Brief history of the Society

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THe Czech Botanical Society was established on 17 June 1912 in the building where it seats today. The first chairman was Prof. Josef Velenovský, followed by Prof. Karel Domin, both distinct Czech botanists of the first half of the twentieth century. In 1914, the first volume of the journal Preslia was published.

Activities of the Society, including the publishing of the journal, were disturbed by both world wars. The journal Preslia was restored in 1952 and has since that time been published quarterly. During the communist regime (1948–1989) its functioning was also partly disturbed, especially in the early 1950s and then after the Russian occupation in 1968, but the Society managed to avoid most oppression by concentrating strictly on professional activities.

In 1966, a second journal, i.e. Reports of the Czech (Czechoslovak) Botanical Society (Zprávy České botanické společnosti) was established, and since 1973 annual conferences have been organized.

A third journal, Bryonora, was established in 1988. After the collapse of communism in 1989, fully democratic principles of the functioning of the Society were adopted, including a new statute and democratic elections of the representatives. The first chairman of the reformed Society was Dr. Josef Holub. After the separation of Slovakia from the former Czechoslovakia (1993), the Society returned to its original name Czech Botanical Society, but many Slovak colleagues remained members of our Society (and vice versa). The Slovak and Czech Societies cooperate closely, organising floristic courses and conferences.