Malá, a přesto velká: Kniha o (ne)nápadných stavbách, které formovaly kulturu Československa
Small, Yet Big: A Book about the (In)conspicuous Buildings that Shaped Czechoslovak Culture

Summary/Abstract: Houses of culture (kulturní domy) were multipurpose facilities that, in socialist Czechoslovakia, represented important hubs of cultural and social life in many townsand villages. They also carried symbolic value, as their design reflected contemporary social interests, the preferred architectural style, and prevailing aesthetics of the time. Houses of culture shaped the leisure activities of several generations, and their programmes combined popular education (osvěta), learning, political agitation, and cultural as well as social activities – something also expressed in the title of the reviewed book "Osvěta, kultura, zábava: Kulturní domy v Československu", edited simultaneously in English as "Enlightenment, Culture, Leisure: Houses of Culture in Czechoslovakia". The book is the work of an interdisciplinary team of authors, edited and co-authored by architectural historians Michaela Janečková and Irena Lehkoživová. According to the reviewer, the publication makes a significant contribution to understanding this neglected cultural-historical phenomenon by explaining not only the history of cultural centres themselves and the architecture associated with them, but also some aspects of the cultural policy during state socialism in Czechoslovakia. Moreover, by placing them in a broader historical perspective, it captures continuities across different state entities and political regimes from the late nineteenth century to almost the end of the twentieth century. A distinct strength of the book lies in its interdisciplinary approach and the effective integration of text with a rich and varied visual component. At the same time, however, it suffers from shortcomings typical of collective monographs, such as a certain imbalance or, at times, weaker coherence in the narrative.

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