Jára Cimrman

Jára Cimrman is a fictional Czech polymath who is presented as a universal genius. He is one of the greatest Czech playwrights, poets, composers, teachers, travellers, philosophers, inventors, detectives, mathematicians, and sportsmen of the 19th and early 20th century. Cimrman made his first appearance on a regular radio programme in 1966. Although the character was originally meant to be a modest caricature of the Czech people, history, and culture, he became an immensely popular protagonist of modern Czech folklore and an ersatz national hero. In 2005, Cimrman won a public vote to find The Greatest Czech (only the fact that he is fictional prevented him from actually winning). Cimrman is both the major character and the putative author of a great number of books, plays, and films. The Jára Cimrman Theatre in Žižkov is one of Prague's most frequented theatre houses.