František Moravec, Jan Kubiš, Adolf Opálka and Jaroslav Krátky are well-known names to Czechs. They are paratroopers, who escaped to Great Britain where they were trained by the RAF and parachuted into occupied Czechoslovakia to fight the Nazis in WWII.  Now they are linked by a very special memorial – an alley of linden trees in the Vysočina region, south-east of Prague.

A new exhibition is currently underway at the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures in Prague, marking 200 years since the birth of Vojtěch Náprstek, a remarkable 19th-century figure who was not only the founder of a museum, but also an innovator, politician and early advocate for women’s rights.

A fossil of a previously unknown arthropod species, Soomaspis labutai, has been uncovered in rubble during construction work on Prague Metro’s D line. Hidden beneath the city for nearly half a billion years, the find offers new clues about how some life forms survived Earth’s first mass extinction.

Rare archaeological finds from the era of Great Moravia, including an ivory vessel believed to have been brought to the region by Saints Cyril and Methodius, are now on display at the Archaeological Museum in Modrá in the Zlín region. The new exhibition in the site’s treasury presents some objects that have never before been exhibited.

Jewelry, weapons, manuscripts and the story of a dynasty that shaped not only Czech history – the National Museum in Prague opens what organisers describe as its biggest exhibition of the year titled The Přemyslids – A Ruling Dynasty and Its Age.

This week saw the 100th anniversary of the birth of Elizabeth II – and the launch of the Czech version of A Voyage Around the Queen, in which author Craig Brown looks at the late monarch from a multitude of perspectives. The book was translated by Michael Žantovský, a one-time Czech ambassador to London who spent time with the long-serving royal on several occasions. I spoke to him at the book’s launch at the British Embassy in Prague.

The West Bohemian city of Plzeň is preparing for its annual Freedom Celebrations, marking 81 years since its liberation by US troops at the end of World War Two. The six-day event begins next Friday, with a programme combining military history, American music, and family-friendly events.

Alongside the general explosion of freedom in 1990s Prague, there was also a boom in English-language newspapers and magazines in the city. The short-lived age of titles such as Prognosis, The Prague Post, Think and many others is the subject of a recent series of blog posts by travel writer Mark Baker. I spoke to Baker, who at one point was business editor at The Prague Post, at our studios.

WWII Czechoslovak fighter pilot František Peřina, one of the country’s most prominent war heroes, gained recognition mainly during the Battle of France in 1940. His courageous deeds, which won him the nickname “General of the Skies” are being commemorated on the 115th anniversary of his birth both in Prague, and his hometown of Morkůvky in the Břeclav region.

As castles in Czechia open their doors to visitors, one site enters the new tourist season with the prospect of becoming a Guinness World Records holder in the category of leaning structures.