The article describes attitudes towards death and funeral rites in contemporary Czech society. It begins by revealing the attitudes to death held by the majority of the Czech population - non-believers. The customary secular funeral ceremony, held in a crematorium, is not entirely well suited to meeting the needs of the bereaved, and this is borne out by the fact that about one-third of all cremations are held without a funeral ceremony. The author argues that the current situation is not solely the result of the economic situation of individuals but also stems from the deeply rooted attitudes and values and the approach to religion of the Czech population. The second part of the article is devoted to the attitudes towards death and the funeral rite preferences of believers, based on a survey conducted with members of three religious groups: Roman Catholics, Protestants (Church of the Czech Brethren), and Jehovah's Witnesses. Finally, the author compares the attitudes of the secular majority and believers, and also outlines the connections between conditions today and under the former communist regime regarding the general approach to death and funeral rites.
Die vergangenen 20 Jahre intensiver archäologischer Denkmalpflege auf kommunaler Basis führten im niederbayerischen Landkreis Deggendorf zu völlig neuen Einblicken in das Bestattungswesen des Alt–, Mittel– und frühen Jungneolithikums. Die bedeutendsten Erkenntnisse konnten für die Linienbandkeramik durch die Entdeckung einer ganzen Reihe von Siedlungsbestattungen und eines Gräberfeldes gewonnen werden. Für das Mittelneolithikum gelang der erstmalige Nachweis einer Gräbergruppe, dem frühen Jungneolithikum konnten mehrere Einzelbestattungen innerhalb unterschiedlicher Siedlungsgruben hinzugefügt werden. Die in einem geografischen Ausschnitt des ostbayerischen Donauraumes erforschten Grabfunde besitzen in ihrer Gesamtheit überregionale Bedeutung. and FUNERALS OF THE 6TH AND 5TH MILLENNIUM B.C. AT LANDKREIS DEGGENDORF (LOWER BAVARIA): PERCEPTIONS OF 20 YEARS LOCAL HERITAGE MANAGEMENT. The intensive archaeological heritage management in the Landkreis Deggendorf let to new results concerning funerals in the Early, Middle and early Late Neolithic periods. The most important results were obtained for the Linearbandkeramik by the excavation of many graves in the context of settlements and of one cemetery. For the first time it was possible to excavate a group of graves, dated to the Middle Neolithic period and several single graves inside settlement pits from the Younger Neolithic period. These results are of importance not only for the eastern Bavarian region but for a wider range.
The article deals with commemorations of the death of Tomáš G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. The funeral, its organization, and the location of Masaryk's grave reflected a new - predominantly nationalist-military-legionnaire - concept of the traditions of the Czechoslovak state. In the politically turbulent Europe of the late 1930s, it provided an opportunity to solidify the Czechoslovak national identity and to represent multinational state as unified. and Článek zahrnuje poznámkový aparát pod čarou
Habits are a peculiar component of culture, which currently have more functions in society. The function to identify is among the identification which classifies an individual as a member of “his/her” group, defines him or her and serves as an instrument for differentiation. The functions are an important element in the construction of a feeling of pride on the membership in a given group. The study submits a view of the specific realm of funeral habits and military funeral ceremonies within the military community with focus on the description of the current form of these habits in the environment of the Armed Forces of the Slovakian Republic. It introduces the basic formal means that are used in this environment in the case of a soldier´s death. The author observes how standards and rules are applied. She searches for an answer to the question whether there is a space in this strict environment hampered by norms to undertake spontaneous activities, not defined in the rules, related to funeral ceremonies and farewells, or other specific expressions that are part of life of this
socio-professional group. The study pays attention to specific types of ritual activities, such as ramp ceremony and welcome ceremony, the theme of soldiers - suicides, and the ratio of religious funeral ceremonies in the military environment.