Posts

Prague is home to beautiful cycle paths in quieter areas of the city, but when it comes to hopping on two wheels in the heart of the city centre, it can be a safety gamble with aggressive drivers behind the wheel of cars, coupled with narrow...

July 3 marks 50 years since the death of the phenomenal Czech conductor Karel Ančerl. Ančerl was a Holocaust survivor, artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic for 18 years, and later a 1968 emigré to Canada. Karel Ančerl’s career was...

Since the fall of communism, Prague has seen a massive increase in foreigners, and part of this group of expats are Canadians – a close knit community here in Prague who meet a few times a year to share some memories and laughs, and...

Whether you are a shoe junkie or a history buff, this is a place that will stop you in your tracks. The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is the largest museum in the world entirely dedicated to the culture, traditions and styles of footwear. Created...

I have collected some photos of butterflies during my walks around the zoo. When I looked at them yesterday, I realized that it is a decent collection and includes some very rare species. Even the experts, who determined the relevant species...

The message of the letters written by former Czech president, Václav Havel, to his South African Republic counterpart, Nelson Mandela

It’s not a big secret that I love Thailand. I have visited this beautiful country several times, and have explored its beauty from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai in the north to Phuket and the islands in the south. This time, we decided to have a...

In 2016, a cooperation project was launched between the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Prague, and the Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of...

Czech singer songwriter Marek Ztracený is currently at the height of his career. Earlier this month, he sold out Prague’s Eden stadium three times in a row, attracting a domestic record of 100,000 spectators. Ztracený was born in a small...

Established in 1945 by members of the Czech and Slovak community, the Masaryk Memorial Institute, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada, provides a space for young and old to celebrate their Czech and Slovak heritage. Czech and...

In your standard guidebook it may be referred to as the “city of a hundred spires”. Its municipal administration is certainly interested in making Prague a destination for high culture and congress events. But, if you know the right people and...

Taste of Prague is an Instagram page, food tour business, and now a bistro run by husband and wife duo Jan Valenta and Zuzana Valenta Daňková. I spoke with Jan to talk about how the business has grown over the years, and how Prague’s food scene...

At 111 metres, Brno’s AZ Tower remains Czechia’s highest building a decade after it officially opened in June 2013. The idea of outdoing the hitherto tallest building in the country, the City Tower in Prague, came from Brno’s leaders; the AZ...

Pornography, sex shops and prostitution were all taboo in communist Czechoslovakia. And there was no sex education of any kind, neither in schools nor in teen magazines. So how did Czechs live without all that? With no official sources, young...

As the turbulent events of the past weekend unfolded in Russia, world leaders braced for potential civil war that could turn the tide of history within the space of hours. The Czech foreign ministry warned Czech nationals against travelling to...

The presidential couple started the first day with a visit to Cimburkova elementary school: They proceeded to a memorial service to honor the memory of the victims of communism: Full speech can be found here ( in Czech ). After the lunch of the...

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Czechia has deployed a mobile ICU bus to be used across Ukraine to provide medical aid to those in need. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, Director of the Department of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid...

Czechs are marking 73 years since the death of Milada Horáková, a democratic opposition leader who was sentenced and executed in a communist show trial on June 27, 1950. A host of events is taking place around the country in honour of the brave...

Lucerna Cinema, built in 1909 by the grandfather of the late Czech president Václav Havel, is one of the oldest cinemas in Europe. While they screen both Czech and international films, their monthly series Made in Czechoslovakia spotlights a...

Czech tennis star Petra Kvitová will be bringing home yet another trophy after Sunday’s German Open final in Berlin. The current top-ranked Czech tennis player in the world cemented her position by beating the Croatian Donna Vekic without...

It is well-known that jeans – a symbol of the West – were a highly sought-after commodity in the final decades of communism in Czechoslovakia. How did people manage to obtain them? And what imported brands were even available? I visited a new...

Czechia has slipped down the World Economic Forum’s rankings for gender equality. The country is currently ranked 101st out of 146 countries, 25 places lower than it was last year. I discussed the situation with Johana Jonáková, head of...

Homelessness is a significant problem for both men and women in Prague, but women have specific issues and vulnerabilities they face on the streets. Olga Pek, an employee of the NGO Jako Doma, is working to raise awareness around these issues...

Over 150 Czech economic diplomats based the world over met in Prague this week for consultations on how to further the country’s economic interests. Addressing the gathering, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stressed the need to transform the...

Czech electronic music artist dné released his debut LP several years ago, picking up multiple domestic awards and millions of streaming plays. Now dné, known to his friends as Ondřej Holý, is back with a long-awaited follow-up, Basic Living...

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, led a delegation on an official visit to the State of Israel. In the Knesset, she negotiated with her Israeli counterpart, Amir Ochana...

The first foal was born in the paddock of Převalský’s horses at the Maiden’s Castle in Prague. It is also the first addition of this species to the Prague Zoo this year. The mother is the five-year-old mare Khamiina, the father is...

Forest dog puppies were born at the Prague Zoo. Visitors can now observe the pair of cubs in the outdoor enclosure. These South American beasts managed to breed here after five years. This is the first litter of a newly assembled pair of these...

A new female Cape grebe has arrived at the Prague Zoo. Almost six-year-old Sabi forms a breeding pair with fourteen-year-old male Draco. Visitors can now observe the new couple in the African House. “Breeding Cape grebes in human care is...

Prague’s Vyšehrad Railway Bridge, built in 1901 and granted national monument status in 2004, has long been in need of repair. But the dispute over how those repairs should be carried out have intensified since an architectural competition to...

An international conference on Ukraine organised by Czech Radio on the occasion of its 100th anniversary took place in Prague on Thursday. The event, focusing on the role of public media in covering the events in Ukraine was attended by, among...

If you’ve heard the roars of a crowd at Prague’s Viktoria Zizkov stadium, there’s a chance it’s been fans of the Prague Lions, the American football team who recently qualified for the European League of Football (ELF) this season. This past...

According to the Czech police, there has been a sharp increase in the number of young people taking steroids over the last few years. Experts say that social media and the pressure to achieve the “perfect body” play a significant role. Police...

This Tuesday, June 20, marks World Refugee Day, held to honour people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes in the face of conflict and persecution. In connection with the annual day, the Czech office of the UN Refugee...

Pavlína Adam, a biologist and adventurer, recently became the first Czech woman to complete the Great Himalaya Trail, one of the world’s most difficult treks, stretching 1,700 kilometres across the Himalayas, with an approximately 240,000...

Saturday marks Petr Pavel’s first 100 days as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes – and his biggest failures? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe about how he would rate how the fledgling president is doing so far...

Ludwig Löwi Moser supplied the courts of emperors and monarchs such as Franz Joseph I, the Persian Shah and the British King Edward VII with his elegant creations. The founder of the global brand Moser was not only a skilled craftsman, but also...

Špejchar 1969–1991 I–II is the title of a compilation by the great Czech singer and guitar player Vladimír Mišík. The double album, which has now been rereleased by the label Supraphon, contains many of the popular artist’s best-loved songs...

The organisers of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival have just revealed that actress Robin Wright will appear this year. She joins other star names, including Russell Crowe, whose band will perform for the public on the opening night...

On Wednesday the sixth edition of the Metronome festival will kick off in Prague, ushering in four days of international musical programming and cultural events. I spoke with David Gaydečka, the founder of the festival, about the development of...

Although perhaps not as well-known as the nearby Lucerna, the Koruna Palace is an architectural masterpiece. With its unique blend of function and style, the palace has been an important Prague feature for over a century. The Koruna, or...

In the latest in a series of moves by the city to rid itself of reminders of its decades of Soviet occupation and oppression, Prague City Hall voted on Monday to rename Koněvova Street, which is called after the controversial Soviet military...

Czechoslovakia decriminalised homosexuality in 1961, earlier than many Western European countries. Why was it that the generally repressive Communist regime showed such tolerance? And what was like life for gay people under communism? The...

Father’s Day is this Sunday, but are Czech dads actively involved in the day to day domestic duties of running a family amongst heterosexual couples, or are mothers still bearing the brunt of the workload? I asked Dr. Jana Klímová Chaloupková...

On Tuesday evening at the Platforma 15 gallery in Prague, Czech artist Renata Machýčková will debut her first show in 10 years in her native country. The exhibition titled “Blades on Heels” showcases her paintings as well as paper carvings that...

Dinner in the Sky is a food concept taking place across the world highlighting the best chefs and faces in contemporary gastronomy. Since 2017 the event has also been held in Prague, presenting Czech chefs who serve guests – at an altitude of...

František Bělský is largely unknown in his native country. However, the Czech, who was born in 1921, achieved great success in his adopted UK, becoming the only sculptor ever to create busts of four generations of the royal family. Bělský’s...

In Darwin Crater we have recently introduced Winkleigh, the wombat female, to the public. Now we are expecting the arrival of the breeding group of Tasmanian devils. And between these two major events, one more has been squeezed in: We now have...

Lenka Lichtenberg is a Prague-born singer and composer living in Toronto. She has recently won the Juno Award, Canada’s highest music prize, for Thieves of Dreams, an album based on poetry written by her grandmother in Terezín during the...

In the 1950s, during the darkest phase of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Czech sexologists started to research the female orgasm, outpacing most of their colleagues abroad. What triggered their interest in the topic and what exactly...

Two pilgrims from the United States and Canada have just covered over 700 kilometres across Moravia on foot. They were tracing the footsteps of their distant ancestors from the Hutterite community, who were driven out of Europe in the 18th...

The Open Gardens festival will be taking place across Prague this weekend, with different gardens scheduling unique programming. The festival is the perfect opportunity to learn about the unique art and architecture featured in gardens...

Jakub Cigler is perhaps THE architect of post-1989 Prague. His Jakub Cigler Architekti are behind the ongoing remodeling of Wenceslas Square and have also designed such buildings as Quadrio, Florentinum and The Park in Chodov.

Hundreds of villages in the European military theatre of World War II became the target of Nazi massacres, where entire populations of inhabitants were systematically murdered and the villages razed to the ground. But perhaps none became more...

The Czech Hiking Club was born 135 years ago in June 1888, established by a group of travel enthusiasts. Its chairman, Vojtěch Náprstek, came up with a unique hiking trail network that serves tourists and hikers to this day.

Lenka Lichtenberg is a Prague-born world-music artist based in Canada. Her most recent album, Thieves of Dreams: Songs of Theresienstadt’s Secret Poetess is based on poetry that her grandmother wrote in the Terezín concentration camp during the...

A pair of white storks from Czechia have recently made international headlines. The unusual couple, consisting of two females, have been nesting on a chimney in south Bohemia, taking turns in caring for their two chicks. According to...

The annual microbrewery festival took place this past weekend in the Prague Castle gardens, highlighting 50 of the best microbreweries from every end of Czechia. Each year, the festival draws in thousands of beer lovers, local and tourists...

The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has just kicked off a working trip to Angola and Zambia. Czech foreign policy is increasingly focused on Africa and Mr. Lipavský says Europe needs to “bring a better offer” if it is to weaken Russian...

Hundreds of people gathered at Prague Castle on Monday evening to break bread with their neighbours. Long tables were arranged in the shape of a heart around St. Vitus Cathedral for people to sit and share a communal feast together.

On June 13 and 14, 2003, Czechs voted overwhelmingly (77 percent) to enter the EU. We discuss that historic vote, and current attitudes to the union, with Martin Dvořák, Czech minister for European Affairs.

Researchers have announced a gruesome find at Prague’s Pankrác jail: the cremated remains of 80-plus communist-era political prisoners. The dead included executed opponents of the regime, though much remains unclear about the victims’...

The Platýz Palace is a grand building located on Prague’s Národní třída, not far from Jungmannovo náměstí. During its long history the palace served as a noble residence and an inn, before later becoming one of Prague’s first apartment...

A march set for Prague on Thursday aims to show solidarity with victims of sexual and domestic violence in Czechia. The organisers are also demanding change – specifically for the Czech government to ratify the Istanbul Convention.

Czech-born all-time tennis great Martina Navrátilová has just received an award in Prague, the silver medal of the president of the Senate. The 66-year-old said she was happy to be back – and glad that today’s young sports people don’t have to...

At the launch event of the new 'Eurocities Lille Call to Action for low carbon and more inclusive culture', 24 cities already signed the document and many more have pledged to. This new initiative, led by the city of Lille and Eurocities...

The Mayor of Leipzig, Burkhard Jung, will represent major European cities in the coming two years, as President of Eurocities. He succeeds the Mayor of Florence, Dario Nordella, and is joined by the Mayor of Ghent, Mathias De Clercq, who will...

The 11th annual KoresponDance international festival of contemporary dance, movement theater and the new circus will show that dance and circus art are close to architecture.

At a press conference at Prague Castle, the President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, summarized the first 100 days since the inauguration.

Prague Zoo is celebrating an extraordinary breeding success. Curator Peter Velenský's team was able to breed extremely delicate terrapins.

Ninety years ago, a new bear exhibit was ceremonially opened in Prague Zoo, a stone’s throw from the main entrance.

After the wild pairing, the atmosphere in the common wombat exhibit is noticeably calmer. Biting, gnashing of teeth, and loud yelling have been replaced by regular meetings and obvious interest in each other. Visitors can get to know the first...

Several dozen people gathered in Prague’s Stromovka Park at sunrise on Friday morning to take part in the annual scythe mowing event, during which they cut down a wild flower meadow to the sound of folk music. The traditional scythe mowing...

Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, the largest festival of its kind in the world, gets underway in Prague on Thursday. Located in various venues around the capital, it will explore scenography in its broadest sense, from scenic...

The President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, was on a working visit to Slovakia on June 6 and 7. He attended the meeting of B9 presidents in Bratislava and visited the soldiers of the Czech contingent at the training center in Lešt.

At CAMP, the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in downtown Prague, a new exhibit presents a mosaic of everyday life in the city through the eyes of Dutch photographer Iwaan Baan. The exhibit features thousands of images of...

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová held talks on 7.6.2023 with her Korean counterpart Kim Jin-pyo in Prague. The main topics were Czech-Korean cooperation in the political and economic fields. The President, who visited...

June 6, 2023 – Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová, Speaker of the Austrian National Council Wolfgang Sobotka and Speaker of the Slovak National Council Boris Kollár jointly made a two-day working trip to Georgia. In the...

More than 1,800 churches, temples and religious sites will open their doors to the public within the 15th annual Night of Open Churches on Friday, June 2. The event includes concerts, exhibitions, and access to houses of prayer otherwise closed...

Immersion, translated into Czech as ‘do hloubky’, is the new and cool-looking graphic novel by Adam Trachtman that details his adventures – linguistic, itinerant, and sexual – as he joins the hordes of young Westerners heading east in the early...

A replica of a Marian column torn down in 1918 was erected on Prague’s Old Town Square three years ago, in June 2020, after years of often turbulent debate. A group called the Society for the Restoration of the Marian Column lobbied for the...

Located just off Wenceslas Square, the Lucerna Palace is an iconic building. Its rooftop terraces and passages are unique even for the historic centre of Prague. Interestingly, the palace was originally planned to be one storey higher and have...

If you ask a Czech for a good summer getaway, it is quite likely they will mention the Lipno reservoir. Built during the 1950s it is not only the largest reservoir in Czechia, but it also borders the beautiful Šumava Natural Park. Despite being...

There were no goods in shops. You weren’t allowed to travel. Rock stars didn’t come to the country to perform. So how else were Czechs supposed to entertain themselves? “Sex was one of the few pleasures that were available back then at the same...

In the wake of the Kakhovka dam flooding, the Czech government and NGOs have joined the humanitarian aid effort. The Czech Defense Ministry is preparing a consignment of tankers for the distribution of drinking water, life vests and water pumps...

To mark the centenary of Czech Radio, the public broadcaster’s jazz station prepared a special project called 100 Years of Jazz/100 Years of Radio. Within the project, contemporary composers were asked to create new arrangements of traditional...

The legendary Czech goalie Dominik Hašek (nicknamed The Dominator) paid a visit to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday to express support for the country, which has been successfully resisting Russian military aggression since...

Czechia has a rich history of cinema and that heritage is carefully administered by the National Film Archive in Prague, which is currently celebrating 80 years of existence. I discussed the archive’s establishment during the Nazi occupation...

On the outskirts of the city centre in Prague 3, a delicious Italian bakery serves up traditional Tuscan and Italian fare, and has become a social hub for both Italian expats in the neighbourhood and local Czechs. In the heart of downtown...

This Friday, June 9th will be the opening night of the first annual Prague Art and Activism exhibition. A night showcasing the talent of artists whose thought-provoking work crosses boundaries between advocacy and multi-medium beauty. Nicholas...

Best friends Phillip Schniedermeier and Jeff Couloute who together make up the duo behind the American restaurant Philly & Co’s in lower Žižkov have turned their passion for cooking up American and their native Chicago style food into a hub...

The Toy Museum Prague offers a fascinating collection of toys spanning three centuries. The Golden Age of Toys was put together and is curated by Ivan Steiger, a prominent Czech filmmaker, illustrator and cartoonist, who has lived and worked in...

Susan Loy is an American artist who had a successful business selling her paintings in the US, but left it all behind a few years ago to move to Prague, when she was already in her 70s. Like Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk, the American wife of...

Brno, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, and Calgary – these are some of the cities where an ingenious invention by two Moravian dog owners has spread. Their patented dog urinal prevents unsightly stains and nasty odours from sullying public spaces. Ten...

Cigarettes are getting increasingly more expensive in Czechia, but recent data suggests that as much as a quarter of people over the age of 15 are smokers. On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, we spoke to Dr Eva Králíková, who heads a stop...