Charles IV, Holy Roman emperor and King of Bohemia /1316 -1378/ has been
elected the Greatest Czech in history. The results of the competition were
announced at a gala evening on Czech TV on Friday night. Charles IV brought
the Czech lands to unprecedented prosperity, he was a skilled diplomat and
peacemaker and a generous patron of learning and the arts. His legacy
includes the oldest University in central Europe, the famous Charles
Bridge and St. Vitus Cathedral, where he was laid to rest in 1378. Charles
IV won over 68,000 votes from the public. The founder of Czechoslovakia,
president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk came second and the former Czech
president Vaclav Havel third.