The Czech Frenchman: Joachim Barrande
How did a French engineer born in 1799 end up immortalized in the geography of Prague?
Joachim Barrande came to Bohemia as an exile with the Bourbon royal family. But while history marched on, Barrande stopped to look at the rocks. His monumental 22-volume work, Système silurien du centre de la Bohême, mapped the prehistoric life of our country with unprecedented precision.
He learned our language, adopted our land, and donated his massive collections to the Czech Museum.
Revisit this short biography of a man who was French by birth, but Czech by heart.
Posted by Petr Oprsal
