Jára Cimrman or Jára da Cimrman (officially Jaroslav Cimrman) (), also known as "the Master", is a fictional Czech polymath, created by Ladislav Smoljak, Jiří Šebánek and Zdeněk Svěrák. The fictional personality is presented as a universal genius, and one of the greatest Czech playwrights, poets, composers, teachers, travellers, philosophers, inventors, detectives, mathematicians, and sportsmen of the 19th and early 20th century. Playing along with the pretence of his real existence is part of his characterization. Cimrman made his first appearance on a regular radio programme Nealkoholická vinárna U Pavouka ("The Non-Alcoholic Wine Bar chez Spider") on 23 December 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, Jára 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. in Žižkov is one of Prague's most frequented theatre houses. History The character was invented in 1966 for a regular radio programme Nealkoholická vinárna U Pavouka ("The Non-Alcoholic Wine Bar chez Spider"), set in U Pavouka, a fictional wine bar in Prague that was presented to listeners as real, but perennially sold out well in advance of recordings. One show featured a guest interview with a musicologist who claimed to have discovered, during a renovation of his cottage, a tranche of documents relating to a forgotten Czech polymath who lived in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, named Jara Cimrman, the first mention of the character. On subsequent shows the joke was extended as more and more documents, detailing other aspects of Cimrman's life and his theatrical work, were found in an increasing variety of places. Cimrman's character and stories were located in the Austria-Hungary era as a pastiche of Czech nationalism, but also to allow the writers to criticise the contemporary communist regime without detection. As the authors later recalled, the mystification of presenting the new discovery of a forgotten Czech genius was successful. Some listeners recognised it as humorous, some called for punishment for those who tried to deceive people, and others (at least in the beginning) believed the stories. In 1967 Jiří Šebánek, together with Miloň Čepelka, Ladislav Smoljak