová, Andrea (referee)
Veronika Knotková, Prague Municipal Clerks 1900-1950 Abstract This work, based mainly on primary resources, deals with the issues of bureaucracy, i.e. with the elite group of officials/clerks of the legal category of the Prague Municipal Office in the first half of the 20th century. During this relatively long period, Prague reached a position of modern capital of a new state, Czechoslovakia, and one of Central European metropolises. The core of the thesis lays in explaining principles of functioning of the municipal bureaucracy, the development of its position, the course of its career and the factors that influenced them. Attention is paid to the mutual relations within this group and both to their individual and group strategies, with regard to other municipal officials of other than juristic previous university education within the Prague municipal office as well as to the relations of officials and representatives of municipal administration. It shows how the disciplinary rules were applied. Adequate attention is paid to the relationship/interventions of state administration into the self-government sphere.
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