Czech-German literary relations in south-west Bohemia

Research into Czech-German literary relations in south-west Bohemia considers the similarities and relationships of motif, theme, genre, two-way cultural transfer, and the conversion from one linguistic area to the other. The present article examines in particular the reception of Christian Heinrich Spiess in Czech-speaking areas and in the German and Czech speaking areas of Klattau/Klatovy and the Bohemian Forest, as well as parallel developments in the short story with a rural topic. The article takes as an example the works of Josef Rank, Aus dem Bohmerwalde (From the Bohemian Forest) and Bozena Nemcova's Obrazy z okoli domazlickeho (Domazlice Life). Taking also the example of the weekly Der bote aus dem Bohmerwalde, which was published in Klattau/Klatovy in 1863-67, it documents the survival of old-fashioned patriotism in small Bohemian towns and its disappearance in the 1860s. The article also takes the example of Karel Klostermann to consider linguistic conversion in the area. It concludes by taking issue with the conception of construction of a territorial history of literature, while appreciating the contributions of the various parts that make up the territory.