AuthorMartin Hladík

On average, every Czech throws away roughly 70 kilograms of food a year. In an effort to get them to stop, economists have now calculated just how much money they are throwing away.

Food banks are close to empty and surveys suggest that many families are having trouble making ends meet, yet the problem of food squandering has not gone away. Vaclav Pitucha head of one of the country’s food banks says food waste remains a widespread problem.

“Food is still being wasted at all levels, from food producers to retailers and chains, distributors and restaurants. But it is households that account for the largest share of food waste. Naturally, this has far-reaching impacts. It is an economic problem, an environmental problem and a social problem as well.”

Read more here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Iva Hadj Moussa

Photo: Andrea Brtníková, Czech Radio

For 85 years, a monument in Orlová to the fallen Czech soldiers of the 1919 Polish–Czechoslovak War has been a plain list of names on slabs of stone. But it used to be dominated by a huge statue of a Silesian eagle with soldiers at its feet, which was torn down by Polish troops after the 1938 Munich Agreement. Now a five-metre copy of the statue is being crafted and will soon adorn the monument in the east Moravian town once again.

The statue of the eagle, which from old photographs looks like it is sitting proudly atop a rock and looking out regally into the distance, was torn down by Polish troops in 1938 following the Munich Agreement, 10 years after it was constructed and almost 20 years after the war which it commemorated.

See the rest here.

Source: Brno Expat Centre

‘Giving birth in Brno’, ‘Five easy tips for passing the A2 Czech test’, and ‘How to leave your lover but stay in the Czech Republic’ – those are some of the kinds of workshops you can expect at the Brno Expat Fair on Saturday 22 April, along with a whole host of stands and exhibits showcasing what Czechia’s second-largest city has to offer international residents. I spoke to Marie Lungová of the Brno Expat Centre, which organises the event, about why it’s worth a visit.

“The highlight is that we are bringing everything that makes Brno international into one place and one day. So you can explore, discover and enjoy all the opportunities that a life in Brno offers – and also you can enjoy them with hundreds of other foreigners who live there. So it’s not only about the fair itself and the opportunities you see there, but also about meeting lots of people who are in the same situation as you.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Thirteen films, which found their way to us from the Austrian Film Museum, provided us with a great deal of information about the look and functioning of Prague Zoo in the 1930s. Even more exciting is the discovery that there probably were – or still are – many more of these films. Perhaps up to twenty-one! We know that thanks to the search done by the historian Dr Kateřina Jíšová from the Prague City Archives, who succeeded to find a surprising amount of information about Col Eng Josef Zelinka (1893-1948) and his wife Helena (1892-1952).

I immediately found very interesting one of her first findings, namely that the bride’s brother-in-law dentist Dr Jaromír Křečan was the best man at Zelinkas’ wedding. He became a recognized specialist at the dentist clinic of Prof Dr Jan Jesenský, while Prof Jesenský often visited the renowned salon of Jarmila Klatovská, the daughter of the founder of Prague Zoo Prof Jiří Janda. Dr Křečan himself enjoyed spending time in society, particularly in artistic society. These links might probably shed some light on how the Zelinkas became friends with Prof Janda and established a rather intimate relationship with him – as can be seen in the film footage. At the same time, however, it is necessary to add that the Zelinkas themselves were in the centre of social life. Their residence at Salvátorská 8 was also the home of both brothers-in-law of Helena Zelinková: already mentioned Dr Křečan and above all the publisher Jan Štenc, at whose place the best artists and other eminent celebrities of the time were meeting.

Dr Jíšová’s research also revealed many other interesting facts and connections, but from my point of view the most important is the number twenty-one, mentioned in the introduction of this column. Thus, the fact that the films, made by Col Zelinka, might not have been thirteen, but twenty-one. This follows the property inventory that had been compiled after the death of Helena Zelinková in October 1952. Besides many other items these are listed in it:

13) 1 projector brand Pathé Vox 9/5 mm………… 8,000.-
14) 21 rounded boxes per 200.-………… 4,200.-
15) 1 wall screen for the projection device………… 120.-

All evaluated items were taken over by Ms Jarmila Výborná

Thirteen out of twenty-one rounded boxes undoubtedly contained thirteen films, which are now in the Austrian Film Museum. Inside the remaining eight boxes there were perhaps eight more reels – and of course we would be enormously interested in them. Are they in some collection? Are they owned by descendants of their heiress, the sister of Col Zelinka, Ms Jarmila Výborná? Are they on sale somewhere? Or have they been irretrievably lost?

Of course, we would be grateful for any information. The films were most probably in Pathé format, with a width of 9.5 mm and with perforation between frames. And they would probably be introduced by the logo of Col Zelinka: Z in a circle.

Miroslav Bobek

Photo: ČT

Czech military chiefs have moved to quell public alarm sparked by the fact civilian doctors will take part in an exercise call-up drive next month. Top brass say the conscription readiness test is in fact a routine matter.

May 18 will see the Czech Army hold an exercise conscription drive aimed at making sure that it is capable of effectively calling up potential soldiers in the event of a conflict situation.

Unlike in previous years, the call-up drill will take place in all 14 regions of the country simultaneously – and will involve civilian doctors.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Petra Kasperová, Archive of Abhejali Bernard

Abhejali Bernardová is only the tenth person in the world, and the first from a landlocked country to complete the so-called Oceans Seven, a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims, including the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar. The Brno-based swimmer recently published a book describing her adventures and completed another challenge, the English Channel Triathlon from Dover to Prague.

What attracts her to long-distance swimming? How does she adapt to the freezing cold waters? And what goes through her head during the hour-long swims?

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: JOtruba, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

While delicious, Czech food is heavily reliant on meat and animal products. But as society gains more and more awareness about the health and environmental impacts, more support for restaurants purveying locally sourced or vegetarian options is growing.

We all know Czechs are proud of their cuisine, from goulash to the national dish “svíčková” or sirloin with cream sauce and dumplings. But the traditional Czech diet is based heavily around meat and animal products, posing both health and environmental risks. So what are the implications of eating the traditional Czech fare?

Registered Nutritional Therapist Blanka Judova has noted the health risks associated with traditional Czech food – with the impacts ranging from high blood pressure, to an increased risk of cancer.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola Schmidt

Photo: Andrea Brtníková, Czech Radio

For 85 years, a monument in Orlová to the fallen Czech soldiers of the 1919 Polish–Czechoslovak War has been a plain list of names on slabs of stone. But it used to be dominated by a huge statue of a Silesian eagle with soldiers at its feet, which was torn down by Polish troops after the 1938 Munich Agreement. Now a five-metre copy of the statue is being crafted and will soon adorn the monument in the east Moravian town once again.

The statue of the eagle, which from old photographs looks like it is sitting proudly atop a rock and looking out regally into the distance, was torn down by Polish troops in 1938 following the Munich Agreement, 10 years after it was constructed and almost 20 years after the war which it commemorated.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Andrea Brtníková

A recently published Time Out survey placed Prague second in the world, behind Berlin, when it comes to how convenient locals find its public transport system. But in reality how good are the city’s tram, underground and bus services? I jumped on a tram in the downtown area with experienced travel writer and Prague resident Mark Baker.

Generally speaking, how do you view Prague’s public transport system?

“I think Prague has a really fantastic public transport system.

“It’s very comprehensive and you can more or less rely on it.

“When you’re going out or coming home from some place, you can pretty much always assume that the tram or the bus is going to come at the time it says it’s going to come.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Archiv hlavního města Prahy

The “U Pinkasů” pub, founded by Jakub Pinkas in 1843, was the first Prague pub to serve the bottom-fermented lager Pilsner Urquell on tap. It has remained one of the city’s most popular establishments throughout its more than 180 years of continuous operation.

The U Pinkasů pub and restaurant is located in the centre of Prague on Jungmann Square, in the neighbourhood of the Franciscan Monastery and the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. Its first owner was Jakub Pinkas (1805-1879), originally a tailor. In the spring of 1843, Jakub Pinkas asked Pilsen coachman Martin Salzmann, who sometimes stayed with him when he came to Prague with goods from Pilsen (later founder of the most famous Pilsner beer hall U Salzmannů), to bring him the new lager from Pilsen to taste. On April 8, 1843, Salzmann brought two buckets of the tasty lager from the new brewery in Pilsen for him to sample. Jakub Pinkas left the tailoring trade and established the now famous pub.

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Author: Petr Lukeš

Passion plays, in which people dramatically re-enact the trial, suffering and death of Jesus Christ at Easter, have a rich tradition in the South Bohemian town of Hořice na Šumave. The settlement was once the site of some of the largest passion plays in Europe. With the tradition having been revived over the past three decades, the town is now set to host a Europe-wide festival for passion reenactors and is even applying for its plays to be listed by UNESCO.

Lying on the foothills of the Bohemian Forrest, between the picturesque city of Český Krumlov and the Lipno reservoir, lies the small town of Hořice na Šumave. Its Gothic church, stone fountains and beautiful natural surroundings are likely to charm passersby, but those who take the time to get to know Hořice more closely will find that this municipality is far more special than its outward appearance suggests.

The town was once the site of one of the most important passion plays in Europe and, at its height, attracted tens of thousands of visitors from across the world. Ivo Janoušek, a native to the region who began to be interested in the local passion plays’ history while he was a student, explained to Czech Radio where the origins of this tradition began.

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Ivan Studený

Photo: Supraphon

In today’s Easter Sunday music program we’ll be listening to an excerpt from the only Italian oratorio by František Xaver Richter, an 18th century Czech composer, musician and teacher, and one of the main representatives of the so-called Mannheim School.

František Xaver Richter was born in 1709 in Holešov near the town of Zlín but spent his entire life abroad, studying music in Vienna and Italy. In 1746, he became a member of the famous Mannheim orchestra and found himself at the very centre of the progressive European music scene.

Although his chamber and orchestral works significantly contributed to the newly developing classicist style, he never gave up his traditional baroque technique. His oratorio, called La Deposizione dalla croce di Gesú Cristo, combines the achievements of the early classicist style with the baroque composition principles.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Lukáš Žentel, Post Bellum

One of the foremost opponents of the former Czechoslovak communist regime, Dana Němcová, passed away early on Tuesday morning at the age of 89. Despite years of persecution by the secret police, she never let up in her quest for freedom.

Dana Němcová was born in January 1934 and, in her own words, came from humble beginnings. Indeed, she had exactly the kind of working-class credentials that might have endeared her to the communist regime, had she not been such a committed supporter of truth and human rights.

“I was born in Most. Both my parents came from mining families – they were Czechs, and they were poor. My mother lost her parents during the First World War and my father was a teacher.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Anna Horáčková, Kateřina Bečková

Photo: Tomáš Kremr, Czech Radio

Czechia has a vast number of cathedrals, churches and chapels from centuries past and it is only rarely that new houses of prayer are built. One such endeavor is close to completion. The small Moravian village of Nesvačilka, which lacked a house of prayer for over 300 years, will soon have its own unique wooden chapel.

The village of Nesvačilka, south-east of Brno, established in 1715, never had its own chapel and the locals would have to walk to the church in neighbouring Moutnice to attend mass. Ten years ago, the parish priest of Moutnice, René Václav Strouhal, launched a public collection for a chapel to be built on the outskirts of Nesvačcilka village. He had a clear idea of how it should look.

“I wanted the chapel to reflect the character of this region –to grow up from it, so to say – and as you can see it is made from God’s divine gifts of Nature- clay, stone, wood, glass and light.

Donors from near and far contributed funds as well as wooden beams and other materials needed. The cornerstone for the chapel was blessed by the late Pope Benedict and work on it got underway in 2014.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Tomáš Kremr

Photo: Aidan Whitley, Fruit Juice Collective

Art can be expensive, but three expat artists who go by the pseudonyms Vinny Bonger, Big Kill, and Kilo Blimp, are partnering with local Prague businesses to make art more accessible for the city’s residents. The founders of the Fruit Juice Collective joined me in the studio to talk about their art philosophy, their current exhibitions, and the importance of art being accessible for everyone.

[Vinny] “We met about a year ago through Instagram funnily enough, and we came together because we all just wanted to create and make art, by ourselves. All three of us are artists and painters, and we were fed up with trying to go to galleries and have them take a fifty-percent commission. So we thought, hey – let’s do it all ourselves!”

Tell me about your art work and how you’re fighting inflation with your work.

[Kilo] “That is one specific concept we had for a show called Cheap Art Supermarket. We have a pre-existing pricing structure that we try to keep our art as low in cost as possible, because we really believe in art being accessible, we don’t like the idea of pricing people out of being able to purchase a painting. But for the Cheap Art Supermarket, we wanted to go even further with that idea, so we decided to price every painting at the cost of the physical item that we painted. So each painting was 67 crowns, or 120 crowns. And it was mostly trying to allow more people to buy more paintings and hear about us, but also about inflation and how everything is getting more expensive, so we wanted to turn something that is usually very expensive, like art, into something as cheap as possible, and really flip it on its head.”

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola Schmidt

Photo: Kristýna Maková, Radio Prague International

The government has nodded to the planned closure of 300 post offices around the country. The state-owned company Czech Post is in the red, due to a marked drop in demand for its services, but critics argue that the state must continue to meet the needs of the thousands of elderly citizens who depend on postal services.

Czech Post is undergoing the biggest overhaul in its history. The once mammoth organization has been unable to compete with the new courier services and has been something of a black hole for state funds.

Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said there was no other option on the table that to make this painful cut.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: ČT

Czech military chiefs have moved to quell public alarm sparked by the fact civilian doctors will take part in an exercise call-up drive next month. Top brass say the conscription readiness test is in fact a routine matter.

May 18 will see the Czech Army hold an exercise conscription drive aimed at making sure that it is capable of effectively calling up potential soldiers in the event of a conflict situation.

Unlike in previous years, the call-up drill will take place in all 14 regions of the country simultaneously – and will involve civilian doctors.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Czechia is one of the last countries in the European Union which still lacks a Children’s Ombudsman. The respective amendment to the law is currently being finalized and the post should be established early next year.

Children’s rights issues are now handled by the Office of the Public Defender of Human Right’s, the national Ombudsman for adults. Deputy Ombudsman Vít Alexander Schorm says that last year, they received about 60 complaints from minors.

“For instance, we get complaints from children in children’s homes. They complain about the in-house rules, the treatment they receive or the living conditions there. We either deal with this on a case by case basis or we go to the home in question for an unannounced visit as part of the national maltreatment prevention program. “

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Iva Vokurková

Photo: Archive of magazine Forum/www.cuni.cz

Established in 1348 by Emperor Charles IV, Charles University is the oldest university in Central and Eastern Europe. The university enjoys international prestige and 20 percent of its students are from abroad.

The year was 1348, the monarch on the throne was Charles IV, and the goal was to establish a university that was similar to those in Bologna and Paris and gain international attention and recognition.

Charles University quickly became a flourishing institution for higher thinking, and maintains its high reputation to this day. The university ranks in the top five Erasmus+ destinations, and is ranked amongst the Best Global Universities for many of their programs.

Home to 17 faculties and 50,000 students, 20% of Charles University pupils are internationals. The institution offers quality education, with an affordable price tag attached.

See the rest here.

Authors: Amelia Mola Schmidt, Jakob Weizman

Photo: CAMP

Prague is currently home to one of Europe’s hottest real-estate markets. Real estate prices have soared, subsequently triggering higher rent prices for those who can no longer afford house ownership. An exhibition in the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning highlights the housing crisis that many residents are facing.

CAMP (Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning is a multimedia gallery and urban planning hub funded by the city of Prague that focuses on the future of urban planning. In their current exhibit titled Prague Tomorrow? Houses and Apartments, CAMP is working to put emphasis on the fact that the city’s housing situation is far from ideal, and addresses the housing crisis that many residents are facing. Štěpán Bärtl, head of CAMP, says it’s a complex problem, with no easy solutions.

See the rest here.

Author: Amelia Mola Schmidt

It was a bit of a provocation from me. I let people vote on Twitter on whether to release nephilas in the jungle in our new gorilla house – The Dja Reserve. What an idea! Although the voting ended in a tie, otherwise reasonable people were writing angry posts in the discussion about toxicity of these spiders or neurotoxicity of their nets. Both are true, however the level of danger should be related to the insect, not to mammals of human size. I once spent a calm night in Cameroon with a nephila roly-poly, during which my companion didn’t move away from the door frame.

In the zoo you don’t have to be afraid. The nephilas (the golden orb-weaver spiders), namely the red-legged golden orb-weaver spiders (Trichonephila inaurata), are in the Dja Reserve safely locked in one of the vivaria. However, the stormy reaction was on my mind. Lots of people are afraid of spiders, but this was beyond my previous experience. Only after some time did I figure out why. There was a comics, Pavouk Nephila (Nephila, the Spider), published in 1970s in the magazine Ohníček, which had been characterized on one of the fans’ websites in this way: “A giant, extremely dangerous spider, of the size of a car, capable of holding a trolleybus in its legs, with fangs as long as sabres enabling it to cut a human’s head off in a second? Yes!” Well… if I read this before my night with the roly-poly, perhaps I would have gone to sleep somewhere else. And I am not mentioning the impressive illustrations of Nephila by the later Oscar winner for costumes for the film Amadeus, Theodor Pištěk.

By the way, in the plot of the comics the effort to get large volumes of spider silk plays an important role. The same effort, however, exists for decades in the real world and nephilas are one of the groups of spiders, which are in the centre of interest in this regard. After all, do you know why “our” nephila from the Dja Reserve is called golden orb-weaver spider? Because it spins golden webs. Even an entire cape has been made from very similar Madagascar golden orb-web spider silk. Dozens of people worked on it, and they used fibres from one million of nephilas. The cape is beautiful; however, I did not understand the purpose of it. On the other hand, I understand very well the efforts to get spider silk in a large amount. It surpasses steel by some of its mechanical properties, Kevlar by others, and in the combination of these various properties it is simply unbeatable. Unfortunately, spiders, unlike the silkworm caterpillars, which just calmly chew the mulberry leaves, can’t be bred on a mass scale. They would eat each other. Therefore, other ways to get their silk are explored. Especially through genetical engineering, which has come into play recently. The relevant spider genes are inserted by researchers into various organisms, starting with bacteria, tobacco plants, and silkworms, and ending with goats…

Well, I started thinking about what today’s version of Nephila, the Spider would look like. Maybe it is better not to think… Anyway, you definitely don’t have to be afraid of the nephilas in the vivarium of our Prague Dja Reserve.

There have been a number of reports of wolf sightings in the Krkonoše Mountains over the past few weeks, either in small packs or lone individuals. As the wolf population has steadily grown and become more settled there since they first began returning to the area in 2018, encounters between wolves and humans will only continue to become more and more commonplace.

Miroslav Kutal of Brno’s Mendel University is the Czech coordinator for the new international LIFE WILD WOLF project. Involving eight European countries, the project aims to understand human-wolf interactions in the European cultural landscape and prevent potential critical situations from occurring by developing, testing and evaluating procedures for managing encounters between wolves and humans. I spoke to him about the project and what the return of wolves to Czechia means for us.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Czechia’s main tourist season starts on April 1, with the country’s myriad castles and chateaux opening their doors to visitors. The National Heritage Institute which manages around 1,000 sites of cultural and historical interest in the Czech Republic also has some novelties in store – new sightseeing routes, exhibitions and a number of themed events.

If you had to pick one thing Czechia can be proud of, it might well be the hundreds of stunning castles and chateaux dotted about the country. These are often the destination for Czechs going on ‘výlety’ or excursions – on the whole, Czechs are great explorers of their own land, and this trend only increased during covid, according to Czech Tourism figures. While foreign tourists visit some of the better-known sites, many are neglected.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Praga

Seventy years ago, on 2 April 1953, the first Praga V3S multi-purpose, all-terrain truck rolled off the production line in Prague’s Vysočany. The military vehicle was one of Czechoslovakia’s best-known postwar products.

The Praga V3S was produced between 1953 and 1990 in Czechoslovakia and was exported to over 70 countries.

The designers were given only four months to get from development to prototype stage and were mainly inspired by America’s Studebaker US6 and Russia’s similar ZiL vehicles.

Over the decades around 130,000 units were manufactured. It was among the best off-road cargo vehicles of its time and was used by the Czechoslovak army for many decades, serving for a wide variety of purposes.

See the rest here.

Photo: Jeff Roberson, ČTK/AP

Boston Bruins forward David Pastrňák scored a milestone hat-trick in the team’s 4:3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the weekend. With a total of 56 goals and 47 assists Pastrňák thus became only the second Czech ice hockey player after Jaromír Jágr to score more than 100 points during the regular NHL season. I asked Czech Radio’s sports journalist Petr Tomášek about the significance of the achievement.

“It’s a big milestone because, as you said, only Jágr managed it before him. It is also a mark of quality. He now belongs in the ‘100 club’, so he can call himself a superstar.”

How exclusive is this “100 club”?

“There are only 5 players in this season who made it and in some seasons there are no players who breach the three digit point score.”

Pastrňák is still just 26 and has much of his career in front of him. Where would you place him among Czech hockey stars overall?

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: National Gallery Prague

A new exhibition marking 200 years since the birth of Josef Mánes, one of the pioneers of modern Czech art, is currently underway at Prague’s National Gallery. The retrospective, entitled Josef Mánes: Man – Artist – Legend, features more than 400 items, including the original Calendar Plate from Prague’s Astronomical Clock.

“People dream at night…I dream in the day.” A quotation from Josef Mánes’s sketchbook has become the motif of a new exhibition currently underway in National Gallery’s Wallenstein Riding School. It is the first show dedicated to the famous Czech artist since 1971, says one of its curators, Veronika Hulíková:

“We thought it was time to present the collection of Mánes’s drawings, prints and paintings from the National Gallery’s collection again, as the gallery manages the largest collection of his works.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Karel Oujezdský

Photo: Moravian Library Brno

The keenly awaited Milan Kundera Library had its grand opening this weekend on April 1, the day of the celebrated writer’s 94th birthday. The collection, which includes around 4,000 of Kundera’s publications, is being housed on the first floor of the Moravian State Library in Brno, the author’s hometown.

The news that Kundera’s private library and archive would be transported from his Paris home to Brno and donated to the Moravian Library was first announced almost three years ago. The idea came from the writer’s wife, Věra, says the head of the Moravian Library Tomáš Kubíček.

“The Milan Kundera Library came about thanks to a brilliant idea by Věra, when we were preparing an exhibition of Kundera’s works in, I think, 2018. While we were going through that huge pile of books, Věra came and said ‘Wouldn’t it be better if one day you took care of this and took it to the Moravian Library?’”

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Magdalena Hrozínková

Bohumil Kubišta – ‘Old Prague Motif’, Photo: Galerie Kodl

Czechia’s art market is growing fast. According to art website Art+ the average cost of a painting sold at auction rose over the past 10 years by 10 percent. Last year also saw several records being broken, whether it be the sale of the most expensive painting ever in Czech history, or the largest ever revenues registered at the country’s auction houses.

The Czech art market reached a turnover of CZK 1.65 billion last year, a 10 percent rise when compared with 2021. This in contrast to the country’s struggling post-Covid economy, which has been hit by the energy crisis and wider consequences of Russia’s war on Ukraine. According to Art+, this is also down to investors seeking to protect themselves from rampant inflation.

The greatest auction event to take place last year was the sale of expressionist and cubist painter Bohumil Kubišta’s painting Staropražský motiv (Old Prague motif) for a record CZK 123.6 million. It became the first painting to breach the CZK 100 million mark in the country’s history, the art website writes.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

See the rest here.

Photo: Petr Kubát, Czech Radio

After more than three centuries, a golden carriage made by Johann Anton I. of Eggenberg in 1638 for a diplomatic mission to the Pope, has been restored to its original glory. As of April, the unique carriage will be on display at Český Krumlov Castle.

The Eggenbergs came to Bohemia from Styria during the Thirty Year’s War and ranked among the most significant noble families in Austria and the Czech lands. The family received Český Krumlov castle in 1622 from Emperor Ferdinand II. in return for their services.

In 1638 Johann Anton I. of Eggenberg rode from Český Krumlov to Rome to announce the election of the new Emperor Ferdinand III to the Pope. For this purpose he commissioned a special carriage.

It was made of gilded walnut wood and its shape imitated the victory coaches of the Renaissance period. The interior of the coach was upholstered with black velvet and decorated with golden embroidery.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková,Petr Kubát

Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský, Czech Radio

One of Prague’s iconic cafes has been drawing visitors after a thorough reconstruction that brought back its original Art Nuveau feel. Located inside the capital’s busy Main Train Station, it may be hard to find at first. But those who take the time are likely to be impressed.

Millions of people pass through Prague’s Main Train Station every year. The vast majority are of course only interested in getting onto their train or bus. However, those who actually take the time to explore the building will discover that its northern wing is made up of a beautiful Art Nuveau style entrance hall which was designed by Czech architect Josef Fanta and is commonly known as the “Fanta Building”.

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Václav Müller

Photo: © MZV ČR/ MFA CZ

Representatives of Czechia and Japan on Thursday ceremonially signed a contract regarding the project of constructing the Czech pavilion at the world EXPO 2025 that is set to take place in Osaka. The winning design, which is to be built out of Czech glass, was selected by a star jury earlier this month.

The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was attended by Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský as well as Japan’s Ambassador Hideo Suzuki, who explained the overall concept of the 2025 Osaka EXPO.

“The Osaka EXPO will be a platform where all the brightest ideas come together and create another level of new ideas, innovations and solutions to the various global issues that we are facing, such as climate change, poverty, food insecurity, etc.”

The overall theme of the exhibition is titled “Designing Future Society for Our Lives”, with Czechia choosing to focus its pavilion on the sub-theme “Empowering Lives”.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

The annual Easter Festival of Sacred Music gets underway this weekend in Brno. The festival is organised by the Brno Philharmonic and over the two Easter weeks it will bring concerts to various venues around the Moravian capital. I discussed the event with the festival’s programme director Vladimír Maňas and I first asked him about its main theme for this year, which is Transformations:

“We are actually celebrating the 30th anniversary this year, so we thought it might be useful to think about the festival’s future horizons and we thought the title Transformations was very fitting. We also have another major topic this year, which is a meeting of early and contemporary music.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Just off Prague’s Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad is where you will find The Boršč. The Ukrainian soup restaurant was opened two years ago by the married couple Oleksandr Martynov and Nataliia Bas with a view to promoting their nation’s food and culture in their adopted home of Czechia. However, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the bistro found new significance. Recently The Boršč also made a splash on social media thanks to a visit from Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe.

See the rest here.

Many women suffer from depression or anxiety during pregnancy or after childbirth. The Kogito app, launched 18 months ago, is a form of “first aid” accessible to women who may not be able to afford therapy for financial or time reasons.

“I experienced a wave of total despair after the birth of my second child. I felt completely useless and a failure. I was convinced I was a terrible mother.”

Adéla, is a mother of two and one of many women who suffer from bouts of post-natal depression.

Adéla’s family and friends reached out and helped by pitching in and getting her involved in a therapy group at the Mother Care center, where she shared her feelings with women who had similar problems.

Doctors confirm that most new moms experience postpartum “baby blues” after childbirth, which commonly include mood swings, crying spells, anxiety and difficulty sleeping which can last for several weeks. But some new moms experience a more severe, long-lasting form of depression known as postpartum or peripartum depression because it can start during pregnancy and continue after childbirth. Rarely, an extreme mood disorder called postpartum psychosis also may develop after childbirth.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, zuzana machálková

Photo: Jiří Šeda, Czech Radio

The Czech Music Academy has decided on the nominees for this year’s Anděl awards, with prizes up for grabs in a total of 15 categories. The winners will be announced later this month on Saturday, April 15th at an awards ceremony broadcast live on Czech Television.

Miro Žbirka dominated the Anděl Awards nominations this year, with nominations in four different categories – best male artist, best album, best Slovak album and best song – more than any other artist or band this year. He passed away relatively unexpectedly in November 2021, so the song “Nejsi sám” was produced by his son David.

See the rest here.

Photo: Radek Pirkl, Technical University of Liberec

It is not unusual to see men wearing Scottish kilts on the streets of Prague and other Czech cities during the summer, but Czech men might soon rival the tourists in showing a bit of leg. Ondřej Ludín, artistic tailor at the Technical University of Liberec is now designing and producing skirts for men.

Czech textile and fashion design is centred in the city of Liberec, to be precise at the Faculty of Textiles at the University of Liberec, where Ondřej Ludín works as a lecturer at the clothing design department. Some time ago, he decided to break some Czech taboos and design a few avant-garde skirts for men.

“Skirts for men date back to ancient times and in the Czech lands, skirts and wrap-around garments for men were part of the Slavic day wear. Today we see men in kilts, and so I wanted to try and experiment a bit with skirts, to see how I would feel in one. To my surprise, I found them incredibly comfortable and practical. When I wore one in the back yard to chop wood for the winter, I was impressed by the range of movement it afforded. Compared to trousers, it’s unlimited. “

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Jana Švecová

Photo: Museum of West Bohemia in Pilsen

The Semler Residence, a striking interwar apartment designed by Heinrich Kulka based on the concept of the pioneering modernist architect Adolf Loos, has become part of the Iconic Houses network. It is only the 12th building in Czechia to be added to the prestigious list of significant houses and artists’ homes.

The Semler residence, which belonged to the Jewish family of Oskar Semler, is the only apartment in Pilsen that features the landmark principle of Loos’s architecture known as Raumplan, the concept of seamlessly linking spaces of different heights.

The house, which is considered the highlight of Loos’s activity in Pilsen, opened to the public in September last year after a major reconstruction, which lasted for several years.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Daniela Honigmann, Radio Prague International

Hundreds of radio industry bigwigs from revered broadcast institutions like the BBC and Deutsche Welle, as well as independent podcasters and young audio content creators, convened in Prague this week to discuss the future of radio, audio and podcasting at the 13th annual Radiodays Europe conference. Co-organised by Czech Radio in the year of its centenary, the three-day event drew people from as far as Australia, Canada and the US, as well as from across Europe.

Considered one of the best conferences for the industry in the world, Radiodays Europe (RDE) is billed as the meeting point for radio, podcast and audio. As such, it draws some of the biggest names in audio media from far beyond Europe’s borders – such as Eric Nuzum, who developed some of Audible’s and the US National Public Radio’s most successful podcasts, and Andrew Davies, head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s specialist podcast production team.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Czech government officials, the Czech Olympic Committee and the National Sports Agency have criticized the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to take part in international sports competitions as neutral athletes. They argue that this is a mockery of the Olympics spirit of peace and fair play.

Tuesday’s recommendation from the International Olympics Committee for sports organizers to consider allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in international competitions as neutral athletes has met with a strong negative response from Czech politicians and sporting unions alike.

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Anna Fodor, Radio Prague International

As children growing up in Yorkshire, brothers Andy and Martin Fell drank a lot of tea – and for almost a decade, the two have owned a pair of quirky sister teahouses, one in Prague and one in Glasgow. Born in Scotland to a Czech mother and English father, the brothers fused the British tea-drinking tradition with the concept of the Bohemian-style teahouse to create two establishments which are each unique in their own locales for very different reasons.

The first time I walked into A Maze in Tchaiovna, I thought it was just one room. I sat and ordered some tea and read a book and then left. The second time was the same. And the third.

But the fourth time, I was completely taken by surprise when someone walked past me to the bookcase at the back of the room, reached for one of the shelves, and pulled – and the whole thing swung open to reveal a hidden room which I had been completely unaware of until that moment.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Zuzana Machálková, Czech Radio

The Madonna from Havraň is a precious medieval wooden statue of Mary sitting on a heavenly throne with baby Jesus resting on her lap, surrounded by three angels, which was recently acquired by the National Gallery in Prague. Experts from the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague are now using a CT scan to find out more about its origin.

Using computer tomography, Jiří Turek, technical radiologist from the Czech Agricultural University, together with restorer Markéta Pavlíková are examining the precious wooden statue, known as the Madonna from Havraň, in the High-tech Pavilion of the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Dino Dražan, zuzana machálková

Photo: Martina Kutková, Radio Prague International

Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat, who saved thousands of Jewish lives during the WWII. His heroic actions are now being celebrated by a new piece of music composed by Lera Auerbach. The Czech premiere of her Symphony No. 6 Vessels of Light will be performed on Monday evening at the Rudolfinum concert hall.

Japanese-American-Israeli cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper, accompanied by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Prague Symphonic Choir is performing Vessels of Light at a dress rehearsal for its evening premiere.

The music, libretto, and artistic concept for the piece was created by Lera Auerbach, a Russian-born American composer and pianist and weaves together Yiddish poetry, the art of Japanese Kintsugi, the Kabbalistic story of the breaking of the vessels and the silent words of biblical Psalm 121.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Czech Radio

Radiodays Europe 2023, the largest pan-European conference for radio, podcasting and audio content production professionals is winding up in Prague. The three-day gathering of professionals from public and commercial radio and independent audio content creators from across Europe was co-organized by Czech Radio. Czech Radio’s Petr Dudek spoke to Noel Curran, head of the European Broadcasting Union, and former Irish radio and television producer and journalist, about the significance of radio in the present day.

“Radio is a very intimate medium. People feel very connected to it. I think television is a wonderful medium, but it is more transigent, people feel that they “own” that radio channel, they feel that this is my connection with the day, and my connection with this presenter or this story. I think that is quite important today, that we don’t lose that intimacy. We have so much choice across social and broadcasting media, but trust intimacy. They are not words that people use around media, but they are very important.”

See the rest here.

Author: Petr Dudek

Czech David Vencl made international headlines last week after setting a new world record. He carried out a vertical dive of 52.1 metres without a wetsuit beneath an ice-covered lake in Switzerland, covering the distance in under two minutes – and in a single breath.

Freediver David Vencl first made the news two years ago. At that time he entered the Guinness Book of Records for swimming 80 metres across a frozen lake in Czechia in one breath – beneath a thick layer of ice.

Vencl says he has always been drawn to the depths.

Read the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský, Czech Radio

Laco Déczi is an American jazz trumpeter, composer and painter of Slovak origin. He left Bratislava for Prague in 1962, where he stayed until emigrating to the US in 1985. The jazz legend now often returns to perform in Czechia.

Ladislav „Laco“ Déczi was born on March 29, 1938, in Bernolákovo in southern Slovakia. He started learning to play the trumpet at the age of 10, setting up various amateur music groups in his teens. Even then, he was heading in a different direction than almost everyone who played jazz in Czechoslovakia at the time. Despite the prevailing trend of intellectual West Coast jazz, Deczi’s amateur Bratislava groups were into the explosive hard bop from the opposite coast of America. After arriving in Prague, he managed to infect his much older colleagues, including Czech modern jazz guru Karel Velebny, with his obsession for Clifford Brown’s jazz style.

See the rest here.

Photo: Magdalena Hrozínková, Radio Prague International

Starting this Saturday, visitors to Prague’s Clementinum will be able to enjoy a new Baroque tour at the Czech National Library’s historic complex. The route will take visitors to the Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library, which are otherwise inaccessible to the public.

Prague’s Clementinum, located just a few steps from Charles Bridge, serves as the seat of the Czech National Library, the largest and oldest public library in the country.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Martina Schneibergová

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Sculptor David Černý is known to many visitors to Prague for his babies on Žižkov TV Tower and moving Kafka head in the downtown area. Now the colourful artist has a brand new museum – Musoleum – showcasing a cross-section of his works in a former distillery in the Smíchov district. I spoke to Černý there ahead of Saturday’s opening.

“The idea is to get rid of my stuff which was filling up my studio, so it’s partly of course also a storage.

“That was actually the original name that I called it – then I swapped for Musoleum.

“Also behind it is the fact that a friend of mine, who is the owner of the Trigema group, bought this property, which was falling apart for almost 30 years – it was the investment of one British guy who bought it for almost nothing in I think ’92 or ’93 and then just left it.

“Marcel Soural, the owner of Trigema, bought the whole property and this building was actually preserved, plus the chimney.

“Because I’m also the co-architect of the whole complex which will be surrounding this building, we were thinking about what to do with this preserved building.

“So we decided to do something with culture, whatever, a museum.

“And after many discussions it ended up like, Why don’t we do your show here [laughs]?”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Viktor Daněk, Czech Radio

Botas, the Czech brand known for its iconic sneakers, which recently fell on hard times and had to cease production at the turn of last year, may yet be resurrected. A rapidly rising Zlín-based newcomer to the Czech shoe market – Vasky – recently announced that it plans to incorporate Botas into its own company and keep the sneakers in production. I spoke to the founder of Vasky, Václav Staněk.

“The reason why I started Vasky seven years ago, when I was 18, was because I wanted to continue the Czech tradition of shoe manufacturing that was started by Tomáš Baťa.

“I believe that the step we are doing now is exactly one of the ways of how to help maintain this tradition, because Botas was founded 70 years ago and I would be glad if it keeps going for another seven decades.”

Tell us how you plan to purchase Botas?

“We have a lot of spares on stock at Vasky and we needed to raise some money to buy Botas. So we did a sale and communicated our plan to our customers.

“I am really glad that they heard us out. It was very cool and we pulled it off. We sold around 8,000 pairs of shoes and that is the reason why we are able to buy Botas.”

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Jerry the red panda male

If somebody says that the red panda is a mysterious animal, I will agree. For instance, already for almost two centuries the proper classification of this carnivore has been debated. Today it is clear, that for sure it is not related to giant panda, but I will get to that later.

In 1825, the zoologist Georges-Frédéric Cuvier – the younger brother of the much more famous Georges Cuvier – described a carnivore species new to the science. He called it Ailurus fulgens, translated from Latin as “shining cat”. In French he then chose the name ʻpandaʼ, by which he ignited future endless debates over the origin of the word. Possibly it was borrowed from a Nepali phrase meaning “bamboo eater”. At the same time, however, he showed considerable erudition when he classified his “shining cat” among racoons.

Across the Channel the Frenchman Cuvier aroused considerable indignation with his classification, as the red panda – an animal from the British zone of interest! – had been already presented to scientific community by the British Major General Thomas Hardwicke. However, he had not published his description, so he was out of luck. On the other hand, it was the British who the first obtained a red panda for a zoo, of course, for the London one. This happened on May 22, 1869. Unfortunately, the British, so sensitive to the fact that they were overtaken by the French, had not read what their fellow compatriot Brian Houghton Hodgson wrote (that pandas in captivity avoided meat and accepted only rice, milk and eggs) and tried to feed their red panda meat. When it was not thriving, the head keeper Bartlett allegedly took it for a walk. There the poor starving panda pounced on rose buds and fruit of ornamental pear trees.

However, in the same year – even before the walk in London Zoo – a Frenchman stepped in again. This time it was the missionary Armand David, who in China had obtained the skin of a large black-and-white carnivore. In his first letter to the naturalist Alphonse Milne-Edwards, he suggested a scientific name Ursus melanoleucus, meaning black-and-white bear. Yes, it was the giant panda, although it was given this name only later.

Although there were glaring as well as less obvious differences between the two Asian bamboo-eating carnivores, their similarities clouded the judgement of many researchers. The most important similarity is that both species have a second “thumb” located on the opposite side of the front paw to the real thumb. In both cases the “panda’s thumb” is created by a sesamoid bone, and it makes eating bamboo easier. Among other things, this match lead to the belief that both pandas were relatives, even very close ones, and David’s black-and-white bear was named ‘panda’. The giant panda.

The mistake linking the red panda and the giant panda as close relatives had remarkably strong roots; it started to fall apart irreversibly only at the turn of the 21st century. There were no doubts that the giant panda is related to bears, but the problem was the red panda. Only genetical analysis demonstrated how close to the truth Georges-Frédéric Cuvier was, when he classified it side by side with racoons. The red panda, which has its own family, belongs today to the superfamily Musteloidea, thus in the company of skunks, weasels, and racoons.

So much for one of the secrets of the red panda. Everything else you can find in our campaign Meet Them! which we launch today together with the new main season. Red pandas are represented in it by the male Jerry.

Caption: The obvious difference between the red panda and the giant panda: The first of them has a long furry tail, while the other one is completely missing this feature.

Under the auspices of H.E. Mr. Hideo Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan a very special concert by Hector Quartet was performed at Galerie Jakubska – Hartigovský palac – Mala Strana.

Established in April 2017 while attending Tokyo College of Music.
The Hector Quartet receive a scholarship to study chamber music at The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (HAMU), and study under Jiří Panocha (Panocha Quartet). They also study under various members of the Panocha Quartet.

The Hector Quartet studied under Eiji Arai, Mazumi Tanamura , Masaharu Kanda, various members of the Verus String Quartet.

They won the gold prize in the 2 nd Antonín Dvořák mladým international competition( Czech), and the 5th prize in the chamber music section of the 29th classical music competition(Japan).

The Hector Quartet’s experience of studying abroad is being captured in the Japanese music magazine “Sarasate”.

Many thanks to Mrs. Alena Onishenko for organizing such a great event.

Czechia is set to cease issuing visas to Russians and Belarusians who also possess citizenship of other states. The country stopped granting visas to regular citizens of Russia and Belarus, except in humanitarian cases, soon after the former’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to stop people from Russia or Belarus who also have citizenship of another state from receiving visas to enter Czechia.

This would involve an extension of an existing edict barring regular citizens of the two countries from getting visas, except in specified humanitarian cases.

The Czech cabinet is due on Wednesday to discuss the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposal, under which the freshly modified regulation would remain in place until the end of March 2024.

At the same time officials are proposing more exceptions to a rule under which Ukrainians cannot apply at Czech diplomatic missions in their own country for visas to Czechia.

Currently such exceptions are only granted in the case of applicants for study stays who have received temporary protection visas in another EU state or have applied for one.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

A portion of the Ukrainian child refugee population in Czechia is missing out on formal education because there aren’t enough school places for them. Schools and kindergartens are already bursting at capacity, especially in the capital.

Jana Frojdová is headmistress at an elementary school in the Prague 10 district. It has been forced to down five applications from Ukrainian refugees in the last six months.

“We are very sorry about it – but there was no other way. We have already increased capacity from 400 to 460, and we can’t increase it further due to health and safety regulations. But we have an agreement with other schools in Prague 10, so if a place becomes free in one of them, they let us know which grade – third grade or seventh grade or whatever – so we know where else we can direct applicants to if we haven’t got space for them ourselves. But there have been situations where there simply wasn’t a free place anywhere.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Eva Šelepová

Although now in his 80s, Geoffrey Chew is still writing about Czech music. The British/South African musicologist devoted most of his career to the music of the Czech Lands and Slovakia as Emeritus Professor of Music at Royal Holloway University in London and as editor of articles on Czech and Slovak Music for the online Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He has also translated Czech literature, including a translation of Karel Hynek Mácha’s ‘Cikáni’ (Gypsies) which was published in 2019. For his contributions to Czech music and culture, Chew was awarded a Leoš Janáček Memorial Medal by the Leoš Janáček Foundation in 2018.

Born in South Africa, Chew has spent most of his life in the UK and when I meet with him at the Southbank Centre in London, he calls himself a “citizen of nowhere”, wryly referencing the former UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s notorious comment at the 2016 UK Conservative party conference that “if you believe you are a citizen of the world, you are a citizen of nowhere” (he adds that “if that’s what Theresa May wants to call us then fine – I’ll go along with that”). But, despite an academic career focused on Czech music, Chew has no Czech heritage or familial relations whatsoever.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk is one of the most popular Czech books ever published. So it was a special occasion when the original manuscript of the classic novel was exhibited to the public for one day only on Tuesday by Prague’s Museum of Czech Literature.

The Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Švejk During the World War, to give it its full title, is said to be the most translated work in Czech literature and has fans around the world.

On Tuesday, 172 pages of Jaroslav Hašek’s original manuscript of the first part of the great unfinished comic novel went on display – for one day only – at Prague’s Museum of Czech Literature.

Museum archivist Petr Kotyk is the curator of the small but captivating show.

“The manuscript shows that Hašek was well aware of the kind of work he was writing. In the first ‘notebook’ edition he said, ‘Throw away your Tarzan and put Švejk on your bookshelves – this is a revolution in Czech and world literature.’

“They sold the notebooks around the pubs but also written on them was: ‘This is now coming out in the US, France and Germany and it’s a work of world importance.’

“And that was just the first few dozen pages.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Foto: Martin Pekárek

Jan Smigmator, one of Czechia’s most famous swing and jazz singers, is set to perform in New York’s Carnegie Hall on April 29. The 37-year-old musician, who also hosts his own show on Czech Radio, says that he hopes this could be an opportunity to break through in the United States. His performance in New York will focus on the music of greats such as George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini or Michel Legrand and Smigmator will be singing in both English and Czech.

The Jihlava-born Czech singer has also expressed his excitement at being able to perform with a highly accomplished ensemble of American musicians. His accompanying band will be made up of members of the Tony Bennett quarter, as well as double bassist Marshall Wood, guitarist Gray Sargent, the famous drummer Harold Jones and saxophone player Scott Hamilton. Czechs Jan Steinsdörfer and Jan Andr will also be present. The former playing on piano, the latter occupying the organ.

Smigmator himself made his first mark on the music scene at the age of 14, when he won the Golden nut (Zlatý oříšek) competition, a talent show for Czech children. His first album, Swing Is Back, came out in 2013, followed two years later by Time To Swing, which featured a bonus track in the form of My Way – the legendary song made famous by Frank Sinatra.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Zuzana Jarolímková, Czech Radio

The remains of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, which had been on display at the National Museum in Prague, are due to be shipped to Kenya this week. The taxidermy, created by the National Museum’s conservationists, will be displayed in Kenya as a symbol of the fight for nature protection. I discussed the fate of the famous animal with conservationist Jan Stejskal from Dvůr Králové Zoo, which has been spearheading international efforts to save the breed from extinction:

“The animal was born in south Sudan, probably in 1973. We don’t know the exact date, because he was caught in the wild. He was caught in early 1975 by a team led by former Dvůr Králové director Josef Vágner. That same year, Sudan and five other northern white rhinos arrived in Dvůr Králové and my colleagues started the breeding programme.

“Sudan sired two females in our zoo. One of them was Nabire, who lived all her life in our zoo. The other one, Najin, is now in Ol Pejeta in Kenya and she is one of the last two females of the Northern White Rhino known to the world.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Source: Grand Palais Immersif

A long-awaited exhibition opened in Paris on Wednesday, using huge projections, 3D animation and music to bring the work of Czech painter Alfons Mucha to life. A so-called “immersive” exhibition, it uses the power of smell and sound as well as sight to recreate his world. The exhibition also focuses on his legacy, from the “Flower Power” movement of the sixties to Japanese manga, street art, and even tattoos.

Housed in the Grand Palais Immersif, a new venue in Paris dedicated to immersive exhibitions, the ‘Eternal Mucha’ exhibition is a feast for the senses, playing with more than just the visual, as Mucha’s great-grandson, Marcus Mucha, elaborates.

“We wanted to make everything immersive. It’s not just pictures but also music and perfumes. The perfumes convey the scent of Alfons’ favourite flowers from Moravia and the smell of the church in Ivančice where he sang.”

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Archive of UPCE

Restorers from the University of Pardubice, along with colleagues from Germany, have started to examine a unique cycle of paintings in the Emmaus Monastery in Prague, dating to the reign of Emperor Charles IV. During the next three years, they will determine the state of the frescoes, and only then will they start to restore them.

The Emmaus Monastery in Prague is known for its unmistakable white towers with gilded spires from the 1960s, which replaced the original ones, destroyed in February 1945 in an accidental air raid by the Allies.

The former Benedictine monastery is also known for a unique cycle of Gothic wall paintings, made during the reign of Emperor Charles IV, that is between the 1460s and the 1470s.

The entire cycle originally had 33 paintings, but only 26 have been preserved to this day. However, the series is still remarkable for its extent and high artistic quality.

The paintings were mostly damaged in the bombing raid, but they were also affected by leakage into the building and inexpert restoration carried out in the 1950s.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

British ambassador Matt Field, Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Since taking over as UK ambassador to Prague in January, Matt Field has, with skilful use of social media and visible eagerness to learn, quickly established himself as one of the best-known diplomats in the country. But how has he actually been finding life in the Czech capital? And what are his priorities as London’s man in Prague? They are just a couple of the things I discussed with Mr. Field in this wide-ranging interview.

Reading your CV, one thing jumped out at me and that is that in 2002 you worked for the World Cup Organising Committee in Japan. How did that come about?

“Yes, it was an amazing experience.

“I was very lucky in that I was in the right place at the right time.

“After I graduated from university, I went and worked in Japan for a couple of years.

“I taught, and coached rugby as well, and then 2002 came around they were looking for people who spoke Japanese and were going to be available for a few months.

“So I got picked up and went to run one of their ticket offices, in a place called Sendai.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Bohemia: History of an Idea, 1950–2000 is the name of a major new exhibition at Prague’s Kunsthalle gallery. It focuses on Paris in the Left Bank days, swinging London and 1970s New York – but also lesser-known scenes, including the Prague of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková. I discussed the new show with US-based curator Russell Ferguson.

It’s a fantastic exhibition, with works from so many countries and periods. What qualities to these works share?

“They share a relationship to the fundamental idea of what it is to live a bohemian lifestyle.

“But at the same time I was actually looking for ways in which the different cities and the different time periods showed differences in how bohemia is manifested in different periods.

“So a key idea in the exhibition is to show both that bohemia can be represented in different forms in different places, but at the same time to show that there are continuities that run all the way through, and that people are aware of other bohemian scenes and take some context from that.”

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Sabina Vosecká, Czech Radio

One of Prague’s oldest and most stylish cinemas, Prague 9’s Kino Atlas is reopening to the public this Tuesday after a change in management. The new operators of the venue are a collective of Czech film directors, who intend focus on documentary and artistic films. In a bold move, they also plan to lower ticket costs for visitors.

The new team that is running the cinema is made up of a group of filmmakers. Among them is the award-winning director Václav Kadrnka, who is perhaps best known for his feature film Little Crusader (Křižáček). It took the main prize at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in 2017. His wife, producer Simona Kadrnková, is also part of the group. As are FAMU film school bursar Věra Hladišová and documentarist Vít Janeček, who teaches at the same world-renowned institution.

The latter spoke to Radio Prague International about how the idea to take over the 1930s venue came about.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

John of Nepomuk, one of the patron saints of the Czech lands, was brutally martyred on March 20, 1393, on the orders of King Wenceslas IV. He was beatified in 1721 and declared a saint eight years later.

It is said that the vicar-general to the Archbishop of Prague was tortured to death because he did not want to reveal the confessional secrets of Queen Sophie.

In reality, historical evidence points to King Wenceslas IV having had the court priest killed for siding with Rome in a political dispute over who would become the next abbot of Kladruby.

Whether the reasons for the martyrdom were power struggles or accusations of revealing confessional secrets, John of Nepomuk is regarded as a symbol of honesty, reliability and integrity. He is the patron saint of confessors, pilgrims, happy returns and boatmen and protector against floods.

See the rest here.

Last week’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children has been welcomed by leading Czech politicians. Against the backdrop of a meeting of justice ministers in London this Monday, Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský argued for the setting up of an international tribunal.

Mr Lipavský has long been an advocate of establishing a special international tribunal that would focus on prosecuting Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine. He explained why in an interview with Czech Radio on Monday.

“I think it is absolutely clear that if someone starts a war and confesses to it live on air the same day then it is necessary that they take responsibility for it.

“The crime of aggression is a crime according to the UN Charter, a document that was signed shortly after the end of World War Two wherein the international community aimed to prevent the alteration of borders through the use of force.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Lukáš Matoška

Photo: archive of Czech Parliament

An art installation by Israeli artist Keren Goldstein Yehezkeli protesting against the global phenomenon of gender-based murder committed by spouses and other family members, is currently on display in the lower house of Czech Parliament. The main aim of the exhibition, called She’s Gone, is to raise awareness of femicide, which claims the lives of around 47, 000 women and girls around the world every year.

Israeli artist Keren Goldstein Yehezkeli is reading the names of women who were murdered by their spouses and intimate partners.

The garments, once worn by the victims of domestic violence, are now on display in the lower house of Czech Parliament, as part of a chilling art installation called She’s Gone.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Spring is in the air and the country’s tourist industry is preparing for the annual influx of foreign visitors. What are the main tourist attractions this year, is Prague still a magnet for foreign tourists and can the country hope to return to pre-Covid figures? I spoke to Jan Herget, the head of CzechTourism about what Czechia has to offer in 2023.

“Czechia is full of cultural heritage sites, beautiful landscape, national parks and vibrant dynamic new cities, but also old picturesque small cities like Český Krumlov. Naturally, the main attraction is our capital Prague which attracts tourists from all over the world – the US, Israel, India, France…Prague is definitely our highlight, but we naturally try to attract tourists to all destinations in Czechia, to get them to visit the regions.”

How many tourists come to Czechia annually and have we returned to pre-Covid figures?

“In the pre-Covid days we used to have more than 10 million foreign visitors a year. Last year there were 7.4 million. So there has been a decline in foreign tourists, but domestic tourism – Czechs travelling around Czechia – reached a historical record and we had more tourists from neighbouring Slovakia as well.”

What do foreign tourists generally come to see and what would you like to draw attention to?

“As I already mentioned the main attraction is Prague, Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad) Český Krumlov, Kutná Hora and other historical cities and spa towns. Foreign tourists appreciate our UNESCO heritage and I would say that Czechia has the highest density of UNESCO heritage sites per square kilometer. But we are trying to promote the whole country – for example Ostrava with its technical heritage, Plzen –the capital of beer, the two Czech candidates for the title European Capital of Culture, Broumov and České Budejovice,one in north and one in south Bohemia, and of course the country’s famous spa resorts Karlovy Vary, Teplice but also Moravian spas.”

See the rest here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Junák – český skaut, z. s.

For several weeks now, Czech scouts have been making special candles for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians to be used in the trenches and during power cuts. They gathered the material in a public collection and have already produced thousands of candles.

Hall number 29 in Prague’s Holešovice market has been turned into a provisional workshop, where scouts and volunteers from the general public meet several times a week to make special trench candles to provide warmth and light to people in Ukraine.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Jana Karasová

A digital recontruction of a humback whale trap feeding. Credit J. McCarthy

Monsters and weird creatures from ancient legends and old bestiaries often are not just pure figments of the imagination but tend to have their real prototypes. As it has recently transpired this is also true about the sea monster, referred to as hafgufa in Norse sagas and manuscripts. Nevertheless, its mystery has been unravelled only thanks to newly acquired knowledge.

The hafgufa is described in detail in King’s Mirror, a didactic text written in the 13th century for the Norwegian king Håkon Håkonsson. It is worth mentioning that a correlation has been found between 26 creatures described in this manuscript and marine animals recognized by modern science. Thanks to researchers John McCarthy, Erin Sebo and Matthew Firth the twenty-seventh one – hafgufa – has now been added to them.

In King’s Mirror the hafgufa is described as a huge fish looking rather like an island. For us the following passage is the most important from the entire description: “It is said of the nature of this fish that, when it goes to feed, it gives a great belch out of its throat, along with which comes a great deal of food. All sorts of nearby fish gather, both small and large, seeking there to acquire food and good sustenance. But the big fish keeps its mouth open for a time, no more or less wide than a large sound or fjord, and unknowing and unheeding, the fish rush in in their numbers. And when its belly and mouth are full, [the hafgufa] closes its mouth, thus catching and hiding inside it all the prey that had come seeking food.”

Another source, Örvar-Odds saga from the 14th century says that the opened mouth of the hafgufa on the water surface is so big, that it could be mistaken for two massive rocks rising from the sea, where a ship can sail in-between.

However, the hafgufa was not known only to Norsemen at the time of Middle Ages. Under the name Aspidochelone it also appears in the work Physiologus, which original Greek text was compiled in Alexandria between 150 – 200 AD. It states: “When it is hungry it opens its mouth and exhales a certain kind of good-smelling odor from its mouth, the smell of which, once the smaller fish have perceived it, they gather themselves in its mouth. But when his mouth is filled with diverse little fish, he suddenly closes his mouth and swallows them.”

Advance from distant history to the present. In 2011, a team of researchers observed near Vancouver Island a remarkable behaviour of humpback whales. They positioned themselves vertically in the water with only the tip of their snout and mandible protruding from the surface. Herrings began to gather in the “shelter” created in this way to be simply devoured by the humpback whales afterwards. At the same time, the effectiveness of this hunting method was further enhanced by them regurgitating a certain portion of the food, which attracted not only fish from a larger distance, which wanted to feed, but also marine birds, from which then the fish had a tendency to hide… This hunting method was named by the scientists as trap feeding. But beware: an almost identical behaviour was described at the same time from the other side of the globe, at Bryde’s whales, which hunted for anchovies in the same way. This time the method was named tread-water feeding.

The similarity between the behaviour of humpback and Bryde’s whales and the descriptions of the hafgufa is striking. Even the mentioning of the smell (though not good-smelling), which is created by releasing dimethyl sulfide from regurgitated zooplankton and small fish. But only the trio of McCarthy, Sebo and Firth managed to notice this similarity and explain it. However, at the same time, another very exciting question occurred: Why were the humpback and Bryde’s whales hunting in this way some one to two thousand years ago – and then began to use the same strategy only recently?

Photo: Festival One World

Among the most hotly anticipated Czech documentaries at the ongoing One World festival is Blix Not Bombs by Greta Stocklassa, which premieres on Saturday. The film is built around interviews with Hans Blix, the Swedish diplomat best-known as the UN’s chief weapons inspector in the lead-up to America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. I discussed the film with its director.

“I’m half-Swedish, so for a long time I’ve been interested in Swedish neutrality and diplomacy.

“Sweden has a history of internationally famous diplomats.

“And then I think there’s something interesting in this; it’s a little ambiguous, being a diplomat and being able to talk to both the good guys and the bad guys. “So I was interested in that.

“And as I say in the film, I first knew about Hans Blix from [animated satirical movie] Team America.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Next Tuesday 28 March, on Teachers’ Day, a large-scale, nationwide demonstration will be taking place to protest against the chronic underfunding of the humanities in Czechia. Academic communities from arts and humanities faculties in Prague, Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava and a number of other cities have declared warning strikes and planned protest marches, as well as a programme of events open to students and the public. I spoke to Mirka Horová from Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in Prague to find out more.

“The point is to try and raise awareness about the conditions that we are working under here and have been for decades. While obviously Teachers’ Day is also celebrating primary and secondary school teachers, and their pay has been amended, rightfully and after a long struggle, our situation is still quite dismal.

“We are working several contracts because the pay we get from our primary job provider is simply not enough to cover basic existential needs, especially at a time like this when prices are soaring. But it’s not just a matter of recent years – it has been like this for decades. There are professors across our disciplines who have to work several contracts – this is unprecedented on an international level.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

Following Petr Pavel’s inauguration as Czechia’s new head of state, the president’s office chief Jana Vohralíková, also assumed her post at Prague Castle. What changes is she planning? And will the castle become more accessible to the general public during Petr Pavel’s presidency?

Jana Vohralíkova, who previously headed the office of the Czech Senate, has already indicated that there are many things she wants to change about the way that Prague Castle is run and perceived by the public. Like her boss, she is promising greater transparency, greater openness and a visitor-friendly attitude on the premises of the historic seat of Czech kings.

In an interview for Czech Radio following Petr Pavel’s inauguration, Mrs. Vohralíková said that one of her top priorities was to change the working environment in the Office of the President:

“If I have realized anything during the last month, it is that interpersonal relationships here are not what they should be. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for that.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

We have had the pleasure of interviewing Jana Vohralíková for our magazine some years back. Take a look at the interview here.

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

In recent times Covid-19 rather put a dampener on events marking St. Patrick’s Day in Czechia. This March 17, however, the country’s embassy in Prague is again celebrating the Irish national holiday in full for the first time in some years. I spoke to the Irish ambassador to Prague, Cliona Managhan.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

A new study looking at differences in tourist behaviour and motivation between countries has come up with some interesting findings – and the Prague municipal government wants to use them to attract travellers who are willing to spend more money on cultural events, historical monuments and gastronomy.

Prague has long suffered from tourist blight. Like many other centres of tourism in Europe – Amsterdam, Barcelona, Venice – problems from litter to noise pollution to sky-high rent can in some way be attributed to the swarms of tourists that were coming to the Czech capital every year before Covid hit.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Jana Přinosilová, Czech Radio

Ties between Czechia and Taiwan have been significantly strengthened over the past several years. The Central European state has arguably become one of the continent’s pioneers in expanding relations with Taiwan, despite threats from Beijing. This month will see the largest Czech delegation yet travel to Taipei. It will be led by the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. She spoke to Radio Prague International about its significance.

“My delegation consists of various representatives, not just parliamentarians, meaning my colleagues from the ranks of the deputies in the lower-house, but also entrepreneurs and people from the business sphere in general.

“The reason that we are visiting Taiwan is because we want to strengthen the ties between our two countries. Czechia and Taiwan have much in common. I think that both societies are based around common values such as respect for human rights, freedom and democracy.

“At the same time we are cooperating on the business level because Taiwanese investments in Czechia are very important for us and we would like to continue our cooperation.”

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Last week, a Czech team presented a study at the European Radiological Congress in Vienna that showed an AI that they developed called Carebot is more accurate than human radiologists at detecting suspicious lesions in lung X-rays.

Artificial Intelligence is already better than humans at playing chess and Go, analysing big data, and with the advent of ChatGPT, the new chatbot by OpenAI that everyone is talking about, answering questions about almost anything, it seems. As if that wasn’t enough, there is now yet another area where the machines are beating us – according to Daniel Kvak, co-founder of Carebot, AI is better at identifying suspicious lesions in lung X-rays than human doctors.

“Various studies indicate that the inaccuracy of radiological description is somewhere between 25 and 30 percent in standard clinical practice. And chest X-rays are precisely where errors unfortunately occur most often. In cooperation with the Masaryk Institute of Oncology, we ran a study where we compared the success rate of artificial intelligence with the success rate of five radiologists. Our AI correctly picked up the lesions 91 percent of the time, compared to 29 to 81 percent for the radiologists.”

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Source: Tomáš Roček, Czech Radio

On the occasion of the anniversary of the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia on March 15, 1939, Czech Radio’s archive has decided to publish the digitised recordings of the trial with Karl Hermann Frank. One of the highest ranking Nazis in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who played a key role in the infamous Lidice massacre, was sentenced to death in 1946.

A Bohemian German, Karl Hermann Frank was born in Carlsbad in 1898. At the time of the invasion of the rump state of Czechoslovakia in 1939, he was the deputy governor of the Sudetenland region which had been annexed by Germany from Czechoslovakia a year later.

A leading figure within the Sudeten German separatist movement during the 1930s, Frank quickly rose through the ranks of the Nazi administration of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, eventually being put in overall charge of the local SS and police forces. He played a key role in the annihilation of the villages of Lidice and Ležáky following the killing of Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovak soldiers.

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Leading Czech artist Krištof Kintera is known for large, often complex objects that frequently involve electricity. However, he has also been making poster-style works for two decades and these have now been assembled en masse for a major new exhibition in Prague entitled How Can I Help You? I spoke to Kintera at the show at the DOX gallery.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Michal Horáček is a man of countless talents. As a very successful song lyricist, his work is familiar to generations of Czechs. He has also been a journalist, was active in the Velvet Revolution, became extremely wealthy with a pioneering betting company and came fourth in presidential elections in 2018. It is rare to meet anybody with such a range of experiences as Mr. Horáček – and he shared several of them on a recent visit to our studio.

Could you please tell us something about your background? What kind of family did you grow up in?

“I was born in Prague, into a family of some interest.

“Because my mother came from a well-established Prague family, full of scientists and artists.

“My great-grandfather was the dean of the Faculty of Law at Charles University, and his son, Jaroslav Heyrovský, was the first Czech to be awarded the Nobel Prize, for chemistry in 1958.

“His brother Leopold was my grandfather. He and my grandmother shared the large apartment we had in downtown Prague.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Kateřina Dobrovolná, Czech Radio

A church in the village of Hojsova Stráž in the Šumava Mountains is one of the many properties the Catholic Church got rid of in recent years in an effort to stabilize its finances. The church was bought for a symbolic one crown by a local man, who has gradually transformed it into a vibrant cultural centre.

See the rest here.

Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Kateřina Dobrovolná

Colette Kaines Lang takes us along on her student budget weekend to Harrachov. Surprisingly, the second hand clothes shops of Prague play a vital role in her preparation to ski, bobsleigh and boogie.

A few weeks ago my flatmate announced ‘let’s go skiing!’. She had seen on Erasmus in Prague a rather cheap weekend trip to Harrachov. As a student only studying in Prague for a year I’m trying to say yes to as many experiences as I can. So of course my first thought was – sign me up!

I then realised I had two main issues I didn’t own any ski gear and I had only skied once. My first issue was easier to fix than I had thought; Genesis the second hand shops scattered around Prague.

We were able to run around the multiple Genesis’ in Prague trying on a range of clothes and we all managed to say ‘it will do’ to something we had tried on. It should be said that a day shopping at Genesis is a whole Prague experience in itself. I was able to buy an all in one ski suit for around £2 pounds! Plus a few borrowed items meant in the end I spent very little extra, on top of the trip costs which covered accommodation, food, ski hire and a pass.

See the rest here.

Author: Colette Kaines Lang

The first written mention of the Harrachov glassworks dates back to 1712, but it was most likely established years before that. Today the oldest surviving glassworks in Czechia makes luxury glass for rich clients the world over and occasionally produces special pieces on commission.

The Harrachov glassworks, dating back to the early 18th century, is the oldest surviving glassworks not only in Czechia, but most likely in the world. During its more than three hundred year history, the glassworks produced collections that adorned royal tables around Europe. (One of the two surviving vases made for Emperor Francis Joseph I in 1873 is on display in the Harrachov Museum of Glass.)

Harrachov master glassmakers triumphed at international exhibitions, putting Czech glassmaking on the world map in the mid-19th century. The Harrachov glassworks won a gold medal at the Great Exhibition of Industrial Works of All Nations, in London 1851. In the following years, the glassworks exhibited in Paris (1855), Moscow (1872), Philadelphia (1876), Sydney (1879) and many other metropolises around the world.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Eliška Pilařová

In Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show, we’ll look back at last weekend’s Czech Lion awards and listen to some of the music from the movies that won the prestigious film prizes, including Petr Václav’s “Il Boemo”, Beata Parkanová’s Slovo or Adam Sedlák’s Banger.

Source

Authors: Magdalena Hrozínková, Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Inflatech Decoy

Inflatech Decoy is a Czech company from Děčín which has become a market leader in the production of high-end inflatable models of real military equipment that can be used to deceive the enemy about real troop deployments. Their products are used for training purposes and, possibly, also in real ongoing conflicts. I spoke to Inflatech’s CEO Vojtěch Fresser and began by asking him how the decoys work and what their purpose is on the battlefield.

“Deception is very important for any type of conflict. Historically, [the ancient Chinese general] Sun Tzu said that the art of war is deception. For me the best solution to a conflict is one that never starts.

“Our inflatable military decoys can be used for training and practice. Especially, during electronic warfare training exercises when pilots need visual contact with the target and have to identify objects on the ground via their optical, thermal and radar sensors.

“This is how our inflatable decoys work. They work on three basic levels – they can generate a signature on the optical and thermal levels. This allows them to mislead the thermal cameras of the enemy and they can produce radar signatures that are same to those of real objects.”

That’s what struck me about your product – that it’s not just a simple decoy, but that it can generate all of these other footprints such as the thermal one. Is that something that is common in contemporary decoys, or is it something unique to your products?

“What is common is that they have to be very light because the difference between using the real metal object and the inflatable one is that the latter has higher mobility. It is important that these decoys can be inflated, deflated and packed within a space of 10 minutes. In order for the equipment to be considered effective, the team that operates the decoy needs to be made up of just two or at most four persons.”

See the rest here.

Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Adam Hříbal, Hypermarket Film

A new documentary looking at many aspects of the Covid period in Czechia hits cinemas this Thursday, the third anniversary of the country’s first coronavirus lockdown. Entitled Velké nic, or The Great Nothing, the thought-provoking black and white film is directed by Vít Klusák and Marika Pecháčková.

The Great Nothing provides a fascinating, sometimes poetic look at life in Czechia during the Covid period.

It follows a number of characters, including an opera singer forced to work in a supermarket and a campaigner against government measures since convicted of spreading disinformation.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Thirteen film reels with almost five hours of footage, which is extremely valuable for us in Prague Zoo as well as for military historians. After a complicated investigation we managed to find their author. It was Col. Eng. Josef Zelinka.

We know the name, title, and rank of the amateur filmmaker, who captured for us the early years of Prague Zoo. But what was his life story?

Decades later it is difficult to learn more about a man who apparently died without descendants and whose grave was abandoned long ago. However, some things can be discovered. Maybe even more, that we could expect, since he was not only an amateur filmmaker, but first and foremost a distinguished professional on firearms, who greatly influenced their development in Czechoslovakia.

Josef Zelinka was born in Prague on June 15, 1893, in the family of a director of a secondary school. He himself completed the Secondary School in Karlín and began studies at the Technical University in Prague. However, his studies were interrupted by the First World War. He spent almost all of it in the field. He first fought on the Serbian, Italian and Romanian fronts. He commanded a platoon and later a company. At the very beginning of 1918, he was seriously injured, but after his recovery he again found himself on the Italian front.

After the war, Josef Zelinka enlisted to serve in the Czechoslovak Army, got married and finished his studies. The turning point in his military career was his assignment to the Small Arms Department of the Ministry of National Defence. He devoted himself to these arms throughout his entire life. In 1934 – 1939, when he was shooting the films in Prague Zoo, he worked as the Head of the Department of Small Arms and Machine Guns of the 1st Division of the Military Technical and Aerospace Institute. He was a highly qualified expert, but during the Second World War he also proved his courage and patriotism, when he helped to secure weapons for the resistance group of Lieutenant Colonel Josef Mašín and fought on the barricades during the Prague Uprising.

We don’t know when Eng. Zelinka began his filmmaking. His first film we know of is probably from 1934. Of course, our greatest interest is raised by his shots from the zoo, but he also filmed in the army environment and mainly in privacy. Very often he recorded his wife Helena, and sometimes it likely was her standing behind the camera (we think so based on the footage capturing him). He excelled at his hobby. He made good use of his technical knowledge and skills, but at the same time he also put his heart into it.

After he unexpectedly and prematurely died on October 7, 1948, it was stated at the end of his obituary: “I would not be at all surprised, if today the animals in Prague Zoo mourned their good friend together with us, and I believe, that the souls of the cheetah, Šárka the lioness as well as the bumble bee, whom he filmed with such a great persistence while working on the clover head, waited for him at Heaven’s door.”

Miroslav Bobek

source: the Austrian Film Museum.

Hundreds of people in Czechia brew their own beer at home. These “home brewer” enthusiasts are not allowed to sell their products by law, but if they could, they might put some of the big breweries to shame with their excellent homemade brews.

Many Czechs started brewing their own beer out of necessity, when working or living far from home they craved the taste of good Czech beer and there was none to be had. From construction workers to embassy officials, people tell tales of how they slowly learnt the art of making the golden brew that the country is world famous for.

What is more surprising is that many people living in this country have also taken up the hobby of beer brewing when there are so many excellent brands of the market to choose from at a relatively affordable price.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Tomáš Lörincz

Photo: archive of Czech Radio

The villa of the founder of the global shoe empire Baťa was not built by the famous Czech architect Jan Kotěra as had been assumed by historians for many decades. Freshly discovered evidence from the archives shows that the building, which now functions as the headquarters of the Thomas Bata Foundation, was in fact constructed by a lesser known architect called František Novák.

See the rest here.

Authors: Thomas McEnchroe, Růžena Vorlová, Roman Verner

Photo: Eugene Hoshiko, ČTK/AP

The Czech national baseball team enjoyed a winning debut at the World Baseball Classic tournament in Tokyo on Friday, beating China 8-5 in their Group B encounter.

The Czech team qualified for the World Baseball Classic for the first time this year and they gave their scores of travelling fans plenty to cheer about in their debut game at the prestigious tournament.

Indeed the Czechs, coached by Pavel Chadim, were in control for most of the game at the Tokyo Dome.

They did find themselves themselves trailing by a point after a bad sixth inning, but then they turned the game around, deciding it in the ninth inning with four runs, three of which came from a home run by veteran Martin Mužík.

Mužík told the tournament website after Friday’s game that the situation felt unreal.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Zajati v Angole/Česká televize

A group of 66 Czechoslovaks, including women and small children, were abducted and forced to walk 1300 kilometres after being captured in Angola by members of the guerrilla UNITA movement, all the while suffering from diarrhoea, exhaustion and terror.

In the early 1980s, civil war had broken out in the southwest-African country of Angola following the end of its war of independence against Portugal. A power struggle between two former anti-colonial guerrilla movements, the communist People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the anti-communist National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) was raging.

The Angolan Civil War had effectively become a Cold War proxy conflict, as UNITA was backed by the USA while the Marxist MPLA had the support of the Soviet Union, Cuba and Czechoslovakia.

With the assistance of Cuban soldiers and Soviet support, the MPLA had managed to win the initial phase of conventional fighting and become the de facto Angolan government. The Czechoslovak government had agreed to aid the fledgling communist state by helping resurrect and run the Angola Cellulose and Paper Company in the area of Alto Catumbela, which had been left derelict after the Portuguese withdrew.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Klára Stejskalová

Ing. Zelinka as a lieutenant colonel (three stars), Photo Source: The Austrian Film Museum

This article is part of a new column series written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague ZOO.

I haven’t experienced such a well-attended press conference as on Thursday, February 23, in Prague Zoo, for a long time. We held it because of recently discovered films that captured our zoological garden in the early years of its existence. We wanted to identify the author of the films – an officer of the Czechoslovak Army – and his wife. Very often she stood in front of the camera and likely sometimes also behind it.

“Great Investigation! The Zoo Searches for Mrs Unknown and a Lieutenant Colonel from Unique Films,” read one of the newspapers the following morning; many other headlines sounded a similar note.

However, at that time, we were already following one new, very promising lead. At the same time, I have to say that a whole range of various leads, about which we had hoped that they would bring us to identify the author of the films, had appeared during the last weeks. All of them led us to a dead end. The last time I had put my hope into a guestbook of the pension U Malířských, where the Lieutenant Colonel also filmed his wife. Again, I did not succeed – and I was afraid that we would again be disappointed this time.

It was a paradox that it was not the press conference and its output, which uncovered this new lead. At least not directly. Only after it was over, I contacted the Military History Institute, where I had tried to learn something earlier, and in the evening I received an email from the curator of its film collection Milan Hrubý.

Ing. Zelinka as a colonel (four stars; he was promoted on 1 January 1937), Photo Source: The Austrian Film Museum

“A number of lieutenant colonels of various units assigned to the Military Technical and Aerospace Institute may be considered,” he wrote to me. “The majority of them were from the technical arms service (see annexes), but it is possible that he was from another unit.”

This was in slight contradiction with the previous analysis of the military historian Dr Eduard Stehlík. Based on the uniform of “our” officer, he declared with certainty that the man in question had not been in a combat unit and he had not served in the Czechoslovak Legion in the past. Based on the collar patches, he then formulated the assumption that he was a member of the Judicial Service. However, this assumption appeared to be one of the abovementioned dead ends. My follow-up search based on the colour and material of the colourful triangles on the collar (hardly recognizable in the black and white footage) had gone nowhere. The aforementioned partial contradiction with the report of Milan Hrubý consisted just in the form of the collar patches. As I was going to learn soon, the system of collar patches in the First Republic’s Czechoslovak Army was so wide, complex and variable that even high-ranking officers did not know their way around it.

I did not get to the names mentioned in the email of Milan Hrubý until late in the evening. There must had been over fifty of them. But as I was scrolling through them, my attention was caught by Colonel Josef Zelinka from the technical arms service. I had two reasons why to stop there.

present Ing. Zelinka in civilian life, Photo Source: The Austrian Film Museum

First, his name starts with Z and most of the films start by Z in a circle. As the custodian of the Austrian Film Museum Stefanie Zingl pointed out at our press conference, amateur filmmakers were creating logos out of their initials; she even referred to our lieutenant colonel and his wife as “Mr and Mrs Z.”.

Secondly, Eng Zelinka had been promoted to the rank of colonel on January 1, 1937. This corresponds with the fact, that he appears in the film with the three stars of lieutenant colonel, but on some shot he already has four stars.

Could we finally find our man? In spite of the late hour, I wrote a message to Dr Stehlík. Within a few minutes he answered with notes form his card index:

“Lieutenant Colonel Engineer Josef Zelinka, born on June 15, 1893, Prague. Graduate of Czech Technical University in Prague in 1923. Died on October 7, 1948. Married, childless. He was not a legionnaire.”

Everything fit! The age, technical orientation, the fact that he was not a legionnaire… Even the mention of childlessness corresponded with the film footage. Not only are there no children captured there, but in one sequence “Mr and Mrs Z.” celebrate Christmas – just the two of them alone.

Despite all of that, I was reluctant to believe it. On Friday I started another investigation in various archives; however, this will bring results only over time.

Mrs. Zelinka is at the zoo and at home with her parrot, Photo Source: The Austrian Film Museum

But shortly afterwards we gained unbreakable certainty! On Saturday morning, February 25, I received an email from the police pyrotechnician Lieutenant Colonel Zdeněk Horák:

“The author of the films is Colonel Josef Zelinka from the Military Technical Institute. I have discovered this person while processing archive materials in the area of development of ammunition, thanks to it I have a lot of materials about Col Zelinka (army personal documentation, biography); if you are interested, I can provide them to you.”

I immediately called Lt Col Horák. Besides the other evidence, he said that Zelinka’s obituary also mentioned his filming animals in the zoo. Then more evidence and information began to pour in…

So, the mystery is definitively solved! “Mr and Mrs Z.” were Col Eng Josef Zelinka and Helena Zelinková.

Source of the photos: The Austrian Film Museum.

Photo: Vít Šimánek, ČTK

Outgoing president Miloš Zeman ended his term in office at midnight on Wednesday, with the symbolic lowering of the presidential flag and the closing of Prague Castle’s Gate of the Giants. But that wasn’t enough for some Zeman critics – they wanted a proper ceremony to mark the end of the former president’s time as head of state.

Riffing on the ancient Slavic tradition of marking the passing of winter and welcoming in the spring with a ritual known as “Vynášení Morany“ – burning and drowning an effigy of Morana, the pagan goddess of winter and death – a group of around hundred people started gathering in Hradčany Square in front of Prague Castle on Wednesday evening from about 5.30pm. Except instead of an effigy of Morana made out of wood and straw, they had a giant sculpture of Zeman’s head in tow.

See the rest here.

Author: Anna Fodor

High rates of unemployment and malnourishment, poor infrastructure and a lack of skilled labour make Zambia one of the least developed countries in the world. But supporting small businesses and farmers is one of the ways Czech development cooperation is helping to bring about change.

Esther is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Her parents fled the war that was raging in the DRC and ended up in neighbouring Zambia.

Although refugees are safe in Zambia, it’s hard for them to access education and employment opportunities. Often they have no choice but to start their own business. However, without education and financing, it’s very difficult.

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Author: Klára Stejskalová

In ex-Yugoslavia in 1997, Vladimir Dzuro delivered the first European war crimes indictment from an international tribunal since WWII. The Czech also investigated the notorious 1991 massacre of Croat POWs at Ovčara near Vukovar. His story is recounted in The Investigator, a documentary by Viktor Portel that enters Czech cinemas this week. I spoke to Dzuro on the eve of its release.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Composer Viktor Ullmann, who lived in Prague before being sent to the concentration camps by the Nazis, is enjoying something of a revival in Czechia.

Composer Viktor Ullmann was born in Těšín but spent much of his young life in Vienna. In 1919 he moved to Prague to study music, later working with the city’s New German Theatre and Czechoslovak Radio.

Both Ullmann’s parents were from families of Jewish descent but had converted to Roman Catholicism. In 1942 the Nazis sent him to the Terezín ghetto, where he wrote the opera The Emperor of Atlantis. In late 1944 he was murdered at Auschwitz.

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Since the war in Ukraine began, Czechia has given asylum to nearly half a million Ukrainian refugees. Only Poland and Germany have welcomed more immigrants from the war-torn country, but relative to the population, Czechia has helped more Ukrainians than any other country. What is the volunteer morale like a year on?

Czech media reported, quite understandably, mainly on the massive influx of Ukrainian refugees to Prague, Brno, and other bigger cities. But they spread out all over the country. The Ministry of Interior, which is responsible for their registration, published an interactive map which shows, that for example the town of Žďár nad Sázavou with a population of about 20 000, now hosts over 600 hundred Ukrainians. Charita, a charity founded and sponsored mainly by the Catholic Church, is the only non-governmental organization in this region helping the refugees.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

A significant percentage of the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have fled to Czechia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine are children. The nature of the conflict means that some of them arrive into the country completely unaccompanied by adults, or by just a part of their extended family. To find out what the government is doing to address the needs of this especially vulnerable group I spoke to Diana Šmídová, the secretary of the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the Office of Government.

“In Czechia, the number of Ukrainian child refugees lies at around 130,000. We will have more precise numbers after the re-registration process is over, meaning probably around April. In terms of unaccompanied minors, meaning children who arrived unaccompanied by any person at all, there are around 200.

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Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Small stores around the country are fast disappearing, giving way to multinational chains which are better able to withstand the impacts of the energy crisis and two-digit inflation. In the last ten years over 4,000 small stores –butchers, bakers and specialty shops – have had to close down after customers turned to cheaper products on supermarket shelves.

Marek Baštýř, owner of a family bakery in Lomnice nad Lužnicí proudly takes a gold-crusted loaf out of the oven. This is one of their specialties –a type of bread baked since 1992 according to a family recipe, which attracted customers from far and wide.

Now Baštýř says the bakery is struggling to survive. It still produces high quality breads, rolls and pastries, but they no longer sell like they used to. Production costs are three times higher than they were a year ago. Although the bakery increased prices by an average 50 percent, the profits are minimal. The owner says the last few years have been tough.

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Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Jitka Cibulová Vokatá

Photo: Archive of General Pavel

Petr Pavel has just been sworn in as the new Czech head of state. While the president’s role in the Czech political system is largely symbolic, the way he communicates and presents himself to the public is all the more important, says expert on strategic communication Denisa Hejlová. I spoke to her just a few hours before Pavel’s inauguration to discuss his communication style:

“The role of the Czech president is very different from for instance the US presidential system. Communicating with various stakeholders and various people is one of his main tasks and a very important part of the presidential role in Czechia.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Zuzana Machálková, Czech Radio

Like many cultural institutions, the National Theatre in Prague is struggling with growing energy costs and increasing demand to operate in a more sustainable way. It has recently installed innovative new heat recovery technology – using the body heat emitted by audience members.

The historical building of the National Theatre in the centre of Prague accommodates nearly 1,000 people. A new technology that was recently installed there captures the body heat emitted by visitors and the heat radiated by spotlights, reusing it to heat or cool down the venue.

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Authors: Ruth Fraňková, Zuzana Machálková

Photo: Jan Rosenauer, Czech Radio

The confluence of the Morava and Dyje rivers in South Moravia is set to be declared a protected landscape area, the Ministry of Environment has just announced. The “Moravian Amazon”, as it is sometimes referred to, contains the largest complex of alluvial forests in Central Europe – and may even be declared a national park in the future.

Considered one of the most beautiful areas in the whole of Moravia, Soutok (literally “confluence”) contains many rare and endangered species of animals, such as the common hornbill or the golden eagle. However, it is perhaps best-known for the ancient oaks that look on to the meandering flows of water in the surrounding wetlands.

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Author: Thomas McEnchroe

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

US journalist Mark Baker spent time in Czechoslovakia in the late 1980s and was long curious whether the Communist state’s secret police kept a file on him. Eventually he did discover that not only was he being monitored in the dying days of the Cold War – the StB also wanted to recruit him as a spy. Baker, who in 2021 published the memoir Čas proměn (Times of Change), has just begun sharing this story – filled with eye-popping details – in a series of blog posts.

In the late 1980s you lived in Vienna but you also covered Czechoslovakia for a magazine called Business International and visited the country many times. Later, after 1989, it seemed from your enquiries that the StB didn’t keep a file on you. More recently it turned out that they did. How did you finally discover that?

“As you said, in the 1980s I was working as a journalist and travelling relatively frequently to Czechoslovakia.

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Author: Ian Willoughby