Posts

The shooting dead last week of two young gay men in the Slovak capital Bratislava has also rocked the LGBT community in Czechia, with many drawing a link between negative portrayals of sexual minorities and acts of violence. I discussed that...

The Lauder School of Prague, the only Jewish educational institution in Czechia, is marking 25 years since its foundation this year. The school, which opened its first class in 1997, celebrated the anniversary this Thursday, on the occasion of...

The country’s counterintelligence service BIS traditionally performs quietly and efficiently behind the scenes. But on Monday it was at the centre of media attention due to a rare visit by the prime minister, the first in 24 years. It is not...

One of Prague’s leading arts venues, the Archa theatre, has begun its final full season, with the final curtain set for the end of next year. Since its foundation in 1994 Archa has hosted some of the world’s greatest alternative theatre and...

Anna Fodorova is the daughter of the well-known Prague Jewish author Lenka Reinerová – but is a successful novelist in her own right, as well as a practising psychotherapist and former animator. On a recent trip to the UK, I had the pleasure of...

Dimitrij, which premiered in Prague at the New Czech Theatre on October 8, 1882, was Antonín Dvořák's most ambitious grand opera. Set to a libretto by Marie Červinková-Riegrová, with a plot derived from Ferdinand Mikovec's Dimitr Ivanovič –...

Last week the European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti greeted the Czech capital on Twitter from the International Space Station, attaching a picture of the city from space. Prague was hosting the European Space Week at the time.

The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was awarded on Monday to Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian dissident who is currently in jail for speaking out against Putin’s war in Ukraine. Michael Žantovský is head of the Václav Havel Library, one of the...

In the wake of worrying reports regarding the quality of care for patients in Czech mental hospitals there is a push to expand the existing network of mental health centers, which help people to avert the onset of serious problems requiring...

While the Ještěd ski resort in the north of Czechia started making artificial snow this week in preparation for the winter season, other ski centres around the country are facing the prospect of a shorter season or are closing down altogether.

The Czech government has responded to Russia’s intensified bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine by closing its doors to Russian tourists with Schengen visas. The cabinet also approved a plan for Czechia’s participation in the reconstruction...

Property prices are expected to fall or stagnate in Czechia next year, Czech Television reports, citing statistics from the Czech Banking Association as well as statements from the country’s leading developer companies. The stop to more than a...

On 11 July, the President of the State of Israel, Isaac Herzog, together with his wife, First Lady Michal Herzog, came to Prague on an official state visit.

On the occasion of the 77th Anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Ambassador H.E. Thai Xuan Dung and Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thien Nga held a reception at the Grandior Hotel Prague.

Exhibition at the Waldstein Riding Hall of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic.

On the occasion of the Slovenian Statehood Day, H.E. Mrs. Tanja Strniša, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia to the Czech Republic, hosted a reception.

On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Establishment of Mexico-Czechoslovakia diplomatic relations (1922-2022), the Embassy of Mexico in the Czech Republic and the Strahov Library organized the inaugural “Documentary and Cartographic...

Škoda Auto boasts one of the oldest unbroken histories among car manufacturers still operating today. It is the fifth-oldest company in the world still producing cars, after Daimler, Opel, Peugeot, and Tatra, another Czech company – meaning...

Czech researchers at the Technical University of Liberec have developed a new material that could find multiple uses in interior design and various artistic fields such as the creation of perfumed jewelry. The new glass-ceramic porous material...

The renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has won an international competition for the design of a new Jewish Museum in the Moravian city of Brno. The striking building in the shape of a seemingly endless white ribbon with a tree in the centre...

The first pre-school institution -a so-called “model youth nursery” – was founded in 1832 by Jan Svoboda, a teacher at the Prague Emmaus parish school Na Hrádku. Svoboda taught children aged three to six the basics of reading...

Lenka Morávková is a sound-artist and electronic producer from North Bohemia who divides her time between Prague and Los Angeles. A few years ago, she created a one-of-a-kind glass sculpture called the Bohemian Cristal Instrument, a unique...

On the occasion of Czech Statehood Day, the Czech Embassy in Canada organized a gala evening in Ottawa, awarding EU presidency medals to the Czech-Canadians who helped mold the close relationship between the two nations.

Four out of ten people in Czechia expect that they will be doing the same job until they retire and a further 20 percent believe that they will be doing the same job for at least another decade, according to a survey conducted by the Data...

Just because you have a medical condition diagnosed, doesn’t mean you should never leave your city or country. People suffering from chronic illness travel just as often as healthy people. As long as you’re mobile and don’t...

The first ever football match in the Czech lands is not very well documented. According to some sources it took place 135 years ago, according to others it was five years later. What is certain is that the match took place on an island on the...

UK historian Mark Cornwall is an expert on Czech-German relations and the late Habsburg Empire. His book The Devil’s Wall explores the previously little-known story of Heinz Rutha, an associate of Sudeten German leader Konrad Henlein whose...

Historian Mark Cornwall is an expert on Czech-German relations. He is preparing a book to be entitled Queer Bohemians and another on treason under the Habsburg Empire. Listen here. Author: Ian Willoughby

Today largely forgotten, Emil Fafek was a leading Czech news photographer for decades, covering everything from the Prague Uprising as a young man to his beloved sport. A new exhibition in Prague entitled Emil Fafek: On Guard aims to rekindle...

The number of children and adolescents suffering from depression and those self-harming has increased steeply in the last few years, which many experts ascribe to the period of social isolation during the Covid pandemic. Alarmingly, the society...

The annual Literature Night (Noc literatury), which has become the largest European literature project of its kind in Czechia since it was introduced to the country 16 years ago, is taking place across 80 venues in the country’s capital and...

Conceptual artist David Černý has a new project. His sculptures will grace a new residential building in Prague’s district of Karlín.

A recent public opinion survey of Czech attitudes to environmental issues suggests that, on the whole, Czechs care about the environment and most do not doubt that anthropogenic climate change is happening. But when it comes to concrete...

New issue of Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine coming soon!

Trams ran up and down Prague’s Wenceslas Square in the past and are set to do so again. This plan has now taken another step forward, with the city’s transport authority issuing a public tender to build the necessary lines, Novinky.cz reported...

Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, is fondly remembered by many Czechs. Not least thanks to her visit to the country in March 1996, when she met with the then president Václav Havel and chatted with locals on Charles Bridge. One...

The Slovak Ambassador to Czech Republic, H.E. Rastislav Káčer has been appointed as the new Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia. We wish him all the best in his new role! You can read more about this in a post published by Mr. Káčer (in...

A new book called „Youth Without Family to Lean On“ edited by Moshe Israelashvili and Shula Mozes will be published by Routledge on September 20, 2022. The book is in English, and attempts to give a comprehensive description of interventions in...

A new monument, called The Return of the Stones, has been unveiled at the Old Jewish cemetery in Prague’s district of Žižkov. It is made out of fragments of tombstones from derelict Jewish cemeteries that were cut up into cobblestones during...

Hana Zagorová, one of the country’s most popular singers and a nine-time winner of the Golden Nightingale award died last week at the age of 75. In today’s edition of Sunday Music show we mark her long and successful career, during which she...

Prague’s graffiti-covered John Lennon Wall was a symbol of freedom in the final decade of communism. Now it has been repainted by artists from all around Europe in a project that is part of the Czech presidency of the EU. Over two dozen artists...

Devastating floods have hit Pakistan, submerging 1/3rd of the country underwater that’s roughly the land mass of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has called this a “climate catastrophe“...

Archaeologists in Prague are currently uncovering a monumental building from the Stone Age. The so-called roundel, built around 7,000 years ago, is located in the district of Vinoř on the outskirts of the city. Experts are hoping that the...

From Monday 26th September to Saturday 1st October, audiences can enjoy six days of international, multi award-winning, theatre in English, presented by 28 theatre companies from all over the world. 

A team of experts from the Centre of Experimental Archaeology in North Bohemia is constructing a copy of a real Neolithic boat. The vessel will then be used to test out a hypothetical sea trading route from that era between Greece and modern...

Prague’s Signal festival of light art will celebrate 10 years of existence from October 13 to 16, again drawing tens of thousands of people to the city’s streets. Among the highlights this year will be a work referencing Ukraine by top Czech...

International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES[1]) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses developments in the Middle East, the Balkans and around the world. Dr J Scott Younger is a President Commissioner at Glendale...

Pork crackling spread, or škvarková pomazánka, is a side dish you are sure to find in nearly every Czech pub. The spread, made of ground pork cracklings, lard and finely chopped onion, is usually served on a slice of bread. While not exactly a...

Jewish athlete Kurt Epstein played on the Czechoslovak water polo team and represented the country at two Olympic Games, including the 1936 “Nazi Olympics” in Berlin. Epstein is the subject of a new exhibition set to open at the Terezín Ghetto...

Several streets in Prague’s new district of Smíchov City, which is currently under construction, are to be named after women who contributed to freedom, democracy and the fight against totalitarianism. The main pedestrian boulevard that will...

Every good entrepreneur has a few tricks up his or her sleeves. There are far too many challenges that come when running a business and that is why it is important to implement reliable methods that you can always leverage no matter the...

Two works of art have just been unveiled as part of the event Tribute to the Baroque Period (Pocta baroku), marking 300 years of the consecration of the pilgrimage church of St. John of Nepomuk on the mountain Zelená hora by Žďár nad Sázavou in...

from the perspective of serving telecoms and it demands globally

On Wednesday, 11th May 2022, the British Chamber of Commerce organized a patrons’ breakfast - a unique gathering, and an opportunity to meet some of the top managers from the BCC patrons’ family, as well as the BCC Board of Directors.

It is a matter of common knowledge that inappropriate choices of clothing may hinder your career growth and social life.

Being raised in a Czech family, I inevitably came across many “Italian” dishes, Spaghetti alla carbonara with cream being a good representative of their style.

The premiere of the Slovak-Czech co-production feature film by director Zuzana Marianková and producer Wanda Adamík Hrycová took place at Cinema City, Slovanský dům, a few weeks ago.

Close to 77 percent of schoolchildren in Czechia take their lunch in school eateries, according to the results of a survey conducted by Scolarest, a school food focused company that belongs to global catering conglomerate Compass Group...

It is hard to dispute the fact that traditional Czech cuisine is very carnivorous. With the exception of desserts, most Czech food classics are meaty, filling dishes, such as vepřoknedlozelo (dumplings with sauerkraut and pork), svíčková...

Due to the interconnected nature of the contemporary world, it is not realistic for Czechia to pursue food self-sufficiency, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in his Thursday speech at the opening of the countries annual agricultural fair Země...

On Wednesday, the Czech government passed the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s proposal for the subsidies that households are set to receive to compensate their energy costs this year. The “savings tariff”, as the subsidy is commonly referred...

Czechia and Ukraine are preparing an agreement on joint cooperation in the realm of education which should be signed this autumn, Czechia’s Education Minister Vladimír Balaš said on Thursday during his visit to Ukraine. The agreement should...

Being inclusive in your workplace goes beyond hiring people with disabilities—it includes their total integration so they can show their 100% potential and strengths. No matter if visible or invisible their disability, integration in the...

Tatarský biftek or tatarák, is the Czech version of steak tartare, a dish made of fresh, minced raw beef seasoned with salt, pepper and other ingredients. Although tatarák is not strictly a Czech meal, it enjoys huge popularity in Czechia and...

A site in Prague that was previously home to a major truck factory should become a whole new district in the coming decades. The site in the north-east of the city will be named after the Avia brand associated with it, Czech Television reported...

Les Královstí or Forest Kingdom reservoir was built on the Elbe River in 1920, taking its name from an old border forest that runs along its left bank. Due to its unique architectural design, it has become a popular tourist destination. The...

Prague was the most badly affected of all the Czech cities hit by the large-scale natural disaster. Several neighbourhoods were flooded and metro stations, monuments and a part of the zoo all ended up underwater. It rained for days and the...

The Czech Ministry of Education has recently sparked a debate with a proposal to make the learning of a second language in Czech primary schools voluntary rather than compulsory as it is at present. While many teachers have welcomed the idea, a...

The world’s deepest freshwater cave, the Hranice Abyss in Moravia, is even deeper than previously thought. A team of researchers have recently carried out a new survey of the deep limestone cave, using a special underwater robot, reaching a...

The medieval castle, extended in the 16th century to become a Renaissance chateau, is situated on a basalt rock above the River Smědá. It is one of the largest architectural compounds in Czechia.

The International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES)[1] from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyzes developments in the Middle East, the Balkans and around the world. IFIMES made an analysis of the current situation in...

If there is one thing that is good about the COVID19 pandemic then that is the fact that people have recognized the value of working remotely. Modern technology has been massively helpful in this regard, and it has allowed many people to...

The leading Czech artist Kateřina Šedá has recently launched an online database where anyone can submit bad habits. The symbol of the National Collection of Bad Habits is a two-tailed Czech lion holding a mobile phone in its paw. As of this...

For the first time, two unique documents about the events surrounding the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in May 1942 can be seen at the National Museum in Prague. They have been on display since Thursday as part of the special exhibition...

Some moments, speeches, sounds, images, and interactions captured by Humanitas Afrika at the Africa Day Cultural Diplomatic Reception held on 18 May, at the beautiful premises of the Czech Foreign Ministry in Prague.

International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES[1]) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses developments in the Middle East, the Balkans and around the world. Dr Mohamad Zreik, PhD of International Relations prepared...

The European Space Agency has released images capturing the recent temperature extremes in a number of European cities, including Prague. The photos, taken from the International Space Station, has revealed heat islands in the densely populated...

Independent clean energy power producer built on 15 years of experience in the Czech Republic and the broader region Backed by €500m from Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure Based in Prague, Rezolv will hire Czech...

Looking for innovative opportunities in the world came at the right time for three investors from the Czech Republic, who chose the Indonesia Island of Bali as their investment destination.

The Julius Prague, the first travel and tourism project from the storied House of Julius Meinl group, was officially inaugurated today in a ribbon cutting event attended by co-founder Julius Meinl VI, and Mr. Zdenek Kovarik, Julius Meinl...

The International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES)[1] from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyzes developments in the Middle East, the Balkans and around the world. On the occasion of the recently held summit of leaders of...

The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Prague’s Czech Technical University recently acquired two new assistants – agile dog-like machines with robotic arms that can navigate terrain and capture data – and is using them to create a digital 3D...

Physical activity is vital for your well-being. That is especially true for people spending hours behind their desks and leading a sedentary lifestyle. Regular stretches, cardio, and aerobics exercises will prevent bad posture, which can...

Numerous events have been taking place in the Czech Republic and Brussels to mark the start of the Czech EU presidency. One of them is an exhibition of designer wine glasses celebrating the 27-member states, which is now on display at the...

Julia Sherwood, an award-winning translator and literary organiser, was born in Bratislava, but spent most of her life in the UK, where she settled after emigrating from Czechoslovakia in 1978. Today, she lives in London with her husband...

A new multimedia exhibition has opened up this week at the Riding School of Prague Castle. Covering over 2,000 square metres of space, Alphonse Mucha eMotion combines digitised and 3D animated versions of Czech Art Nuveau master Alfons Mucha’s...

International Institute for Middle East and Balkan Studies (IFIMES[1]) from Ljubljana, Slovenia, regularly analyses developments in the Middle East, Balkans and around the world. Dr. Masahiro Matsumura, Professor of International Politics and...

In today’s modern business age, you’re constantly surrounded by challenges that can appear at any time, and in order to effectively respond to them, you need to have strong leadership skills. If you’re having any problems with responding to...