Since the Velvet Revolution, the jazz scene in Prague has been especially lively. The grim industrial north, particularly Teplice, is the hub of the Czech Republic's punk movement. The most famous Czech writer is undoubtedly Franz Kafka, who, with a circle of other German-speaking Jewish writers in Prague, played a major role in the literary scene at the beginning of this century. Much less well-known is the Czech poet Jaroslav Siefert, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1984. The playwright Vaclav Havel now operates on a somewhat larger stage.
Czech cuisine is basically central European, with German, Hungarian and Polish influences.
Caraway seed, bacon and lots of salt are the common flavourings. The arrival of the Slavs in the 5th and 6th centuries saw the beginning of the Czechs' chequered history. Towards the end of the 9th century, the Czechs seceded to form the independent state of Bohemia. Prague Castle was founded in the 870s by Prince Borivoj as the main seat of the Premysl dynasty, though the Premysls failed to unite the squabbling Czech tribes until 993. In 950, the German King Otto I conquered Bohemia and incorporated it into his Holy Roman Empire.