AuthorMartin Hladík

Photo: Barbora Slezáková, Czech Radio

The ethnographic ensemble Formani was established twenty years ago by local folk music enthusiasts. Based on historical records, they compose music, create their own choreographies and sew costumes, helping to preserve the folk traditions of the Pardubice region, east of Prague.

Twenty years ago the Koutek family in Slatiňany decided they would take their love of folk music and traditions outside of the closed family circle and aside from their own enjoyment of singing and dancing would do something to preserve the region’s traditions for future generations.

They established the ethnographic ensemble Formani and use their talent to the full to document and maintain the folk traditions of their region. Based on historical records, they compose music, invent choreographies and sew costumes for their performances.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Barbora Slezáková

Photo: Little Mehrin Museum

A new exhibition at the temporary Moravian Jewish Museum in Brno highlights some of the city’s houses that used to belong to Jewish owners before being confiscated by the Nazis and tells the stories of eight families who lived in them

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Author: Ruth Fraňková; Tomáš Kremr

Czechia and Poland violate the EU election law as their national laws do not enable citizens of other EU countries to join Czech, respectively Polish political parties, preventing them from running in local or European elections, the Court of Justice of the European Union Advocate-General, Jean Richard de La Tour, said on Thursday.

According to the European Commission, which turned to the European Court of Justice in June 2021, this entails discrimination on grounds of nationality. The executive claims Czechia and Poland are the only two EU countries where such restrictions apply.

While Mr. La Tour backed the European Commission’s position, his view may not coincide with the ruling of the court.

Photo: Kateřina Ayzpurvit, Radio Prague International

The spooky-looking gargoyles of the past that we know from horror films, castle tours and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, weren’t purely decorative. They also served a function – to get rid of wastewater. But 250 years ago, things changed.

Gargoyles, taking the form of human vices, animals and dragons, can be seen on castles and chateaux all over Czechia, including on St. Vitus Cathedral. Their original purpose was to drain wastewater, which could otherwise cause floods, through pipes coming from their mouths that aimed the water as far as possible from the building.

See the rest here.

Source:ČTK

Photo: Děti úplňku

An event called Night of Dignity took place outside the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on Monday afternoon with the aim to draw attention to the poor system of care for people with mental disabilities. It was established in response to a horrific real-life story.

Dorota Šandorová, a 37-year-old woman with a severe mental disability, died on the night of January 6 three years ago. Her caregiver straddled her, brutally twisted her arms behind her back and pushed full force against her chest until she fell unconscious and suffocated. The court initially convicted the perpetrator of murder, then reclassified the act as negligent homicide.

The event called Night of Dignity, which is now in its second year, wants to commemorate Dorota Šandorová’s memory and to make sure that such a thing never happens again. It also wants to draw attention to the challenges faced by people with mental disabilities and those who care for them.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Illustrative photo: Czech Television

Close to two years after the Russian invasion, Ukraine is now the most mine-contaminated country globally since World War II. The EU is actively helping the demining effort and Czechia is one of the countries that have offered to train Ukrainian experts in the field.

The Russian invasion has led to 30% of Ukrainian land currently contaminated by landmines and other explosives. Even as the war continues, the priority is to return as much land to civilian use as fast as possible, enabling people to return to their homes and communities and restart economic activities in the area.

The EU is helping to tackle this challenge and is providing more than EUR 110 million to support the effort. Lithuania has been tasked with assembling a coalition of countries to help demine Ukraine. The mission will operate on territories liberated from Russian occupation and EU members have been invited to take part in, train or equip the demining effort – as they see fit. Last year, Czechia was one of 12 countries to join the “demining coalition”, alongside Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, among others.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová, Sources:Novinky.cz,Český rozhlas

Photo: Czech Television

In 2016, “Czechia” emerged as the official short, one-word geographical name promoted by the Czech government. This name has seen international adoption in organizations such as the United Nations and the European Union, yet it continues to evoke mixed feelings among the people it represents and observers abroad.

Vít Pohanka, the host of Czechast, admits:

“At first, I thought I would research and prepare just a brief overview of the process that led the Czech government and official institutions to select “Czechia” as the best one-word name for this country. But then I realized that it is difficult, if not impossible, to explain why so much time and energy was spent on a seemingly simple task, without understanding the historic context. Where did the name “Bohemia” come from? Why are the Bohemians called “Češi” in their native tongue and “Czechs” in English? And why do many people in the eastern parts of the country, called Moravia and Silesia, tend to be so unhappy about the name “Czechia”? It just led me deeper and deeper into history, which I try to at least outline in the first part of this episode.”

In the second part, Vít talks to Jiří Preis, geographer at the University of West Bohemia. Crucially, he also serves as the Vice President of the Czech Geographical Society. He followed the discussions about the introduction of Czechia from the proverbial front row seat and he brings in an impartial and non-political perspective.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Almost as many foreign tourists as guests from the Czech Republic arrived at domestic hotels last November. This follows from an analysis by the Institute of Tourism based on data from the Czech Statistical Office. While 587,517 foreigners stayed in hotels in the Czech Republic, there were 559,337 residents. This was a total of 1,146,854 guests, which – if we compare last November with the same period in 2022 – means 15% more travelers. And compared to November 2019, i.e. before the coronavirus pandemic, only 2% fewer tourists.

Last November, the largest number of guests came to domestic hotels from Germany (116,723, +9% year-on-year). This was followed by the Slovaks (58,274, year-on-year +12%), the British (39,523, year-on-year +50%), the Poles (32,509, -6% year-on-year) and the Americans (31,685, year-on-year +37%). Except for Poland and Ukraine, foreign tourists from the TOP 10 arrival countries of the Czech Republic, if we take last November and November in 2022, increased.

Italians (31,275, +55%), Ukrainians (19,547, -8%), French (18,502, +17%), Spaniards (18,347, +62%), and Austrians (18,118, +17%),” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism, and adds: “In the TOP 10 arrival countries of the Czech Republic, Spaniards and Italians increased the most year-on-year. Overall, however, tourists from Asia have started traveling significantly more, which is related to the direct air routes that have been put into operation. Approximately 9x more Taiwanese arrived (16,622 vs. 1,904) year-on-year. 3x more guests from Saudi Arabia (2,015 vs. 748) and approx. 2x as many Koreans as in November 2022 (17,902 vs. 7,288). Now we can expect that together with the new flights, on which we are intensively working with Prague Airport and Prague City Tourism as part of the Touchpoint project, there will be an increase in visitors from abroad.”

Although last November the number of guests in domestic hotels abroad almost equaled those from the Czech Republic, if we compare the situation with the period before the coronavirus pandemic, i.e., in November 2019, foreigners arrived by 15% less, residents by 18% more. The largest drop in the number of travelers concerned Russia (-93%), Israel (-81%) and China (-80%).

“From our analysis, it is clear that there are still fewer guests of good standing from abroad than before the coronavirus pandemic. More specialized offers of hotels, restaurants, and other services, i.e. so-called luxury tourism, can help to change this – in addition to the mentioned direct air connections. The global “luxury travel” market, which was estimated at less than 2 trillion USD in 2022, should increase by 6% in the long term,” says Petr Janeček, head of the Institute of Tourism of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism.

“In this context, domestic spas and wellness centers have great potential. In addition to the fact that last year we intensively participated in the success of the ESPA European Spa and Balneology Congress, which took place in Karlovy Vary, in cooperation with the destination agency Živý kraj, we also implemented a campaign to support this area in the Czech Republic. And spas, along with active tourism as an option for active rest, are the main communication topic of Czech tourism this year. Everyone can choose and enjoy our spas in the spirit of world trends,” concludes Veronika Janečková, director of the product management, research and B2B cooperation department of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism.

Information on the number of tourists in domestic hotels by individual month and country, including a comparison with the years 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, can be found at https://tourdata.cz/data/navstevnost-v-hotelech-2023-vs-2019-2022/.

H.E. Mr. Claudio Javier Rozencwaig, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic in the Czech Rrepublic and Mr. Jiří Kozák, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.

The centenary of the establishment of Czech-Argentine diplomatic relations took place in Prague on Monday 8th January 2024.

The First Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Jirí Kozák and the Ambassador of the Argentine Republic H.E Mr.Claudio J. Rozencwaig delivered wreaths at the T. G. Masaryk Memorial and met at the Czernin Palace with representatives of the state administration, education, culture, commercial and other areas.

The wreaths of the Argentine Embassy in the Czech Republic and the flowers from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic in front of the statue of Tomáš G. Masaryk at Hradčanské náměstí , Prague.

A century ago, Argentine Plenipotentiary Minister Gabriel Martínez Campos presented his credentials to the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, marking the beginning of a relationship that has evolved and flourished in several areas.

The Czech Republic and Argentina have been working together for 100 years to strengthen their bilateral relations. Many decades of cultural, educational, and commercial exchanges have built a deep mutual understanding. Both countries also share democratic values and support a rules-based international legal order, human rights, and the rule of law.

H.E. Mr. Claudio Javier Rozencwaig, Ambassador of the Argentine republic in the Czech republic and Mr. Jiří Kozák Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic with the wreaths for the commemoration of 100 years of diplomatic relations between both countries.

Today, the relations have reached a stage of institutional maturity, evidenced by frequent and fruitful meetings. To highlight a recent example, in 2022, Buenos Aires hosted the fourth meeting of the Vice-Ministerial-level Political Consultations Mechanism. In the same year, Argentina hosted Vice Minister for Extra-European Affairs, Economic, and Development Cooperation, Mr. Martín Tlapa, and Secretary of State Miroslav Stashek in January and March respectively.

Diplomatic Corps and other distinguished guests from the cultural, political, academic, scientific, commercial, sports and press fields.

In the context of this significant anniversary, both foreign ministries and embassies are preparing a joint agenda of events that will promote cultural expressions, high-level political meetings, economic and trade promotion activities, scientific and educational exchanges, among other areas of mutual interest.

H.E. Mr. Claudio Javier Rozencwaig, Ambassador of the Argentine Republic in the Czech republic and Mr. Jiří Kozák, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic during their speeches.

Photo: Nadace Neuron

Czech and Slovak archaeologists have announced a major discovery. An expedition to the Guatemalan jungle, which took place last summer, discovered the remains of a Mayan city, which is almost three thousand years old. I discussed the discovery, which could shed more light on the rise and fall of one of the world’s oldest civilizations, with one of the members of the team, archaeologist Sara Polak:

“I think the most important thing is to put the discovery into context. A Czechoslovakian expedition has been going to the area of Petén, which is a northern Guatemalan jungle, for approximately 15 years, so there was already a kind of a rich understanding of the area.

“Obviously, as you get talking with the locals, who are also working on the local digging site, you get a hunch that there might be something else in the jungle, which in many ways was the centre of the Maya civilization in the pre-classical period.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Ondřej Hájek, ČTK

Sparklers, which were over 70 years old, were recently discovered by museum workers in Ústí nad Labem while cleaning out an apartment. They were fully functional and were made by the DRUTEP cooperative, which has been producing traditional New Year’s Eve props since 1951.

Source

Photo: Michal Krumphanzl, ČTK

Life in Czechia came to a standstill at midday on Saturday, December 23, as the nation held a minute of silence in memory of the victims of Thursday’s tragic shooting incident at the Faculty of Arts in Prague.

Bells tolled around the country, flags were flown at half-mast and many people stopped in their tracks at midday in a show of respect for those slain in Thursday’s shootings. Even Prague’s busy international airport stopped operations to observe a minute of silence for the 14 lives senselessly cut short.

The usual Christmas bustle was visibly muted and many Czechs headed for the impromptu memorials sites outside Charles University’s main building, the Faculty of Arts and other places around the country at which the sea of candles and flowers has been growing by the hour.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Svatopluk Klesnil, Olomouc’s Palacký University

“We provide a lot of music for little money,” says Jaroslav Miller, a prominent Czech historian, academic and now deputy minister of education. He is not your typical politician; his extensive background in academia sets him apart. For seven years, Jaroslav served as the rector, or president, of Palacký University in Olomouc, one of the Czech Republic’s leading universities. His impressive academic journey includes postgraduate studies at Oxford University, being honored twice as a fellow of the prestigious German scientific Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, and he’s also a former Fulbright Fellow at Georgia College and State University in the United States. As a visiting professor at the University of Western Australia in Darwin, he has a special affinity for this part of the world.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Barbora Kvapilová, Czech Radio

The Infant Jesus of Prague, one of the most venerated statuettes in the Roman Catholic world, is known to millions of believers the world over. Painter and dress designer Markéta Melenovská is one of the artists behind its rich hand-made wardrobe.

The Church of Our Lady Victorious in Prague is one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in Czechia, home to the Infant Jesus of Prague – a revered figure in the Roman Catholic world. The 49cm tall statuette, which originated in Spain and was brought to Bohemia by Marie Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, portrays Jesus as a child, or more specifically, as a young king or prince. In one hand he holds a small globe the other hand is raised in blessing.

Millions of people from all over the world have made the journey to Prague to pray to the Infant Jesus. Many say their prayers are answered and take away a copy of the Infant Jesus for their local church.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Barbora Kvapilová
Source: Český rozhlas

Festive Christmas Receptio in the Atrium Lobby

On Wednesday December 20, 2023 Hilton Prague and Hilton Prague Old Town organized the 25th edition of the annual Christmas Charity Concert featuring the Karlovy Vary Symphonic Orchestra and soloist Jiří Stivín, conducted by Maestro Debashish Chaudhuri.

Charity Cheque Hand Over

The Christmas spirit was brought by the International Ladies Chamber Choir Viva Voce with a special guest, Charlottka Hrubá, a talented pianist from the Nadace Terezy Maxové Dětem foundation.

Charity Cheque hand over to Tereza Maxova Detem Foundaton

The evening was presented by Michael Specking, General Manager of Hilton Prague together with Czech actor Markéta Hrubešová.

Michael Specking, General Manager of Hilton Prague, Marketa Hrubesova, Presenter

The event was held in support of the Tereza Maxová Dětem Foundation, adopce.com project, whose Marketing & Operations Manager Petra Zapletalová took over a cheque amounting to CZK 100,000 from Michael Specking, General Manager of Hilton Prague, Tanya Podgoretska, General Manager of Hilton Prague Old Town, David Lesch, CEO of AV Media, and Vlastimil Vyskočáni, Director of Business Segment at ČEZ ESCO, main partners of the concert.

International Ladies Choir Viva Voce

Special thanks also go to the partners of the concert, especially the main partners – AV Media, ČEZ ESCO and Gesto Computers.

Debashish Chaudhuri, Conductor

Jiri Stivin, Soloist

Karlovy Vary Symphonic Orchestra

Photo: Jiří Němec, Radio Prague International

Gyms, swimming pools, ice skating rinks, football and tennis courts and other sports venues have opened their doors to visitors for free this week! The annual event which is now in its 15th year, aims to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Within the annual Week of Free Sports, organized by the Prague municipality, Prague residents can visit sports facilities in the capital free of charge from Monday, December 25, till Sunday, December 31.

People can choose from more than three dozen sports clubs and venues to workout, swim, skate, play football, table tennis or badminton.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová
Source: Český rozhlas

Photo: Česká televize, ČT24

In his Christmas address to the nation, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the country had seen two hard years, but 2024 would bring a turn for the better. He said that thanks to a policy of fiscal discipline the soaring deficit in public finances had been brought under control.

Addressing the nation on St. Stephen’s Day, Prime Minister Fiala first touched on the tragic shooting at the Faculty of Arts that has been very much in people’s minds over the holidays. This Christmas, he said, had been like no other.

“We were all badly shaken by the brutal attack at the Prague Faculty of Arts. Throughout Christmas, our thoughts have been with the families and friends of those directly affected by it. We have prayed and continue to pray for the victims, for the injured and for strength to those who must come to terms with this terrible tragedy. For many this was the saddest Christmas ever”.

Mr. Fiala said that, in the face of this tragic event, it was important to remember that Christmas is a time of hope. Despite all the tragedies surrounding us, it is important for people to believe that good will defeat evil, that better times will come after hard times, the prime minister said, emphasizing that hope is the very essence of Christmas.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová
Source: Český rozhlas

Photo: Prague archbishopric

Paradoxically for an atheist country, it is Baby Jesus, not Santa, who brings the Christmas presents in Czechia. And very many people attend Christmas mass. So how is it with Czechs and religion? Why are so few Czechs believers? What are the challenges ahead of the Catholic Church and has it managed to overcome the years of communist oppression? Those are some of the questions I discussed with Roman Catholic priest Vojtěch Eliáš. Sitting in the parish house in the Prague district of Chvaly where he now serves, I began by asking how he found his calling.

“It was during communist times, and at that time it was very risky because to be a priest you did not only need to be accepted by the Church but by the government and the public authorities as well. In those days, many priests were only accepted by the Church, but they did not have permission to serve from the government. So, possibly, that inspired me as well, the fact that I might have to serve the people clandestinely.”

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Czech Radio

For the past few years, the Czech Radio Endowment Fund has organised a project called ‘Santa’s Grandchildren’ that turns ordinary people into guardian angels and Christmas fairies, granting the wishes of elderly people in retirement homes. Although many people mistakenly think that it is only a Christmas event, the project actually continues to raise money and bring joy to the elderly all year round, not just at Christmas.

Helena Kocourová was six years old when she met the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Now a venerable woman of 99, she got her wish this year through Santa’s Grandchildren of meeting another Czech president – the current head of state, Petr Pavel. In a visit to Ms. Kocourová’s retirement home in Mníšek pod Brdy that not even the staff knew about beforehand, President Pavel and his wife Eva surprised the nonagenarian in what she described afterwards as the best present she had ever received.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Marion Galard, Radio Prague International

Welcome to a special holiday edition of Czechast, brought to you by Radio Prague International. Today, we’re diving into the heartwarming and festive world of Christmas celebrations. In this episode, we’ll explore the rich traditions and customs of Christmas in the Czech Republic, as well as how Czech and Moravian communities in the United States keep their heritage alive during this joyous season.

Czechs have a saying: “Láska prochází žaludkem”, which I suppose is closely mirrored by the English saying, “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” And since Christmas is a celebration of love, we simply cannot ignore the delights on our festive tables, be it here in Czechia or in the Czech communities across the Atlantic.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Zrní

The Czech band Zrní this year released their seventh studio album Široko daleko (Far and Wide) to positive reviews.

The respected alternative rock band formed in Kladno near Prague in the early 2000s and released their first record in 2009. Four of the band are named Jan (Unger, Fišer, Juklík and Caithaml), while the fifth member is an Ondřej (Slavík).

See the rest here.

Unsold Christmas trees will delight animals between December 27 and 29. The elephants get them for all three days, always at 1:15 p.m. Visitors will be able to watch how they cope with them from the lookout near the wolf enclosure. In the photo, the youngest member of the herd, the three-year-old elephant Lakuna. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

ADMISSIONS FOR JUST ONE CROWN AND AN EXTRA BONUS AT THE ANIMALS

On Christmas Day and both Christmas holidays, children under 15 will have entry to the Prague Zoo for 1 CZK.

Then, on New Year’s Day, all Prague residents will be able to prove themselves with a Lítačka card or application.

Starting today until December 26, people can bring edible gifts to the animals. Apples, carrots or unsweetened dry bread are welcome.

During the holidays, visitors to the Prague Zoo can also look forward to a traditional animal giveaway – from December 27 to 29, selected species will receive unsold Christmas trees.

How do gorillas, elephants or even parrots deal with them?

In addition, scouts brought the Light of Bethlehem to the Prague Zoo. This is now available to visitors at the main entrance until Christmas Day.

Below you will find a schedule of all special guided animal feedings and encounters from Christmas Day to New Year’s.

The carnivorous residents of the Prague Zoo will also enjoy the “animal treat”, although they will have to make the Christmas enrichment more attractive with meaty content. Pictured is a five-year-old female nutmeg bear devil. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

24. 12. Christmas Day at the Prague Zoo

• 10:00 a.m. feeding of Cape grebes – African House
• 10.30 feeding of giant and red-necked kangaroos – Darwin Crater
• 11.00 feeding of Humboldt penguins – Penguin Pavilion
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the Brazz cats – Reservation Dja
• 11.15 a.m. meeting at the African brush tusks – Reserve Dja
• 11.30 meeting with lowland gorillas – Dja Reserve
• 12.30 meeting with the Nubian giraffes – African House
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 1.30 p.m. South African sea lions training – sea lion exhibition in the lower part of the zoo

25. 12. The first Christmas holiday at the Prague Zoo

• 10:00 a.m. feeding of Cape grebes – African House
• 10.30 feeding of giant and red-necked kangaroos – Darwin Crater
• 11.00 feeding of Humboldt penguins – Penguin Pavilion
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the Brazz cats – Reservation Dja
• 11.15 a.m. meeting at the African brush tusks – Reserve Dja
• 11.30 meeting with lowland gorillas – Dja Reserve
• 12.30 meeting with the Nubian giraffes – African House
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 14.00 feeding of common wombats – Darwin Crater
• 14.30 meeting at the bear-like devils – Darwin Crater
• 15.30 feeding of short-tailed nutcrackers – Indonesian jungle

26. 12. The second Christmas holiday at the Prague Zoo

• 10:00 a.m. feeding of Cape grebes – African House
• 10.30 feeding of giant and red-necked kangaroos – Darwin Crater
• 11.00 feeding of Humboldt penguins – Penguin Pavilion
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the Brazz cats – Reservation Dja
• 11.15 a.m. meeting at the African brush tusks – Reserve Dja
• 11.30 meeting with lowland gorillas – Dja Reserve
• 12.30 meeting with the Nubian giraffes – African House
• 13.00 meeting at the big turtles – Pavilion of the big turtles
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 14.00 feeding of common wombats – Darwin Crater
• 14.30 meeting at the bear-like devils – Darwin Crater
• 15.30 feeding of short-tailed nutcrackers – Indonesian jungle

The animal supply will please the animals not only in the enclosures, but also in the heated pavilions. E.g. in the Dja Reserve, visitors will be able to watch gorillas with trees from a comfortable auditorium. Pictured is a seven-year-old male lowland gorilla, Ajabu. Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

27. 12. Animal donation: commented handing over of saplings

• 10.30 meeting with Cape honeyeaters – Africa up close
• 12.45 meeting with Manchurian leopards – Northern Forest
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 2:00 p.m. meeting with cats and dogs – Reserve Dja
• 2.30 p.m. meeting with maned spiders – Rock massif (mountain ungulates)
• 15.00 meeting with Central American experts – Water World and Monkey Islands

28. 12. Animal donation: commented handing over of saplings

• 10.30 meeting with Cape honeyeaters – Africa up close
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the white-tailed deer – Water World and Monkey Islands
• 12.45 meeting at the Ussuri tigers – Northern Forest
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 2:00 p.m. meeting with cats and dogs – Reserve Dja
• 14.30 meeting at the bear-like devils – Darwin Crater
• 15.00 meeting with lowland gorillas – Méfou Center (old gorilla pavilion)

29. 12. Lottery for animals: commented handing over of saplings

• 10.00 a.m. meeting at nestors kea – Rákos’ pavilion
• 10.30 meeting with Cape honeyeaters – Africa up close
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the northern talapoins – Dja Reservation
• 12.45 meeting with the chabrak hyenas – hyena exhibition opposite the Elephant Valley
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 2:00 p.m. meeting with cats and dogs – Reserve Dja
• 2.30 p.m. meeting with maned spiders – Rock massif (mountain ungulates)
• 15.00 meeting at the hangman’s lemurs – Lemur Island

December 30 and December 31. End of the year at the Prague Zoo

• 10:00 a.m. feeding of Cape grebes – African House
• 10.30 feeding of giant and red-necked kangaroos – Darwin Crater
• 11.00 feeding of Humboldt penguins – Penguin Pavilion
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the Brazz cats – Reservation Dja
• 11.15 a.m. meeting at the African brush tusks – Reserve Dja
• 11.30 meeting with lowland gorillas – Dja Reserve
• 12.30 meeting with the Nubian giraffes – African House
• 13.00 meeting at the big turtles – Pavilion of the big turtles
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 14.00 feeding of common wombats – Darwin Crater
• 14.00 meeting at the reptiles – Pavilion of beasts and reptiles
• 14.30 meeting at the bear-like devils – Darwin Crater
• 15.30 feeding of short-tailed nutcrackers – Indonesian jungle
• 15.30 feeding of Indian gharials – Chambal (only on Sunday 31 December)

People can bring gifts for animals in the form of carrots, apples or unsweetened dry bread to the main entrance to the Prague Zoo from today until December 26. Donors arriving on Christmas Day will also receive a small reward from representatives of the zoo for a gift for the animals. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

1. 1. New Year at the Prague Zoo

• 10:00 a.m. feeding of Cape grebes – African House
• 10.30 feeding of giant and red-necked kangaroos – Darwin Crater
• 11.00 feeding of Humboldt penguins – Penguin Pavilion
• 11.00 a.m. meeting at the Brazz cats – Reservation Dja
• 11.15 a.m. meeting at the African brush tusks – Reserve Dja
• 11.30 meeting with lowland gorillas – Dja Reserve
• 12.30 meeting with the Nubian giraffes – African House
• 13.00 meeting at the big turtles – Pavilion of the big turtles
• 13.15 meeting with the Indian elephants – Elephant Valley
• 1.30 p.m. South African sea lions training – sea lion exhibition in the lower part of the zoo
• 14.00 feeding of common wombats – Darwin Crater
• 14.30 meeting at the bear-like devils – Darwin Crater
• 15.30 feeding of short-tailed nutcrackers – Indonesian jungle

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Bijan Sabet became US ambassador to Czechia in early 2023. Since then Mr. Sabet has become a familiar face in Prague, meeting top Czech officials and military top brass and hosting events with various civil society groups. In a wide-ranging interview, the successful tech investor speaks about his connection to Joe Biden, experience as an early backer of Twitter and training in the art of diplomacy, as well as more personal matters such as his interest in photography and how owning a dog is the “fastest friendship maker” in Czechia.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

You can also read our interview with H.E. Mr. Sabet in our previous issue.

Photo: Radek Petrášek, ČTK

A model of Trosky Castle – one of the dominant features of the Bohemian Paradise region – was made from a ton of ice in a single day this weekend with the help of saws and chisels.

Source: ČTK

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

President Petr Pavel has called on Czechia’s government, who have been taking a battering in the ratings for some time, to seek help with their communication skills. But is it actually possible to sugarcoat austerity policies that leave voters with less money in their pockets? I spoke to Anna Shavit, a political marketing expert who teaches at Charles University.

“It’s a very interesting situation when the president actually sort of openly criticises the government on the communication aspect; it certainly is very new in this country.

“But it also shows in the case of President Pavel that he sort of understands that people might actually either be having a difficult life or feeling that, predominantly, they’re not doing that well.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Octobriana is the name of a Soviet-era comic superheroine, who originated from a major literary hoax spread by Czech artist Petr Sadecký. Sadecký, who emigrated from Czechoslovakia in the early 1970s, claimed it was the work of Soviet dissidents. In fact, he commissioned the work from two Czech artists Bohumil Konečný and Zdeněk Burian, who never got full credit for their work. The superheroine, sporting a red star on her forehead, gained unexpected popularity, appearing in various comic adaptations all over the world.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Following the government resolution of August 16, 2023 on the schedule for the migration of central state administration bodies to the unified state domain gov.cz on December 18, 2023, the domains of the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all embassies abroad will be transferred.

Czech diplomacy is thus one of the first state administration bodies to switch to a single domain for state websites and e-mail addresses. The current domain mzv.cz will remain functional for some time and the domain mzv.gov.cz redirects the user.

The key advantage of a unified domain is high cyber security and legal certainty wherever the state communicates with citizens. Based on the website address, the user will be able to make sure that he is on the official website of the office.

Not only from abroad, but also in the Czech Republic, there are known cases where fraudsters tried to imitate official websites or ensure redirection from them to another domain. These phishing attacks and attempts will be easier to detect thanks to the gov.cz domain, and it is assumed that the number of frauds will decrease as a result of the transition to a unified state domain.

A single domain for state websites increases credibility and friendliness even for foreign partners. The idea of a state domain gov is not new, similar to the Czech Republic it is used in, for example, Belgium, Estonia, Croatia, Poland or the United Kingdom. At the same time as the address of the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies will change on December 18, 2023, the e-mail addresses of employees and individual departments will also change. However, in the interest of maintaining continuity in communication, existing e-mail addresses with the domain @mzv.cz will remain functional and ensure the delivery of e-mails to new mailboxes with the domain for another 10 years, i.e. until December 17, 2033.@mzv.gov.cz

In the case of e-mail addresses of employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and embassies of the Czech Republic, the underscore between the first and last name was removed and replaced with a period (e.g. the current address jan_novak@mzv.cz will be newly jan.novak@mzv.gov.cz). The word “embassy” has been removed from the e-mail addresses of embassies (e.g. the current address of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Bratislava bratislava@embassy.mzv.cz will be bratislava@mzv.gov.cz). The syntax of e-mail addresses of departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also been simplified.

Domain migration is a process that unfortunately also involves unwanted errors. We therefore welcome notification of any broken web or email address by sending a message using this link

Photo: Zdeňka Kuchyňová, Radio Prague International

Moravia-Silesia is a region more known for its industrial past than its pretty scenery. But in fact it boasts mountains, natural beauty and castles in addition to its industrial attractions. Check out some of its landmarks in our photo gallery.

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Photo: Moravian Library Brno, public domain

The Čapek brothers, Karel Poláček, and Ferdinand Peroutka – these were just some of the prominent contributors to Lidové noviny, a leading Czech daily in interwar Czechoslovakia.

The first issue of Lidové noviny came out in the Moravian city of Brno 120 years ago, on December 16, 1893. Like other newspapers of the time, it had a morning and evening edition. By mid-1920, a branch editorial office was established in Prague, making the local daily one of the country’s most influential newspapers.

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Photo: Anaïs Raimbault, Radio Prague International

If you need to get from Prague’s district of Žizkov to neighbouring Karlín, there is no faster way than to walk, or cycle, through the Žižkov Tunnel. The 303-metre pedestrian shortcut, which also houses a nuclear shelter, was fully completed exactly 70 years ago, on December 19, 1953.

The tunnel connecting the districts of Žižkov and Karlín opened to the public already in 1951, but it was not fully completed until two years later. It is approximately 4.5 metres wide and 3.4 metres tall, and if you go from the direction of Žižkov, it runs slightly downhill. It is also curved so once you reach the middle, you cannot see the entrance or the exit.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Anaïs Raimbault

Mokosh by Jitka Uhříčková, Photo: FAMU

The game design programme at Prague’s Film and TV School (FAMU) has only been around for two years, making it one of Europe’s oldest film school’s newest Master’s degrees.

Before the game design degree was launched at FAMU, there was no university programme in Czechia that combined the artistic and technical aspects of game development. As a master’s degree programme, it brings together people from various fields and backgrounds, including from areas like computer science but also less predictable ones such as philosophy and art. No prior programming knowledge is necessary – “The most important thing is showing that you want to make games and have the talent to make them,” says Michal Berlinger, who teaches the course.

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Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: Jana Káninská, Czech Radio

One of the many Czech Christmas traditions is the burning of incense cones, known as Františeks, which originated in the Ore Mountains on the Czech-German border more than 300 years ago. A small workshop in Roztoky u Křivoklátu has been producing the scented charcoal cones for over twenty years.

For many Czechs, the scent associated with Christmas is that of burned scented charcoal cones, or Františeks. The tradition originated in the Ore-Mountains in the north-west of the country and dates back to the 1700s. Its roots, however, are much older, going back to the use of frankincense in Catholic liturgy.

While the Germans call it Räucherkegel, literally a smoking candle, the origin of the Czech name František or little Francis, is less clear. It is interpreted as a variation of the English frankincense, derived from the Latin incēnsum, but it could also refer to its shape reminiscent of a Franciscan monk’s hood.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Magdalena Hrozínková

Photo: Ondřej Surový, Art for the City/Prague City Gallery

Artists in Czechoslovakia produced a number of objects made from polyester fiberglass between the 1950s and 1980s. While many of these artworks have survived to this day, they are in urgent need of repair. Experts from the Czech Technical Engineering are now looking for ways to preserve them.

Polyester fiberglass is a fairly lightweight and durable material that can be painted and glazed to look like stone, porcelain, bronze or marble. In Czechoslovakia, the material became popular in the late 1950s, first as a temporary replacement of more exclusive materials. Gradually, it established itself as a material in its own right.

A number of fiberglass resin statues were made throughout the 1960s and 70s as part of the deal to fund artwork for public spaces. You can still come across them at housing estates, parks and in front of public buildings.

Despite their durability, many of these objects are falling apart due to time and weather conditions. Experts from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague are now looking for ways to repair the statues made from the otherwise very durable plastic.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Eva Kézrová

Photo: Skupina D

Drones have become a weapon of key importance in the war in Ukraine. Russia has clearly understood this and is reportedly ramping up its wartime production by converting prisons and schools into drone factories. In order to help the Ukrainian army keep up, a new Czech NGO is trying to raise money to deliver 10,000 drones to the country.

Although many charitable organisations to support Ukraine exist in Czechia already, according to Chief of the Army General Staff Karel Řehka, who is the patron and honorary chairman of the new NGO Skupina D (Group D), this one is unique in that it knows precisely what the Ukrainian army needs and can respond accordingly.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Kateřina Gruntová, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: Tumisu, Pixabay, Pixabay License

Czechs have become accustomed to shopping online, chatting online, choosing their holidays online and increasingly also self-diagnosing online. The number of people googling health related issues has risen steeply since the Covid pandemic and doctors are warning about the risks involved.

Earache, rash or chronic back pain. Thousands of Czechs go online every day to find out what’s wrong with them, seek reassurance from those who have experienced similar symptoms and get advice on what they can get for it at their local chemists.

A recent survey suggests that 95 percent of Czechs have gone on the internet for medical advice for themselves or close family members and 52 percent of people regularly consult health issues online.

Most often they turn to the internet because of unusual symptoms they have noticed -and close to half of the respondents polled said they check online whether they need to see a doctor if they are having difficulties. According to the survey, people under 30, residents of larger cities and women are more likely to seek advice online.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Vojtěch Bidrman

Photo: Hana Kožušníková, Pizzeria Da Pietro

Ten years ago, Petr Soukal set out to open a business selling speciality food items imported from Italy. After the success of the store in his hometown of Plzeň, Soukal decided to open the first location of Da Pietro, a pizzeria specializing in Neapolitan style pies, in Prague. Two weeks ago, the second location of Da Pietro opened its doors in Prague’s Vinohrady district. I was curious about how this Czech native fostered such a passion for Italian cuisine, and stopped by the pizzeria to find out more.

“It was exactly ten years ago, I was deciding what I wanted to do. I already loved Italy and Italian food, so it was my idea to open a little shop with Italian foods in Plzeň. Ten years ago, I opened this shop in Plzeň, and I started to go to Italy every month to purchase products. I found my small suppliers and wine makers, and I would take things back to Plzeň.

“After two years, a friend of mine told me that I should open a pizzeria in the shop, but I really knew nothing about pizza. After some time, I thought ‘why not’, and decided we should open a Neapolitan pizzeria, because no one was making it in Plzeň at the time. My friend and I went to Naples and tried famous pizza across the area, and after two months I went to Naples to learn how to make pizza.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Radio Prague International has prepared a selection of articles on Christmas traditions for you.

See them here.

Photo: Organization for Aid to Refugees

Hall 17 at Prague’s Holešovická tržnice will be home to a Ukrainian-Czech themed Christmas market this Sunday, aiming to promote collaboration between the two cultures, and support artisans from both countries. To learn more about the event, I spoke with coordinator Soňa Spěváková.

“There is a combination of Czech and Ukrainian vendors, who will sell their own handmade products. But it’s not just this, there will also be a lot of workshops for adults and kids, and also a Ukrainian singer and band who will be playing during the day.”

I’m curious why you think these events that promote Czech-Ukrainian collaboration are important?

“Our aim is to bring two cultures together. Czech and Ukrainian culture actually has a lot in common, and we wanted to show the public that Ukrainian vendors are just as skilled as Czech ones, and that we are all the same people living on this planet.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Michal Růžička, TIC Brno

Czechia’s second-largest city, Brno, has been announced the winner of the European Capital of Christmas 2024 award. All cities and towns in the 27 EU member states are eligible to participate in the competition, as well as Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom, so taking the crown is no mean feat. I spoke to Hana Bánovská from TIC Brno, the city’s tourist information centre, about what it took to get the title.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Body–Soul–Patient/Youtube

The freshly released Czech documentary Body-Soul-Patient maps new teaching methods at the 2nd Faculty of Medicine at Charles University aimed at improving medical students’ communication with patients. But are Czech doctors really lacking when it comes to bedside manner? I discussed this issue, and much more, with the film’s director, Jindrich Andrš.

How did your latest project Body-Soul-Patient come about?

“I wanted to make a film about medical students for a very long time, actually. When I went to study film 10 years ago, I already had it as one of my main topics, because I’m from a family of doctors.

“I was interested in the moment when a medical student is starting to think like a doctor, or starting to feel the weight and the responsibilities it has.

“So I wanted to capture this kind of moment. And when they told me at Charles University that they would like to make a film, I was very happy that I could start working on this topic.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

The cub was born on the last day of November and is eager to give birth. Palawan porcupines, unlike other porcupine species, usually give birth to a single young. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

A baby Palawan porcupine was born at the Prague Zoo. Visitors can comfortably observe the two-week-old addition and both of its parents in the warmth of the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion. The young is valuable for breeding – this endemic of the Philippine island of Palawan is the only species of Old World porcupine that is listed on the Red List of Threatened Species. Hunting and deforestation are behind its declining numbers.

“The birth of a cub is great news also because out of only nine zoos that keep this species in Europe, we are one of two where a cub was born this year. The reason for joy is also the fact that we did not have too high hopes for the birth of another healthy offspring from our older, already deserving female,” says curator of mammals Pavel Brandl.

In addition to mother’s milk, the little porcupine also showed interest in solid food in the form of a varied mixture of vegetables. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

This is the tenth cub of this species born here since the beginning of breeding in 2015. In addition, all nine previous ones were successfully bred. Later, the Prague porcupines strengthened or even established breeding in other zoos. The current cub also has good prospects – the mother is taking excellent care of him and, according to the breeders, the little rodent has already shown an interest in solid food in addition to sucking his mother’s milk.

Visitors will find the cub near the exit of the Indonesian Jungle Pavilion. The mother and cub stay near the glass near the visitor areas, so these days it is possible to observe them breastfeeding or getting close to each other. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

The Palawan porcupine inhabits Palawan, Philippines, and several smaller surrounding islands. It is one of the smallest porcupines in the world, adult animals usually do not weigh more than 5 kg. As an island species with limited occurrence and gene pool, it is unfortunately threatened by hunting and loss of natural habitat. Its numbers are decreasing, which is why, according to the IUCN, it is currently classified as vulnerable on the Red List of Threatened Species.

Photo: Lenka Žižková, Radio Prague International

A church that opened in Prague’s Žižkov district in the 1920s is about to get a whole new purpose. Now called Žižkostel, from January it will serve as a community centre, creating a new hub where people from various backgrounds can gather, receive help, and hopefully, bring new life to the building.

Tucked into Prague’s Žižkov neighbourhood on the corner of Náměstí Barikád is a bright yellow building that was once the site of a church attended by locals in the area. But today, the former religious site is being converted into a community space. Táňa Vozková, a therapist and coordinator at the community centre, hopes it will become a thriving place for the local community to gather, as she explained while guiding me through the building’s newly renovated main hall.

“The space was built in 1924, and at the time about 300 people came to the church every week, now, it’s about 30 people. We would really like to use this space not only for the church, we want to host workshops here, and also we host therapy here. We do therapy for couples and families. We also plan to host concerts and theatre.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: See-Saw Films

One Life, a biopic that shows how Sir Nicholas Winton saved 669 mainly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia on the eve of World War II, recently received its UK premiere. Meanwhile, some of the now elderly people that the Englishman rescued feature in a new photography exhibition in London. I discussed it, and the movie, with Sir Nicholas’s grandson, Laurence Winton.

“I’ve seen the film One Life three times now and it hasn’t lost its emotional punch. It’s hard for me personally to be objective about it, because it’s based on my mother’s book. “It’s a very personal story: seeing my grandparents come to life in front of my eyes and have all these conversations that I never would have seen.

“I grew up knowing so many of the kinder, the rescued children, that they’re sort of extended family for me. But I think it’s a brilliant film. I think they’ve done an excellent job.

“They’ve been very loyal to the accuracy of the story, of the facts. But it also gets across Nicky’s character and his values and some of his family context: why he did what he did, his own political awareness, which enabled him to sort of see coming what Hitler was planning to do.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Filip Jandourek, Czech Radio

Czechia has another entry on the prestigious UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage list, having succeeded with the nomination for its handmade glass production. The nomination was submitted together with France, Finland, Germany, Hungary, and Spain.

The art of glass making has a centuries-old tradition in Czechia, dating back to medieval times. The first glass furnace was lit in Bohemia in 1376 and by the 17th century, a major glass industry was founded in the north of the country, around the town of Jablonec nad Nisou, but also in the regions of Zlín and Vysočina.

Despite industrialisation, handmade glass production has survived to this day. More than 5,000 glassmakers, cutters, engravers, painters, jewellery manufacturers and designers work in glassworks, family workshops and studios across the country and their hand-crafted products are sought after all over the world.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Petr Sznapka, ČTK

Some 77 Tatra trucks gathered in Ostrava at the weekend, setting a new Czech record. The greatest rarities among the Tatras assembled, including some from Slovakia and Poland, were a 1971 Tatra 138 and an orange Tatra 148.

Source: ČTK

Photo: Roman Vondrouš, ČTK

The official funeral mass for Karel Schwarzenberg took place with state honours in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle on Saturday afternoon. The roughly two-hour ceremony, which began at noon, was attended by hundreds of guests from the worlds of politics, culture, and the nobility.

Mr. Schwarzenberg’s funeral mass was officiated by Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner, with a sermon delivered by Catholic priest and theologian Tomáš Halík. Czech President Petr Pavel gave a short eulogy, in which he said that Czechia had lost a great figure of modern history and that he would be sorely missed.

“He loved his homeland and of all the paths he could have taken, he chose the path of service to the Czech Republic. Even when he couldn’t live here, he supported this country,” the president said, referring to the more than four decades during Communist rule that Schwarzenberg lived in exile with his family in Austria.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor, Source:ČTK

Exhibitions and permanent expositions of Prague Castle will be half price for visitors during the Christmas holidays. People can use the 50 percent discount from December 22, 2023 to January 1, 2024. This applies to the entrance to the tour circuit, which includes the Prague Castle Picture Gallery, the Prague Castle Story exhibit, and the Castle Guard exhibit. For half the entrance fee, interested parties can also see the exhibition Windows of the St. Vitus Cathedral in the Imperial Stables.

Photo: Anton Kajmakov, Radio Prague International

Ostrava has – or at least it did until pretty recently – a reputation for being ugly and polluted. Formerly known as the “steel heart” of the Czech Republic, it was a centre of mining and heavy industry for two centuries. After its plants and collieries shut down following the Velvet Revolution, for a while it looked like Ostrava might suffer from the urban decay that many former mining and industrial towns underwent once they lost the industries that had made them rich and employed so many. But that’s not what happened. Instead, Ostrava underwent a fairly rapid transformation, both economically and culturally.

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Patrik Rozehnal, Romana Kubicová, Daniela Lazarová, Libor Kukal, Sources: iROZHLAS.cz, Radio Prague International

The traditional watch seller Hodinářství Bechyně is one of the long-term supporters of the National Gallery Prague. One of the rarest paintings in the gallery’s collections, the Feast of the Rosary by Renaissance master Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), is the main motif of its new campaign, which begins in December. the aim of the campaign is not only to emphasize the joint partnership but the shared principles, which are the love of art and the respect for the masterwork not only of the painters but also of the people who take care of the works of art.

Championship takes time

Dürer painted a painting called The Solemnity of the Rosary in 1506 commissioned by German merchants for the church of San Bartolomeo in Venice. It depicts the scene of an ideal gathering of the Rosary Brotherhood. This is a landmark work, depicting the transformation of German Gothic art into the Renaissance period. The masterful processing of the image proves that German painting was able to achieve the qualities of the renowned Venetian painting.

The creation of a phenomenal work took time, as did its restoration. “Championship takes time” is also the slogan of the Hodinářství Bechyně campaign. The restoration itself will be very demanding, as the defects in the painting appear on the surface of one-fifth of the entire painting.

Restoration of the work

This is one of the most demanding and complicated restoration projects in the Czech Republic. In the project’s first phase, previous restoration surveys will be comprehensively revised and analyzed, supplemented by the latest scientific methods. Subsequently, the concept of the restoration intervention will be created.

The methodology of the restoration procedures will be consulted at the international level through a commission composed of leading specialists from the ranks of restorers and art historians.

Although the restoration work is planned for five years, this does not mean that the important work will be lost from the eyes of the cultural public for that long. Those interested will be able to learn about the key moments of the restoration process on an ongoing basis, among other things, in the form of guided tours.

“Our interest is for the NGP brand to be even stronger, and at the same time we would like to contribute to education and increase the aesthetics of public space with our campaign,” said Lenka Bechyňová, manager of Hodinářství Bechyně, about the campaign.

The Solemnity of the Rosary: A History

Regardless of the price, the important art collector – Emperor Rudolf II wanted to get the rosary ceremony. He also bought the painting in 1606, 100 years after it was created, and had it brought to Prague wrapped in carpets over the Alps. However, the journey of the painting to the National Gallery in Prague was certainly not straightforward, and it was reflected in the current state of the painting.

Albrecht Dürer

Dürer was one of the greatest artists of his time. He boldly combined the thorough and technically bravura approach of the German medieval master with lightness, generosity and bright colors, i.e. the characteristics characteristic of Venetian Renaissance painting. He was the first German artist to write about his life, the first to treat self-portraits as a separate genre, he brought watercolor and printing to artistic and technological perfection at an early stage, and the first in what is now Germany to draw nudes based on living models. Here, too, he was the first to support his work with art-theoretical treatises, thus giving an insight into the creative process and the ideas behind his works.

National Gallery Prague

The Prague National Gallery presents the great names of Czech and world art from the Middle Ages to the present day. With its activities and collections, which are comparable to important world galleries, it welcomes 700,000 visitors annually.

The National Gallery Prague cooperates with many foreign institutions and presents unique exhibitions in the Czech environment: Rembrandt, French Impressionism, František Kupka, Alberto Giacometti, Gerhard Richter and many others. For example, you can currently visit the exhibition Petr Brandl: The Story of a Bohemian in the Valdštejnská jízdárna.

Watchmaker Bechyně

We are Hodinářství Bechyně, a Czech family company that started to build a modern tradition of representing prestigious brands in the Czech Republic. We represent high-quality German and Swiss watch brands, including their service. We were the first to obtain a representation of the Rolex brand in our country. We also deal with buying and selling vintage watches. Watches are our passion and joy. Over the years, many customers have become our friends. We are united not only by our love for the world of watches, but also by shared values. What matters to us is customer satisfaction. With us, buying a watch is more than just a purchase, we are happy to introduce you to the fascinating world of quality and beauty.

__________________________________________________________________

Opening hours
Tuesday–Sunday 10 a.m.–6 p.m
every first Wednesday of the month 10–20 h

The President of the Republic, Petr Pavel, received the credentials of the new ambassadors to the Czech Republic on Friday, December 8, 2023 at Prague Castle:

H.E. Mr. Claudio Javier Rozencwaig, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic based in Prague,

HE Mr. Stephen Muribu, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Uganda based in Berlin,

H.E. Mrs. Editha Antoinette Itoua, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of the Congo based in Berlin.

Photos from the ceremony 8.12. 2023 (source: photo Office of the President: Zuzana Bönisch)

Photo: Jiří Matějů, Český rozhlas

It will have been 30 years next fall since Czech rock band Lucie released their now-iconic album Černý kočky mokrý žáby (Black cats, wet frogs). To celebrate the anniversary, the popular 90s band played three exclusive concerts this autumn in České Budějovice, Brno and Prague, where they performed the entire album live from start to finish. The Prague concert took place on Thursday this week in the O2 arena.

See the rest here.

The Czech Republic has links with India going back to long before both countries won independence. In this programme, in our occasional series In Their Own Words, we draw from our archives to look at Czech-Indian connections – through music, literature, geopolitics and even yoga.

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Author: David Vaughan

Photo: Hangar 13

Studio Hangar 13, formerly Illusion Softworks, is behind the successful Mafia saga in which players become power-hungry gangsters. The developers take inspiration from period images of cities or cars, but never copy their exact appearance. The games also feature Czech events or artefacts.

“People still talk about the original Mafia and still play it. That’s also our big success,” says Roman Hladík, general manager of Hangar 13.

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Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Text : M. Zisso  picture – Vaclav Pavlas

Germany has long held the 1st place in the number of foreign tourists visiting the Czech Republic. “A total of 178,891 Germans arrived at domestic hotels in August this year, which was 9% more than last year and even 13% more than in August 2019, before the Coronavirus pandemic. Among the foreigners who visited the Czech Republic, guests from Germany won an imaginary gold medal, they were the most,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Center – CzechTourism.

Natural monuments, gastronomy, castles, and sustainable travel. These were the themes of this year’s Czech-German cross-border campaign Ahoj Nachbarn! – Hallo sousede!, meaning ‘Hello neighbor!’ in the funny mix of respective languages. “We focused primarily on sustainable tourism. Cross-border travel concerns not only attractive border areas, but also other regions of both countries,” says Jan Pohaněl, head of the German Tourist Office for the Czech Republic.

We are enjoying the special German atmosphere of the Christmas markets, we loaded the car for a short trip with our two dogs, who are happy to travel around and off to Regensburg, about 2 a 2-and-a-half-hour drive from Prague.

We took a hotel room in the city center “Hotel Goldenes Kreuz”. Great location, even with a few parking spaces in the yard. The staff was very friendly, and the room was big and clean. The hotel is friendly to pets.

Exploring this beautiful city, visiting St. Peter Cathedral and Basilica of the Nativity of our Lady Regensburg, and stopping at almost all the Christmas markets on the way. Great atmosphere delicious food and hot wine.

We visited a few years ago, just before the Covid time the Regensburg market at the St. Emmeram’s Palace, the residence of the princely “Thurn und Taxis” family. It was something special. With very high expectations we walk to the palace to enjoy this year’s market. A long line at the entrance to pay almost 10 Euro entrance fee. With such a high entrance fee our expectations were even higher than before.

I must say I was very disappointed, the charm of the place disappeared, there was no special activity for the entrance fee we paid, just the same stands with food, beverages, and presents like at the other Christmas markets in the city that are for free and less crowded.

We had a very nice traditional German dinner at “Gravenreuther” ( pictures attached ). Dogs friendly and good service.

It was still early evening, just a few minutes after 8 pm, we wanted to have a few more drinks at the Christmas markets around. Then we found out they were closing at 8 pm. Walking around we saw a nice place to have a drink. “Orphee” – it’s a French restaurant with very special food, but we were full and tasted only the dessert menu: Crepe “Ballett” with Chocolate and nuts, served “flambe”, “Pavlova” cake, Crème Brulee and Mousse au Chocolate. It was a great end of the evening.

The next morning after a nice breakfast at the hotel we plan to do some shopping at the Donau-Einkaufszentrum, the biggest mall in Regensburg. We were very disappointed when we found out that Dogs are NOT allowed in like at other shopping centers in Germany.

We will travel again to Germany our neighbor beautiful country.

Ahead of next year’s European elections, mayors from over 200 large cities are calling with one voice for a new alliance to bring Europe into the urban century.

In a manifesto launched today, mayors in the Eurocities network cite recent challenges and propose future initiatives to help cities achieve climate neutrality, increase digital innovation while protecting digital human rights, and overcome social issues, such as the housing crisis, the integration of migrants and promoting health living.

“It is clear that a better Europe starts in cities,” says André Sobczak, Secretary General of Eurocities. “In recent years, cities have taken action to protect local people from the harsh effects of the cost of living, energy and Covid-19 crises, while also providing jobs, shelter and solidarity to refugees fleeing Russia’s war in Ukraine.”

“With 75% of people now living in cities, the next European Commission must create a strategic alliance with mayors to harness the vision and transformative power of city governments to develop strong, effective EU policies that will ensure a green, just and prosperous future for local people.”

In the Eurocities manifesto – A better Europe starts in cities – mayors call on European leaders to:

• Appoint an Urban Envoy in the European Commission to oversee all initiatives for cities and urban areas.
• Commit to at least a 90% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2040. They also demand EU support for cities to implement local adaptation plans for resilience against the extreme effects of climate change.
• Foster partnerships between local authorities and industry to successfully implement a European Green Deal Industrial Plan that benefits people through jobs and skills.
• Increase the ambition of the European Pillar of Social Rights and involve cities in its implementation.
• Support efforts to tackle Europe’s digital divide through a common EU tool for monitoring, measuring and comparing local and regional performances.
• Invest in reinforcing local administrations’ technical and administrative capacity and ensure more direct access to EU funding.

“Now more than ever, the future of Europe and its prosperity depends on the involvement of local governments,” says Burkhard Jung, President of Eurocities and Mayor of Leipzig.

“As momentum builds towards next year’s pivotal European elections, cities must have a central role in the EU decision-making process, leading the way on major challenges such as climate action.”

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

This weekend will mark 130 years since Czech composer Antonín Dvořák’s famous “New World Symphony” premiered at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The symphony was written during Dvořák’s time as director of the National Conservatory of America from 1892-1895, and documents his journey to America, while also expressing the longing he experienced for his home country. In the months leading up to the world premiere of the New World, the Dvořák family spent the summer of 1893 in a small town called Spillville in Iowa, where the composer also wrote other works. The Billy Clocks museum, which stands to this day in Spillville, commemorates their stay with musical paraphernalia.

See the rest here.

There are many reasons why people travel. One of them is important personalities and works related to them. In the Czech Republic, among other things, classical music has a long and rich tradition. It transcends the borders of the country and attracts tourists from all over the world. For example, to the Bohemian-Moravian border in the Pardubice region, to which one of the most important domestic composers, Bedřich Smetana, naturally belongs. On March 2nd 2024, it will be 200 years since he was born. It can therefore be expected that Smetana will be visited even more than before. Not only to Litomyšl, where he comes from, and where it will be possible to visit his native apartment again.

East Bohemian Litomyšl significantly influenced the artistic journey of Bedřich Smetana. It is held in the city every year international music festival Smetanova Litomyšl, which is considered one of the most important cultural events in the Czech Republic. The atmosphere of the event is enhanced by the exceptional locations of Litomyšle, whose castle grounds are on the UNESCO cultural heritage list. Classical music concerts are held at the castle and in the adjacent gardens, in sacred spaces, in Smetana’s house, etc.

“The Czech-Moravian border in the Pardubice region is a very specific area where the cultural influences of both historical countries intertwine. Here, traditional folk music mixes with classical music, attracting visitors looking for an authentic cultural experience. This is of key importance for the Czech economy, because according to the World Tourism Organization, cultural tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry, accounting for 40% of tourism. On average, 40% of foreign guests come to the Czech Republic in the context of cultural heritage,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Center – CzechTourism, adding: “According to our Institute of Tourism, 440,545 people came to hotels, boarding houses and apartments in the Pardubice region this year from January to September travelers, of which there were almost 385,000 residents and approx. 56,000 foreigners. Not only because guests from abroad spend roughly 3 times as much as Czechs on trips to the Czech Republic, it is also important to continue to attract foreign tourists. Currently, the 3rd part of this year’s main Unexpected Traditions campaign is running in various countries around the world. It focuses on winter and will continue until January next year. It can be seen by people in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Great Britain, the USA, the Netherlands and Sweden, and the theme is ski slopes, cross-country skiing and Christmas.”

At Christmas, people are usually closer to each other and return home. Here, too, a connection with Bedřich Smetana is offered, among his the most famous works include the six-volume cycle of symphonic poems “My Homeland”. The symbol of Czech national feeling and music as a means that appeals to people from all over the world are recognized throughout the Czech Republic. In addition, the year 2024 is designated as the Year of Czech Music. During it, a number of events will take place where the Czech musical heritage will be presented. The Pardubice Region perceives the given area very intensively.

“Places associated with Smetana, such as our Litomyšl, are popular tourist destinations where you can experience the life and work of this composer first hand. Although the city is known primarily for its Renaissance castle with unique sgraffito decoration, which was entered on the UNESCO list in 1999, you can follow in the footsteps of Bedřich Smetana to many corners,” says the director of the East Bohemia Destination Company, Alena Horáková, adding: “Whether it is a covered Smetana footbridge with a lift, which recently won the Czech Prize for Architect or regional museum, which also manages Bedřich Smetana’s birthplace. It is now being reconstructed so that it can once again welcome visitors on June 8, 2024 and provide an authentic experience of a period domestic environment, including the possibility to perceive the author’s work in peace and multimedia. And the castle is connected to this important composer, where, among other things, concerts are held as part of the Smetanova Litomyšl festival.”

Events commemorating the anniversary of Bedřich Smetana will take place in 2024 throughout the Czech Republic and around the world. Among other things, the composer spent several years in his youth in Gothenburg, Sweden, where he worked as a music teacher and conductor and thus contributed to the development of Swedish musical life. It can therefore be expected that he will be remembered in Scandinavia as well. The upcoming digital archive of Bedřich Smetana’s works, which will facilitate access to scores and letters, can help with this.

“Litomyšl is one of the most beautiful cities in the Czech Republic with a unique genius loci. A wonderful view of the local castle and the castle hill is offered by the viewpoint between the towers of the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross, and lovers of gastronomic experiences will also enjoy themselves in the original Litomysl restaurants and cafes,” says the director of the Czech-Moravian Border Destination Company Jiří Zámečník, adding: “We must not forget on Polička and another composer who is from our region – Bohuslav Martinů. He is also visited a lot, in addition to the permanent exhibition, the city museum there is currently showing the exhibition Dresses Made by Martinů, which introduces visitors to the changes in clothing during the less than 70 years of this composer’s life. You can also visit the birthplace of Bohuslav Martinů in the tower of the church of St. Jakub. In addition, concerts and festivals are held in Polička every year, which attract classical music lovers, and this will be the case in 2024 as well.”

Next year, the most significant news of the Czech-Moravian border will probably be the opening of new premises of the already mentioned Renaissance castle in Litomyšl, which is undergoing extensive reconstruction. In addition to completely restoring the roof, which was in a state of disrepair, and restoring the sgraffito facade, the UNESCO site will also open up a modern visitor center and new exhibits. They will focus on the architecture of the castle and the castle theater and the unique collection of historical backdrops. Year-round operation of the castle, which until now was closed from November to March, will be of great benefit to tourism in the region even outside the main tourist season. From next fall, tourists will be able to visit Bedřich Smetana’s birthplace, the castle cellar with Olbram Zoubek’s sculptures and the wax Heart for Václav Havel, and the Church of the Finding of the Holy Cross. In addition, he will offer a new fun game for children, which, in addition to the temple, will also introduce other important places on the castle hill.

Photo: Office of Czech Government

Delegates from around 200 countries gathered in Dubai over the last two weeks for the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference, this time billed as COP28. As the end of the conference approached, countries struggled to find an agreement that would satisfy all, and many were unhappy even after the deal was pushed through. What is Czechia’s view, and will the agreement change anything for the country?

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Jan Kaliba, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Masaryk University Brno

Czech archaeologists have announced a unique discovery. A team of experts from Brno have unearthed a bronze belt buckle from the early Middle Ages, depicting a snake devouring a frog-like creature. The find could shed more light on people’s spiritual life in the pre-Christian era, of which we know very little.

The extraordinary discovery of a bronze belt buckle dating back to the eighth century was made by archaeologists from Masaryk University in Brno near the town of Břeclav in South Moravia. It is the same site where an animal rib with an inscription engraved in ancient Germanic runes was recently discovered.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Source: ČT24

Thirty five years ago, then French president Francois Mitterrand met with a group of Czech dissidents, led by Václav Havel.

Mitterrand was the first French president to visit Prague since the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He set down a firm condition for the visit- that Czechoslovakia’s communist leaders would allow him to meet with dissidents.

Mitterrand made public this condition in an interview for Czechoslovak Radio on the eve of his visit. “I will meet with various representatives of your society, including representatives of public life and including members of the opposition. I will express myself freely and with the respect due to the state and the people,” the French president said.

See the rest here.

Source: Český rozhlas

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

The travelling ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition, which features original items from the sets of James Bond movies going all the way back to the 1960s, has come to Prague from Brussels, where it was a huge success, receiving over 100,000 visitors. Displaying 75 means of transport driven, flown or ridden by Bond in the series, many of the exhibits bear the authentic marks and traces of the stunts they featured in during filming.

Few things say ‘James Bond’ more than the iconic modes of transportation he used to get around in the movies, and this exhibition has them all: cars, motorcycles, boats, planes, helicopters – even the cello case that Timothy Dalton used as a sleigh in the legendary scene with Maryam d’Abo in the 1987 movie The Living Daylights.

Meg Simmonds, Archive Director at Eon Productions Ltd, the company that has produced all 25 official Bond films, says that for her, the Bond cars encapsulate many of the qualities that have made the franchise successful.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Alžběta Havlová, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: Pavel Blatný, Czech Radio

The Czech Society for Ornithology has announced that the Bird of the Year for 2024 is the black redstart. Although the small sooty-coloured passerine bird is a common species in this part of the world, its migration behaviour has started to change as a result of the climate crisis. I spoke to one of our leading ornithologist Petr Voříšek:

“Black redstart is a common species, usually in urban areas, but also in the mountains. It is originally a species typical for hilly or stony slopes in the open landscape. The cities and villages and towns resemble that kind of habitat, so the black redstart is a nice example of a species benefiting from landscape urbanisation.”

“The bird is more or less the size of a house sparrow. Its colour is a combination of black and grey, and the male is a bit more colourful, with an orange tail. What’s interesting about this species is that young males are very similar to the females. This is the way to reduce the competition. They simply pretend they are females and they are not attacked so aggressively by older males.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

On Sunday, December 3, the Prague Zoo will light its Christmas tree on the Veselovského meadow. Visitors can look forward to a parade, nativity scene, Christmas carols performed by a children’s choir, as well as special guests – actor Ondřej Vetchý and a dance couple from the ongoing StarDance competition series of pastry chef Josef Maršálk and his dance partner Adriana Mašková.

From 3:30 p.m., entry for visitors will be a symbolic 50 CZK.

The meeting for the parade to the tree will be at 4:30 p.m. at the Education Center. Throughout the day, there will also be traditional Advent workshops focused on making your own Advent wreaths and Christmas decorations. Production takes place in hourly blocks from 11 am, 12 pm, 1 pm and 2 pm. Due to capacity reasons, it is necessary to order in advance on the zoo’s website: https://www.zoopraha.cz/aktualne/akce-v-zoo-praha/14451-adventni-dilny-3..

Main program:

4:30 p.m. Meeting point for the procession to the tree from the Education Center on Veselovského louka
16.50 Christmas carols performed by the Osmikvítek children’s choir
17.00 Welcome and Christmas greetings from the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek, and an interview with actor Ondřej Vetchý, confectioner Josef Maršálek, and dancer Adriana Mašková
17.15 Lighting of the Christmas tree
17. 20 Christmas carols performed by the Osmikvítek children’s choir

Visitors to the Prague Zoo will be able to admire a mature Caucasian fir tree and a themed nativity scene, to which a new animal will traditionally be added.

Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo

Photo: National Museum in Prague

Some 135 years ago, on November 28, 1888, the 22-metre skeleton of a fin whale went on show in Prague, the first chance the city’s citizens had to experience such a sight.

In 1885 natural scientist Antonín Frič, the head of the zoological and paleontological collections of the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia (today’s National Museum), was interested in buying the skeleton of a fin whale caught off the coast of Norway.

The institution didn’t have the financial wherewithal for such a purchase, so Frič and his brother raised the funds via a public collection.

See the rest here.

Author: Klára Stejskalová

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Jazz pianist and composer Emil Viklický, who has just turned 75, has led his own groups as well working with some major domestic and international names in the genre: Ema Olmerová, Iva Bittová, Bill Frisell, Miroslav Vitouš and many more. He even did a project with Václav Havel. Viklický, originally a maths graduate, is known for his connection to folk music and has also worked in the modern classical field and composed operas and film and TV scores. The Czech jazz great spoke about his colourful career on a visit to our studios.

I presume pretty much all jazz pianists must begin as children doing classical piano? Was that your case?

“In a way, yeah, because there was a piano at home – a grand piano. So I was banging on it.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Michal Šafařík, iROZHLAS.cz

It might be a mutually beneficial arrangement: installing solar panels in fields where agricultural production takes place could help both the crops and electricity production. A team from Mendel University is testing out the idea in a vineyard in Moravia.

In a field in South Moravia, farmers are planting around 1500 Donauriesling and Rhine Riesling grapevines. But this is no ordinary vineyard. Above the vines rises a metal structure on which solar panels are installed.

Generally, solar panels in Czechia are not installed in fields where crops grow. But this is an experiment in agrovoltaics – a portmanteau of agriculture and photovoltaics (the conversion of light into electricity) – using the same area of land to obtain both solar energy and agricultural products, which could help farmers with energy self-sufficiency.

At the moment, legally speaking, solar panels cannot be installed on agricultural land in Czechia. To get around this legislative hurdle, the team of scientists from Mendel University. in cooperation with experts from the private sector. are planting their vineyard in an unusual place, says Pavel Kotásek from the Moravian oil company.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Michal Šafařík, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: Salvation Army

The Salvation Army in Czechia operates year round, providing various services to those experiencing homelessness in the country. Since the colder temperatures have started this week, the organization is expecting an increase in demand from its clients, as director of social services at the Salvation Army Jitka Klánová explained to me.

“Even though this year has been considerably warmer than last season, we can see that our services are in high demand. For example, last month at our day centre in Prague, we had between 150 and 160 visitors every day. Now in November that the temperatures have dropped, we see that every day we provide services for 200 to 230 people, so the numbers are rising, and the temperatures have not even dropped below zero.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Prague’s Main Train Station is in for a quite stunning transformation. A Danish studio has just won the competition to overhaul it, with a design that includes a huge wooden, canopy-like structure at the front of the check-in building.

At Prague’s CAMP architecture centre on Monday evening, the Danish architectural studio Henning Larsen was announced – from a shortlist of three – as the winner of a competition to remodel what it calls Prague Central Station.

It will see a major overhaul of both the main station building itself and the surrounding area. The most striking change will be a large, open wooden structure stretching from the check-in building over part of the adjacent park, whose grim reputation earned it the nickname Sherwood.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Jiří Šeda

The English-language Metro Comedy Club in Prague’s Žižkov neighbourhood has become a haven for expats and Czechs in the city who want to stop by for a laugh. I caught up with its leading artist Kristýna Haklová to talk about the club, and her comedy journey.

“I am the co-founder of Metro Comedy Club in Žižkov. We are the first purposefully built stand-up comedy club in the Czech Republic, and we cater mainly to expats. Most of our shows run from Wednesday-Saturday and are in English. We host a lot of comedians from the local scene, but also travelling comedians from all over.”

Wow, incredible. So it’s the first club stand-up comedy club in Czechia?

“Traditionally in the Czech speaking or Czech language stand-up scene, there is no comedy club that would just have stand-up comedy as its main thing, or let alone only thing. There is one being built in Ostrava that will open soon. But in Prague we are pretty unique in that way.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Michal Kamaryt, ČTK

Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala received his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico on Friday. Mr. Fico, who is in Prague for his first official foreign visit since his election, told reporters that the two countries have similar views on most issues, with the exception of arms deliveries to Ukraine.

Among the topics discussed by the Slovak and Czech prime ministers were energy, transport, security and defence. Speaking at a press conference after the meeting, Mr. Fico said Slovakia was fully committed to EU and NATO membership and was ready to fulfil its obligations.

He also welcomed Mr. Fiala’s readiness to call a meeting of the Visegrad Four countries after the formation of the new Polish government, adding that the current format of the V4 is stalled.

The two politicians agreed on continuing the tradition of joint meetings of the Czech and Slovak governments. The next join session is due to take place in Prague in the spring of next year.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Over 200 elderly people volunteer in 130 kindergartens around Czechia in an NGO programme that aims to bridge the generation gap by having the old read to the young. And it appears to be mutually beneficial for young and old alike.

Bringing together the youngest and oldest generations is the main aim of this programme organised by the non-profit organisation Mezi námi (Between Us). The programme has proven enormously successful with both young and old, but since it started in 2015, it hasn’t always been plain sailing – particularly when the covid pandemic hit, as Tereza Tichá, head of the Brno branch of the programme, describes.

“Our program in Brno was in danger of falling apart. We had about 15 volunteers there at the time, which shrunk to about seven. People were afraid, kindergartens were afraid and not very interested in participating.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Lucie Fotrová, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

November 25, 2023 – Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová and President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil visited Ukraine. Together with high-ranking representatives of other European parliaments, at the invitation of the Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk, they took part in a solemn meeting commemorating the anniversary of the Ukrainian famine. Last year, the Chamber of Deputies already adopted a resolution commemorating the genocide committed by the Stalinist regime against the Ukrainian population. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also received the participants of the meeting in Kyiv.

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová and President of the Senate Miloš Vystrčil visited Kyiv today at the head of a parliamentary delegation. They attended a commemorative meeting on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the famine in Ukraine at the invitation of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Ruslan Stefanchuk.

“What happened here in 1932 and 1933 was nothing more than an attempt to eliminate the Ukrainian nation. It was not the first or last time in history that the Russians tried to achieve this cynical goal. I am proud that both chambers of the Czech Parliament clearly and openly called the Holodomor what it really was – an act of genocide of the Ukrainian nation,” said the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, in her contribution to the Ukrainian legislature.

The Chamber of Deputies, which together with its chairwoman was represented in Kyiv by the Chairman of the Security Committee Pavel Žáček, already adopted a resolution in April last year to commemorate the genocide of the Ukrainian nation during the famine organized by the Stalinist regime. An artificially created famine took place in the early 1930s in parallel with an intensive Russification campaign and repression of Ukrainian elites. According to the data of the Ukrainian Famine Museum, there were up to seven million people in the territory of the then Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic and another three million Ukrainians living in other regions of the Soviet Union.

“The war that is still going on is another attempt to liquidate the Ukrainian nation. However, it is also an attempt to break the spirit of the entire democratic community. All of us present here and the nations we represent have a moral obligation to do our utmost for our victory. The alternative is the victory of dictatorship, destruction, and hatred. In this context, I would like to express my admiration for the brave Ukrainian people. It is they who bear the heaviest part of the burden of responsibility for the future of a free Europe, and we must not stop supporting them in every possible way in their efforts,” added the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

The participants of the day-long commemorative meeting, which included, among others, legislators from Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Poland, and Estonia, were also received by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi. “Mr. President and Chairman Stefančuk repeatedly expressed their thanks for all the Czech-Ukrainian cooperation to date, as well as for the recently successfully organized parliamentary summit of the International Crimean Platform in Prague,” concluded Chairman Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

On November 28, 2023 – The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, spoke at the influential Berlin international conference on foreign policy, the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum. In her contribution, she focused on the current changes and challenges of the world order and appealed for the continuation of coordinated support for Ukraine’s defense against Russian aggression. She ended her working trip around Germany with a meeting with federal legislators.

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, spoke in a panel debate as part of the professional international conference Berlin Foreign Policy Forum. The debate focused on urgent foreign-political issues related to current changes in the international order.

“Steps that we previously considered impossible in our conditions were accomplished within a few months. We managed to significantly reduce our dependence on Russian raw materials. We also began providing Ukraine with sophisticated weapons systems and an unprecedented amount of financial aid. No less important is that the EU has decided to grant Ukraine and Moldova the status of a candidate country and that the accession process in the Western Balkans has been accelerated after long years of stagnation,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, in her contribution.

Since its establishment in 2011, the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum has become one of the most influential platforms in the field of foreign policy. Every year, it brings high-ranking politicians, government representatives, diplomats, academics, and journalists to the German capital to discuss foreign policy challenges for Europe.

“However, after the initial success, we seem to be running out of steam. I fear that we have become somewhat complacent and have begun to believe that the conflict in Ukraine is manageable and no longer poses an existential threat. As a result, we are not supplying as many weapons and ammunition as the resisting Ukrainians need,” said the speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and added: “I returned from Kyiv a few days ago. The situation is really serious there. We witnessed the most massive drone attack since the beginning of last year’s aggression. Ukrainians urgently need our support – political, financial, and military. This is where Germany, the Czech Republic, and other like-minded countries in the region should coordinate and set an example for everyone else.”

At the end of her two-day working trip to Germany, the speaker of the House of Representatives also met with a group of legislators from the Bundestag of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Czech President Petr Pavel is among the 28 most influential people who will co-determine the character of Europe in 2024, according to the Brussels-based website Politico, which describes him as a hawk on Russia and China, a supporter of Ukraine and promoter of NATO enlargement. Others in the top 28 are French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. I asked political scientist Vladimíra Dvořáková how she perceives the Czech president’s listing.

See the rest here.

Photo: Urbanstructure.xyz

When one thinks of art, the first place the brain goes is not typically finance, specifically NFTs, or blockchains. But a new exhibit called Urban Structures, featuring the work of Czech artist Vratislav Pecka, also known as PosterLad, is merging the two. Twenty-five posters, all featuring famous Czech architectural landmarks, will become a unique NFT, where the buyer also becomes part-owner of the art, and generates income from each additional sale of the actual poster. I spoke to two of PosterLad’s collaborators, Jan Svoboda and Martin Ježek, ahead of Wednesday’s opening.

[Jan] “He’s inspired by the Bauhaus style, and works a lot with shapes, and also Warhol Style pop art, these two things together really shape his work. PosterLad is actually my friend from childhood, we met ten or 15 years ago and recently we discussed making some NFT’s. We thought about architecture, because I am originally an architect. PosterLad was previously based in the Netherlands, and he wanted to come back to Prague. So we decided we would combine Bauhaus style, pop-art, and Czech architecture; these are the basics of the exhibition.”

See the rest here.

Author:Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Prague’s Motol hospital, the largest healthcare facility in the country, is working on introducing a voicebot to assists patients with their phone inquiries and even manage their medical schedules. The voicebot, which will speak in 60 languages, should help take the pressure off overburdened medical staff.

Whether we like it or not, Artificial Intelligence will increasingly become part of our lives. One area where it might be useful is the chronically understaffed medical sector.

Patients calling Prague’s Motol University Hospital to ask about their planned surgery or reschedule their appointment may soon be confronted with an artificial voice.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Karolína Burdová

A region that got rich on coal and steel and nowadays attracts visitors to its industrial monuments and mountains. It is also the birthplace of Sigmund Freud and Leoš Janáček.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Czech Television

He started his career working for the Czech News Agency, or ČTK, as we Czechs call it, first as a regional correspondent in Central Bohemia, later in the central newsroom. In the early 1990s, after the Velvet Revolution that saw the fall of Communism in Czechoslovakia, Ivan was selected as a correspondent in London.

Here, he continued his journalistic endeavors, bringing insightful reporting to Czech audiences through his work with Czech Public Television in London. His reports from this vibrant city offered a unique perspective to his audience back home, bridging cultures and communities.

In the latter part of his career, Ivan Kytka joined the Czech Section of the BBC World Service, a prestigious platform where, I am proud to say, I was his colleague for a few years. In 2006, however, the BBC World Service made a significant shift in its broadcasting strategy, which included the closure of several language services, including the Czech Section.

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Bronislava Janečková, Czech Radio

The Queen’s Court and Green Mountain Manuscripts, discovered in the early 19th century, were considered seminal texts during the Czech National Revival. Thought to provide evidence of the earliest medieval writing in the Czech language, they were regarded as founding texts for the nation and acquired an almost sacred status. It was only 70 years later that they were shown to be fakes – although the people generally regarded to have been the forgers never confessed to writing them.

Recently I spoke to David L. Cooper, Associate Professor of Slavic Languages & Literatures at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the author of a new book, The Czech Manuscripts: Forgery, Translation, and National Myth, which explores the controversy surrounding the manuscripts from a fresh perspective.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Vít Šimánek, ČTK

A green jacket worn by Václav Havel during key moments of the Velvet Revolution sold at auction in Prague at the weekend for CZK 2.76 million. The starting price for the garment, which for instance he had on during a mass demonstration at Letná Plain on November 25, 1989, was CZK 200,000.

Source:ČTK

Photo: Warhorse

With over five million copies sold worldwide, Kingdom Come: Deliverance has a fan base literally all over the globe. Many of its fans come to Czechia to seek out landmarks they know from the game. For Warhorse, the most important thing is the accurate depiction of historical events, places, and clothing as well as the knightly battles. “I think the most important thing in our game is the freedom we offer our players,” says Martin Klíma, executive producer of Warhorse Studio.

See the rest here.

Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: Roman Lunin, People in Need

A recent survey by the Kantar.cz agency indicates that Czechs’ support for Ukraine in the war with Russia is slowly waning. According to the results, 51 percent of Czechs are no longer in favour of continued military support for the country, up from 36 percent just over a year and a half ago. To learn more about what’s behind the dwindling support , I spoke with Petr Drbohlav, director for Eastern Partnerships at the charity NGO People in Need.

“People in Need launched an appeal in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine back in 2022, and there was an enormous, unprecedented response from Czech society. We were able to fundraise more than 90 million Euros since then, and there were some points when there was increased societal interest in the conflict, around autumn and winter 2022, when the large scale attacks on Ukraine were happening.

“Another example of increased interest was when the Kakhovka dam breach happened earlier this year. But now we can see that the interest in the appeal has disappeared. It’s not all because of war fatigue, although I am sure that’s a part of it, but it’s also other events happening elsewhere – be it the Azerbaijan takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh, or the Hamas-Israel conflict.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Czech Television

Petr Čech, the 41 year old former goalkeeper for Chelsea and Arsenal, had his debut Sunday night with the ice hockey club the Belfast Giants. Čech had more than 600 appearances in Premier League football before changing sports to ice hockey and playing goalie for the fourth tier club the Guildford Phoenix’s in 2019. František Kuna, sports reporter at Radiožurnál told me more.

“He was in the net five or six years ago in Brno, there was an exhibition game for the final game of Martin Havlát’s career, and Petr Čech was somewhere in Great Britain in the morning for football, and then came to Brno in the evening for the hockey game. I saw him for the first time in hockey equipment, without his classic football helmet. I was really surprised when he stood up in the net and looked like a man who has been doing the sport for many years. Maybe not as good as the guys who have been doing it for longer at the professional level, but I really didn’t expect that he could do it at the professional level in Great Britain.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Post Bellum

The Czech Radio sound archives are among the richest in the world and through them we can travel in time to many moments in Czech and Czechoslovak history. This is the first of two special programmes in our series In Their Own Words that take us back to the dramatic year of 1968. The year began with hope, with the reforms of the Prague Spring, but these were brought to a bitter end by the Soviet-led invasion in August of the same year. Hundreds of archive recording bring the drama of that year to life.

The reforms of the Prague Spring did not happen overnight. The political thaw began at the beginning of the 1960s, bringing with it as sense of openness and optimism. This was reflected in many fields of cultural life, including radio.

The satirical cabaret of Prague’s Semafor Theatre featured quite regularly on the airwaves. As the political atmosphere relaxed, the two stars of the cabaret, jazzmen and actors Jiřý Suchý and Jiří Šlitr found their way onto the cultural mainstream. Despite several risqué jokes at the expense of the regime – in the sketch featured here another famous member of the Semafor team Miroslav Horníček jokes that he will only use foreign words if he is paid in hard currency – Czechoslovak Radio was quite happy to broadcast Semafor’s New Year’s Eve show on December 31, 1967. The show includes an amusing rendering of Strangers in the Night by Jiří Šlitr, sung in deliberately dreadful English.

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Author: David Vaughan

Bates’s snakehead is a new addition to the Prague Zoo’s snake collection. There is only a very limited number of individuals in European breeding and at the same time many people interested in its breeding. Getting a young couple is all the more valuable. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

In the Prague Zoo, the rarely bred Bates dogs can now be seen. These snakes, emerald green on top and lemon yellow on the bottom, inhabited the Terrarium pavilion.

A delicate species native to the Amazonian lowlands, it boasts the proportionally longest teeth among non-venomous snakes. His likeness with the inhabitant of the neighboring exhibit, an unrelated green python that comes from the opposite end of the world, is also fascinating. At the Prague Zoo, visitors can now see this phenomenon – the so-called convergent evolution – with their own eyes.

“The male is called Uatuma and the female is called Coari. It is a young couple, whose acquisition from an experienced herpetologist is extremely valuable for us,” says reptile breeder Vojtěch Víta. “We planted the terrarium exclusively with such types of plants that are also found in the natural habitats of these canids in the Amazon. It is an arboreal species of snake, so visitors will definitely find our pair in the branches at the top of the exhibit.”

When moving from the background of the zoo to the pavilion, it was appropriate to measure and weigh the dogs. It is advisable to limit the handling of such conservative species of snakes to a minimum, therefore every suitable situation should be used for the control inspection. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

They got their bizarre name from the famous Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus, the creator of traditional botanical and zoological nomenclature. Based on the shape of the head and fangs, which resemble those of a dog, he called the first described canine with the species name caninus (= canine), which later became the Czech generic name.

The species name “Bates” was given to this attractive species in honor of the British biologist Henry W. Bates, who was the first to draw attention to the mimicry of non-poisonous animals that resemble poisonous species in their appearance in order to deter enemies. Even the Bates’ sardine is a good example of this. In its appearance, it imitates the poisonous bush beetle Bothrops bilineatus.

Probably the most remarkable fact that visitors will notice when walking through the Terrarium in the lower part of the zoo is the already mentioned figure with a green python in the neighboring terrarium. Although dog-heads inhabit South America and the latter in northern Australia and New Guinea, to the layman’s eyes they are indistinguishable.

The figure with the green python (right) is remarkable. Not only the appearance or the environment they inhabit are similar, but also the way of life and even the typical elliptical resting position. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

“The two species are separated by 70 million years of separate evolution, yet they are similar not only in appearance but also in their way of life. Adaptation to almost the same environment or food caused an almost identical development. We call this phenomenon convergent evolution, and it can be seen to varying degrees in other animals as well: for example, in armadillos and crustaceans or our hedgehogs and Australian sea urchins,” explains Víta.

While the green python is a relatively commonly bred species in zoos and hobby farms, Bates’s pythons are now exhibited by only three other institutions in the entire EU, besides the Prague Zoo.

Photo: Lukáš Hurník, Czech Radio

The renowned Czech jazz pianist and composer Emil Viklický turns 75 on November 23. In connection with that milestone, a folk-based LP he brought out in the early 1990s is being re-released.

After earning a degree in maths in Czechoslovakia, Olomouc-born Viklický got into the Berklee College of Music in Boston in the latter half of the 1970s. Since his return to Prague the keyboard maestro has led his own groups and collaborated with a vast number of Czech and international musicians, including guitarist Bill Frissel.

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Photo: Festival svobody/Gymnázium Jana Nerudy

How should you teach children about the tumultuous events of 1989 in a way that conveys the enormous gravity of what happened without being too heavy-handed? And how much do kids nowadays actually know about it? Is it even still relevant? To find out, I spoke to some Czech teenagers and teachers about their thoughts, knowledge and experiences surrounding November 17.

“We do a lot of talking and the teachers really care about what we think, what interests us and what we want to know about the topic. A lot of the time we have articles that we talk about and analyse. It’s not really about memorising, it’s more about talking. I really like it that way, because I think history is not about memorising dates, but really having all the connections between things.”

18-year-old Emma talking about her experience of learning about the events surrounding November 17, 1989, forever imprinted into Czech history as the date that the Velvet Revolution began, eventually bringing down the totalitarian regime that had held onto power for over 40 years. At her prestigious grammar school, Gymnazium Jana Nerudy in Prague’s affluent Mala Straná district, the students engage with, discuss and debate the topic, even bringing in their own particular interests, as confirmed by her classmate, Tobiáš.

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Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Zuzana Bönisch

Prague hosted a summit of the presidents of the countries within the Czech presidency of the Visegrad Group countries. In addition to President Petr Pavel, Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová attended the meeting, Hungarian President Katalin Nováková and Polish President Andrzej Duda. The main topics of the meeting were the strengthening of contacts between the citizens of the V4 countries, the use of the International Visegrad Fund, and joint infrastructure projects, such as high-speed railways.

The Czech Presidency of the V4 began on July 1, 2023 and will last for one year. Its motto is “V4 for citizens”. It follows on from the Slovak presidency and its efforts to return to the roots of Visegrad cooperation.

“Even if the opinions of V4 representatives change over time, we remain neighbors and our task is therefore to cultivate good neighborly relations. Although we may have different opinions on many issues, it is important that we know each other’s positions and know where the intersections are for our cooperation and where not. This summit was also important in that,” said President Pavel at the joint press conference of the four heads of state.

Photo: Zuzana Bönisch

The presidents also discussed the V4+ projects, which target the countries of the Western Balkans, the Eastern Partnership, and the consequences of Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. On ways of supporting Ukraine presidents and female presidents debated at a joint lunch.

“The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary are located in the center of Europe. Naturally, we also solve similar geopolitical issues. Russian aggression affects us all. Support for Ukraine is therefore essential for our security. At the same time is a naturally human step. Russia must bear responsibility for the human lives lost and the damage done in Ukraine. We must therefore resolutely continue to provide comprehensive support to Ukraine and its citizens,” said President Pavel.

After freezing Russian state-owned property on Czech territory, Czechia is now pushing for restrictions on movement for Russian diplomats within the Schengen space. Prague argues that Russian agents working undercover as diplomats greatly benefit from the EU’s borderless zone.

The government’s new security strategy clearly points to Russia and its imperialist ambitions as the biggest security threat for Czechia in the present day. And the country’s diplomacy has consistently moved to curb Russian influence on Czech territory in cutting Czechia’s dependence on Russian crude oil and gas, enforcing EU and national sanctions against individuals and companies linked to the Putin regime and defending itself against the hybrid war that Russia is waging against Western democracies.

Last week the government announced its decision to place another legal entity on the country’s national sanctions list – a Russian company, which is in charge of managing Russian assets abroad. The move is to guarantee that income generated by the company in this country will not be used to finance the war in Ukraine, and Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský says he would like to see such a move implemented across the EU.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Jan Bumba

New research from the HateFree Culture group indicates that over the last ten years, Czech attitudes towards minorities living in the country have improved, especially towards Roma people. But while many Czechs are now ready to accept Romanies as co-workers, they stop short of welcoming them into the family circle, a symptom of the persisting ‘us’, and ‘them’ mentality that HateFree Culture chairman Lukáš Houdek explained to me.

“Roma have been one of the most negatively perceived groups in society in the Czech Republic for a long time. Even in 2015 during the refugee crisis when hate towards Muslims was quite high amongst Czechs, the Roma were still the most hated group in society. I think it comes from the history – because Romanies have always been perceived negatively because of their social and living conditions, and because they often lived on the side-lines of society and were socially excluded.

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Dark Bark Drama

Prague’s D21 theatre will be hosting a special event on Wednesday night: three original radio plays, performed live on stage with actors accompanied by music and sound effects. One of the people behind the project, produced by Dark Bark Drama and Radio Tuna, is Prague-based British writer and director Steen Agro.

“I am a Brit living in Prague who has had a long fascination with radio ads and radio stories since the BBC production of the Hitchhiker’s Guide, which I listened to as a kid. I eventually ended up becoming a feature director and screenwriter, and right before the pandemic, I had the idea to create a live radio event, but Covid got in the way.

“A few years after that, I met up with Spencer Derr, a Californian living here in Prague, who along with Kierstan Devoe and Olga Mikulska, had set up something called Dark Bark Drama, a non-profit company that works with a creative writing group of playwrights in Prague.

“They were actually doing a script in hand performances, with a couple of actors sitting on stage with the script in hand and reading it, performing the work that way. I went to see a couple of their shows and I thought it was pretty similar to what I had in mind having actors in front of mics. So I approached Spencer and he said: let’s try that, so that’s what we did.”

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: European Commission

EU countries will have to implement a directive that requires firms to disclose the salaries of employees by 2025. The move is intended to improve gender equality, and aims to eliminate gaps in wages between men and women. While some welcome the new legislation, it has been met with some pushback here in Czechia. I spoke with Anna Kotková of the Gender Studies Centre in Prague to learn more about the legislation and its potential impacts.

“I think that this new EU directive is a good tool to make employers focus on pay transparency, especially with the same positions. In the Czech Republic, we have a pay gap of 10 or 11 percent for the same positions, which is not good, because there is no objective reason to pay women less for the same work, so we definitely welcome this tool.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Czech Radio

The New Stage of the Czech National Theatre opened to the public on November 20, 1983 with a performance of Josef Kajetán Tyl’s The Strakonice Bagpiper.

The Brutalist-style building was designed by architect Karel Prager, who is also responsible for what is now the New Building of the National Museum, formerly the Federal Parliament.

The massive glass cube, which is placed right next to the neo-Renaissance National Theatre, has always sharply divided public opinion, with many people criticising it for lacking respect for its environment.

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Photo: Stanislav Heloňa, ČTK

A Christmas market has already started on the square Horní náměstí in the Moravian city of Olomouc. A 14-metre high tree towers above the stands and other attractions.

Source: ČTK

The number of children who require mental health intervention is on the rise here in Czechia. Forty percent of ninth graders show moderate signs of depression, and last year data from the Institute of Health indicated that there were over 4,000 hospitalizations of patients under the age of 19 in acute beds, almost twice as many as 10 years ago. Jana Karasová, a reporter with iRozhlas.cz who has covered this story, explained the situation to me

“For a long time, we have known that in the Czech Republic there is a shortage of psychiatrists, but what has happened in the last few years, is that there has been an increase in patient numbers, especially when it comes to teenagers and children. Finally, this year we have the first survey of the well-being of ninth graders, and it proved that every third teenager or ninth grader would benefit from professional support or help, and that 40 percent of them have signs of depression or anxiety.

“When it comes to the numbers of psychiatrists in hospitals but also in ordinary care, there are new numbers released by the office of Czech health information. It counts not only the number of every individual doctor, but also how these doctors are employed. Even though we see that there could be about 150 doctors focussed on psychology for children and teenagers, when we look at the employment numbers, there are only about 74 of them.”

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Author: Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová visited members of the human rights and educational organization Memorial. After their ban on activities in the Russian Federation, they found refuge in the Prague residence of the Speakers of the House of Representatives last fall. From there, they continue their professional work and plan other related activities.

On Tuesday 21.11.2023 the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, visited representatives of the renowned historical, educational, and human rights organization Memorial. They have been working in the House of Representatives villa since last fall. Memorial has a long-term professional focus on research into the Soviet repressive system and its current reflection. Because of its activities, it was banned by the Russian authorities and its members faced persecution, bullying, and severe persecution in their homeland.

“Researchers from Memorial systematically contribute to illuminating the dark sides of the past and present of the Russian totalitarian regime. Their work was even awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Our doors are still open, literally,” said the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

Up to eight employees of the organization currently work in the building of the First Republic functionalist villa from the 1930s in Prague’s Ladronka. The period of use of the premises was originally agreed upon with the leadership of the Chamber for six months. Concerning mutual interest, it was then extended after their expiration. The Memorial organization has committed to cover the costs of using the facility, most of which are energy and maintenance expenses. On the other hand, the object as such is provided to them free of charge.

“I am really glad that the villa of the Presidents of the House of Representatives, which has been uninhabited for a long time, has found a really meaningful use and has become a second home for those who are helping to build Russian civil society from exile,” added the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

“Thanks to our stay here, we manage to expand the Memorial’s museum collection. For example, last week I had the opportunity to acquire a unique violin handmade in the gulag, which the descendants of its author took to Dresden, from where we obtained it after five years of negotiations,” said Irina Ostrovskaja, the Memorial’s archivist and documentarian, during the meeting.

“Recently, we managed to publish several books, for example, a collection of documents about the surveillance of Andrei Sakharov by the KGB or a narrative catalog of our exhibition about women in the Gulag. This is also the result of the fact that we have the opportunity to devote ourselves fully to our work thanks to this background in Prague,” added Boris Bělenkin, director of the Memorial library.

“A huge thank you goes to Markéta Pekarová Adamová for her generous offer for the Memorial, which was not completely taken for granted at the time of the Russian war against Ukraine. Our Russian colleagues are aware of this, and I am personally pleased, for example, by the recent meeting of Memorial human rights activists with their Ukrainian counterparts. This took place in the Prague residence. Such meetings are very rare, although the need for them is great. In addition to the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, I would also like to thank my colleagues from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Interior, who since last year have been welcoming the stays of Russian civil and human rights activists in the Czech Republic,” concluded Štěpán Černoušek, chairman of Gulag.cz and Memorial ČR.

Photo: Eva Kézrová, Czech Radio

Scientists in Prague have been measuring the amount of dust that enters people’s lungs on a busy road in the city centre. To do that, they used a special mobile cell incubator with actual human lung cells. The results confirmed that traffic pollution poses a serious threat to human health.

Exposure to air pollutants is associated with all kinds of health problems, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or lung cancer. It also affects other organs, including the central nervous system, resulting for instance in an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

To see what happens to human lungs when exposed to traffic pollution, Scientists from the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences carried out measurements on a busy road in Prague’s district of Holešovice, where more than 90,000 cars pass each day.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Eva Kézrová

According to national statistics, as many as 14% of Czech children experience domestic violence directly or indirectly at some point in their lives and many are left permanently scarred. Shockingly, experts say it often takes up to six years for a child experiencing domestic violence to get help. And when they do, the support network is not what it should be.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Lucie Korcová

Photo: Vít Šimánek, ČTK

Former dissident and Charter 77 signatory Jiří Gruntorád is on the fourth day of his hunger strike outside the seat of the Czech government in Prague. He is calling for the labour and social affairs minister, Marian Jurečka, to resign over his treatment of ex-dissidents who now live on extremely small pensions.

Jiří Gruntorád is particularly upset about a letter that a fellow former dissident, Karel Soukup, received from the labour ministry, rejecting his request for a pension recalculation that would have allowed him to receive the nationwide average pension. In it, Soukup was allegedly advised to try applying for additional social benefits. Gruntorád says that Soukup receives a monthly pension of CZK 6000 (about EUR 250).

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Authors: Anna Fodor, Jana Karasová,

Sources: ČTK,Český rozhlas

Czech-produced Hot Chip Challenge crisps are marketed as extremely hard to consume. Now domestic authorities have halted sales of the chili pepper-based product, following alarm bells in other EU states.

Single Hot Chip Challenge crisps are sold in coffin-shaped boxes and come with taglines such as Have you got what it takes? and Can you handle the heat?

Consumers receive rubber gloves for handling the crisps, which resemble scorched nachos, with some posting videos of themselves taking on the “challenge” on social media.

Indeed, the producers’ own website features promo videos depicting young men clearly suffering after popping the uncommonly hot snack in their mouths.

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Author: Ian Willoughby