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Beach volleyball world champions David Schweiner and Ondřej Perušič will be among the first Czechs to compete at the imminent Olympic Games in Paris. Three years after their Covid-related disappointment in Tokyo, the Czechs are hoping to bring...

It will be possible to use money from the Affordable Housing subsidy-loan program for the construction of an apartment building, building modifications or the purchase of a new apartment, which will contribute to solving the current housing...

Like most of Europe, Czechia has seen some extremely hot weather over the past weeks. It is not just people who suffer during heatwaves – zoo animals do too. I talked with Prague Zoo’s spokesperson Filip Mašek to find out just how the animals...

On the occasion of the 72nd year of the Anniversary of the Revolution and the 102nd year of diplomatic relations between the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Czech Republic, H.E. Mr. Mahmoud Mostafa Afifi hosts a reception at the Embassy’s...

This weekend, the Prague Zoo will be filled with fresh insect specialties. The menu, served on the terrace of the Education Center near the main entrance, will include locusts in banana batter, crickets in garlic or skewers of several types of...

The little female was born at the beginning of the month. Until now she was with her mother in the back of the African House due to the insufficiently stable position of her left thoracic limb, which manifested itself soon after birth. Now the...

This fact is also confirmed by the fact that the prestigious wine tourism conference IWINETC 2025 will take place in the country next year Wine tourism in the Czech Republic is undergoing dynamic development and is becoming an important part of...

Until August 16, 2024, people can vote for their favorite from the list of finalists, which was created based on nominations by tourism experts. The prestigious award is announced by the CzechTourism agency. The “Heroes of Tourism”...

Sevgil Musaieva, a journalist from Crimea, Ukraine, is the editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda and among the initiators of the creation of the KrymSOS web portal. Ms. Musaieva was in Prague to speak this week at the conference Borders of...

The Czech and Ukrainian governments on Monday signed a number of bilateral agreements opening the way for closer cooperation in arms production and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the two...

The American war veteran George Thompson, who helped liberate Plzeň in May 1945 with the 16th Armored Division, has died at the age of 99. He was the last of the surviving American veterans who liberated the city and returned repeatedly for the...

Barbora Krejčíková lifted the women’s singles title at tennis’s Wimbledon on Saturday – a year after her compatriot Markéta Vondroušová had also become a first-time champion at the All England Club. Just how is Czechia producing so many world...

Czech athletes are currently doing their final preparations for the Olympic Games in Paris, which get underway on Friday next week. But how many medals would be considered a success for the Czech team? Canoeist Martin Doktor won two gold medals...

The annual Summer Festivities of Early Music kick off in Prague on Tuesday evening with a special concert at Prague’s Emmaus Monastery. The performance, featuring rare instruments and music from medieval manuscripts, will bring to life an...

Two large-scale murals have been officially unveiled on the platform of Prague’s Florenc metro station. The artworks, created by Matěj Olmer and Michal Škapa, are part of Prague City Gallery’s project called C Line 50, celebrating five decades...

Christian Democrat MP and head of the European Affairs Committee Ondřej Benešík has accused the British ambassador to Czechia, Matt Field, of describing Czechia and Czechs as being intolerant. In an interview with the Czech daily Deník N...

For 130 years a unique carousel, the oldest of its kind not only in Czechia but perhaps in the whole of Europe, has stood on the edge of Prague’s Letenské Sady. It had previously been located in Vinohrady, but only for a couple of years. The...

The seventh part of our video series on Czech Music Greats is devoted to the cycle of symphonic poems My Homeland by Bedřich Smetana, one of the greatest musical manifestations of the National Revival. It was composed between 1874 and 1879 and...

One of Czechia’s cornerstone national newspapers is set to scrap its print edition after the summer. Up until now, Lidové Noviny was the oldest Czech daily still in print. But from September onwards, it will only be available online. The...

Czech archaeologists have discovered a Neolithic settlement near the central Bohemian town of Kutná Hora. Built approximately 7,000 years ago, it has been exceptionally well-preserved, including the floor plans of four long houses. I discussed...

Karlovy Vary is the largest and most visited spa town in Czechia. Together with Františkovy and Mariánské Lázně, it forms a so-called West Bohemian Spa triangle, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021 as part of the Great...

Jazz pianist and composer Tomáš Sýkora and his trio have teamed up with electronica artist Aid Kid to produce Alchemy, a dynamic and highly original fusion of jazz and electronic music. You can listen to it in this edition of Sunday Music Show...

A parade of large puppets from Marianske Square to Old Town Square was one of the highlights of the Behind the Door street theatre festival held in Prague last week. The festival offers the best of Czech and international street theatre. See...

Your first thought will probably be: what a strange combination of guests. But bear with me. As I am recording this episode, a NATO summit is in full swing in faraway Washington, DC, and Czechia is, quite naturally, represented by its...

Czechs have a sweet tooth, and you can find these typical pastries and desserts in every Czech patisserie. Find out what rakvičky (little coffins), větrníčky (little windmills), and věnečky (small wreaths) are in the next episode of our video...

Prague is in the top 10 most desirable congress and conference destinations globally according to the International Congress Association (ICCA). In 2023, nearly 5,000 professional events were held in Prague, attracting almost 700,000 attendees...

Blade Runner 2099, the upcoming Amazon Prime Video television sequel to the 1982 and 2017 films of the same franchise, has started shooting in Prague. US actress Hunter Schafer and Malaysian Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh are among the big names...

Cycling enthusiast Sergio Almeida has come to public attention in Prague for his clashes with the authorities, both online and on the streets. The Portuguese man, who is 45, criticizes the city’s cycling lanes and aggressive drivers on social...

Only the second baby pangolin in Europe, which was born last week at the Prague Zoo, is a female. The findings of the Prague breeders were also confirmed by experts from Taiwan's Taipei Zoo based on the photos sent. Readers of the iDNES.cz...

Seventy years after the execution of Rudolf Slánský, a prominent Communist Party member convicted in an infamous 1952 show trial, a court in Prague has rehabilitated his wife and son in memoriam. The court found that they had been illegally...

The Czech satellite Troll can see chlorophyll in plants, pollution in rivers and nutrients in the soil from space. Only the third of its kind anywhere in the world, the Czech-made satellite should be put into orbit this October by Elon Musk’s...

A re-enactment of the siege of Bezděz Castle by Sigismund of Hungary, who arrived in summer of 1402 with his army in an attempt to besiege the castle, took place at the weekend. Visitors were treated to historical fencing, period weapons in...

Renowned Czech footballer Pavel Nedvěd, from Cheb in the Karlovy Vary region, known as the “Czech Cannon” and “Czech Master,” gained widespread recognition for his standout performances while playing for the Italian club Juventus Turin and for...

What are the most common Czech first names of the last century and when have they enjoyed greatest popularity? And in recent decades what names have been inspired by Western pop culture? This information can be gleaned from an online app...

This time, the Muse on the Water music festival in České Budějovice will be accompanied by the dulcimer music of Milan Brouček. A native of West Bohemia, Mr. Brouček fell in love with the dulcimer as a child during a visit to Slovakia. Despite...

July 3rd marked 170 years since the birth of Leoš Janáček – a classical music composer with a distinctly Czech style. Born on July 3, 1854 in the small town of Hukvaldy in Moravia, Leoš Janáček showed exceptional musical talent from an...

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has been won for the first time by a documentary: A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things. Among the other works honoured at Saturday’s closing ceremony was Waves, which is centred on events at...

July 6th is a public holiday in the Czech Republic marking the 609th anniversary of the burning at stake of reformer priest Jan Hus. Masses are celebrated around the country, among others in Jan Hus’ birthplace Husinec and at Bethlehem Chapel...

The promoters of hantec, a unique Czech language variety, spoken by the lower classes of Brno during the 19th and early 20th centuries, would like get it inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible World Heritage List. They are hoping that this might...

Czech Centers and the Office of the Commissioner General announce an open call for artists and projects to participate in the cultural program of the Czech National Pavilion at the World Exhibition EXPO 2025. Projects selected by an expert jury...

The work of ancient Egyptian scribes left specific traces on their skeletons, suggests a new study by Czech scientists. It shows that certain degenerative changes to the spine and joints were much more common in scribes than in other men. Men...

July 5th is a public holiday in the Czech Republic honouring the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius who came to Great Moravia in 863 to spread the Christian faith and lay the foundations of literacy with the Glagolitic alphabet. Thousands of...

The first zone of Šumava National Park is an off-limits area dedicated to flora and fauna protection. But while hikers are not allowed to enter the primeval forests, boaters may admire its beauty from the Teplá Vltava, or “warm Vltava“ a...

We can’t talk about Czech gastronomy without mentioning beer! With its bitterness, rich colour, intense hoppy flavour, and an over 1000-year-long history, Czech lager is commonly regarded as one of the best in the world. Find out how it’s made...

ANO leader Andrej Babiš recently founded a new group at the European Parliament with Viktor Orban. Regarded as a far-right bloc, Patriots for Europe also now includes the likes of Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders – and this week was accused of...

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová attended a meeting of the leading representatives of the parliaments of NATO countries in Washington, D.C. In her contribution, she appealed for more intensive support for the...

In 1563, the Holy Roman Emperor Maxmillian II of Habsburg founded a stud farm in Kladruby nad Labem which his successor, Emperor Rudolph II of Habsburg, granted a charter in 1579, elevating it to the status of Imperial Court Stud Farm. The stud...

On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at Prague Castle, the President of the Republic Petr Pavel received the credentials of the new Ambassadors extraordinary and plenipotentiary.

When a pangolin escaped from Prague Zoo in the 1950s, it was reportedly killed by security guards of a government villa and subsequently declared to be an “infected crocodile”. At least that is how the story goes. Unfortunately, I don’t know...

Research shows that a four-day workweek can significantly reduce stress, illness, and burnout in the workforce. An overwhelming percentage of companies that choose to adopt the shorter workweek stick with it due to its success. But when could...

Thousands of people have flocked to Prague this week for the 17th All-Sokol Slet, a gathering of Sokol branches from all over the world which takes place in the Czech capital every six years. The almost week-long event culminates on Thursday...

The vintage car jamboree in Slavkov near Brno annually attracts thousands of vintage car lovers. On show this weekend were veteran cars, motorbikes, tractors and bicycles. Pictured here is a vintage unicycle. Source: ČTK

Andrej Babiš’ ANO party, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party and Austria’s FPÖ have announced the formation of a joint alliance in the European Parliament called “Patriots of Europe”. How much do they have in common and how much...

The Czech pavilion for EXPO Osaka 2025, designed by Apropos Architects, will be the tallest wooden structure without steel support in Japan. What is the motivation behind the project and what challenges will the structure present? The 12-meter...

The Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra with their chief conductor Petr Popelka has left on a two-week tour of Japan. They are set to perform six concerts in five cities across the country, starting in Osaka on Saturday. Ahead of their departure, I...

A Czech amateur mycologist has discovered a unique truffle-like mushroom in South Moravia. It was identified by experts as Sedecula pulvinata, a rare and protected species previously thought to grow only in the west of the United States...

The 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival gets underway on Friday in the west Bohemian spa town. Among the biggest stars to attend this year’s edition of the region’s biggest film event will be Hollywood actors Viggo Mortensen and Clive...

The Landscape Festival Prague 2024 is a three-month multidisciplinary platform that aims to transform the urban landscape for the summer season into a place for discussion about the potential uses of public space. Through temporary...

Join us on a trip to the Karlovy Vary Region – famed for its hot mineral springs, spa treatments and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which every year draws movie stars from Hollywood and beyond. Our drone video will guide...

A new museum exhibition in Nelahozeves connects renowned composer Antonín Dvořák’s music with the spirit of his birthplace. The exhibition emphasizes sound and music, with visitors accessing the experience through special audio guides that...

Some 110 years ago, on 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. His wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was killed alongside him. Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was the daughter of Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und...

Dušan Neumann has a great story to share. Coming to New York in 1980 was definitely NOT like coming to the promised land. In 1980, New York was a city with mostly dysfunctional public services, a high crime rate, and corruption. See more here...

Jiří Mádl’s new film Vlny (Waves) premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Monday night to a several-minute standing ovation. The film, set against the backdrop of the Prague Spring and the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of...

Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Rafael Kubelík, one of the country’s most renowned 20th century conductors and composers, who was born 110 years ago. To mark the occasion we will be listening to excerpts from Bedřich...

Sourdough bread is a Czech staple that you will not find anywhere else in the world. An indelible part of the Czech cuisine, sourdough bread is something that most Czechs eat daily and that Czechs living abroad take home with them when they...

Prague’s Václav Havel Airport has been struggling to deal with a baggage-handling crisis that has affected thousands of passengers on both incoming and outgoing flights. The airports’ handling company is taking measures to correct the situation...

More than 30 species of woodpeckers in one place will be presented to the visitors of the Prague Zoo from, July 6. At 1 p.m. The opening ceremony of the Arrow Frogs exhibition will take place in the Gočárovy Domy Gallery. The thematic program...

Diversifying tourism across Asia and the Pacific, alongside promoting more and better education, will be key to building a more resilient and sustainable sector. According to UN Tourism’s data, the sector is experiencing a rapid recovery in...

On the first of July, the Ministry of Regional Development launched the builder's portal for the public and the construction management information system for officials. Both connected systems are part of digital construction management, which...

The first containers with the wooden structure of the Czech national pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka ceremoniously left Zveřovice in Novojičínsko in the Moravian-Silesian region. These are the supporting columns of the pavilion, which will be...

The Giant’s Gate bordering Prague Castle from Hradčanské náměstí will be closed for several weeks from Monday 8th July 2024. The reason is the replacement of the safety posts. The reopening of the gate is scheduled for the last week of...

On the occasion of the 248th Anniversary of the independence of the United States of America, H.E. Mr. Bijan Sabet the Ambassador of the United States of America in the Czech Republic and his spouse Ms. Lauren Sabet organized a garden reception...

The official visit of the President of Argentina H.E Mr. Javier Gerardo Milei, to the Czech Republic contributed significantly to the development of the bilateral political dialogue and the boost of cooperation in many other spheres. President...

Baroque music was very different across European countries. What most European influences agreed on within Baroque music, however, was polyphony – the simultaneous conducting of voices which have their own rhythm and melody, yet go together...

The Czech government has announced that after nearly half a century, the country is ready to send another astronaut to space. The man preparing for the mission, which is expected to take place in five years’ time, is Czech fighter pilot Aleš...

Members of Sokol, a Czech physical fitness organisation with branches the world over, are descending on Prague for the 17th All Sokol Slet, or jamboree, due to start on Sunday. Among the 20,000 enthusiasts due to attend is Joan Sedlacek, a...

Sculptor Petr Váňa has left his mark around Czechia. He made the replica of the 1650 Marian Column on Prague’s Old Town Square and has created dozens of sculptures for Czech churches, village squares and hilltops. He even has a statue...

After decades as one of Czechia’s best-known authors, Jaroslav Rudiš is about to see the first ever publication of one of his novels in English. However, Winterberg’s Last Journey was actually written in German, rather than Czech, reflecting...

Female gorilla Mobi, born in January at the Prague Zoo, is the current star of the Reserve Dja pavilion. She is learning to walk and hang on a rope, while her mother Duni allows her to go on increasingly daring expeditions around the area.

On Wednesday, June 26, 2024, Ondřej Soška, ​​general commissioner of the Czech participation in the world exhibition EXPO 2025, was elected to the so-called Steering Committee.

On Friday afternoon the Czech lower house finally approved a bill that has been years in the making – the introduction of postal voting for citizens living abroad. Czech expatriates have been waiting decades for this change to happen. While...

With its picturesque towns, wooded hills, stone castles and ruins the Plzeň Region has plenty to offer visitors. Check out its sights in our photo gallery. See the sights here.

The Plzeň Region in west Bohemia, is known as the cradle of Czech beer brewing, but there’s a lot more to it.  See how well you know the region in our quiz. See the test here.

The staged trial of Heliodor Pika is one of the most infamous political trials in communist Czechoslovakia, along with that of Milada Horáková. He was sentenced to death on the basis of fabricated evidence. Heliodor Píka, a World War I...

A new exhibition in Prague explores Czechoslovak perspectives on the work of UK writer George Orwell, particularly his novel 1984. That dystopian classic, published 75 years ago this year, found a particular resonance among the country’s anti...

The Ambassador of Republic of Iraq  H.E. Mr. Falah Abdulhasan Abdulsada and the Mayor of Prague 6 Mr. Jakub Starek organized a ceremonial unveiling event of the plaque of the Iraqi poet Al-Jawahiri a front of the building where he lived in...

The Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesiain the Czech Republic , H.E. Mrs. Kenssy Dwi Ekaningsih organized the exhibition “Indonesia through the Eyes of an Artist” at Wisma Duta, her beautiful residence. This exceptional...

Boston Bruins star forward, David Pastrňák, has won the Golden Hockey Stick award for the seventh time. The 56th edition of the traditional poll ceremony symbolically sealed the hockey year in which Czechia won the gold medal at the World...

We’re tackling a persistent issue that has plagued Czechia since the fall of communism over thirty years ago: the segregation and discrimination of the Roma people. Despite various efforts and initiatives, Czechia has been consistently...

The Children’s and Youth Olympics 2024 is being hosted by the South Bohemia Region this year. Over 3,500 young athletes are competing in 20 sports disciplines at 27 venues. The regional capital of České Budějovice is the main hub, but...

After more than a century, the Apollo butterfly, one of Europe’s most threatened butterfly species, has returned to the Krkonoše Mountains, where it once used to thrive. Earlier this month, conservationists reintroduced the first 55 males of...

Archaeologists from the Museum in Roudnice nad Labem have announced a rare discovery. While surveying a site in the small town of Budyně nad Ohří they came across a number of bronze artefacts, including pieces of jewellery, dating back over...

To define Nikol Bóková as a pianist and composer would be far too simplistic. The rising star we present to you today has many more talents, as we learned through this conversation. Record label owner, film producer and lover of poetry and...

If our keepers decided to give them names, I would propose names Vltava and Vyšehrad, and at the same time I would ask Prague Steamboat Company to become their sponsor. I am talking about the couple of Fuegian steamer ducks, which in our zoo...

People are drinking much less beer in Czechia than before, a country that is known for its highest beer consumption per capita in the world. Some of the reasons include tighter budgets due to economic uncertainty as well as the rising cost of...

If you’ve ever visited the UNESCO-listed castle in the picturesque South Bohemian town of Český Krumlov, you can’t have failed to notice the brown bears living in the former moat of the castle complex. These ursine dwellers won’t be on display...

On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between the Kingdom of Thailand and the Czech Republic, The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand H.E. Mr. Suwat  Kaewsook and Mrs. Patcharin Naewsook host a Thai cultural event in...

On the occasion of the Statehood Day of the Republic of Slovenia and the end of the Ambassador duty in the Czech Republic, H.E. Mrs. Tanja Strniša and Mr. Toni Strniša host a reception at the Embassy’s beautiful garden.

We walked through the large acclimatization enclosure in Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe and looked around in vain for the three Przewalski’s horses that we released here. Finally, we noticed a movement in the distance. But it was only a solitary...

To mark the end of our Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024, The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium H.E. Mr. Jurgen Van Meirvenne organize a Belgian Carillon Concert in front of the Rudolfinum (Namesti Jana Palacha), Prague 1.