0:00:03 > 0:00:07'I'm embarking on a new railway adventure that will take me
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'across the heart of Europe.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this - my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign
0:00:20 > 0:00:22travel for the British tourist.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26'It told travellers where to go, what to see and how to navigate
0:00:26 > 0:00:30'the thousands of miles of tracks criss-crossing the Continent.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32'Now, a century later,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37'I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy,
0:00:37 > 0:00:41'where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.'
0:00:42 > 0:00:48I want to rediscover that lost Europe that, in 1913, couldn't know
0:00:48 > 0:00:52that its way of life would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17I'm in the Czech Republic,
0:01:17 > 0:01:23but my 1913 Bradshaw's guide lists my first stop, Prague, under Austria
0:01:23 > 0:01:27and then tells me that it's the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia.
0:01:27 > 0:01:30This trip will take me through two former kingdoms,
0:01:30 > 0:01:32Bohemia and Bavaria.
0:01:32 > 0:01:37But even by 1913, each had been absorbed into a Reich -
0:01:37 > 0:01:39the German word for Empire.
0:01:41 > 0:01:43'On this journey,
0:01:43 > 0:01:46'I marvel at Prague's stunning Art Nouveau architecture,...'
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Well, this is really glorious, on such a scale.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54'..attempt a Latin dance with a Bohemian twist...'
0:01:54 > 0:01:56Don't look at her.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57LAUGHTER
0:01:57 > 0:01:58She's MY wife!
0:01:58 > 0:01:59LAUGHTER
0:01:59 > 0:02:01NOW you tell me!
0:02:01 > 0:02:05'..take a peat bath fit for a British king,...'
0:02:05 > 0:02:07It looks filthy!
0:02:07 > 0:02:10- I get in there?- Mm-hm.- Mm-hm!
0:02:10 > 0:02:13'..hear of Britain's influence on German railway history...
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Where did the original locomotive come from?
0:02:15 > 0:02:18Stephenson Locomotive Works, Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:02:18 > 0:02:20So, it was Mr George Stephenson?
0:02:20 > 0:02:22It was George Stephenson, yes.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25'..and take on the toughest opponent of my career.'
0:02:25 > 0:02:28If you're having trouble with a dragon, call a dragon slayer.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34This leg of my 1913 European adventure
0:02:34 > 0:02:37begins in Bohemian Prague,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40stops for a noble spa break at Marianske Lazne,
0:02:40 > 0:02:44takes on imperial armaments in Pilsen before crossing
0:02:44 > 0:02:48the German border into fire-breathing Bavaria to visit
0:02:48 > 0:02:52the birthplace of the German railway, Nuremberg,...
0:02:53 > 0:02:57..alighting finally in the region's scientifically superior capital,
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Munich.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18Bradshaw's tells me that "in Prague, German is generally understood,
0:03:18 > 0:03:21"but the current language is Bohemian."
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Bohemian - there's a word to conjure with!
0:03:24 > 0:03:26The Oxford English Dictionary reminds me that it
0:03:26 > 0:03:31came to mean "one who leads a vagabond or irregular life,
0:03:31 > 0:03:34"not being particular about the company he keeps
0:03:34 > 0:03:38"and despising conventionalities generally." Bohemia
0:03:38 > 0:03:43sounds like the perfect place for a man in a luminous pink jacket.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50'The year after my 1913 guidebook was written,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53'the assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57'Archduke Franz Ferdinand, set the world on the path to war.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01'But on the Empire's western tip in Bohemia,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05'the decades leading up to that conflict were filled with
0:04:05 > 0:04:07'the affluent, carefree spirit
0:04:07 > 0:04:10'which spilled out of Le Gay Paris's Belle Epoque,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'and Prague, capital of the Czech lands,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'became renowned for its culture, art and architecture.'
0:04:20 > 0:04:24The British traveller, arriving here in 1913, would have been
0:04:24 > 0:04:28treated to this glorious new roof, completed just in 1906.
0:04:28 > 0:04:33The station was named Franz Joseph after the Austrian Emperor.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36The traveller, in 1913, could have had little idea that both
0:04:36 > 0:04:40the emperor and, indeed, the empire were about to become history.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Situated either side of the Vltava River, Prague's famous
0:04:49 > 0:04:5410th century Old Town has long been a draw to European travellers.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02In 1913, the city of 100 spires was a cultural melting pot,
0:05:02 > 0:05:07home to three main ethnic groups - Czechs, Germans and Jews.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14Bradshaw's tells me that from the Franz Joseph Station,
0:05:14 > 0:05:19the broad Wenzelsplatz, or Wenceslas Square, leads north west.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22This beautiful elongated square, more of a boulevard, really,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25is where my tour of Prague begins.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35'The city is festooned with the natural lines,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39'whiplash curves and vibrant details of Art Nouveau,
0:05:39 > 0:05:42'the artistic movement that used nature as its inspiration.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'Heavily influenced by Britain's Arts and Crafts school,
0:05:47 > 0:05:51'Art Nouveau swept through late 19th and early 20th century Europe.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'Its best-known Czech exponent was Alphonse Mucha,
0:05:56 > 0:06:02'whose exceptional work adorns the Municipal House opened in 1912,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05'where I'm meeting my guide, Iva Karlickova.'
0:06:07 > 0:06:09What are the elements of Art Nouveau?
0:06:09 > 0:06:15It was about shapes and forms and the natural motifs, especially colours.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18Like here, around the walls, for example, you see this is
0:06:18 > 0:06:22typical Art Nouveau - these little motifs with the stucco.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25But it was not only about architecture.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27It was about jewellery,
0:06:27 > 0:06:31pieces of furniture, cutlery, fabrics.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34What started Art Nouveau in Prague?
0:06:34 > 0:06:37Well, the beginning, actually,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41was the year 1891 when they organised
0:06:41 > 0:06:46a jubilee exposition for the Kingdom of Bohemia.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48Thank you very much.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- Tell me about this beautiful building that we're in here.- Yes.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55So the Municipal House in Prague was finished 1912
0:06:55 > 0:07:00and it was built for the Czech people because at that period,
0:07:00 > 0:07:04we were living in Prague in three ethnical groups - Czechs,
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Germans and Jews.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10And another very important thing, our national independence,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12the new Czechoslovak Republic
0:07:12 > 0:07:17was proclaimed from this building on 28th October, 1918.
0:07:22 > 0:07:25'The Municipal House boasts an enormous
0:07:25 > 0:07:29'and pleasingly flamboyant Art Nouveau concert hall named
0:07:29 > 0:07:33'after Czech composer and nationalist Bedrich Smetana,
0:07:33 > 0:07:35'who died in 1884.'
0:07:37 > 0:07:41Well, this is really glorious, on such a scale.
0:07:41 > 0:07:46- Such attention to detail. So elaborate.- It is fantastic, yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53And the Mayor's Hall, decorated by Alphonse Mucha,
0:07:53 > 0:07:55is just as eye-catching.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01'Mucha had lived in Paris, creating posters for actress
0:08:01 > 0:08:05'Sarah Bernhardt and designing Georges Fouquet's celebrated
0:08:05 > 0:08:09'Art Nouveau jewellery shop before returning to Prague,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11'where his artistry lives on...'
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- Hello.- Hello.
0:08:14 > 0:08:16'..in the work of his granddaughter, Jarmila.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Now, your grandfather was a painter, a designer, a jewellery maker,
0:08:20 > 0:08:25- all sorts of things. How many of those things do you do?- Me?
0:08:25 > 0:08:31I have many, many products - jewellery, glass,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34metal pieces, scarf of silk.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Very, very beautiful.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40- And are you, by any chance, a member of the family?- I am.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43It's my daughter, Kathryn.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Do you think Art Nouveau is of interest again?
0:08:46 > 0:08:49- Is it back in fashion?- Now, there is an explosion of interest.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54You can find Mucha beer mats and key rings and all sorts of things.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56How do you think he'd feel about that?
0:08:56 > 0:09:02I think he would approve of his art reaching as many people as possible
0:09:02 > 0:09:06and...because that's what he wanted all his life,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09to make his work accessible to everyone.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I'm using a guidebook 100 years old,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15so somebody using this guidebook a century ago could have come
0:09:15 > 0:09:17and seen the work of Alphonse Mucha
0:09:17 > 0:09:21and now, 100 years later, we can see the work of Jarmila Mucha.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32In 1900, Prague's population consisted of
0:09:32 > 0:09:34just over 400,000 Czechs,
0:09:34 > 0:09:3710,000 Germans and 25,000 Jews.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Their 13th century ancestors
0:09:41 > 0:09:45had been forced to live in a ghetto near the Old Town.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48Here, some of the oldest relics of European Jewry
0:09:48 > 0:09:50can still be seen today.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56Bradshaw's has brought me to the Josefstadt, the Jews' quarter,
0:09:56 > 0:10:01"where much that was squalid has been demolished for improvements".
0:10:01 > 0:10:04And this building here is rightly referred to in Bradshaw's
0:10:04 > 0:10:11as "the sombre-looking Alt Neu Shul, an old synagogue dating from 1338."
0:10:11 > 0:10:15Clearly the Jewish population of Prague was long-established,
0:10:15 > 0:10:19as well as being numerous and very important in the city's history.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27Jews first settled in Prague in the 10th century and despite
0:10:27 > 0:10:31repeated persecutions, a community survives today with a rich heritage.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Two names, separated by centuries, stand out.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41The first, a late 16th century rabbi named Judah Loew,
0:10:41 > 0:10:44who was a renowned religious scholar,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48feted by Bohemian royalty for his knowledge of astronomy
0:10:48 > 0:10:50and Jewish mysticism.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54The second, born in 1883, was an author.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58By the time of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Prague's Jewish quarter produced one of the most influential
0:11:01 > 0:11:04writers in Europe - Franz Kafka,
0:11:04 > 0:11:07who gave his name to the word Kafkaesque,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11a nightmarish situation in which a man struggles helplessly,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14for example, against the idiocies of bureaucracy
0:11:14 > 0:11:18and is commemorated here by a statue that look likes a bad dream.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25For centuries, the influences on Prague,
0:11:25 > 0:11:26capital of the Czech lands,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29yet ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Empire,
0:11:29 > 0:11:31were Bohemian, Jewish and Germanic.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36But by 1913, the city's architecture and artists
0:11:36 > 0:11:40were also following trends from the French capital, Paris,
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and nowhere more than at the Cafe Montmartre.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47As the day draws to a close,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49I'm going to wet my whistle at a place which,
0:11:49 > 0:11:53since its opening in 1912, became the haunt of artists
0:11:53 > 0:11:56and writers of the Bohemian crowd,
0:11:56 > 0:11:58but sometimes above the sound
0:11:58 > 0:12:01of the scratching of the authors' nib on paper,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04could be heard a more insistent Latin beat.
0:12:08 > 0:12:11'Cafe Montmartre had gained a Bohemian reputation.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16'To understand why, I'm meeting British expat Richard Drury
0:12:16 > 0:12:20'and locals Marek and Radka.'
0:12:20 > 0:12:23If I'd come here in 1913, searching for celebrities,
0:12:23 > 0:12:25who might I have come across?
0:12:25 > 0:12:29You would have met possibly on your travels
0:12:29 > 0:12:34a small, unassuming-looking man,
0:12:34 > 0:12:37compact, thoughtful, dark-eyed
0:12:37 > 0:12:39and he was called Franz Kafka.
0:12:39 > 0:12:41- Kafka came here.- He did.
0:12:41 > 0:12:47This place was a meeting point for all members
0:12:47 > 0:12:52of this incredible polemical Prague society.
0:12:52 > 0:12:57They would come to this cafe and enjoy their differences.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01- By the way, what is this you've so kindly bought me?- Becherovka.
0:13:01 > 0:13:04Czech liqueur.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Well, cheers. Will I write and paint better after one of these?
0:13:07 > 0:13:11I can't guarantee that but you'll be all the merrier for it.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14- Mmm.- Cheers. - Oh, that is lovely.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19So I come to this place in 1913, I order myself a Becherovka,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24I'm sitting next to Franz Kafka, I look around, what else do I see?
0:13:24 > 0:13:28By October 1913, word had got round in Prague
0:13:28 > 0:13:33that a very, very sinful activity was going on here
0:13:33 > 0:13:36and other cafes and restaurants banned it.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39They said, "We are not going to do that."
0:13:39 > 0:13:42TANGO MUSIC PLAYS
0:13:42 > 0:13:46The very sinful activity was, of course, the tango -
0:13:46 > 0:13:50a raunchy, Argentine dance which took Paris by storm in 1912
0:13:50 > 0:13:52and Prague the year after.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59The tango originated in booming 19th century Buenos Aires,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02but theories vary as to how and why.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07Some say the city's busy prostitutes danced it
0:14:07 > 0:14:11with their clients, others that men awaiting boudoir bookings,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14made use of the live music entertainment
0:14:14 > 0:14:17and danced it with each other.
0:14:17 > 0:14:20Rather than banning it, Cafe Montmartre embraced the first
0:14:20 > 0:14:24improvised dance for couples that Europe had ever known.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29Er, I don't know how to tango and, in fact, I can't dance,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32so can you show me a few basic steps, please?
0:14:32 > 0:14:36Basic step is just you walk and then what you do
0:14:36 > 0:14:41- is to move your body forward and then you walk.- Mmm.- OK?- Mmm, right.
0:14:41 > 0:14:47- Yes, you can do less, not that much. - OK.- It's perfect.- Right, OK.
0:14:47 > 0:14:52- Rule number one, never step on her feet, never.- Right.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56- Are you the woman for these purposes?- You want me as a woman?
0:14:56 > 0:14:59- We have Radka here, take Radka.- OK, Radka, please.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01Better.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Don't look at her.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08- She's my wife.- Now you tell me!
0:15:08 > 0:15:13Don't be afraid, go through, move through. Relax, relax, yeah.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20- Don't think you're dancing, just walk. You can do it, no?- Wow!
0:15:22 > 0:15:24That's fantastic,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27but would you mind showing me how it's done properly,
0:15:27 > 0:15:28the two of you, please?
0:15:28 > 0:15:30TANGO MUSIC PLAYS
0:15:56 > 0:15:58MUSIC STOPS
0:15:58 > 0:16:01APPLAUSE AND CHEERING
0:16:15 > 0:16:18I'm leaving Prague and heading west through Bohemia.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20As in Britain,
0:16:20 > 0:16:23the first Czech railways, built in the 19th century,
0:16:23 > 0:16:28were owned by private companies, but by the time of my 1913 guidebook,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31most lines in the Austro-Hungarian Empire
0:16:31 > 0:16:32were owned by state companies.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39My next stop is Marianske Lazne, better known to us perhaps
0:16:39 > 0:16:41by its German name, Marienbad.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45Bradshaw's tells me it's a pleasant watering place.
0:16:45 > 0:16:48"The waters are successfully used in cases of heart disease, gout,
0:16:48 > 0:16:53"arteriosclerosis, disordered stomach, liver and digestive organs
0:16:53 > 0:16:59"and are often recommended as part of special treatment for ladies."
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Marienbad became the king of spas and indeed the spa of kings.
0:17:08 > 0:17:12At the end of the 18th century, a doctor from the local monastery
0:17:12 > 0:17:17had researched the curative properties of Marianske Lazne H2O
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and founded the spa.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27By 1823, the valley had been transformed into a beautiful
0:17:27 > 0:17:29park city.
0:17:32 > 0:17:35In the 1870s, the railways arrived, bringing swathes of new
0:17:35 > 0:17:39middle-class visitors to join the many luminaries already
0:17:39 > 0:17:44seeking cures and recreation at the magnificently appointed resort.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55Oh! Smells completely of sulphur, rotten eggs.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57I literally do this.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12It may have smelt bad but it tastes simply disgusting!
0:18:12 > 0:18:16I'm sure that does amazing things from inside.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18I think I'll pour the rest away.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28To continue my health treatment, I'm visiting Nove Lazne,
0:18:28 > 0:18:32one of the most luxurious spa hotels available to travellers
0:18:32 > 0:18:33in the era of my guidebook.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40I'm intrigued that during the sabre-rattling
0:18:40 > 0:18:42years of the early 20th century,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45the city was frequented by European royalty,
0:18:45 > 0:18:49including Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef I,
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
0:18:53 > 0:18:55and British King Edward VII.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59'Perhaps international diplomacy was conducted here
0:18:59 > 0:19:02'by monarchs in bathrobes.'
0:19:02 > 0:19:03Thank you very much.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08'Historian Dr Peter Sobel knows more.'
0:19:12 > 0:19:16Peter, my goodness. This is the most beautiful thing.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20It's called the Roman Bath and it comes from the heyday of the town.
0:19:20 > 0:19:25- When was the heyday? For example, in 1913, was that the heyday?- Yeah,
0:19:25 > 0:19:27it was just finishing, I would say.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31We used to have lots of Russian nobility, German nobility,
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- Austrian nobility.- And what is this extraordinary thing here?
0:19:35 > 0:19:37It's the CO2 bath.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41- Please, be careful when you move in it, not to stir the gas.- OK.
0:19:42 > 0:19:46'Not a gas to be trifled with, carbon dioxide can cause headaches,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49'dizziness, confusion and loss of consciousness
0:19:49 > 0:19:52'if it's inhaled in high concentration.
0:19:53 > 0:19:56'But this bath is said to improve lower limb circulation.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02'I wonder how the spa clients knew in 1913 which treatment was
0:20:02 > 0:20:05'right for them.'
0:20:05 > 0:20:08We'll sit down nice and gently.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11So what was the procedure? How did you get prescribed?
0:20:11 > 0:20:15- Did you begin by going to see a doctor?- You would first go to the doctor
0:20:15 > 0:20:19and he would prescribe what should you do for the next three weeks.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21Also, at that time,
0:20:21 > 0:20:24it was very popular to treat yourself for obesity
0:20:24 > 0:20:31and Edward VII came nine times in 12 years to get rid of his obesity.
0:20:31 > 0:20:36The spa was used for treatment but also for political discussions.
0:20:36 > 0:20:42For instance, he discussed the Russian-Japanese War of 1905 with
0:20:42 > 0:20:44the American ambassador,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47so this is just an example of what was happening here at that time.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53The British king often stopped off on his way Marianske Lazne,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55then known as Marienbad,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59to visit his nephew, German Kaiser Wilhelm II.
0:20:59 > 0:21:02He would stay at the resort for three weeks at a time.
0:21:02 > 0:21:05The Uncle of Europe, as he was known,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09underwent X-ray treatment for a facial ulcer, which was unsuccessful,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14and also grappled with the problem which weighed most heavily upon him.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16By sitting in this chair, the weight-conscious
0:21:16 > 0:21:22British King Edward VII learnt the worst expressed in pounds or kilos.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28And here, he took his bath.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32But I'm afraid that his royal grandeur
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and body politic might have caused the waters to overflow.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Marianske Lazne has been a gas so far,
0:21:41 > 0:21:43but I'm told what is to come is muddy marvellous.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46Hello.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50- Er, what is this? - You will take bath.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53- You're going to put that in there? - Mm-hm.
0:21:53 > 0:21:58I might as well wallow in a Scottish bog. It looks filthy!
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- Mm-hm.- Mm-hm.- More.- Mm-hm.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03- I get in there?- Mm-hm.- Mm-hm.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15# Mud, mud Glorious mud
0:22:15 > 0:22:18# Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. #
0:22:19 > 0:22:21I'm not usually one to wallow,
0:22:21 > 0:22:25but it's time for another encounter with the brown stuff.
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Nice and warm actually.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32I feel as though I am being creosoted like an old garden fence.
0:22:38 > 0:22:44- MACHINE WHIRS - Ooh, that sinking feeling.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46HE LAUGHS
0:23:04 > 0:23:08If heads of state were conducting political business in Bohemian spas,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13on this new day, I want to discover what drove the economy here in 1913.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16And to find out, I'm heading 50 miles south east.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21My next stop is Pilsen, which Bradshaw's tells me,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24"is on the River Radbusa, near the Bohemian frontier."
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It's a town I have always associated with Pilsner beer,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32but I believe it is also connected to industries much less frothy.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Founded in 1295 on the crossroads of important north-south
0:23:39 > 0:23:42and east-west trade routes, Pilsen grew quickly.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46After being damaged by a fire in the 16th century,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50the city's heart was rebuilt by Italian architects.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55But modern Pilsen was shaped by the Industrial Revolution
0:23:55 > 0:23:57and a tempestuous 20th century.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03It's interesting coming to Pilsen
0:24:03 > 0:24:06because in Prague you feel now as if you are in Western Europe
0:24:06 > 0:24:10and in Marienbad it is kind of the smell of fresh paint everywhere,
0:24:10 > 0:24:15but Pilsen is a little bit earthier, a little bit shabbier, a little bit
0:24:15 > 0:24:19reminiscent of that Eastern Europe before the fall of the Iron Curtain.
0:24:26 > 0:24:31I am in Pilsen to visit one of the best-known Czech companies.
0:24:31 > 0:24:37In 1866, an ambitious 27-year-old named Emil Skoda
0:24:37 > 0:24:40became the chief engineer of the Valdstejn ironworks.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Three years later, Skoda bought the company and set about building
0:24:45 > 0:24:48one of Europe's greatest industrial complexes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:54In 1886, Emil ensured that the Skoda works had access to
0:24:54 > 0:24:58trains by building his own railway connection to the mainline.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04In Britain, we know Skoda as a car-maker.
0:25:04 > 0:25:07I want to know what the company did as the continent
0:25:07 > 0:25:10teetered on the brink of the First World War.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Milan Tramik recently co-wrote the company's history.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16At the beginning of the 20th century,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18how important was this business?
0:25:18 > 0:25:22It was one of the most important industrial companies
0:25:22 > 0:25:25inside the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:25:25 > 0:25:28What were his original products?
0:25:28 > 0:25:35Original products has been cast iron items, machinery, components.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40I think I came on the railway along there into Pilsen.
0:25:40 > 0:25:44How important was the railway to establishing the business here?
0:25:44 > 0:25:47It was one of the most important factors.
0:25:47 > 0:25:52In the 19th century, you had no highways so the only
0:25:52 > 0:25:55possible way to get coal here
0:25:55 > 0:26:00and other items like iron ore has been railways.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Skoda also delivered goods by train
0:26:07 > 0:26:11and by the turn of the 20th century, that included freighting
0:26:11 > 0:26:14high volumes of armaments to the Austro-Hungarian military.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19After the defeat of the Empire in the Great War, the company
0:26:19 > 0:26:23needed a peace time product and turned to building locomotives.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29In 1925, the company acquired a car manufacturer, which produces
0:26:29 > 0:26:31the cars that we know.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34After the Second World War, the firm was divided
0:26:34 > 0:26:37and this company now produces state-of-the-art vehicles
0:26:37 > 0:26:39which run not on roads but on tracks.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47Beautiful, new locomotive. The most modern electronics.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50200 kilometres is the maximum speed.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53How fast can I go on this test track?
0:26:54 > 0:26:59Right here, we will go, at best, 40 kilometres per hour.
0:26:59 > 0:27:00So, how do I start?
0:27:00 > 0:27:05You have to release the brakes. Now please activate the whistle.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07WHISTLE
0:27:09 > 0:27:13Whoa! Locomotive goes off so quickly.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16It really has fantastic acceleration, doesn't it?
0:27:16 > 0:27:18TRAIN WHISTLE
0:27:20 > 0:27:22This track seems awfully short
0:27:22 > 0:27:26and I appear to be approaching a tram at rather high speed.
0:27:26 > 0:27:27Please brake.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31OK.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38I'm glad you're here, Milan.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41'On the second part of my journey through Central Europe,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44'I work my passage on Germany's first steam locamotive...'
0:27:46 > 0:27:49OK. Do you want to fill the fire box now?
0:27:49 > 0:27:50It would be my privilege.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56It really is extraordinarily hot in there. Glowing coals.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58'..learn how to eat white sausage, Bavarian style...
0:27:58 > 0:28:00- Tutle.- Sussle.- Tutle.
0:28:03 > 0:28:05Mmm.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09'..fly by the seat of my pants at Munich's Technical University...
0:28:11 > 0:28:12Little bit up, please.
0:28:14 > 0:28:16It's going to be a hard landing.
0:28:16 > 0:28:19I don't think I'd like to be a passenger.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23'..and pit myself against an enormous, fire-breathing monster.'
0:28:23 > 0:28:24En garde, dragon!