Czechs were prominent among the many nationalities that blended in America and Nebraska. They came from a land with a great history and culture, where the first university in Central Europe was established in Prague more than 100 years before Columbus discovered America. Through generations of wars and oppression, the Czech people preserved their language, music, arts, and customs and carried them to the New World, where those traditions continued. Charles Culek, who came to Nebraska in 1856, was the first permanent Czech settler, and the first Czechs came to Saline County in 1865. Altogether, about 50,000 Czechs settled in Nebraska, most from the Province of Bohemia. They often gathered in villages such as Wilber, officially designated by the Governor as the Czech Capital of Nebraska, while Schuyler, Clarkson, Prague, and other towns were mainly settled by Czechs. Like other pioneers, they overcame the hardships of frontier life, found freedom from oppression and opportunity for their children, and through their industry and patriotism helped make America and Nebraska great.