Christina:

Thank you for joining hte Z"help" crew for Poohgirl...
I agree with your assessments...I, too, have traveled the old Czechoslovakia several times, and the new CR and Slovakia as well,,,the ski resort region is quite beautiful. Now, to nail down the "Eichorn" where Pooh's ancestors were from. I somehow cannot picture Winnie on skis!
StuT.

Poohgirl: Another submission. My Czech relative has come up with two towns/villages that may help you.

The jewishgenweb/ ShtetlSeeker is showing two towns/villages named EICHORN/EICHHORN, one in Austria, near Steyr, and one in Czech Republic which is now called Veveri and is South-East of the town of Rymarov.
To find information on the towns in CR http://mesta.obce.cz
The Czech phone book is at http://phone.quick.cz
which may have the surname you are seeking listed therein. Successful searching. Jay

I was away for several days and away from computers. I really do appreciate all your help in this - and for a relative stranger!

As to some of the questions asked - I'm afraid the 50 miles thing is a total guesstimate on my end. "Near Prague" is the most accurate I could get regarding distance. My thought was with transportation being what it was in those days anything beyond 50 miles would not be considered near. Unfortunately, any family member who had direct knowledge of that area is no longer alive. I rechecked family history notes and with family members to see if they could remember anything further, but they could not.

Jay and Michal: Thank you for the web sites listed. When I get a bit more caught up after being away, I'll be sure to visit them.

Stu, Christina, Ingo et al: Thanks very much for your help and insights. I've been impressed with many of your posts on Fodors, and I do thank you for using your brain power on my behalf.

well, I don't suppose this is really relevant, but I did find out where Churchill honeymooned. I found out from the Churchill research center in Wash DC, where I live, and some documents at Churchill College in the UK.

Unless poohgirl knows "her" Eichorn is the same as Churchill's, it doesn't really matter, but for interest, I'll include it on this post.

Churchill honeymooned at a private estate in Morvaia belonging to a good friend of his, Baron de Forest (aka "Touty", aka the Count de Bendern). This was a rich Englishman, I believe, who owned lots of estates and properties around Europe, this being one of them (also in Biarritz where Churchill also stayed). Churchill went to his Moravian estate several times because he liked the scenery and to go hunting on it.

After the gaining independence from the Austrian-Hungarian empire in 1918, the Czech govt. took over the estates of some foreigners, and they took over Baron de Forest's estate in Moravia. Churchill wrote a letter to complain about that (of course, he liked the hunting -- not sure if that estate was from German gains).

I don't know the current name of this Eichorn, which I think was the name of the place it was near, not the estate itself, but it was in Moravia and not that far from the current Austrian border. That would fit the mention of Veverska Bityska near Brno, perhaps. It is definitely not the one in the ski mountains.

However, it still may not be the one poohgirl is seeking because it isn't near Prague.