Posts

Unusually high temperatures have been leading Czechs to spend their free time by the water and it feels like summer in many places. Pictured are girls on a pedal boat near Prague’s Charles Bridge. Source: ČTK

The name Vlasta Kálalová Di Lotti might not mean very much to you – even many Czechs have not heard of her. But the woman with the exotic-sounding name was decidedly one of the most fascinating figures of the First Republic and had an...

A new laboratory enabling safe work with highly infectious viruses and bacteria opened this week at the Biocev science centre in Vestec near Prague. The state-of-the-art facility will enable scientists to study hepatitis B, HIV, Covid and other...

On April 9, 1624 Ferdinand II issued a patent allowing only the Catholic religion in Bohemia. A few days later he banned royal towns from accepting non-Catholic burghers and also forbade non-Catholics to practice their trade in such towns. The...

The Czech statute books are set for a significant change. After a lower house debate on Wednesday rape will be defined as non-consensual sex, rather than the current forcible sex. The new bill also gives greater protection to the under 12s in...

The great writer Franz Kafka was born in Prague in 1883 and spent his entire life in the city. His early years, and the life of his family, are closely linked to its Old Town district. Today Prague’s Old Town is filled with tourists from all...

Mayors of the center will be offered suitable financing models for affordable housing projects and will advise on legal and technical questions, for example. Experts will work in all regions. The centers are financed from European sources...

With European Parliament elections around the corner, Czechs are gearing up to head to the polls. But how do Czechs, specifically younger ones, feel about the EU and Czechia’s membership? That’s a question that Czech Radio reporter Anna...

Conservationists have applied a special protective paint on one of the Gothic towers on Prague’s Charles Bridge, the city’s most famous landmark. The transparent nano-coating can decompose algae and mosses with the help of light alone, keeping...

Walking through the streets of Czechia, you might spot people sporting tri-coloured sneakers in the country’s national colours; blue, white, and red. Those kicks are from an iconic brand called Botas, originally founded in 1949. Last year, the...

The Czech government has officially acknowledged the term “antigypsyism” with the aim of curbing discrimination towards Roma people in the country. But what does the term mean, and how will its use effect change? I asked human...

The Prague Zoo is currently rearing a young fish-eating owl Ketupa Pelova. It was hatched here at the beginning of this year and after initial fluctuations in weight and occasional reluctance to eat, the bird is now vital and thriving.

Affordable housing has the green light from the European Commission. Twenty years after joining the Union, the Czech Republic can finance affordable apartments from public sources for the first time.

The main season of the Prague Zoo has officially started, and along with it, the public’s questions are multiplying: When is the best time to go to the zoo? How to avoid the queue at the checkout? Are there any discounts available...

Olgoi-khorkhoi – the mythical killing worm from the Gobi Desert – is perhaps better known today in Czech Republic than in Mongolia itself. It happened thanks to Czech enigmologists, who searched for it in local sand dunes. And on top of that...

On this week’s Sunday Music show, we spotlight a classic piece of Easter music – Jan Dismas Zelenka’s ‘Cantata sacra Il serpente di bronzo’. Composed in the year 1730, the piece was first performed on Good Friday of that year in Dresden...

A new work by David Černý – a five-tonne kinetic metal head of iconic movie director David Lynch – was recently unveiled at an apartment complex in Santa Monica, LA. The Czech sculptor is perhaps best known for works that have made their mark...

Join us on a trip to South Bohemia – a region of castles, ponds, and the famous Budějovický Budvar brewery. Check out its dense network of centuries-old fish ponds, its picture-perfect UNESCO heritage villages, and the lush forests of the...

Researchers at the Czech Technical University in Prague are using artificial intelligence to train robots, teaching them to search unfamiliar or hard-to-reach areas. In the future, these intelligent robots could help search for missing persons...

Pavel Bobek gained his first teaching experience in an immigrant neighbourhood in London’s district of Croydon. After two years he returned to Prague and has since been teaching at one of the city’s primary schools. Are the teaching methods...

Revelations a Czech-based Russian influence network was paying politicians in several states have made headlines around Europe. Czechia’s European commissioner says she sensed Moscow was using such dirty tricks – and says steps should be taken...

The Crystal Touch Museum in Litoměřice offers a unique exposition of authentic handprints of famous personalities captured in Bohemia crystal. The exhibition is the work of glass master Jan Huňát who launched the project in 2007. Most people...

In the West Bohemian city of Plzeň there is a modern sculpture that people either love or hate. Its official name is The Panopticon, but in Plzeň everybody calls it “the pink rabbit”. Why is it there? And is it art or a terrible kitsch? The...

Easter egg trees are a popular Central European tradition and the town of Pardubice has one to make the locals proud this year. Whoever guesses the exact number of eggs on it can look forward to a prize! The egg is an ancient symbol of life in...

In the English-speaking world, we know the days during Holy Week leading up to Easter as Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and so on. But, despite also sharing a Christian heritage with Anglophone countries, the Czechs call these days...

Prague’s Hradčany Square right next to Prague Castle is a top-notch address, but with hordes of tourists and ever rising noise levels it is not conducive to quiet contemplation and prayers. This led the community of Barefoot Carmelite Sisters...

The historic astronomical clock in Česká Kamenice has been successfully repaired at the cost of about one million crowns. Its fourteen glass figures were made by students of the glass school in neighbouring Kamenický Šenov. The  astronomical...

Column written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague ZOO.

From 27 March the unique exhibition of the first artistic designs of Czechoslovak banknotes from the 1970s, the satirical Funny Money, and the life stories of contemporary banknotes will be open in the Visitor Center of the Czech National Bank...

More than 200 young people joined the traditional three-kilometer run through Prague’s Stromovka park at the weekend and President Petr Pavel was among them. Source: CTK

The new book Red Tape: Radio and Politics in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1969 takes a fresh look at radio broadcasting in, and to, the country between the end of the war and the immediate aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion. How “Communist” were...

The Municipal District of Prague 1 recently launched an initiative to help residents of the area deal with common problems. The aim is to curb depopulation and reassure residents of the area that the heart of the city is in fact a comfortable...

Arguably one of the most internationally renowned contemporary Czech composers, Miroslav Srnka has wowed audiences across the globe with his original and innovative operas. In 2016, Srnka debuted his double opera, South Pole, which tells the...

On 26 March 1964, the Czechoslovak government decided to liquidate the old city of Most to make way for new coal mines and apartments to house the miners who would be working there. The demolition of the historic centre of the town lasted 23...

The well-known Máj department store in the centre of Prague is soon to re-open following a two-year renovation. The long-awaited reconstruction has already sparked controversy, when it emerged that the façade of the building will be adorned...

This week’s Sunday Music show is devoted to pop singer Aneta Langerová, the winner of the first ever Czech Pop Idol contest, who is celebrating 20 years on stage. To mark the occasion, Aneta has released a double album, mapping the two decades...

The Hradec Králové Region ranges from the Giant Mountains to the lowlands around the Elbe. Check out its landmarks in our photo gallery! See the rest here.

A recent study that analyses the housing situation in Prague revealed that the country’s real estate market is the least affordable in Europe. Factors such as privatization and a lack of growth in real wages have put an increasing number of...

A total of 56% of Czechs plan to spend their spring vacation in their country this year. Most often in the South Bohemian and Central Bohemian regions.

Thursday is the 55th anniversary of a famous moment in the country’s modern history. On March 28, 1969 a Czechoslovak ice hockey win over the USSR – less than a year after the Soviet invasion – sparked celebrations that turned into riots in...

The Easter weekend at the Prague Zoo will offer a treasure hunt, free guided tours of the new Gobi exhibit, and an excursion to the Bird Wetlands, which a few days ago were inhabited by the rarest ducks in the world, the impressive Parana...

The new Škoda 1000 MB was unveiled in Mladá Boleslav on March 21, 1964. Designed to be an inexpensive family car, it was Czechoslovakia’s answer to the Ford Model T: the first mass-affordable automobile, making car travel available to more...

Offering more diverse experiences and investing in talented people will play a key role in helping mountain areas grow tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner.

Over 400,000 Czechs have availed of the opportunity to take part in Erasmus, the EU’s academic exchange programme, since Czechia signed up in the late 1990s. But what specifically do students get out of the experience? I spoke to some former...

Four countries and four European capitals on one route. They are newly connected by the extended night train line of the European Sleeper company leading from Brussels to Prague.

The Czech secret service has scored a major success, uncovering a Russian network attempting to influence elections in various European states. The Prague government followed this revelation with sanctions on two individuals, including a pro...

Brian Goodman is an author and an associate professor at Arizona State University. He has spent the past two decades immersed in a project that bridges American and Czech literary worlds, delving into the shadows of the Cold War. Brian’s...

If you’ve spent a day or two in Prague, you’ll know that the city is dotted with cafes, from the small and cozy places offering good coffee and traditional Czech desserts to the luxury cafes in Prague’s historic city center usually frequented...

An exhibition called New Realisms opened in Prague City Gallery on Wednesday, offering a fresh perspective on visual culture and art in Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1945. It presents works by well-known artists, such as Otto Guttfreund and...

The Czech independent studio Amanita Design has won the award for Excellence in Visual Art at the prestigious San Francisco Independent Games Festival for their new game Phonopolis. The hand-crafted adventure, set in a dystopian city made of...

The rapid growth of generative AI is influencing many areas of life and there is no doubt that it will play a role in campaigning in the European elections. So are Czech parties preparing to harness the potential it affords and will Czech...

H.E. Ms. Maria-Antoaneta Barta, Ambassador of Romania, organized "Sous le ciel de Prague" - an exceptional concert in an unforgettable atmosphere.

On the occasion of Saint Patric and National Day of Ireland , H.E. Mr. Alan GIBBONS,– Ambassador Ireland host a reception at Kaiserstejnsky palac.

The photography exhibition “Behind the Curtain” by Jindrich Svatek presents a part of his works created between 1983 and 1991. Capturing the Prague Jewish community, during the totalitarian regime, when all religious communities were under the...

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, took part in the 9th international conference of heads of parliaments of the countries of the Danube Region in Vienna. The main topic of the meeting was regional security.

The opening of the new Mongolian Gobi exhibition and the opening of the 93rd main season of the Prague Zoo will be attended by the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, and the Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, Bat-Erdene...

Prague Easter Markets are open daily from 16.3.2024 to 7.4.2024, from 10 am till 10 pm. The best known market is at the Old Town Square – Producers, craftsmen, and sellers offer typical Easter goods and gifts at dozens of decorated stands...

"I am here to stay," says Julia Tatiana Bailey, new director of Galerie Rudolfinum, one of the Prague's leading art venues.

The oldest known human settlement in Europe lies in western Ukraine. New findings by an international team of scientists have confirmed the oldest stone tools on the site date roughly 1.4 million years ago.

This month a monument was unveiled in Liberec entitled To Children Who Didn’t Get to Know the World. The memorial is specifically to Roma children who were born and died in WWII camps – and follows years of research by historian Ivan Rous and...

The Brno Zoo organized a spring welcoming event a few days early at the weekend, with a special program that included feeding the animals. In the picture, the zoo’s Kamchatka bear getting his share. Source: ČTK

As the world watched the orchestrated re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president for the next six years, Russian nationals in Prague gathered on Wenceslas Square in a symbolic show of support for the “Noon against Putin” protests at...

The ruling coalition has accused opposition leader Andrej Babiš of undermining the government’s support for Ukraine through his “pacifist” language and putting at risk Czechia’s security. At a special session of the lower house on Tuesday the...

People in Need is one of Czechia’s most well-known NGOs, providing humanitarian relief to crisis-affected regions and implementing long-term development projects and educational and human rights programmes around the world. It has been 30 years...

The National Library of the Czech Republic is currently working on getting a project off the ground that will provide mobile units that would be sent to Ukraine to help preserve cultural artefacts endangered by the war. The head of the National...

Organizers of the upcoming 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship have unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals that will be awarded to the winning teams. The trophies, produced by glassmakers in the north Bohemian town of Nový Bor, are made of...

Hradec Králové, which lies on the confluence of the Labe (Elbe) and Orlice rivers in north-east Bohemia, is one of the oldest and historically most significant Czech cities. For centuries, it was one of the dowry towns of Czech queens. At the...

Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me? is the name of a brand new documentary tracing the final years of Václav Havel’s life. The current Czech president and his Slovak counterpart were in the audience for a special screening of the film at Prague...

This June will mark 100 years since the death of Franz Kafka, the German-speaking Jewish writer who lived in Prague at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. To mark the occasion, Charles Games studio along with Prague’s Goethe Institute...

A new exhibition titled ‘Planet Prague’ opens on Wednesday at the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in Prague. The installation aims to tell the story of the city’s wildlife through an interactive lens, and was put together with...

Erasmus mobility programs, which offer students the chance to study and live in a new country, have become increasingly popular for both Czechs who want to go abroad, and foreigners who wish to move to Czechia. Last year alone, 31,000 Czechs...

When they were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and during the First Republic, Czechs were accustomed to driving on the left. That changed with the Nazi occupation in 1939. Driving on the left side of the road used to be the general rule...

The two-month-old female lowland gorilla Mobi at the Prague Zoo is keenly interested in her surroundings. In recent days, better fixation of the head has contributed to this, so the baby gorilla is already responding to all kinds of stimuli in...

The President of the Republic Petr Pavel and Eva Pavlova welcomed the President of the Republic of the Philippines Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. at the Prague Castle. with his wife Louisa Araneta-Marco. After the ceremonial welcome, the...

The latest trends in travel, the current preferences of tourists, or activities of the Czech Republic to support tourism.

Czech Television’s series Volga swept this year’s Czech Lion national film awards at the weekend. The mini-series about a Czechoslovak television chauffer picked up five prizes, including the Best Actor and best Supporting Actor. The Best Film...

The third part of our video series on Czech Music Greats is devoted to the work of one of the giants of Czech classical music Bedřich Smetana. Bedřich Smetana, whom Czechs like to call ”the father of Czech music”, composed eight operas...

Relations between Czechia and Slovakia, which were part of one country for over seven decades, have consistently been described as “exceptional”. But mounting differences over foreign policy have now led the Czech government to suspend a...

Known for introducing the word ‘robot’ to the world through his literature, Karel Čapek is one of the most famous Czech writers internationally – and one of the most loved at home. The author of ‘War with the Newts’ and ‘R.U.R.’ lived in...

Former US President Bill Clinton is in Prague for a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Czechia’s admission to NATO. On Sunday night he visited Prague’s Reduta jazz club, where he celebrated the country’s admission to Western...

The Czech capital is set to become a so-called city of refuge. The City of Prague has signed a contract with the Norwegian non-profit organisation ICORN, joining a network of more than 80 cities around the world that provide temporary asylum to...

The very first Prague nursery was established in 1884 by the Czech philanthropist Marie Riegrová-Palacká, daughter of the famous historian František Palacký. A few years earlier, in 1869, she had established the first Czech kindergarten...

What creates a romantic attachment? Is it just genetics, do our parents play a part or is it simply a magical uncontrollable process? What if every relationship you get into is an exact copy of the one that just ended? These are just some of...

Friday marks Petr Pavel’s first year as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes so far? And did he succeed in uniting the divided Czech society? I discussed these questions with political scientist Vlastimil Havlík from...

Czechia, along with Poland and Hungary, joined NATO exactly 25 years ago, on March 12, 1999. But how has Czech membership of the alliance actually gone over the last quarter century? And how has Russia’s war on Ukraine impacted that membership...

In the last five years, almost half of the tourists in the Czech Republic have visited a place where a movie, fairy tale, or series was filmed. According to a survey by the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism, the most frequent destinations...

Despite attempts to redefine the city’s image as a party destination, Prague reigns supreme in a recent UK-based index that measures nightlife across European cities. Taking in factors such as price of accommodation, cost of beer, and the...

She was the daughter of the founding father of Czechoslovakia, took on the role of First Lady after her mother died, and headed the Czechoslovak Red Cross for 20 years during the First Republic. And yet, surprisingly, Alice Masaryk has never...

The state-owned forest company Lesy ČR, which manages a large share of the country’s forests, is opening the very first plant in Czechia specializing in a wide variety of products made from wild game. Game lovers will be able to start ordering...

Dr. Evelyn funda discusses “Weeds: A Farm Daughter’s Lament”, her award winning book, and much more about her family and life of Czech immigrants in the American West. As you may have already found out in the previous episode...

Czechia on Tuesday celebrated 25 years since its accession to NATO, on March 12, 1999. One of the main events on the anniversary was the conference Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted with speakers including Bill Clinton, who was US...

The Brady family, originally from Nové Město na Moravě, has an inspiring story that spans generations and continents. George Brady, immigrated to Toronto, Canada after surviving Auschwitz and fleeing communism. Having promised himself as a...

Archaeologists from the central Moravian city of Přerov have announced a unique discovery. While carrying out excavations in the centre of the town, they came across an ice skate made of animal bone dating back some 1,000 years. Experts from...

It was constantly below zero in Astana last week. However, it didn’t matter too much because we spent almost all our four-day-long stay there in meetings and negotiations. The return of the wild horses to Kazakhstan will start in less than a...

At the start of her career, Věra Bílá soared on the wings of her incredible talent. She sold out concert halls all over the world; in France she won the award for Best Album of the Year in the world music category for her debut album Rom-Pop...

Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský awarded the Medal of Merit for Diplomacy to the outgoing Japanese Ambassador to the Czech Republic, H.E. Mr. Hideo Suzuki, who has been ambassador to the Czech Republic since September 2020 The Medal of Merit for...

The Women’s Ambassadors in Prague organized a unique exhibition to celebrate International Women's Day 2024.

I met the Zoos Victoria Director Dr Jenny Gray after almost two years. In the administration building of Melbourne Zoo we talked about what had happened during that time. “And most importantly, after ten years of fruitless searching we found...

The first transports of Převalský’s horses from Europe to Kazakhstan will take place this June as part of the Return of Wild Horses 2024 project. Two CASA army planes with a total of eight horses on board will take off from the airports...

Invest in Bravery is a project aimed at helping find investors for tech start-ups in Ukraine. It will be holding events in Prague – including a conference and workshops – on Tuesday and Wednesday and to find out more I spoke to David Nichols...