QUESTION: Was Skoda considered a luxury car brand at one time?
In the early 20th century, Skoda became one of the most significant car manufacturers in Austria-Hungary, producing a range of high-quality vehicles.Skoda Auto, originally known as Laurin & Klement, was founded in 1895 in Mlada Boleslav, in today’s Czech Republic, by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement. The company began by producing bicycles and by 1899 had expanded into motorcycles. Their first car, the Voiturette A, was introduced in 1905, marking their entry into the automobile industry.
In 1925, in a bid to solidify their position in the market, Laurin & Klement merged with Skoda Works in Pilsen, an industrial conglomerate founded by the engineer Emil Skoda. The Skoda logo with the ‘winged arrow’ was first used in 1926. The company began, under licence, producing luxury cars for the Spanish Hispano Suiza company.
In the 1930s, Skoda Works shifted the company’s focus towards mass production and more affordable vehicles including the Popular, Rapid and Favorit. Top of the luxury market was the Skoda Superb, introduced in 1934, which maintained the company’s reputation for luxury and quality.
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In the 1930s, Skoda Works shifted the company’s focus towards mass production and more affordable vehicles including the Popular, Rapid and Favorit. Top of the luxury market was the Skoda Superb (pictured)
A Skoda Citigo. In recent decades Skoda rebranded itself as a producer of high-quality, reliable and well-designed vehicles, praised for their value for money
After the Second World War, Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet influence and Skoda was nationalised. The company’s focus turned towards producing practical and affordable cars for the masses, resulting in a decline in the luxury status it once held. Models like the Skoda Octavia and Skoda Felicia became known for their reliability and simplicity rather than luxury.
The fall of communism in 1989 marked a turning point for Skoda and, in 1991, the company entered a joint venture with the Volkswagen Group, which later became a full acquisition. Over the following decades, Skoda rebranded itself as a producer of high-quality, reliable and well-designed vehicles, praised for their value for money.
Justin Kahn, Wilmslow, Cheshire
QUESTION: Who was it that invented the harp?
The earliest evidence of the harp is from Ancient Egypt, circa 2,500BC. They were shaped like bows and had a variable number of strings. Similar instruments have been found in a variety of cultures around the world. These basic instruments lacked a column, so they could not support string tension or regular pitch.
The frame harp first appeared in Medieval Western Europe between the 8th and 10th centuries AD. The first harp to feature a hollowed soundbox that amplified the instrument’s sound dates to 14th-century Ireland. It had a curved forepillar, a stronger neck and 30 to 36 strings.
The key figure in the invention of the modern instrument was a French instrument maker called Sebastien Erard (1752-1831). Erard revolutionised the harp with the invention of the fourchette mechanism, still used today, which stops strings by the depression of various pedals. The Erard harp was crucial to the development of harp composition. In particular, the virtuoso English harpist Elias Parish Alvars (1808-1849) introduced techniques such as the chordal glissando, now ubiquitous. Erard’s principles continue to be used by modern harp makers.
Louise Parker, St Davids, Pembrokeshire
QUESTION: What is the oldest national flag still in use?
The Flag Institute states that the oldest national flag in continuous use is Denmark’s Dannebrog, a white Scandinavian cross on a red background.According to popular legend, the Dannebrog fell from the sky as an act of divine intervention, giving Danish Crusaders the will to defeat pagan Estonians at the Battle of Lyndanisse (June 15, 1219).
The flag was certainly in use by the late 14th century, appearing in the Gelre Armorial, a work by Claes Heinenzoon containing 1,800 European coats of arms.
Danish flags flying from the Danish parliament. According to popular legend, the Dannebrog fell from the sky as an act of divine intervention, giving Danish Crusaders the will to defeat pagan Estonians at the Battle of Lyndanisse (June 15, 1219)
The design was adopted as the official national flag in 1625 and has been the country’s symbol since that time without interruption.
There is a case for Scotland’s saltire. In AD 60, Saint Andrew (later known as the patron saint of Scotland) was crucified. He felt unworthy of being crucified on a cross similar to the one Jesus Christ had died on, so it was arranged for him to be crucified on a diagonal cross, also known as a saltire. It’s said that this symbol helped King Angus of the Picts secure an important victory in the 9th century.
In July 1385, King Robert II’s Parliament stated that every Scottish soldier was to wear a white saltire on his armour.A white saltire on a blue background now represents Scotland in the Union Jack.
Ian Carlton, Stirling
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