AuthorMartin Hladík

Photo: Vít Pohanka, Radio Prague International

Walking on historical roads and trails is a great way to discover the past and present of Czechia.

I’ve embarked on a long-term journey of walking the historic roads of Czechia.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

President Petr Pavel has decided to display the Bohemian crown jewels every year on the occasion of Czech Statehood Day, which is celebrated on the Day of St Wenceslas, the nation’s patron saint, and falls on September 28. This year, the jewels will be exhibited from 17 to 30 September, the presidential office has informed.

The crown jewels, one of Czechia’s most prized historical artefacts, include the Saint Wenceslas Crown, which was originally made for Charles IV’s coronation in the 14th century, the royal orb and sceptre, the coronation vestments of the kings of Bohemia, a gold reliquary cross, and the sword of St. Wenceslas.

The crown jewels have been displayed at Prague Castle only eight times since the establishment of the independent Czech Republic. Twice under Václav Havel and Václav Klaus, four times under Miloš Zeman, and most recently last January on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the modern Czech state.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Miroslav Chaloupka, ČTK

The Czech enthusiasm for all kinds of crazy races was in evidence at the weekend when the traditional tractor games – also featuring milling machines – were held in the West Bohemian village of Žebnice. Pictured are factory- and home-made machines taking part in an obstacle event.

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It is known all over the world that since July 1 we have the second baby of Chinese pangolin in Prague Zoo; its photos have been published in media from the United States to India to Japan. But this is how it started – and I happened to be around.

On the morning of November 7 last year, a very active journalist had arranged an interview with me. She didn’t want to talk to me in the office or, God forbid, by phone, but in some more interesting place. That’s why we conducted the interview in the Indonesian Jungle next to the exhibit of our famous Šiška, the first pangolin baby raised in Europe.

At that time Šiska was already separated from her mother Tang and coincidentally, on November 7, her parents were reunited. When we finished the interview and walked by the exhibit with the adult pangolins, we could see that they were definitely not wasting time. See the photo. And they continued in the same way in the following days.

The result is the second pangolin baby, which this time Tang did not deliver in the artificial burrow but under a root out of it. When we checked the baby for the first time, it was obviously more mature and active than Šiška was after birth. Nevertheless, we were worried whether, like Šiška, this second young would also have to be artificially fed.  Fortunately, our fears didn’t come true. Its daily gains were above optimum.  Between the first and the second day 7.2 grams, the next day 8.5 grams, then 6.9, then 11.1 and so on. What a glutton!

At the very first weighting, we of course took detailed pictures of the baby, to be able to determine the sex. However, we were not sure… we asked our colleagues in Taipei Zoo. Female, was the answer. But then there was an addition – maybe… Send more pictures. Only then was it definitely confirmed that it was a female.

Already on July 9 our second pangolin female tried to ride on her mother Tang’s tail, and on July 12 she reached the weight of one quarter of a kilogram. Just to compare – the first she reached three days earlier than Šiška, and the second even fifteen days earlier.

In short, our second pangolin baby female makes us happy. And I can’t wait to be able to talk and write about her using her name. It will be voted on by public, and we will announce it at the christening ceremony on Sunday, July 28. I must admit that I would be happy if the name Pangolina wins.

Pictures by Miroslav Bobek

Photo: Fernando Llano, ČTK/AP

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

David Schweiner and Ondřej Perušič are due to play their much-anticipated debut in the beach volleyball competition on Sunday, July 28, two days after the Olympics begin in Paris.

See more here.

Author: Guillaume Narguet, Ruth Fraňková

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

From October, the State Investment Support Fund (SFPI) will offer preferential loans for municipalities, regions, their organizations, and other legal entities for 7 billion crowns until mid-2026. Next year, the National Development Bank will join it with its instruments for another 3.5 billion crowns. The program targets affordable rental housing for young families, necessary professions, and the so-called middle class in general, and is part of the Ministry of Regional Development’s extensive reform of Housing for Life.

The goal of the Affordable Housing investment program is to increase the share of available rental apartments, both through their reconstruction or construction and in the case of municipalities, also through purchase options. As a result of the sharp rise in real estate prices and the reduced availability of housing loans, it became impossible for many households to pursue their own housing, and therefore the demand for rental apartments increased significantly. This increases price pressure in this area as well. Public support for investments in the construction of affordable apartments with lower than market rent was made possible by the April notification, which the MMR negotiated with the European Commission.

“Thanks to the program, up to 5,000 apartments will be created in addition. At the moment, there is a minimum of them in the property of the municipalities. The new apartments will mainly help young families, but also seniors and people with normal incomes. It will also enable municipalities to better respond to fluctuations in the labor market and recruit or retain workers in certain professions. These are primarily teachers, health workers, social workers, firefighters, or police officers,” added Ivan Bartoš, Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and Minister for Regional Development.

Funds from the Affordable Housing program can be used to build rental apartments either in newly built apartment buildings or in reconstructed buildings. The program also supports the possibility of purchasing apartments if the applicant is a municipality, region, and a legal entity established by them, a state subsidy organization, a registered church or religious society or a legal entity established by them, and a public benefit legal entity.

“The amount of support can reach up to 90% of eligible expenses, the subsidy can only be provided in combination with a loan,” explains the conditions of the program, Director of the State Investment Support Fund, Daniel Ryšávka. “Details on the conditions of the program are available on the website of the State Investment Support Fund, which administers the program. Regional Centers for the Support of Housing Investments have also started to operate in all regions. They will offer the mayors suitable financing models for affordable housing projects and give advice, for example, in legal and technical areas,” adds Daniel Ryšávka.

Affordable rental housing is a special category (unlike owner-occupied, cooperative, or other forms). It will be provided to selected target groups for a set lower than market rent.

Preparation of housing construction in municipalities

The Czech Republic has been struggling for a long time with insufficient construction of new, especially municipal, apartments. The results of last year’s MMR survey show that only about a third of larger municipalities in our country had any experience with their own housing construction in the last eight years. At the same time, roughly 70% of all municipalities are dissatisfied with their housing stock.

“Unfortunately, the preparation of the construction of apartments in municipalities is often hampered or completely stopped by a lack of funds or a lack of experts. We are therefore trying to remove these barriers. At MMR, we have already supported the preparation of 72 housing projects. However, the interest of male and female mayors is much greater, which is why we released additional funds. They can be used for the preparation of documentation or perhaps for the realization of an architectural or urban planning competition,” added Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Ivan Bartoš.

MMR has already offered a total of over 1.4 billion crowns from the National Recovery Plan for the project preparation of municipalities.

Links

You can find a list of regional housing investment support centers and their contacts in this link: https://sfpi.cz/regionalni-centra-podpory-investic-do-bydleni/

You can get more information on the Housing for Life reform on the Housing for Life website: https://mmr.gov.cz/cs/microsites/bydleni-pro-zivot/uvod

You can find the terms of the Affordable Housing program at Affordable Housing – SFPI: https://sfpi.cz/dostupne-bydleni/

Results of the municipal housing survey: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://mmr.gov.cz/getattachment/c77d59d1-044d-4403-a596-a5e68cffac25/Vysledky-setreni-Obecni-bydleni-2023.pdf.aspx?lang=cs-CZ&ext=.pdf

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

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

“We have to realise that most of these animals, I would say 99% of them, were born in the zoo.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

People can go to the Africký dom at 10.30 a.m. for a special guided feeding of the popular rakes. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

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

Visitors can look forward to free tastings, commented cooking, and demonstrations of farm-raised invertebrates. People will also learn about the benefits of this somewhat exotic cuisine. But the residents of the Prague Zoo will also enjoy themselves throughout the weekend – meerkats, anteaters or rarely bred lizards from the new Gobi exhibition await special feeding.

Visitors can look forward to free exotic tastings. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Insect menu

1. Dark people in Indian
2. Cricket on garlic
3. Locusts in banana batter
4. Sweet mealworm with apples
5. A skewer of several types of insects

Special commented feeding

• 10.15 feeding of talapoins – Reservation Dja
• 10.30 feeding of reptiles in the Kattakum desert exposition – Pavilion of beasts and reptiles
• 10.30 a.m. feeding the rakes – African House
• 10.45 meerkat feeding – African House
• 12.30 feeding insectivorous birds – Sichuan
• 13.00 reptile feeding – Gobi
• 14.00 feeding of anthills – Anthills
• 14.45 feeding of rock ibises – Ibises

* standard commented feedings and meetings also take place at the same time

Despite a difficult start to life, the baby giraffe showed a great deal of tenacity and zest for life. Two weeks after birth, it can be seen by visitors to the Prague Zoo. Photo by Miroslav Bobek, Prague Zoo

The little female was born at the beginning of the month. Until now she was with her mother in the back of the African House due to the insufficiently stable position of her left thoracic limb, which manifested itself soon after birth. Now the baby northern Nubian giraffe can be seen at the Prague Zoo. Movement on a firm surface and the exemplary care of the mother played their part and resolved the complication without the intervention of a veterinarian. The new Baby will be introduced to the indoor exhibit and then to the rest of the herd. The cub’s mother is the female Faraa, while the thirty-fold father became the posthumous male Johan.

 “The year of attractive and breed-wise significant young is far from over here. A small giraffe has been added to the gorillas, orangutans, wombats, and sloths,” says the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek. “The famous male Johan mated the female Fara in April last year, so we then closely followed the first signs of Fara’s possible pregnancy. After one year, two months and twenty-nine days, Johan’s last, thirtieth offspring in total was born.”

The cub is the 30th offspring of the male Johan, the 86th giraffe cub at the Prague Zoo and the 99th giraffe in the history of the breeding of these ungulates at the Prague Zoo. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

For experienced giraffe mother Faru, the little female is already the fourth cub. After the birth, which lasted until four o’clock, the cub began to stand up briskly. However, it soon became apparent that the left sternum is significantly bent backwards in the carpal joint. Nevertheless, the female moved very confidently and also drank from her mother. Thanks to the thorough sucking of breast milk and controlled movement, the leg began to gradually strengthen, to the delight of the breeders, and the posture was corrected on its own.

Visitors can observe the giraffes – including a two-week-old baby – in the African House pavilion at the top of the zoo. In the adjacent enclosure shared with zebras, ostriches, and several species of antelope, the cub will look only after it gets used to indoor exposure.

A small female Northern Nubian giraffe stands next to her mother Fara in the background of the African House pavilion. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

This fact is also confirmed by the fact that the prestigious wine tourism conference IWINETC 2025 will take place in the country next year

Wine tourism in the Czech Republic is undergoing dynamic development and is becoming an important part of tourism. There is a growing interest in visiting wine regions that offer not only quality wines, but also rich cultural and gastronomic experiences.

Key wine destinations in the Czech Republic

South Moravia, especially Mikulov and its surroundings, are among the most popular wine destinations in the country. Last year alone, 27% of domestic and almost 43% of foreign visitors to this area decided to enjoy the local region through their taste buds in the form of gastronomic experiences or wine consumption. For comparison – a year earlier it was less than 12% of our citizens and 24.5% of foreigners, and in 2019, over 29% of domestic and 41% of foreign travelers. The area is known for its wineries and traditional events such as vintages and wine festivals. Tourists are looking for authentic experiences here, visiting traditional cellars as well as modern wineries and tasting the wine of local winemakers. Key destinations for wine enthusiasts include Pálava, including the surrounding wine villages and cellar lanes. Velké Bílovice is an equally important wine tourism destination. This largest wine-growing village in the Czech Republic attracts visitors to tastings in family wineries and walks through picturesque vineyards. Another destination famous for its winemaking history and also for its annual historic vintage is Znojmo, which attracts thousands of visitors.

“Wine tourism plays a key role in the development of not only domestic tourism. After all, we can clearly see this in the example of Italy or France, where last year local producers offered over 380 tours and wine tastings per 1 million inhabitants. Close behind these countries in this respect are Australia, Portugal or South Africa. It is from Portugal’s experience that the Czech Republic can draw, because in the last few years this country has systematically focused on the development of wine tourism as one of the priority attractions for foreign visitors, and the data show that it is succeeding in establishing itself among the world’s leading destinations for this type of tourism.” František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism, summarizes and adds: “In the country, wine and the culture associated with it are among the main driving forces, especially in South Moravia. The local vineyards combine traditional craftsmanship and modern gastronomic trends. However, the beauty of traveling for wine can be experienced not only in Moravia, but also in Bohemia, for example in Mělnick or Litoměřice and in Velké Žernoseky in Ústeck. The capital city also offers the experience of wandering for wine, where wine lovers can visit, for example, the Vineyard of St. Cláry in Troja or vineyards at Prague Castle. Among the most sought-after wine events are visits to local wine exhibitions, wine harvests, open cellar events or the combination of wine tasting with gastronomy and music.”

Profile of visitors to wine regions

Domestic wine regions are mainly visited by domestic tourists, especially from large cities such as Prague, Brno and Ostrava. They are especially looking for weekend and short-term stays associated with tastings, wine events and visits to wine cellars.

“It is still true that the Czech consumer indulges in wine in connection with food on a special or festive occasion rather than with an ordinary lunch. The French, for example, are famous for this. At the same time, we can say that the popularity of wine consumption, for example during barbecues, is increasing,” explains Patrik Kubát, project manager of the National Wine Center, and adds: “If a person decides to travel for domestic wine, he is also interested in the experiences and emotions associated with it. He is looking for inspiration to discover new wines, varieties and wineries.”

Consumers appreciate the fact that domestic wine is an integral part of the national tradition, has a unique taste, is diverse and colorful. Foreign tourists, most often from Germany, Poland and Slovakia, appreciate the high quality of Czech wines, the hospitality and the authenticity of wine experiences and the traditions associated with them.

According to research by the Wine Fund, 55% of Czech consumers are currently more likely to reach for a specific variety of white wine, for the remaining 45%, the color of the wine is not decisive. The most preferred varieties are Pálava, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Sauvignon and Riesling Vlasský. In the case of red wine, a total of 47% of consumers prefer specific varieties. The most popular are Blue Portugal, Frankovka, Merlot and St. Lawrence. When purchasing, the customer makes a decision based on previous experience with the given wine, quality, price/quality ratio, but also recommendations from relatives and friends.

Wine tourism conference IWINETC 2025 in Mikulov

As already mentioned – one of the key cities for wine tourism in South Moravia is Mikulov. And it is there that the prestigious international conference IWINETC (International Wine Tourism Conference) will take place on March 26-27, 2025. It is an event that is considered one of the most important in this area. Held since 2009, it is attended annually by several hundred wine and culinary professionals, including tour operators and representatives of the wine tourism and food travel media from around the world. It has three main objectives: to offer top learning opportunities through plenary sessions and panel discussions with experts, to provide space for business meetings and networking during formal and informal events. Excursions to the wineries themselves or other interesting places connected with wine tourism are also part of the conference program. The conference will thus offer professionals and journalists from all over the world the opportunity to present the Czech Republic as a top destination for this type of tourism, including gastronomy, which is inextricably linked to wine.

“I see the prestigious IWINETC wine conference as a unique opportunity to present to experts from abroad the offer of the entire region and the partners with whom we work to make it more visible. I believe that everyone will leave Mikulov knowing that even in South Moravia we can produce world-class wine,” concludes Martina Grůzová, director of the Tourism Center – South Moravia.

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

The “Heroes of Tourism” award goes to personalities and projects that, according to experts and the lay public, have helped/helped the tourism industry the most. Voting takes place in three categories:

The biggest support for tourism in the last year – honors individuals who have made a significant contribution to the development and support of tourism in the Czech Republic in the past year.

Long-term contribution to tourism (lifetime contribution) – includes personalities with a long-term and significant contribution to the development of tourism in the Czech Republic.

Discovery of the Year under 30 – honors young professionals under 30 who bring innovative ideas and projects.

People can vote for their favorite online through the voting form located on the website of the CzechTourism agency.

“Heroes of tourism is an important and prestigious award that highlights unique personalities and projects contributing to the development of tourism in our country. And since the best award is the one that really comes from practice and own experience, the opinion of the general public is also an integral part. Anyone can participate in the selection of those who deserve to be recognized for their extraordinary efforts, innovations, and contributions in the field of domestic tourism. In this way, we want to thank those who support and enrich Czech tourism with their work,” says František Reismüller, director of the Czech Tourism Office – CzechTourism.

“In the context of the nominations for Heroes of Tourism, we approached key professional organizations in the field of tourism. The goal was to get suggestions based on the real experiences of real experts. Tourism affects each of us, that’s why the public has the main word in the final,” adds Veronika Janečková, director of the product management, research and B2B cooperation department of the Czech Tourism Center – CzechTourism.

The results of this year’s edition will be announced by CzechTourism at a networking evening on September 10, 2024.

The event will be attended by representatives of the Ministry for Regional Development, the CzechTourism agency, including directors of foreign representations, and partners from associations, destination management and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry.

“Heroes of Tourism 2024” voting schedule:

June/July 2024 – nominations of professional organizations

17/07 to 16/08/2024 – public vote

September 10, 2024 – ceremonial announcement of awardees

FINALISTS NOMINATED FOR TOURISM HEROES 2024 in individual categories:

https://www.czechtourism.cz/cs-CZ/Marketingove-aktivity/B2B-akce-workshopy-veletrhy/Networkingove-akce-a-workshopy/Hrdinove-cestovniho-ruchu-2024/Finaliste-Hrdinove-cestovniho-ruchu-2024

Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Czech Radio

Sevgil Musaieva, a journalist from Crimea, Ukraine, is the editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda and among the initiators of the creation of the KrymSOS web portal. Ms. Musaieva was in Prague to speak this week at the conference Borders of (Un)Freedom, headlining the event in a moderated discussion with Yale historian Timothy Snyder. I spoke to her about Czech support for Ukraine and her thoughts on how Putin uses propaganda in the region to divert from his true intentions.

How has the Czech Republic supported Ukraine in its ongoing conflict with Russia? More than two years into the full-scale invasion some citizens and politicians in the Visegrad states have become more impatient about the war, others were already not sympathetic; we could think of Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, with his pro-Russian leaning.

See more here.

Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Ondřej Deml, ČTK

The Czech and Ukrainian governments on Monday signed a number of bilateral agreements opening the way for closer cooperation in arms production and the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the two countries were building a “strong, strategic partnership” that would make Europe safer.

The Czech Republic has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion more than two years ago and Prime Minister Petr Fiala made it clear at Monday’s joint meeting of the two cabinets that Kyiv could count on continuing support.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Miroslav Chaloupka, ČTK

The American war veteran George Thompson, who helped liberate Plzeň in May 1945 with the 16th Armored Division, has died at the age of 99. He was the last of the surviving American veterans who liberated the city and returned repeatedly for the annual Liberation Festival. The West Bohemian capital held a memorial in his honour on Monday.

George Thompson joined the US army at the age of 19.

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Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth, ČTK / AP

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

Barbora Krejčíková’s name flashed around the world on Saturday when she clinched the Wimbledon women’s singles title after a hard-fought, dramatic battle against Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo Kateřina Šulová, ČTK

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

Canoeist Martin Doktor won two gold medals at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and carried the Czech flag in Sydney four years later.

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Author: Guillaume Narguet, Ian Willoughby

Source: Letní slavnosti staré hudby

The annual Summer Festivities of Early Music kick off in Prague on Tuesday evening with a special concert at Prague’s Emmaus Monastery. The performance, featuring rare instruments and music from medieval manuscripts, will bring to life an altarpiece by the famous Flemish Renaissance painter Hans Memling. I discussed the opening event and more with the festival’s director Josefína Matyášová:

“The story behind this project started in 2017, when the Flemish ensemble Oltremontano Antwerpen became the ensemble in residence at the Art Museum in Antwerp.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Ruth Fraňková, Radio Prague International

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

A crowd of people gathered on the platform of the Florenc metro station on Thursday afternoon to see the official unveiling of two giant paintings placed against each other on the walls above the metro tracks.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Christian Democrat MP and head of the European Affairs Committee Ondřej Benešík has accused the British ambassador to Czechia, Matt Field, of describing Czechia and Czechs as being intolerant. In an interview with the Czech daily Deník N published on Friday, he said that the British ambassador was “trying to educate us” about tolerance while his own country, in his words, “tolerates intolerant Islam”.

The interview followed a social media post that Mr Benešík made on X, which has since been deleted, in which he tagged the British ambassador and asked him what he had to say about a video of a recently elected British Muslim MP “swearing in”, or taking the parliamentary oath of allegiance to the country, using the Koran. The ambassador responded by saying he wasn’t quite sure whether he understood the question, but that in the UK, MPs can swear in either using a religious text of their choosing or they can choose to take a non-religious solemn affirmation.

Source

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: National Technical Museum

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

The merry-go-round is still located on its original wooden pavilion, built on the plan of a regular dodecagon with a span of 12 meters with a pyramidal roof.

See more here.

The seventh part of our video series on Czech Music Greats is devoted to the cycle of symphonic poems My Homeland by Bedřich Smetana, one of the greatest musical manifestations of the National Revival. It was composed between 1874 and 1879 and received its premiere in November 1882 at Prague’s Žofín Palace.

See more here.

Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Illustration photo: Jan Kubelka, Radio Prague International

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

The decline of newspapers has been a subject of discussion for decades, and with the advent of online news and search engines, many smaller and local newspapers around the world have gradually closed their printing presses.

See more here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Daniel Pilař, Archeologický ústav AV ČR

Czech archaeologists have discovered a Neolithic settlement near the central Bohemian town of Kutná Hora. Built approximately 7,000 years ago, it has been exceptionally well-preserved, including the floor plans of four long houses. I discussed the details of the discovery with Daniel Pilař from the Czech Academy of Sciences’ Department of Prehistorical Archaeology.

“This site was discovered early this spring as part of rescue excavations.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Markéta Kachlíková, Radio Prague International

Karlovy Vary is the largest and most visited spa town in Czechia. Together with Františkovy and Mariánské Lázně, it forms a so-called West Bohemian Spa triangle, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021 as part of the Great Spas of Europe. Karlovy Vary boasts magnificent scenery, beautiful architecture and unique spa treatments based on the beneficial effects of the local thermal mineral springs. Another attraction is the world-renowned International Film Festival that takes place in the west Bohemian town at the start of the summer.

Legend has it that Karlovy Vary was founded by the Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV in the 14th century.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Vít Šimánek, Animal Music

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

Tomáš Sýkora comes from Nymburk, a small town in Central Bohemia.

See more here.

Photo: Michal Krumphanzl, ČTK

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

See more here.

Photo: Vít Pohanka, Radio Prague International

Your first thought will probably be: what a strange combination of guests. But bear with me.

As I am recording this episode, a NATO summit is in full swing in faraway Washington, DC, and Czechia is, quite naturally, represented by its president, Petr Pavel.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

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

See more here.

Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: Paul-Henri Perrain, Radio Prague International

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

According to the Prague Convention Bureau, the number of foreign congresses and conferences increased by 54% from 2023 to 2024, balancing the ratio of foreign (49.

See more here.

Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Source: Warner Bros.

Blade Runner 2099, the upcoming Amazon Prime Video television sequel to the 1982 and 2017 films of the same franchise, has started shooting in Prague. US actress Hunter Schafer and Malaysian Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh are among the big names known to be filming in the Czech capital. I caught up with Czech Radio film critic Kristina Roháčková to find out what else is currently known about the production.

Blade Runner 2099 has just started filming in Prague.

See more here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

Cycling enthusiast Sergio Almeida has come to public attention in Prague for his clashes with the authorities, both online and on the streets. The Portuguese man, who is 45, criticizes the city’s cycling lanes and aggressive drivers on social media and even streams videos from his bike live on YouTube. The magistrála, the large through-road that cuts across the top of Wenceslas Square, is a regular bugbear of Almeida’s – and when we met metres from it he described run-ins he has had with city officials.

“I was having a normal ride but the city police dropped a siren, to stop, and said, Magistrála – no cyclists.

See more here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Compared to last year’s female pangolin Šiška, this year’s cub is not only tougher, but especially the mother Run Hou Tang now has enough breast milk. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

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

“The cub gains about ten grams every day. If everything goes as well as it has so far, he will weigh a quarter of a kilogram this week,” says the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek. “The mother has enough milk and the baby is growing fast. So far, it looks like we won’t have to feed him, as was the case with Šiška last year.”

People can already propose a name for the cub on the iDNES.cz website. Breeders will then choose their five favorites from the public’s suggestions sent by noon on July 16. The final name will then be decided by the public again in the second round of polls. It will last from July 18 to 23. The Prague Zoo is planning a christening ceremony for Sunday, July 28.

The small female Chinese Pangolin is already the second cub of the female Run Hou Tang and the male Guo Baa, who came to the Prague Zoo two years ago. Although the breeding of the only mammals with scales in human care is very demanding, last year the Prague Zoo was the first in Europe to successfully raise a cub, a female Šiška. Endangered pangolins are currently the most illegally traded mammals in the world – for both their meat and their scales.

The Indonesian Jungle Pavilion now remains open, but the mother and cub exhibit is still temporarily covered due to the shutdown. But visitors can go to the pavilion to meet one and a half year old Šiška and her father. The Prague Zoo will inform about the unveiling of the exhibit in the near future.

Photo: National Archive

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

Rudolf Slánský, who had been general secretary of the Communist Party and second only to the then president, Klement Gottwald, was convicted along with several others on trumped up conspiracy charges.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Michal Šafařík, Czech Radio

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

The main thing that makes Troll special among the roughly seven thousand or so other satellites currently orbiting the Earth is the hyperspectral camera it is equipped with, that can photograph parts of the light spectrum invisible to the human eye.

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Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Radek Petrášek, ČTK

A re-enactment of the siege of Bezděz Castle by Sigismund of Hungary, who arrived in summer of 1402 with his army in an attempt to besiege the castle, took place at the weekend. Visitors were treated to historical fencing, period weapons in action, but also a visit to a torture chamber, a taste of medieval cuisine and period arts and crafts.

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Photo: Pavel Lebeda, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Renowned Czech footballer Pavel Nedvěd, from Cheb in the Karlovy Vary region, known as the “Czech Cannon” and “Czech Master,” gained widespread recognition for his standout performances while playing for the Italian club Juventus Turin and for clinching the prestigious Golden Ball award as Europe’s best footballer in 2003.

“It means a lot to me [to win the Ballon d’Or], but not just for me, it means a lot for my country and for our football.

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Author: Jakub Ferenčík, Vít Pohanka

Illustration photo: Lenka Žižková, Radio Prague International

What are the most common Czech first names of the last century and when have they enjoyed greatest popularity? And in recent decades what names have been inspired by Western pop culture? This information can be gleaned from an online app launched this week by the data team at the iRozhlas.cz news site. I discussed the app’s findings with one of its creators, Michal Kašpárek.

The headline of your piece asks, Was anyone named Amélie born before the film? So, were they?.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Rostislav Duršpek, Czech Radio

This time, the Muse on the Water music festival in České Budějovice will be accompanied by the dulcimer music of Milan Brouček. A native of West Bohemia, Mr. Brouček fell in love with the dulcimer as a child during a visit to Slovakia. Despite his parents’ skepticism, he pursued his passion and eventually became a violinist for the Pilsen Philharmonic, founding his own dulcimer band along the way.

The Milan Brouček Cimbalom Music (CMMB) was formed in 2014 and their repertoire includes many genres, including elements of Bohemian, Moravian, Slovak, and Hungarian folklore, Roma melodies, popular film melodies, pop and rock covers, and more.

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Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Moravské zemské muzeum Brno

July 3rd marked 170 years since the birth of Leoš Janáček – a classical music composer with a distinctly Czech style.

Born on July 3, 1854 in the small town of Hukvaldy in Moravia, Leoš Janáček showed exceptional musical talent from an early age and as a young boy he became a choir singer at the prestigious Augustinian Monastery in Brno.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has been won for the first time by a documentary: A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things. Among the other works honoured at Saturday’s closing ceremony was Waves, which is centred on events at Czechoslovak Radio in 1968 and took the audience award.

The Grand Prix at this year’s Karlovy Vary went to A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Ondřej Tomšů, Radio Prague International

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

The events linked to the anniversary include theatre performances, debates, music concerts and film screenings dedicated to Jan Hus.

See more here.

Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Martina Kutková, Radio Prague International

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

Although hantec no longer exists in its original form, many of the words and expressions, such as šalina (tram), or čurina (fun), have become part of spoken Czech in Brno.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

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

Projects selected by an expert jury can receive up to 100% financial support, including the costs of transport, accommodation, and fees.

Those interested can apply for a unique opportunity to present the Czech Republic at the biggest event of this decade until September 10, 2024.

“We take our participation in the world exhibition very seriously, which is why we emphasize presenting ourselves as comprehensively as possible. In Japan, we naturally want to present Czech companies, Czech artists, and interesting projects in addition to the top-notch architecture and innovative design of the Czech national pavilion. The cultural program will take place mainly in the interior spaces of the pavilion’s auditorium, which can accommodate up to 240 visitors. We are very curious to see who will want to participate in the cultural challenge, and we are really looking forward to all the applications,” says Ondřej Soška, ​​general commissioner of the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, adding: “I firmly believe that the cultural program in our pavilion will not only be an aesthetic experience for Japanese visitors but also inspiration for the global audience at EXPO 2025.”

The call is open to individual creators, art ensembles and entities primarily from the field of contemporary theatre, dance, music and related genres with proven international experience. Applicants must have Czech citizenship or permanent residence in the Czech Republic, while exceptions may be granted to foreigners working in Czech art collectives. The ability to communicate effectively in English with Japanese organizers and partners is also important.

Among the criteria that the jury will take into account during the selection, in addition to the programmatic quality of the project, in particular, the Czech-Japanese cultural-artistic connection and the possibility of co-financing, as well as innovativeness, the use of modern technologies or environmental sustainability. Artists can also find inspiration in the planned eight thematic blocks of EXPA 2025. These will be devoted to topics such as cultural community, mobility and smart cities, sustainability and consumption, health and well-being, education and games, security and human rights, in the form of conferences and workshops—ecology and nature conservation or SDGs and future society.

EXPO 2025 will take place from April 13 to October 13, 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka, Japan, and will welcome almost thirty million visitors, 85% of whom will come directly from Japan. The central theme of the exhibition is Creating a future society for our lives. The cultural program of the Czech National Pavilion will reflect the theme of Talent and creativity for life, with an emphasis on Czech talent and innovation.

More detailed information about the call, technical specifications of the premises of the Czech National Pavilion, and other details are available here . Those interested can fill out the application form from July 9 to September 10, 2024. The expert jury will then evaluate the projects, and the Office of the Commissioner General and the Czech Center will publish the results in the first half of October 2024 at the latest.

Photo: Martin Frouz, Czech Institute of Egyptology

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

Men with writing proficiency enjoyed a privileged position in ancient Egypt, being part of just one percentage of the population that was literate.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

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

Thousands of people are expected to attend celebrations at the Velehrad pilgrimage site, which traditionally include an open air mass, exhibitions, lectures and public debates and a charity concert within the Days of People of Goodwill.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Lucie Suchánková Hochmanová, Czech Radio

The first zone of Šumava National Park is an off-limits area dedicated to flora and fauna protection. But while hikers are not allowed to enter the primeval forests, boaters may admire its beauty from the Teplá Vltava, or “warm Vltava“ a headstream in the Bohemian Forest and one of the two main sources of the Vltava River. However paddling through this pristine stretch of the Vltava is a privilege for a restricted number of people.

“I’m Šimon and this is my sister Eliška.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

We can’t talk about Czech gastronomy without mentioning beer! With its bitterness, rich colour, intense hoppy flavour, and an over 1000-year-long history, Czech lager is commonly regarded as one of the best in the world. Find out how it’s made – and how much of it Czechs drink every year – in the next instalment of our video series Czech Food Classics!

See more here.

Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz

ANO leader Andrej Babiš recently founded a new group at the European Parliament with Viktor Orban. Regarded as a far-right bloc, Patriots for Europe also now includes the likes of Marine Le Pen and Geert Wilders – and this week was accused of being pro-Russian by the Czech prime minister. I discussed Mr. Babiš’s move with Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the think tank Europeum.

“It is obvious that in his former political group he was not very satisfied with the political environment he found himself in.

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Author: Ian Willoughby

Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová attended a meeting of the leading representatives of the parliaments of NATO countries in Washington, D.C. In her contribution, she appealed for more intensive support for the defending Ukraine. The deepening of political and economic Czech-American ties was then discussed with representatives of Congress and the organization American Friends of the Czech Republic. The meeting of legislators took place on the eve of the summit of NATO heads of state.

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, led the parliamentary delegation and attended the meeting of the heads of the legislative bodies of the North Atlantic Alliance.

“Our country is leading a munitions initiative, the goal of which is to deliver half a million artillery shells to Ukrainian defenders by the end of the year. Since the beginning of the war, European countries have provided joint aid to Ukraine in the amount of almost two and a half trillion crowns. But we all need to do much more. A Ukrainian defeat would mean a complete disaster for our entire continent. However, Russian aggression is not only a European problem. I am therefore glad that the American Congress understands the urgency of the situation, the most striking proof of which is the recent adoption of a package of economic and military aid to Kyiv,” said Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Markéta Pekarová Adamová in a speech about current security challenges.

In her speech, the president also strongly condemned Russian missile attack on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital. “The barbaric, brutal aggression against the most vulnerable reveals the true nature of today’s Russian regime,” she added.

As part of the work program, the President also met with members of the US Congress in Washington and also held a working meeting with the influential expatriate association American Friends of the Czech Republic.

“Czech-American relations are today in a number of areas at one of the best levels in our modern history. Therefore, at the meeting in Congress, I also raised the issue of obtaining business visas of the E1 type, which would significantly facilitate the access of our entrepreneurs to the prospective American market and thus deepen our mutual economic ties,” added the Speaker of the Chamber of Commerce, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

The Czech parliamentary delegation also consisted of the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security Pavel Fischer and the head of the Parliament’s Permanent Delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, MP Jiří Horák. The meeting of leading lawmakers took place in the US capital on the eve of the summit of NATO heads of state.

“It is literally vital that in the year when our country marks a quarter of a century since joining the strongest defense alliance in the world, our government fulfills its long-term commitment and we contribute the agreed 2 percent of GDP to common defense,” concluded President Markéta Pekarová Adamová.

Photo: Národní hřebčín Kladruby nad Labem

In 1563, the Holy Roman Emperor Maxmillian II of Habsburg founded a stud farm in Kladruby nad Labem which his successor, Emperor Rudolph II of Habsburg, granted a charter in 1579, elevating it to the status of Imperial Court Stud Farm. The stud farm was taken over by the state in 1918 when Czechoslovakia gained independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

On 6 July, the Kladruby stud farm, or the Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem, as it is formally inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, is celebrating five years of UNESCO World Heritage status.

See more here.

Author: Klára Stejskalová

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

H.E. Mrs. María Pérez Sánchez-Laulhé, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Spain:

H.E. Mrs. Winnie Natala Chibesakunda, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Zambia based in Berlin:

H.E. Mr. Raveesh Kumar, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India:

H.E. Mr. Vasyl Bohdanovych Zvarych, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine:

Photo: Tim van der Kuip, Unsplash

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

“Personally, I would prefer to work less per day but actually five days.

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Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Anna Fodor, Radio Prague International

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

The 17th All-Sokol Slet kicked off on Sunday with a parade through the centre of Prague.

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Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: Patrik Uhlíř, ČTK

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

Source: ČTK

Photo: Tobias Steinmaurer, ČTK / APA

Andrej Babiš’ ANO party, Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party and Austria’s FPÖ have announced the formation of a joint alliance in the European Parliament called “Patriots of Europe”. How much do they have in common and how much influence can they hope to wield? Those are some of the questions I put to political analyst Jiří Pehe.

“I think that they may get enough other supporters to be able to form a faction in the European Parliament, because what they need is deputies from seven countries and a minimum of 25 MEPs of which they already have 23.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

Photo: © MZV ČR/ MFA CZ

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

The 12-meter high structure will be a crystal spiral made up of an inner pavilion with a diameter of 15 x 5 metres, surrounded by a tube-like hollow space of a diameter of 90 metres.

See more here.

Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Khalil Baalbaki, Czech Radio

The Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra with their chief conductor Petr Popelka has left on a two-week tour of Japan. They are set to perform six concerts in five cities across the country, starting in Osaka on Saturday. Ahead of their departure, I caught up with the orchestra’s director Jakub Čížek and I first asked him about the preparations for such a major tour:

“Usually, it takes two or three years before a planned tour takes place, but this time it took even longer, because of the Covid break.

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Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: archive of Slavomír Valda

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

Sedecula pulvinata is a potato-shaped mushroom that grows completely or partially underground.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary

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

The region’s biggest cinema event will kick off late on Friday afternoon with the arrival of celebrities on the red carpet outside the main venue, the brutalist Thermal Hotel.

See more here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Tomáš Vodňanský, Czech Radio

The Landscape Festival Prague 2024 is a three-month multidisciplinary platform that aims to transform the urban landscape for the summer season into a place for discussion about the potential uses of public space. Through temporary architectural interventions, art installations, exhibitions and happenings, residents, politicians, architects, artists and the general public are encouraged to meet and discover disused spaces and areas of urban wilderness together.

The concept of the festival is to guide you along a track, a “green line”, starting in Prague’s Gordian knot around Florenc and leading you through Žižkov past abandoned areas and urban wildernesses, so-called “non-places” and “vague terrains”, all the way to Malešice in Prague 10.

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Author: Anna Fodor

Join us on a trip to the Karlovy Vary Region – famed for its hot mineral springs, spa treatments and the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which every year draws movie stars from Hollywood and beyond. Our drone video will guide you from the Ore Mountains through dense forests to the rich architectural heritage of its world-famous spa towns.

Source

Authors: Vít Pohanka, Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: House of Lobkowicz

A new museum exhibition in Nelahozeves connects renowned composer Antonín Dvořák’s music with the spirit of his birthplace. The exhibition emphasizes sound and music, with visitors accessing the experience through special audio guides that detail the composer’s life from his humble origins to global fame. The exhibition opened on June 28.

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was born in the small village of Nelahozeves in Central Bohemia, 35 km north of Prague.

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Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Národní památkový ústav, CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 CZ

Some 110 years ago, on 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. His wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was killed alongside him.

Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was the daughter of Countess Wilhelmine Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau and her husband Count Bohuslav Chotek, who was from Bohemia.

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Photo: archive of Dušan Neumann

Dušan Neumann has a great story to share. Coming to New York in 1980 was definitely NOT like coming to the promised land.

In 1980, New York was a city with mostly dysfunctional public services, a high crime rate, and corruption.

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Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary

Jiří Mádl’s new film Vlny (Waves) premiered at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Monday night to a several-minute standing ovation. The film, set against the backdrop of the Prague Spring and the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, tells the story of a group of journalists from Czechoslovak Radio’s foreign service section who strive to continue telling listeners abroad the truth about what is happening under increasingly difficult circumstances. We spoke to film critic Vojtěch Rynda directly from the festival in Karlovy Vary to hear his impressions of the movie.

‘Vlny’ is being touted as one of the biggest Czech film successes in recent years.

See more here.

Author: Anna Fodor

Photo: archive of Czech Radio

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

Source

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

Sourdough bread is a Czech staple that you will not find anywhere else in the world. An indelible part of the Czech cuisine, sourdough bread is something that most Czechs eat daily and that Czechs living abroad take home with them when they come to visit. How is it made? And what do Czechs eat it with? Find out in the first part of our video series Czech Food Classics.

Source

Author: Barbora Navrátilová

Photo: Ondřej Tomšů, Radio Prague International

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

Frequent flight delays, a shortage of baggage handlers and air traffic overload –those were the reasons cited for the chaotic situation at Prague airport these past few days when incoming passengers often had to wait for several hours for their luggage to arrive and outgoing passengers sometimes found that their luggage did not arrive at their destination with them.

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Author: Daniela Lazarová

The Terrible Frog, one of the most poisonous frogs in the world, will also be on display at the Arrow Frogs exhibition at the Prague Zoo. Photo by Vít Lukáš, Prague Zoo

More than 30 species of woodpeckers in one place will be presented to the visitors of the Prague Zoo from, July 6. At 1 p.m.

The opening ceremony of the Arrow Frogs exhibition will take place in the Gočárovy Domy Gallery. The thematic program will offer a performance by a Brazilian dancer or a quiz trail for young and old. In dozens of terrariums, people can see one of the most poisonous frogs in the world, the dreaded frog, as well as rare species such as the mysterious frog or the batik Capurgana.

The exhibition returns to the Prague Zoo after several years. Photo by Petr Hamerník, Prague Zoo

Every Sunday from 1 p.m., visitors can also look forward to guided tours with an expert breeder. People can admire the frogs whose poison is used for hunting by the Amazon Indians until mid-September. The exhibition is free for all visitors to the Prague Zoo with a valid zoo ticket.

Diversifying tourism across Asia and the Pacific, alongside promoting more and better education, will be key to building a more resilient and sustainable sector.

According to UN Tourism’s data, the sector is experiencing a rapid recovery in Asia and the Pacific, with arrivals reaching 82% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2024, boosted by the re-opening of many destinations throughout 2023. Now, with full recovery on the horizon, the latest joint meeting of UN Tourism’s Commission for Asia and the Pacific (CAP) and its Commission of South Asia (CSA), focused on the challenges and opportunities for creating a positive and lasting transformation.

As our data shows, tourism’s recovery is close to complete here in Asia and Pacific. We worked together to face the crisis head on.

Guiding transformation and building resilience  

The 36th meeting of the CAP-CSA welcomed more than 130 delegates from 25 countries and territories. All Members were provided with a comprehensive overview of UN Tourism’s work and achievements since the last meeting, with key priorities then presented for the years ahead.

UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “As our data shows, tourism’s recovery is close to complete here in Asia and Pacific. We worked together to face the crisis head on. And now we must work together to focus on our priorities for the future. That means supporting education, driving investments into our sector and further strengthening the ties between public and private to build resilience and advance sustainability and inclusive growth.”

Education the top-level tourism priority  

Reflecting the high-level support given to tourism and to UN Tourism’s mission to guide the sector forward, Commission host the Philippines was represented by President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr, at the meeting. In his opening remarks President Marcos commended UN Tourism’s focus on education and training for the sector and stressed his commitment to wider sustainability efforts. “Education is always going to make any industry better and certainly tourism is no different,” President Marcos said. “We need to raise the standards and practices in this crucial sector by investing in education, training, and skills upgrading of all the personnel who are working in this industry.”

Emphasising his Government’s recognition of the importance of education, President Ferdinand Marcos expressed interest in opening a new Academy in Collaboration with UN Tourism in the Philippines. The institution would add to UN Tourism’s growing network of Academies, with education centres focusing on the specific needs of regions or on key skills needed for the future of tourism.

Resilience via green transformation  

Within the framework of the joint Commission meeting, Member States in the region tabled a thematic discussion on product development emphasizing the need for green transformation to enhance the tourism sector’s competitiveness, while bolstering its resilience through the promotion of innovative and green solutions.

Untapping Gastronomy Tourism’s Potential   

In Cebu, the spotlight was put on gastronomy tourism as one of the sure routes to progress product diversification to add value to the sector and accelerate  recovery in the region. Here, UN Tourism hosted its first Regional Forum on Gastronomy Tourism for Asia and the Pacific, connecting public and private sector leaders with top entrepreneurs and leading chefs from the region and beyond. Discussions concluded with the Cebu Call to Action on Gastronomy Tourism, urging public and private leaders to integrate gastronomy tourism into policy, foster cross-sector cooperation, namely with agriculture and creative industries, support small businesses, and promote sustainable practices.

Secretary-General Polikashvili challenged tourism players to further capitalize on the region’s growing reputation as both a destination and leader in the field of gastronomy tourism. “My proposal is to leave a legacy… to create something an education center or gastronomic center here in Cebu,” he said.

Looking ahead to Indonesia 

The meetings concluded with Members agreeing to accept Indonesia’s offer to host the 37th Joint Meeting of UN Tourism’s 2 Asian Commissions in 2025. The exact dates will be confirmed in due course.

Source: UN tourism

On the first of July, the Ministry of Regional Development launched the builder’s portal for the public and the construction management information system for officials. Both connected systems are part of digital construction management, which is envisaged by the new construction law. It will contribute to shortening building permits and simplifying the work of officials at building authorities. Thanks to the digitization of construction procedures, builders will receive all permits and statements online. The systems are connected to state databases, so a number of forms are filled out for the user, who also always has an up-to-date overview of the state of the management.

From the first of July, builders upload project documentation, with exceptions, through the builder’s portal. By the eleventh hour, over 2,106 had signed up, processed 547 applications and submitted 36 of them. Over 4,000 officials across the Czech Republic had signed up to the construction management information system by 3 p.m. “From a technical point of view, the start was successful and the digitization of construction management is working. We are not aware of any system outages. Several authorities reported difficulties, but it was not a failure of the information systems,” said Ivan Bartoš, Deputy Prime Minister for Digitization and Minister for Regional Development, describing the start of digital construction management. “In some cases, local network administrators did not correctly assign roles to officials. Our call center has already helped some authorities solve these initial problems, and administrators also have a detailed manual available from us,” added Petr Klán, director of the Department of Digitization and Information Systems at MMR.

The builder’s portal allows you to submit an application, upload documentation or communicate with the authorities online. It is a web application that can be run on a regular internet browser on a computer, tablet or mobile phone. It is connected to the information system for officials. As a result, the documentation will not circulate among several authorities and concerned authorities, but everyone will have access to it from one place and it will always be up-to-date. This will simplify and automate much of the approval process. The authorities will share information with each other and the repeated requests for filling in by the citizen will disappear. The entire procedure will take place digitally, therefore the need to print construction documentation and the associated costs will no longer be necessary. The information system for officials is also linked to the real estate cadastre or the Register of Territorial Identification, Addresses and Real Estate (RÚIAN) and other state data sources. As a key part of the new construction law, digitization will contribute to shortening the duration of permits and has a significant economic benefit.

In order to ensure the greatest possible comfort when working in the new system, the Ministry secured over 208 million crowns from the National Recovery Plan and 43 million from the state budget for the purchase of new IT equipment for construction authorities. Thanks to central purchasing, municipalities have reduced administration, and the equipment is also about half the price compared to retail prices after a volume discount. The equipment is free for authorities. It is about 4,500 computers and 9,000 32-inch monitors for easier work with construction documentation.

The first containers with the wooden structure of the Czech national pavilion for EXPO 2025 in Osaka ceremoniously left Zveřovice in Novojičínsko in the Moravian-Silesian region. These are the supporting columns of the pavilion, which will be installed in the restaurant on the ground floor of the building. The first loading was ceremoniously christened by the general commissioner of the Czech participation, Ondřej Soška, ​​together with representatives of the Czech company A2Timber, which is responsible for the supply of wood to the general contractor of the construction, the Japanese construction company Daisue.

“I am very happy that the first shipment of wooden structures is leaving for Japan exactly according to our internal schedule and that we will build the national pavilion with mainly Czech materials. The path to obtaining a building permit and selecting a general construction contractor was not at all easy – we had to provide the Japanese authorities with strength tests and other additional information confirming the declared strength of the wooden panels and key connecting elements. In the end, however, we managed to successfully overcome all the obstacles and convince the local authorities that the building is strong enough to withstand possible earthquakes or strong typhoons,” says Ondřej Soška, ​​general commissioner of the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, adding: “We are aware that our the pavilion is innovative in many aspects, but I am even more pleased to announce that it will be the first wooden structure of its kind without a metal structure in Japan. In addition, it resonated so much there that it stirred up a public discussion about CLT wooden buildings and their legal regulation.”

The first seven of the total number of roughly 50 containers are now leaving the Czech Republic, the final number will depend on the capacities of the transport companies and other factors, such as the different sizes of individual pallets and loading options. Other parts of the pavilion will travel to Japan in the coming weeks. From the Czech Republic, the containers are headed to the largest German port in Hamburg, from where they will sail to Osaka, Japan, in approximately 8-10 weeks. All wooden parts of the pavilion are made from spruce wood in three production plants in the Czech Republic, they will be completed in Yumeshima, Japan.

“I see the Czech pavilion, the first part of which is now heading to Japan, as a symbol of our modernization journey, openness to the world and sustainability, expressed in a combination of modern technologies with domestic tradition, i.e. the classic building material, which is wood. Houses made of wood have a number of advantages, they use local material, their construction is faster and is up to five times less energy-intensive than a brick building. In addition, trees bind carbon, which is bound by trees, then remains stored in building wood and does not get into the atmosphere, which is what we need. That’s why we want to support wood more, not only as a material for family houses, but also for larger, multi-storey buildings, as shown by the Czech national pavilion for EXPO 2025,” says Environment Minister Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL).

And how is the supporting wooden structure of the pavilion produced? The extracted log goes through the sawmill, where the slats are prepared, from there it goes to the processing plant for BSH (glued laminated timber) or CLT (cross-laminated solid wood), or for Novatop elements (ribbed panels, three-layer solid boards). The parts that are not ready from the factory to be installed directly on the construction site go to the timber hall of the A2Timber company, where they are further processed, the steel elements are riveted, and any painting and other operations necessary before packaging and shipping to the construction site are carried out. If necessary, part of the structure is also assembled in the hall and then dismantled. This process assembly and subsequent disassembly will be carried out, for example, with the complex roof structure of the Czech national pavilion for EXPO 2025, to ensure that everything will fit on the construction site and can be assembled without major problems.

“The Czech National Pavilion project is unique in a number of ways. This is a very unconventional building, which will be located in the challenging environment of an artificial island by the sea, with high wind and potentially seismic loads. However, it is excellent to see from the project that timber construction from CLT and glued beams has almost no limits, even though challenges exist at all levels of the design, production and implementation process of the building,” explains A2Timber CEO Martin Novák and adds: “The supply for the Czech National Pavilion is at the same time a great reference order for us. We believe that the project will bring us further opportunities in Asia, we are discussing various possibilities with the Japanese company Daisue.”

Ondřej Soška, ​​Commissioner General of the Czech participation in the EXPO 2025 world exhibition, signed the contract for the Czech national pavilion with the general construction contractor, the Japanese construction company Daisue (its CEO Kazunori Murao) on Wednesday, April 17, 2024. On Wednesday, May 15, 2024, construction was formally started , when a ceremony to pacify the earth’s deities, or Jichinsai, took place on Czech land on the island of Yumeshima.

Czechs are generally among the biggest drivers of preparations for the upcoming world exhibition. They act actively, for example, towards the organizers and participate in the coordination of European activities. In June, roughly thirty general commissioners and representatives of European states organized a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague. The June election of General Commissioner Soška to the so-called Steering Committee, the governing body of the world exhibition, is also proof.

About the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2025

In December 2022, after more than twenty years, the Office of the Commissioner General announced an open anonymous architectural competition for the design of the national pavilion for EXPO 2025. 38 competition teams applied for it, from which an expert jury led by the world-renowned architect Eva Jiřična selected the winning design in March 2023 in the shape of a glass spiral by Apropos Architects. The load-bearing structure of the building will be made up of modern wooden panels, while the facade will be made of art glass, which has a centuries-old tradition in the Czech Republic. The national pavilion will offer a worthy background for the Czech participation in EXPO 2025, which will be held from April to October 2025 on the artificial island of Yumeshima in the Osaka Bay. The pavilion will have a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, a restaurant, a VIP lounge, and in front of the pavilion there will be a relaxation area with a view of the sea for visitors.

About Czech participation in EXPO 2025

The Czech Republic will participate as an independent state in the World Exhibition EXPO for the sixth time. Ondřej Soška, ​​who won the selection procedure of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with his concept and theme “Talent and creativity for life”, holds the position of general commissioner from September 2022. The Czech Republic should be presented in Osaka not only with what the Japanese know very well and admire for a long time, for example Czech glass and classical music, but especially with Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising startups and regional talent.

You can find more information on the website of the Czech participation in the world exhibition EXPO 2025. You can also follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

The Giant’s Gate bordering Prague Castle from Hradčanské náměstí will be closed for several weeks from Monday 8^th July 2024.

The reason is the replacement of the safety posts. The reopening of the gate is scheduled for the last week of August.

The ceremonial changing of the guards will therefore temporarily replace the performance of the Music of the Castle Guard at the III. courtyard.

The security posts at the Giant’s Gate are at the end of their life and need to be replaced. The gate used for the exit from Prague Castle will therefore have to be closed. However, visitors can still leave the Castle to Hradčanské náměstí – through the south side gate to the I. courtyard, i.e. in the same direction as they are now exiting. During the seven-week reconstruction, mainly due to the necessary archaeological inspection of the site, there will be no events in the first courtyard

ceremonial changing of the guard. It will be replaced by a performance by members of the Castle Guard Music at III. courtyard, daily from 12 to 12:15 p.m. The castle guard will also temporarily not be on duty at the posts of honor in front of the Giant’s Gate.

The Gate of the Giants, the main and ceremonial entrance with the monogram of Maria Theresa and Joseph II, is characterized by the main pillars with sculptures of fighting giants. Other pillars are then supported by smaller pairs of putti (baroque decorative element) with vases and with the symbol of the Czech kingdom – the lion and the Habsburg monarchy – the eagle. All the sculptures were created by the sculptor Ignác František Platzer in 1770–1771, but the originals were replaced in 1921 by copies by Antonín Procházka and Čeňek Vosmík. He modified the first courtyard to its present form architect Jože Plečnik after 1920. Granite paving, lighting and flagpoles were made according to his project. They were originally made of fir logs, but later they were replaced with glued parts.

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

The honored guest was H.E Petr Pavel the president of the Czech Republic and the First Lady Mrs. Eva Pavlová

Watch the video from the ceremony and highlights from the speech of H.E. Mr. Bijan Sabet the Ambassador of the United States of America in the Czech Republic and H.E Petr Pavel the president of the Czech Republic

Happy Birthday United States of America

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

President Milei held meetings with President H.E Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Ph.D. Petr Fiala. Watch the Video and pictures from the reception and the meeting with the president.

At a special event organized by e15 at the Zofin,President Milei received the the annual prize of the Liberal Institute given by Petr Koblovský , Liberal Institute, Jiří Schwarz , Liberal Institute, Anglo-American University and At Josef Šíma , Liberal Institute, Metropolitan University Prague.

The Zofin was full of hundreds of guests, top business persons, politicians, Ambassadors, and other distinguished guests, who welcomed President Milei like a “Rock Star” ( Watch the video )

The President of Argentina gave a lecture: How to deal with ineffective government

More details in our next printed magazine ( 9.2024 )

Photo: Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Dresden, CC BY-SA 4.0

Baroque music was very different across European countries. What most European influences agreed on within Baroque music, however, was polyphony – the simultaneous conducting of voices which have their own rhythm and melody, yet go together perfectly and sound parallel to each other. Its unsurpassed master, Johann Sebastian Bach, found no rival in his art of polyphony for many centuries. But now we know of a worthy challenger – the “Czech Bach” Jan Dismas Zelenka.

Although he was born in the Czech town of Louňovice pod Blaníkem in 1679, he worked in Dresden, Germany, where he stayed practically all his life. And maybe that’s why, we did not know much about Jan Dismas Zelenka until the 1970s. After Zelenka’s death in 1745, his work became the property of the monarchy and was deposited in the archives of the Dresden choir. For a long time it was not possible to copy or publish his compositions. However, this prohibition was broken when, for example, Bach’s son Wilhelm Friedemann Bach copied Zelenka’s Magnificat.

See the rest here.

Authors: Bětka Horáková, Lukáš Hurník, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Czech Army

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

The action plan to send a Czech astronaut to space, called “Czech Journey to Space”, was presented at a press conference on Thursday by Prime Minister Petr Fiala and other government and industry representatives. The Czech head of government described the project as a national mission to modernize the economy, education and science.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Klára Stejskalová, Radio Prague International

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

Joan Sedlacek, a board member of the Sokol Museum and Library in St. Paul, Minnesota, is a second-generation Czech expat. Her grandparents came to the United States in the 19th century as the first Czech settlers. They eventually moved to Chicago, where Joan’s father was born. Although her mother is of a German-Danish descent, Joan has always felt a strong connection to her Czech heritage:

“It is deep in my heart. I am a 100 percent American, but like most of the Czech people I know, they really love the Czech heritage, the people and the country. We have a lot of Czechs who married other ethnic groups and brought them into the Czech culture, and they love it as well.”

See the rest here.

Authors: Klára Stejskalová, Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Jana Myslivečková, Czech Radio

Sculptor Petr Váňa has left his mark around Czechia. He made the replica of the 1650 Marian Column on Prague’s Old Town Square and has created dozens of sculptures for Czech churches, village squares and hilltops. He even has a statue underwater, at the bottom of the Slapy dam. Now he is working on a sculpture for Nelson Island in Antarctica.

Petr Váňa’s best-known work is probably the replica of the 1650 Marian Column on Old Town Square, on which he worked for an incredible 28 years. It was installed in 2020, but both the locals and visitors feel as if it has always been there. Váňa says there is a very good reason for this.

See the rest here.

Authors: Daniela Lazarová, Šárka Formánková, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Ian Willoughby, Radio Prague International

After decades as one of Czechia’s best-known authors, Jaroslav Rudiš is about to see the first ever publication of one of his novels in English. However, Winterberg’s Last Journey was actually written in German, rather than Czech, reflecting the Berlin resident’s deep immersion in German culture. Ahead of the release of the English version of the novel – which traces a 99-year-old Sudeten German’s sometimes bizarre trip through Central Europe – I managed to catch up with the extremely busy Rudiš outside a Prague café.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

Photo: Michal Krumphanzl, ČTK

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

While almost all EU countries allow postal voting in some form – or an alternative, such as online voting in France – Czechia is one of only three, along with Croatia and Malta, that currently requires its citizens to vote in person, whether at home or abroad.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Daniela Vítů, Jana Čermáková, Source:Český rozhlas

Photo: Miloš Turek, Radio Prague International

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

See the sights here.

Photo: Štěpánka Budková, Radio Prague International

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

See the test here.

Photo: VHÚ Praha

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

Heliodor Píka, a World War I legionnaire, was a patriot and respected diplomat who upheld the democratic principles of Presidents Masaryk and Beneš. During World War II, he saved the lives of many Czech refugees, housed prisoners of war and Czechoslovak Jews. In Russia, he participated in the building of a Czechoslovak military unit, meeting there, for example, with Ludvík Svoboda. Later he became commander of the Czechoslovak military mission in Russia. In May 1945, he returned to his liberated homeland, where he was promoted to the rank of division general.

See the rest here.

Source: Český rozhlas

Source: Muzeum paměti XX. století

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

1984: George Orwell and Czechoslovakia is the title of a new outdoor exhibition that has just opened at Prague’s Kampa.

Organised by the Museum of the 20th Century, the series of panels comes with a catalogue of the same title, edited and part written by historian Petr Blažek.

See the rest here.

Author: Ian Willoughby

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

The ceremony was moderated by Mgr. Marek Zeman, the spoke person of Prague 6.

Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri was an Iraqi poet. Considered by many as one of the best and greatest Arabian poets in the 20th century, he was also nicknamed The Greatest Arabian Poet, and is considered a leading classical Iraqi poet and one of the big three neo-classical poets of Iraq alongside al-Rusafi, and al-Zahawi.( source Wikipedia )

Watch the video with the speeches of the Ambassador of Republic of Iraq  H.E. Mr. Falah Abdulhasan Abdulsada and the Mayor of Prague 6 Mr. Jakub Starek and the adviser of the Iraq PM.

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

This exceptional exhibition, which lasts three days, enchants us with its varied palette of emotions and colors. We find ourself immersed in a world where the rich culture of Indonesia meets the personal experience of four artists who reveal their inner experiences of this country and views of it through twenty unique works – paintings, drawings, photographs, and batik fabrics.

We spend an evening full of visual and musical art and unique Indonesian flavors.

Watch the video and the pictures from this unique exhibition.

Photo: Zuzana Jarolímková, iROZHLAS.cz

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

Pastrňák, 28, nicknamed “Pasta,” did not attend the event at Žofín in Prague because he is in the United States. The hockey star received 595 votes in a vote of representatives, which included the Czech Ice Hockey Federation’s sports department, national team coaches, top competition clubs, and selected journalists. He beat second-placed goaltender, Lukáš Dostál, who was there thanks to his performances at the World Championships, by 79 points. Martin Nečas was another six points behind.

See the rest here.

Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: archive of Roma Education Fund

We’re tackling a persistent issue that has plagued Czechia since the fall of communism over thirty years ago: the segregation and discrimination of the Roma people.

Despite various efforts and initiatives, Czechia has been consistently criticized by international governmental and non-governmental organizations for its inability to end segregation and improve the social status of the Roma people. For instance, the European Commission, in its annual report on the state of human rights, has stated: “Tangible progress in the advancement of the rights of Roma has by and large been lacking, and a redoubling of efforts is crucial to create a real breakthrough.”

See the rest here.

Author: Vít Pohanka

Photo: Václav Pancer, ČTK

The Children’s and Youth Olympics 2024 is being hosted by the South Bohemia Region this year. Over 3,500 young athletes are competing in 20 sports disciplines at 27 venues. The regional capital of České Budějovice is the main hub, but some events are taking place in smaller towns such as Tábor and Hluboká nad Vltavou.

Source:ČTK

Photo: Entomologický ústav Biologického centra AV ČR

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

The Apollo, known in Czech as Jasoň červenooký, is a large white mountain butterfly with distinct red spots on its wings. Once a common sight across Europe, its populations have rapidly declined in recent decades.

In Czechia, it went completely extinct about a century ago as a result of mass catching by butterfly collectors, but mainly due to the loss of its natural habitat.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Lucie Heyzlová, Český rozhlas

Archaeologists from the Museum in Roudnice nad Labem have announced a rare discovery. While surveying a site in the small town of Budyně nad Ohří they came across a number of bronze artefacts, including pieces of jewellery, dating back over 3500 years.

The discovery was made about a year ago during a routine research of a field near the town of Budyně nad Ohří, some 40 kilometres north-west of Prague. Using a metal detector, an archaeologist came upon a collection of metal objects hidden under ground.

See the rest here.

Author: Ruth Fraňková

Photo: Barbora Navrátilová, Radio Prague International

To define Nikol Bóková as a pianist and composer would be far too simplistic. The rising star we present to you today has many more talents, as we learned through this conversation. Record label owner, film producer and lover of poetry and science fiction, Bóková’s many skills and interests intersect in her beautiful music. In this episode, we learn more about the musician‘s background, and the precise moment she realized she wanted to be a concert pianist.

Source

Authors: Petr Dudek, Amelia Mola-Schmidt

Illustration photo: Lenka Žižková, Radio Prague International

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

Beer consumption in Czechia is still the highest in the world despite its significant drop in recent years, Novinky.cz reported. The average number of beers drunk per capita in 2023, including infants, was 256 beers per head, about 128 litres, exceeding the lowest average consumption figures ​​during the COVID-19 restrictions and the lowest record number in 1963. But why?

See the rest here.

Author: Jakub Ferenčík

Photo: Zdeněk Zajíček, Czech Radio

If you’ve ever visited the UNESCO-listed castle in the picturesque South Bohemian town of Český Krumlov, you can’t have failed to notice the brown bears living in the former moat of the castle complex. These ursine dwellers won’t be on display for too much longer however – after years of campaigning by animal welfare organisations, the National Heritage Institute has decided to end the centuries-long tradition by 2030. Český Krumlov is planning to seek an exemption.

The keeping of bears at Czech castles has been a tradition since at least the second half of the 16th century. But in recent years, animal welfare organisations such as Bears in Mind, Four Paws, and the German Foundation for Bears (Stiftung für Bären) have received numerous alerts, usually from tourists visiting the castles, about bears being kept in inappropriate conditions.

See the rest here.

Authors: Anna Fodor, Petr Kubát, Source:iROZHLAS.cz

On the occasion of the 126^th Anniversary of the Declaration of the Philippines Independence and the 50^thAnniversary of the Philippines and Czech Republic Diplomatic Relations, H.E Mr. Eduardo R Menez The Ambassador of the Republic of Philippines in the Czech Republic, and Mrs. Marissa V. Menez host a reception at the Cloud 9 Sky Lounge at the Hilton Prague with the best city view.

RNDr. Miloš Vystrčil – President of the Senate of CR was the honored guest.

Watch the video with the speech of H.E. Mr.  Eduardo R Menez – Ambassador of the Republic of Philippines and RNDr. Miloš Vystrčil – President of the Senate of CR

H.E. Mr. Fredrik JÖRGENSEN, Ambassador of Sweden, H.E. Mr. Laimonas TALAT-KELPŠA, Ambassador of Lithuania, H.E. Ms. Gita KALMET, Ambassador  of Estonia, H.E. Mr. Soren KELSTRUP, Ambassador of Denmark, H.E. Mr. Pasi Olavi TUOMINEN, Ambassador  of Finland, Mr. Per Oystein VATNE,  Deputy Head of Mission at Norway Embassy, H.E. Ms. Elita KUZMA, Ambassador of Latvia, H.E. Ms. Maria Erla MARELSDÓTTIR, Ambassador Iceland, Mr. Vitalii USATYI,  Chargé d´Affaires of Ukraine, RNDr. Miloš Vystrčil – President of the Senate of CR

The countries of Nordic and Baltic regions – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden – hold their yearly joint National Days celebration together. Ukraine joins them as a guest country.  Prague is the only place where this celebration has been arranged for many years. We fully agree with Ambassadors when they say that „our strength thrives not only on our economies and our alliances but above all on our values. Solidarity, justice, respect for human rights, and fundamental freedoms form the foundation of our societies. It works both inwards and outwards.“ We all stand for Ukraine together as great allies and partners.

The guest of honor was Mr. Milos Vystrcil the president of the Senate of the CR.

The guests enjoyed the performance of the very unique and talented “Sunny Swing Band”

Watch the video with the speeches of the Ambassadors and the Senate President.

The first Czech baby wombat peeks out of its mother Winkleigh’s pouch.

The first baby wombat born in the Czech Republic can be seen at the Prague Zoo. Although it was born last September, it can only now be observed because wombats, like other marsupials, are born in the embryonic stage and subsequent development takes place in the safety of the mother’s pouch. In February, the cub began to stick its limbs out of the bag, and from March onwards, its head, which was still bare at the time. She is now fully furred and left her mother Winkleigh’s pouch for the first time a few days ago for a short walk. On Saturday, June 15, the gender and name of the little wombat will be revealed by the patron of Prague wombats, actor and presenter Ondřej Sokol. The festive event will start at 2 pm in the Darwin Crater.

“Male Cooper didn’t have an easy time with his mate Winkleigh at first. Straight from Tasmania, the female chased Cooper around the paddock and gave him more than one bite while getting to know him. But there is no better confirmation that they have found their way to each other than the birth of a cub – the first of its kind in Czech zoos,” said the director of the Prague Zoo, Miroslav Bobek.

The cub’s parents are the aforementioned first pair of common wombats in the Czech Republic: a five-year-old female Winkleigh born at the Trowunna Wildlife Sanctuary in Tasmania and an almost four-year-old male Cooper from the Hanover Zoo. These marsupials, related to koalas, are famous for their cute appearance and unique cube-shaped droppings. The best way to see them is during their guided feeding, which takes place every day from June 1 at 2 p.m. in the Darwin’s Crater exhibition unit in the lower part of the zoo.

In addition to christenings, a thematic program will also be prepared for children visiting Veselovského luka and its surroundings on Saturday. It is inspired by Peter John Nicholson’s research on the “wombat boy” and includes, for example, digging or measuring wombat burrows, searching for treasure, making wombat cubes or demonstrations of their atypical defenses.

For the media: On Saturday, June 15, there will be a meeting for the christening at 1:30 p.m. at the main entrance to the Prague Zoo. Requests for accreditation should be sent by noon on Friday to the email masek@zoopraha.cz.

Photo by Oliver Le Que, Prague Zoo