Vortex shedding from a bluff body is a classical problem as well as an exciting challenge for fluid mechanics. Since the time of Prof. Strouhal at the end of the 19th century, the phenomenon has been frequently studied by several generations of researchers. This contribution introduces (1) the historical contest of the milestone studies, (2) motivations and goals of the recent investigations, and (3) recent original results of research on the fluid dynamics and heat transfer of heated and cooled circular cylinders in the cross-flow, obtained mainly in the Institute of Thermomechanics. and Obsahuje seznam literatury