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Brno’s unique language variety, known as Hantec, has been added to the South Moravian Region’s list of traditional folk culture. It developed among the city’s lower classes in the 19th century and has survived in some everyday expressions. Its promoters now hope to have it recognised at national level and eventually by UNESCO.
The European champions in the youth sailing class took place on Lake Lipno, which provided challenging conditions for the competitors. The overall standings were ultimately decided by the very last race. The best Czech crew, Jakub Lojka and Dominik Szmaragowski (pictured), finished in 19th place.
The first-ever exhibition of David Lynch’s visual art in Czechia opened this week at Prague’s DOX Centre for Contemporary Art. Called Up In Flames, it presents a selection of more than 400 works curated in collaboration with Lynch himself, shortly before his death in January. I spoke with curator Otto M. Urban about Lynch’s legacy, Czech ties, and what visitors can expect.
A couple of streets away from Prague’s Old Town Square, the Minorite Monastery of St. James has at last opened to the public. It now offers the largest outdoor escape game in Czechia , inspired by the 800-year history of the site, and playable via WhatsApp chat.
Prague’s riverside embankments are a summertime hotspot for both locals and visitors, with scenic castle views, hosting numerous gastronomic events and farmers markets. On Friday and Saturday, the embankment on Rašínovo nábřeží will host “Pivo na Náplavce”, an annual microbrewery festival.
Amid the roar of engines and the hum of innovation at the prestigious Paris Air Show, a small Czech company is turning heads with something unusual: whistling drones.
The coalition government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Wednesday survived a no-confidence vote in the lower house over a bitcoin scandal that has shaken the government in its foundations. Although the ruling coalition will be able to complete its full four-year term in office, many questions remain unanswered and analysts predict that the bitcoin scandal will cast a long shadow.
The scandal of the bitcoin donation to the Ministry of Justice, worth nearly one billion Czech crowns, continues to dominate the Czech political scene. On Wednesday 18th, the centre-right government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala survived a no-confidence vote, and the prime minister now likely hopes that this will settle the matter. But has the damage been done? Danny Bate spoke to political analyst and writer Jiří Pehe, to get his opinion on the Civic Democrats’ (ODS) handling of the scandal that emerged from within their own party, and what it means for their election chances.
Workers in Prague have started building tracks that will connect Vinohradská třída, near the National Museum building, with Wenceslas Square. Trams will return to the area after almost half a century. The construction work is already limiting traffic on the main line, and the restrictions will be extended in the direction of the city center from July. Public transport passengers will have to prepare for traffic complications.
Eight vintage Praga cars have gone on display at the National Technical Museum in Prague as part of a new temporary exhibition. The vehicles come from the private collection of Emil Příhoda, who spent over sixty years preserving the legacy of one of Czechoslovakia’s most iconic car brands.
Attracting more educated tourists interested in culture to Prague is the goal of a new game called Playing Prague. Created by developers from Charles Games, a studio founded in 2020 at Charles University, the game allows you to build your own image of the capital and learn from its history.
Pursuits involving fleeing vehicles pose a persistent challenge for law enforcement officials across Europe. Traditional methods used to disable or stop fleeing vehicles, such as spike strips or physical ramming, often carry significant risks to public safety, the pursued driver, and police officers themselves. In response to this long-standing issue, Czech researchers have now developed a safer, non-destructive alternative.
The Czech Academy of Sciences has unveiled a series of unique archaeological finds discovered during a rescue dig along the future Prague Ring Road. The research, one of the biggest of its kind in Czechia’s history, offers a rare glimpse into the lives of prehistoric communities near the Czech capital.
The 20th GLOBSEC Forum, held in Prague from 12 – 14 June 2025, brought in more than 2,000 attendees representing 78 countries to discuss the geopolitical challenges of our era. While there, I spoke to former ambassador to the US, Israel, the UK, and biographer of Václav Havel, Michael Žantovský, about the current political landscape and Czechia’s response to today’s challenges.
There are plenty of guides to Prague, but few consider the city from a child’s point of view. Meanders through Prague, first published in 2024 and now heading into its second edition, offers a fresh and creative way to explore the Czech capital, with the city’s youngest visitors in mind. The book is a collaborative effort by local writers, artists, and food lovers, each sharing their favourite spots, including galleries, bookstores, parks, and playgrounds. But in a world dominated by social media, do we still need paper guidebooks? And how valuable is local insight when discovering a city? I sat down with Emma Hanzlíková, the editor of Meanders through Prague, to find out.
Filip Topol, the late frontman of the legendary Czech rock band Psí vojáci (Dog Warriors), was born 60 years ago this week, on June 12, 1965. He gave his first performance in the spring of 1978 at the cottage of then-dissident Václav Havel. That same year, he founded Psí vojáci with two of his classmates. In the early 1980s, the band clashed with the authorities and was limited to performing at illegal underground events. After the fall of communism, however, they became a major force on the Czech rock scene. This edition of Sunday Music Show pays tribute to the charismatic songwriter, singer, and pianist.
For the first time in history, a team of Czech students is taking part in the Shell Eco-marathon, global competition focused on energy efficiency, sponsored by the oil and gas giant. Until Sunday, the team from the Czech Technical University’s Faculty of Transportation will be at Poland’s Silesia Ring, aiming to drive their electric car prototype as far as possible on a single kilowatt-hour of energy.
Petr Brod, a veteran journalist who grew up in a Jewish, German-speaking family in Prague and moved to West Germany in 1969, was one of the recipients of the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy on June 3rd. After the ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he talked to Danny Bate about his dilemma over accepting the medal, his contribution to good Czech-German relations, and the role of radio in politics and society today.
The Hendrich family tomb in Skalná in the Cheb region, which was seriously damaged by vandals, was opened after a difficult reconstruction. After the archaeological research that preceded the reconstruction, experts also discovered the mummified remains of the six-year-old boy for whom the tomb was originally built. The monument now serves as a reminder of the family tragedy.
Activists with the Greenpeace organisation climbed onto the roof of the Tesla customer centre in Čestlice on June 11th, with banners and an image of Donald Trump and Elon Musk setting the world on fire.
Saint Wenceslas, the Czech patron saint, was a key figure in the early history of the Czech lands. Now, more than a thousand years after his death, an international team of scientists has recreated what the Christian martyr may have looked like, using a skull believed to be his and state-of-the-art technology.
Cricket, while not a sport associated with Czechia, has many fans in the country, and is very much integrated into the wider world of the sport. From June 8th to 13th, the Central Europe Cup, a tournament organised by the Czech Cricket Union, has brought the national teams of Austria, Norway and Gibraltar to play the host country in Vinoř, on the outskirts of Prague. Danny Bate went along to the cricket ground to speak to members of the Czech team and key figures that make the sport happen in Czechia.
Vintage car lovers from around Central Europe are getting ready for the annual “1,000 Miles of Czechoslovakia” race leading from Prague to the Slovak capital Bratislava and back. The festive event is traditionally accompanied by live music and a period fashion show to enhance the atmosphere.
The Czech army will grow by several new garrisons. It plans to create a territorial defense battalion in every region within ten years, with new bases for logistics and air defense.
At a ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 3rd, Radek Špicar was among the honourees awarded the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy. Radek is a well-known face in the worlds of Czech business, finance and industry; he currently holds the position of Vice President of the Confederation of Industry and Transport, and previously served as Deputy Prime Minister for Economy, as a member of the top management of Škoda Auto, and as Executive Director of the Prague branch of the Aspen Institute think tank. His experience, combined with his academic knowledge and warm personality, make Radek Špicar an ideal person to learn about the state of the Czech economy from, as Danny Bate did after the ceremony.
One of the most influential figures in Czech film, cinematographer Vladimír Smutný, has died at the age of 82. With a career spanning over five decades, he helped define the visual style of many notable Czech films. Among his most celebrated collaborations were the Oscar-winning Kolya, directed by Jan Svěrák, and The Painted Bird, Václav Marhoul’s haunting adaptation of the controversial novel by Jerzy Kosiński.
Climber Adam Ondra has announced his retirement from bouldering after Mejdi Schalck’s bouldering title win for France. Ondra has decided to focus solely on lead climbing. The Czech national team member did not reach the final at the World Cup in Prague, finishing 15th overall.
For this week's Sunday Music Show, we’re bringing you a profile of a rising star in the world of composing: Darja Kukal Moiseeva.
A small badge dating from the fourteenth century has gone on display in the Czech city of Opava. This unassuming object can tell us a great deal about how interconnected the world of a medieval Czech person really was.
The Pilsner Urquell brewery is the most visited destination in West Bohemia and one of the top 15 attractions in Czechia. On a typical day, it hosts around 40 guided tours in multiple languages, including Czech, German, and English. On this special occasion, a new exhibition opened that guides visitors through what it takes to make Pilsner beer. My colleague, Kristina Kellnerová, and I were lucky enough to get a hold of Craft and Heritage Director Rudolf Šlehofer at Pilsner Urquell to walk us through this staple of Czech culture and the newly opened exhibition.
A Czech science student has made a rare discovery on the island of New Guinea. František Vejmělka from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences and the University of South Bohemia became the first person in the world to capture the giant woolly rat on camera — one of the world’s largest and most elusive rodents. The animal lives high in the cold, misty mountain forests and was previously known only from old museum specimens. I asked him to tell me more about his discovery:
The sculptor Václav Lemon has been working on Olomouc’s central square to recreate a famous Baroque depiction of the Holy Trinity, only this time not out of sandstone, but out of sand!
They are veterans from the 1970’s and because of their characteristic front windows resembling glasses, they were nicknamed “Brejlovec”. They may be old-fashioned, but these diesel engines are not ready to retire. Czech Railways has announced it is giving them a new lease on life.
On June 3rd, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský awarded the Medal for Merit in Diplomacy to sixteen people and institutions who have made a significant contribution to Czech diplomacy and foreign relations. Danny Bate was present at the ceremony, and spoke to two of the honourees.
A month before its opening, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival organizers have unveiled the official line-up for this year’s 59th edition. Two Czech films—Broken Voices and Better to Go Mad in the Wilderness—will compete in the festival’s main competition. Another Czech title, On the Other Side of Summer, will appear in the Proxima section.
On Tuesday, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife, Máxima, arrive in Prague. One of the highlights of the first-ever state visit of a Dutch monarch to Czechia will be the christening of a unique bell cast in the Netherlands for the Church of the Most Holy Salvator. Remarkably, the bell was made using metal from Russian munitions used in the war against Ukraine.
Under fire over a bitcoin scandal that has shaken the Czech government in its foundations, Prime Minister Petr Fiala on Tuesday announced that he was calling a meeting of the National Security Council and wanted the country’s intelligence services to investigate whether the state could have been abused by the criminal underworld for money-laundering.
Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala extended congratulatory wishes to Karol Nawrocki on his victory in Poland’s presidential election. Pavel expressed optimism that Poland would uphold democratic principles and maintain its pro-Western orientation under Nawrocki’s leadership.
Comedian Mark Watson, a household name in the UK, was a star act at this year’s edition of the Prague Fringe. Having previously appeared on British shows like Taskmaster and Would I Lie to You? , his three performances at Malá Strana’s Metro Comedy Club brought Mark and his distinct style of stand-up to Czechia for the first time. Ahead of the second night on May 30th, Danny Bate met up with Mark to hear his impressions of Prague and to discuss what it’s like to perform comedy in another country.
A bitcoin donation worth nearly one billion Czech crowns from a convicted criminal has thrown the Czech political scene into turmoil. Opposition parties are calling for the government's resignation, accusing the Ministry of Justice of aiding in money laundering. Political analyst Jiří Pehe warns the scandal could leave deep scars on the ruling coalition ahead of the fall elections.
To celebrate International Children’s Day, traditionally observed on June 1st, this edition of Sunday Music Show highlights Czech children’s songs across a range of styles—from folk and jazz to rock and playful “baby punk.” While originally created with young listeners in mind, these songs often carry a charm and creativity that appeal far beyond childhood.
This Sunday marks exactly twenty years since the opening of the first baby box in Czechia — a place where mothers can anonymously leave their babies to be cared for and adopted. Today, there are 88 baby boxes across the country, and so far, 277 children have been safely placed in them.
Between 1990 and 2010, about 2.3 million Czechs were born. Often categorized as younger Millennials or older Gen Z, they came of age in a free country—but not an easy world. From the explosion of social media to pandemics and wars nearby, they’re facing challenges few generations before them could imagine.
Depression, loneliness, and suicide rates continue to increase. According to some data, in 2021, suicide was the third leading cause of death among youth aged 15 to 29. As a result, some UN Youth Delegates have called on the UN and other world leaders to make mental health one of their top priorities in the coming years, and perhaps, decades. One of them is Czech UN Youth Delegate Veronika Novotná, who outlined the document she co-wrote that focuses on this salient issue.
A new mural has just been completed on a building along Milady Horákové Street in Prague’s Holešovice district, near Štrossmayer Square. Created by the masked street artist Toy Box, the large-scale work pays tribute to Milada Horáková, the democratic politician executed in a communist show trial in 1950. Featuring a fragmented portrait and a quote from Horáková’s final letter to her daughter, the mural was finished earlier this week.
Following an extensive investigation, the Czech government is holding China responsible for a “malicious cyber campaign” that targeted a confidential network of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Consequently, the Chinese Ambassador to Czechia was summoned to the ministry on Wednesday.
The Museum of Literature in Prague is hosting a powerful new exhibition—centred around a remarkable item on loan from London. At its heart is a rare English edition of Karel Čapek’s Letters from England, signed and dedicated in the autumn of 1941 by twenty Czechoslovak parachute trainees in the UK. Among them was Jan Kubiš, one of the men who would later carry out the assassination of Nazi official Reinhard Heydrich.
Filtruj! 2025 is a sister event to Prague Coffee Festival, that functions as another opportunity for coffee enthusiasts in Prague, and for those visiting the city, to celebrate the country’s coffee culture. This year’s Filtruj! festival was held at the scenic National Library of the Czech Republic in Klementinum on May 24. Due to my fondness for great coffee, I went there to speak to its head coordinator Tereza Vybíralová.
On May 27th, the ‘Day of Czech’ ( Den češtiny ) is serving up a multi-genre programme of linguistic events, designed to inform Czech speakers about their language and help them to look at it with new eyes. Aimed in the morning at school groups, and later on the general public, the Day of Czech is being held in Prague’s Kampus Hybernská, where Danny Bate met with one of the team behind the event, Dr. Ondřej Dufek.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized the National Development Day for the second time. The public was invited to the gardens of the Czernin Palace on Friday, where information stands and key players provided information about the government's development policy projects and humanitarian aid. Along with this, Africa Day was held on the premises of the Foreign Ministry, where diplomats, investors, and NGOs discussed development policy.
It’s been nearly 60 years since Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia. But as investigative journalist Jaroslav Spurný argues in his new book, "Vrbětice: The Attack that Changed the Czech Republic", Russia’s security services never truly left. Their tactics evolved—from military occupation to covert sabotage, money laundering, and disinformation campaigns. And Czech politicians, knowingly or not, often helped make it possible.
Tyrš House celebrated 100 years since its reconstruction and reopening as the Prague headquarters of the Czech Sokol community in 1925. To mark the occasion, the organisation christened a colourful mural by artist Michal Škapa.
Czech guitarist and composer David Dorůžka and Polish pianist Piotr Wyleżoł – two leading names on the Central European jazz scene – have teamed up for a new album titled When the Child Was a Child. Officially launched this week at JazzFestBrno, the record takes its name from Wim Wenders’ film Wings of Desire and offers an acoustic journey drawing on both jazz and folk traditions.
A major exhibition dedicated to legendary Czech animator and illustrator Jiří Trnka opened this week at Prague’s Villa Pellé. It brings together both familiar and rarely seen works—from film puppets and book illustrations to paintings and sculptures— showcasing the full range of his creative genius.
Ukrainian historian Anna Khlebina, Czech historian Adam Hradilek, and their team are searching for the fate of Czechoslovaks in the gulags. They bring some of that history to life in Gulag and Czechoslovakia: War , the first book in a four-part series.
Returning for its 24th edition, the Prague Fringe Festival offers the Czech capital a cornucopia of English-language comedy and theatre. Ahead of the programme’s start on May 26th, Danny Bate met with its founder and director, Steve Gove, to find out what’s in store this year, how the Prague Fringe works, and how it successfully recreates the spirit of the Edinburgh original.
A unique research project is currently underway at Palacký University in Olomouc. Chemists are studying residues—possibly the remnants of ancient medicines—on medieval medical manuscripts and printed books. The project carried out in collaboration with medical experts, aims to shed new light on historical medical practices.
After seven years of research, scientists have confirmed the origin of human remains found in a mysterious chest in a church in Olomouc – they belonged to the city’s ancient Přemyslid rulers.
In January 1942, the Kohn family boarded a transport at the Pilsen railway station and never returned. Other tenants moved into their apartment and their belongings were gradually lost. Everything disappeared, except for the diary that twelve-year-old Věrka Kohnová wrote, documenting the last tragic year of her life.
In a bid to attract new recruits, the Czech Army transformed Prague's riverfront into a live demonstration of military prowess. The event featured soldiers rappelling from helicopters, armored vehicles on display, and interactive exhibits for the public.
We all come into daily contact with a certain amount of industrially produced chemicals that are known to be harmful to our health. But some professions are more at risk than others. Researchers at Brno’s Masaryk University are conducting a study that indicates that firefighters are at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases due to “eternal chemicals”.
Former Slovak president, Andrej Kiska, gave an interview to Radio Prague International during his visit to the Czech capital, in which he expressed concern about his country's future under Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's government and about a possible Czech rapprochement with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán following this year's general elections.
New research carried out by Czech scientists has revealed that Říp, the country’s most iconic hill, was once a lava lake. The solitary peak formed over 26 million years ago during a powerful volcanic eruption, which sent molten lava into a deep underground crater.
Plans are going ahead for the construction of Via Silva Nortica - a cycling path that will connect the Highlands, South Bohemia and Lower Austria. After almost two years of effort, all the land where the path will run has been secured and construction work can begin along individual stretches.
Visitors can see bears in castle moats across parts of Czechia in Český Krumlov, Točník, and, until recently, Konopiště and Náchod. But the 400-year tradition is increasingly under fire. Critics point to inadequate conditions, while supporters speak of tradition and regular inspections. So, can we expect bears to disappear from Czech castle moats?
Once a year since 1966, thousands of Czechs have put on their walking shoes and set off through the Bohemian countryside to the small town of Prčice. Among the 24,500 walkers this year was RPI’s Danny Bate.
The skies overhead may be dark and cloudy, but the Czech land below is currently showing worrying signs of drought. What are the causes? And what do meteorologists forecast for the summer months? Danny Bate spoke to bio-climatologist Miroslav Trnka from the Intersucho project, which monitors drought in Czechia, to find out more.
Eighty years after the end of World War II, Czech and Slovak communities in London continue to reflect on its legacy. Jana Nahodilová from OKÉNKO and the British Czech and Slovak Association speaks about upcoming events, including a discussion on the Runciman Mission and a film screening of The Auschwitz Report. She also shares plans for a literature festival and summer gathering that celebrate Czech and Slovak life abroad today.
For this week's Sunday Music Show, we’re celebrating the pinnacle of the classical-music calendar in Czechia: the Prague Spring International Music Festival.
This weekend, Prague opens the doors to 125 rarely accessible buildings as part of the 11th edition of the Open House Prague festival. From historic palaces to modern architectural gems, visitors will have the chance to explore a wide range of spaces — all free of charge. I spoke with festival spokeswoman Michaela Pánková and began by asking her what this year’s theme, “Past Heritage, Future Challenges,” means in the context of the festival.
With the success of Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, there has been a substantial increase in tourists visiting the Czech city of Kutná Hora, located just one hour outside of Prague by train. But which locations stand out? Members of our team visited the city to speak with tour guide Lara Emig about the uniquely well-rendered buildings featured in the hit game.
As the Czech Republic enters the early phase of its election campaign, a new NMS Market Research poll suggests that most voters are sticking with familiar political brands. Andrej Babiš’s ANO continues to lead the field, while the nationalist Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) shows a gradual upward trend. At the same time, new and smaller political alliances are failing to break through the five percent threshold needed for parliamentary entry. These early results offer a snapshot of voter sentiment—but much could change as the campaign heats up.
According to a 2025 survey published by GLOBSEC, Czechia is one of the countries in central and eastern Europe where most people would defend their homeland in the event of a foreign attack. But why? I spoke with Director for Policy and Programming at GLOBSEC Dominika Hajdu to delve into this research and what it says about Czechs.
This year the Prague Transport Company is celebrating 150 years of public transport in the Czech capital. To mark the occasion, it has prepared a documentary series entitled “The secrets of the Prague tramlines”.
Eurovision season is upon us, and Czechia is this year represented by Slovakia-born singer Adonxs (Adam Pavlovčin). Performing Kiss Kiss Goodbye , the singer will first appear before an international audience in the second semi-final on May 15th. But how will he do? Danny Bate spoke to journalist and Radio Wave broadcaster Miroslav Harant to discuss the Czech Eurovision entry.
Brno scientists are developing a system for monitoring pilot fatigue or any kind of health problem. Based on a camera with artificial intelligence, the device monitors the pilot's condition and, if necessary, responds with an alert or a more insistent wake-up call.
The Prague Spring International Music Festival, one of the highlights of the Czech cultural calendar, kicked off its eightieth edition on May 12th. As per tradition, the opening concert was a performance of Bedřich Smetana's My Country , played by the Czech Philharmonic, and with President Pavel in attendance. The programme of music runs until June 3rd. To understand the ideas and planning behind such a big event, Danny Bate spoke to its programme director, Josef Třeštík.
A team of Czech speleologists have successfully completed the longest possible cave traverse in the country—a route no one had managed until now. Over nearly two days, the trio navigated a challenging, seven-kilometre journey through the Amatérská caves system in the Moravian Karst.
A Museum of Survivors has opened near Brno, in the former factory of Oskar Schindler, the German industrialist credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during World War II. Its official opening, held on May 10th, was planned to coincide with the celebrations marking eighty years since the end of WWII.
Long before GPS apps were common and smartphones ubiquitous, Pavel Novák was printing maps and decoding clues with his wife and two young children on the streets of Brussels. It was 2008, and what started as a simple weekend activity soon evolved into something much bigger: a cross-continental pursuit of hidden treasures. As geocaching celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, Novák reflects on how the hobby shaped his family life, his travels, and even his reporting.
Music played a crucial role in boosting the morale of both troops and civilians during World War Two. Songs from both sides of the Atlantic got people on the dance floor and rallied spirits through many dark days and nights of the war. Here are some of the iconic hits that resounded at the time.
Czechia is mourning star of stage and screen Jiří Bartoška, who passed away on May 8th at 78 years of age. Among his many achievements, the charismatic actor is most fondly remembered for reinvigorating the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and ensuring its lasting success.
The geopark in Český ráj (Bohemian Paradise) is in danger of losing its UNESCO status. According to auditors, it cooperates with institutions that sell precious stones of unclear origin such as “blood minerals” mined under highly problematic conditions in Africa.
Felix Kafka was born in Prague almost exactly a century ago and escaped the Holocaust after being placed on one of the "kindertransports" to the UK organised by Nicholas Winton. He talked to Radio Prague International's Alex Rosenzweig from his home in England, where he has lived since 1939.
What do Czechs and Czech historians think about Czech treatment of the Jewish community in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and Czechoslovakia in the 20th century? I spoke to historian Ivan Puš to understand the shifting narratives surrounding Jewish belonging in Czechoslovakia. They discussed Jewish assimilation before the Second World War, Czechoslovak attitudes toward Jews that evolved in the latter half of the 20th century, and the role of censorship until the political changes of 1989, among other topics.
The plan to build two new nuclear units at the Dukovany power plant in the Vysočina Region has now been stalled, as the Regional Court in Brno on Tuesday blocked the signing of the final contract with a preliminary injunction. This was done in response to a lawsuit by the French energy company EDF, who unsuccessfully bid for the tender.
Czech tramping, a unique cultural tradition born over a century ago, is still going strong—even across the Atlantic. Recently, Czech expatriates gathered at the Czech Embassy in Ottawa to sing their favourite tramping songs, including the legendary Rosa na kolejích—Dew on the Tracks—by Wabi Daněk.
On May 8th millions of people around Czechia rejoiced in the news that Germany had finally surrendered and the war was over. But for many inmates of the Terezín ghetto, the suffering was far from over. Many had nowhere to go and another 1,500 inmates succumbed to the typhus epidemic that spread through the camp.
The annual Anifilm Festival of animated films kicks off this Tuesday in the northern Bohemian town of Liberec. Over the course of six days, audiences can look forward to dozens of screenings, but also exhibitions, concerts and workshops, across various venues throughout the town. I spoke with programme coordinator Radek Hosenseidl to find out more:
141% more new electric passenger cars were registered in Czechia in the first quarter of 2025, compared with the same period last year, according to statistics from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. This put the country in first place across the European Union. To understand this recent uptake, Danny Bate spoke to demographer, researcher and electric-car owner Tomáš Sobotka.
May 5th marks eighty years since the Prague Uprising, the daring efforts of the Czech Resistance to throw off Nazi rule. Having played a pivotal part in the uprising, Czech Radio holds annual acts of commemoration.
Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived in Czechia with his wife Olena on Sunday and held talks with President Petr Pavel. On Monday, he met with Prime Minister Petr Fiala, Senate President Miloš Vystrčil, Speaker Markéta Pekarová Adamová, and arms manufacturers.
The renowned Czech opera singer Adam Plachetka celebrates his 40th birthday this weekend. The popular bass-baritone is the only Czech artist to have performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York before the age of 30. He has been a member of the Vienna State Opera for nearly 15 years and has appeared on leading opera stages in New York, Vienna, London, Milan, and beyond. To mark the occasion, we’ll be listening to a selection from his 2015 album Arias, recorded with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.
The United States and Ukraine signed an agreement to create a US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund, which, according to its proponents, will move Ukraine closer to long-term peace and stability. Jakub Landovský, director of the Aspen Institute for Central Europe and former Czech ambassador to NATO, spoke to Czech Radio about aspects of the agreements and on how they could, in his view, provide security guarantees to the region.
Maya Kvetny is a successful casting director based in Prague and the founder of the agency Myrnyx Tyrnyx. She has become a key figure in international productions filmed in the Czech Republic, with credits including Jojo Rabbit, Spiderman: Far From Home, Nosferatu and Blade Runner 2099. I caught up with her in her studio to talk about her career and the craft of casting.
Freedom Celebrations kick off in the West Bohemian city of Plzeň on Friday, marking 80 years since its liberation by US troops. This year the city has planned the biggest celebration in decades – with the traditional Convoy of Liberty, a period war camp, a flyby of historical planes and meetings with the families of the veterans who liberated parts of western and southern Bohemia.
Alois Ullmann was a key figure in the Sudeten German social democratic movement. He fled to Great Britain during the Nazi regime but later returned to Prague. After being imprisoned in concentration camps, he worked to rebuild his party, Seliger Gemeinde, but was thwarted by the expulsion of Sudeten Germans. He later organized the resettlement of Sudeten German anti-fascists, known as "Aktion Ullmann." As the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War approaches, his grandchildren, Sally Bywater and Chris Ullmann, reflect on his legacy, with the help of historian Thomas Oellermann who sets the stage for this painful period of history.
Nearly 50 photographs of Antonín Dvořák, one of Czechia’s most famous composers, are now on display at the Antonín Dvořák Museum in Prague. Captured by both well-known photographers and amateurs, these images offer a rare glimpse into the composer’s life.
The reconstruction of Jiřího z Poděbrad Square in Prague could be completed as early as next spring. Workers have already planted most of the trees, the special irrigation system is complete, and the fountain, which has not worked for years, is partially ready. The entire park will be adapted for leisure activities, including grassy areas.
Beavers in Czechia recently made international headlines after a colony in the Brdy region built a series of dams faster than local authorities could finish the planning phase—highlighting just how quickly these animals can reshape their environment. But the attention also points to a broader trend: these once-rare animals are now spreading rapidly across the country. Not long ago, beavers had completely disappeared from the Czech landscape and were only reintroduced in the 1970s. So what helped them return? And how is it that they have even settled in parts of Prague? I discussed these questions with Aleš Vorel, a scientist from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.
In response to the Czech Railway Administration’s proposal to replace the famous railway bridge over the Vltava at Vyšehrad, an advisory mission of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Council on Monuments and Sites visited Prague last December to review the plans themselves. Their report, now published and submitted to the Ministry of Culture, has instead recommended the reconstruction of the listed bridge. To understand the importance of the Vyšehrad Railway Bridge and the view of those seeking to save it, Danny Bate spoke to the British structural engineer and bridge designer Ian Firth.
As Europe commemorates the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, another fierce conflict rages at its borders. Ukraine continues to resist Russian aggression, fighting a war that many see as pivotal for the future of European democracy. Among those defending the West’s ideals on Ukrainian soil are Czech volunteers, including Jan Trčka, a legionnaire widely known by his nom de guerre, "Santa."
Rohan City, a planned neighbourhood east of Prague city centre, is set to include a series of streets that honour both nationally and internationally famous thinkers.
Archaeologists in Eastern Bohemia have announced the chance discovery of a rare treasure near the north-eastern town of Trutnov. Hidden in a forest, the 7-kilogram hoard includes nearly four kilos of gold coins, worth over CZK 7.5 million.
Close to the age of 50, Antonín Dvořák embarked upon a music testimony of his relationship with God and an attempt to answer the most fundamental issues of human existence.
With the rise of AI, the European Union introduced regulations to standardize some rules for its use. The so-called Artificial Intelligence Act introduces significant changes for all companies and employers using AI systems across the EU. So, what does this new legislation seek to accomplish, and what is Czechia doing to implement it?
April 1945 marked the final month of Allied bombing raids on Czechoslovakia. Among the targeted cities were Kladno, Chomutov, Karlovy Vary, and most notably Plzeň. In today’s episode of our series How did WWII end in the Czech lands?, we recall the last bombing raids on this West Bohemian city with historian Karel Foud.
From April 11–13, one of the largest Model UN (MUN) conferences in the Czech Republic was held in Brno. The event saw approximately 200 participants this year. While there, I spoke with one of the invited speakers, former Slovak ambassador to NATO, Peter Bátor. Acting as the former advisor to the former Slovak president Zuzana Čaputová, among other Slovak presidents, Bátor has years of experience engaging with both Czech and Slovak youth. But how has that changed over the years?
Prague is an expanding city. By 2050, projections expect that up to 2 million people could live in Czechia’s capital. To make this transition easier for its residents, the city is investing heavily in its public infrastructure. The latest exhibition at the Center for Architecture and Urban Planning (CAMP) shows the extent to which the city is investing in its future. I spoke with the director at CAMP, Štěpán Bärtl, to find out more.
Czech scientists have developed a network of monitoring stations across the country’s forests, allowing researchers, state officials, and foresters to track the health of trees in real time. Their next goal is to expand the system to cover all of Europe.
In memory of victims of excessive speed on Czechia’s roads, the iconic astronomical clock on Prague’s Old Town Square stopped for thirteen minutes on Wednesday morning. Events and meetings across the country are also taking part in the initiative through thirteen-minute postponements.
As preparations for the funeral of Pope Francis dominate the Czech media, a deeper truth about the country quietly persists. Despite their predominantly Catholic roots, Czechs are now one of the least church-going nations in Europe.
Simona Monyová was a successful Czech novelist who authored around thirty hugely popular fiction books for women focusing on interpersonal relationships and domestic violence. It was only after her husband stabbed her to death in 2011 that her readers realized how much of her writing was autobiographical. A film series about her life now aims to highlight the plight of women caught up in a spiral of violence.
The destruction of monuments during armed conflicts in various countries prompted the National Heritage Institute to take preventive action in the case of Český Krumlov. The Institute has asked UNESCO to register the castle among the cultural assets granted enhanced protection. The nomination was submitted by the Institute in February, and a decision is expected in December.
The town of Hrušovany near Brno plans to renovate a unique villa designed by the pioneering modernist architect Adolf Loos. The municipality bought the dilapidated building five years ago, aiming to turn it into a cultural centre. It has now announced a public collection to fund the reconstruction.
On April 21st, it was announced to the world that Pope Francis had passed away in the Vatican, at the age of 88. Many Czechs have been affected by his death, and political and religious leaders in Czechia have expressed condolences and shared their memories of the late pontiff.
Prague's metro system is, for many people, one of the jewels of the city, and it has fans all over the world. Its three lines (the green A line, the yellow B line and the red C line) are iconic, and they give the impression of being fixed. But what people may not know is that actually plans are in place for a fourth line, the blue-coloured D line. But why? Why does Prague need another metro line? To answer this question, Danny Bate spoke to Adam Scheinherr. Dr. Scheinherr is currently a councillor for the city of Prague, and was, from 2018 to 2023, the deputy mayor of transport. Since 2024, he has been the chairman of the local party Praha sobě (‘Prague for itself’).
For this week's special Easter Sunday Music Show, we'll be presenting music from the only Italian oratorio by František Xaver Richter, an 18th-century Czech composer, musician, and educator, who was also a leading figure of the Mannheim School.
The popular cruise ship Arnošt of Pardubice is once again taking passengers along the Elbe River after a three-year renovation. The overhaul cost eighteen million crowns.
Over the weekend, one of the largest Model UN (MUN) conferences in the Czech Republic was held in Brno. The event saw approximately 200 participants this year, doubling in size consecutively from previous years. Typically, similar events are held in capital cities across the world; Brno is leading the charge to show that other cities can hold prominence in political representation.
Prague’s famous St. Vitus Cathedral, symbol of Czech statehood and home to the Czech crown jewels, is getting a new organ that will better resound through the monumental house of prayer. The instrument, which is being financed from a public collection, will put the finishing touch to the cathedral’s glory more than 700 years after work on it started.
National park directors are sounding the alarm over amendments to the National Parks Act proposed by MPs. According to them, the amendments would set nature protection back 30 years. The Ministry of the Environment also disagrees with some of the proposals.
To mark the opening of the Czech Pavilion at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Prague has launched a dedicated Japanese-language website aimed at promoting the Czech capital to Japanese travelers.
Prague plans to disallow the parking of shared electric scooters under its upcoming shared transport system. Residents of the city center have long complained about their use, particularly by tourists, leading to the move to drastically limit their use.
Dominik Luks is a top resilience and strength coach who trains MMA fighters and works with Czechia’s top athletes. His desire to overcome limits has led him to break three world records in just over a year.
Karel Čapek founded the PEN Club with the intention of protecting freedom of speech and the press, becoming its chairman. He was succeeded by figures such as Ivan Klíma, Jiří Stránský, and the current chairman, Ondřej Vaculík.
On February 14th 1945, a deadly bombing raid claimed hundreds of lives when the city of Prague became an unexpected target of the US Army Air Forces. In this first part of our series '80 years ago: How did WWII end in the Czech lands?', we examine the events of that terrible day in Prague’s twentieth-century history.
The Jizera Mountains in north-eastern Czechia are a popular destination for cross-country skiers. But scientists have confirmed that ski wax used by amateur skiers is polluting the protected landscape area with PFAS—highly toxic and persistent chemicals.
Recently opened in Malá Strana, the Mozart Interactive Museum offers visitors a unique experience, using up-to-date technology and innovative styles of presentation to tell visitors about the life the Prague-loving musical maestro Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Danny Bate took a tour with its director, Eva Velická.
A recent article in The New York Times sparked a debate about 'mlíko' (milk), a traditional Czech way of serving beer, which is almost entirely made of foam. A Czech bartender explains what it is and whether he recommends it.
Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has requested the extradition of former Russian state television anchor Farida Kurbangaleeva from the Czech Republic. The journalist has been in exile since 2014, when she left Russia and her job at the state-controlled Rossiya 1 TV channel in protest of the annexation of Crimea and the war in eastern Ukraine.
The Czech Society for Ornithology has named the grey wagtail as the Bird of the Year for 2025. This decision aims to highlight the crucial role that natural waterways play in supporting this striking, long-tailed bird, as well as a variety of other wildlife, communities, and landscapes. To learn more about the Bird of the Year, I spoke with ornithologist Petr Voříšek.
Recent reports have indicated that by the end of October last year, alcoholic beverages worth over CZK 924 million had been exported from Czechia to Russia over the course of ten months, with beer making up the largest share at CZK 820 million. But what do we truly know about Czech beer exports to Russia?
Tuesday marks exactly 120 years since the birth of Czech artist Zdeněk Burian, one of history’s greatest illustrators of prehistoric life. Long before the era of computer-generated imagery, Burian brought the ancient world to life with remarkable accuracy and imagination.
Czechia has dropped five places in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 46th worldwide. According to Ondřej Kopečný, program director of Transparency International Czechia, the main reason is the government's failure to prioritize anti-corruption reforms. "The political will to genuinely fight corruption is very low," he says.
Dan Brown, author of international bestsellers like The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons , has set his next mystery-thriller in Prague. Entitled The Secret of Secrets , it will see the return of academic hero Robert Langdon.
Blažena Strachotová, the oldest living citizen of the Czech Republic, is 108 years old. Born on February 9, 1917, in Slavičín in the Zlín region, she now resides in České Budějovice. Throughout her long life, she has witnessed a number of significant events, including the presidencies of Masaryk and Beneš, as well as an aerial battle near her hometown.
In today’s Sunday Music Show, we present you the recording Czech Songs, sung by Magdalena Kožená. She is accompanied the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Simon Rattle. The selection presents a number of folk songs by Czech authors and artists with Czech roots.
Antonín Fajkus, a war veteran and fighter pilot from World War II, has died at the age of 101. A native of South Moravia, Fajkus spent most of his life in the U.S., and served in the legendary U.S. Air Force's 40th Fighter Squadron, known as the “Red Devils”. His extraordinary story remained unknown to the public until last year.
The cimbalom is an elaborate stringed instrument of the dulcimer family whose rich, inimitable sound is characteristic of the folk music of Central and Eastern Europe. The Faculty of Arts of the University of Ostrava will soon become the fourth place in the world to offer a BA study course in cimbalom music.
Today, I am speaking with Lea-Ann Germinder, an AI researcher based in Missouri, US, who focuses on the responsible use of artificial intelligence. Germinder researches areas where AI technologies raise ethical concerns, particularly in how they impact privacy, decision-making, and bias. In addition to her work in Missouri and other projects, Germinder recently shared insights at the Academy of Science and Charles University in Prague. We'll also explore how AI research is viewed in the US compared to Czechia, and how emerging AI technologies are influencing the world today.
The highly anticipated Czech video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has taken the gaming world by storm. Released on February 4, after just a few days the medieval RPG quickly became the best-selling game on Steam and covered its development costs within the first day of sales.
A team of Czech scientists have discovered in southern Albania the world's largest underground thermal lake, and have named it Lake Neuron, after the foundation that funded the expedition.
The National Film Archive in Hradištek near Prague is a treasure trove of famous and lesser-known Czech films, but also contains a collection of family and amateur films. Over the years, the collection was enriched by private donors or came from the archives of public institutions that were closed down.
For the first time ever, one of the world’s most famous fossils is coming to Europe. The fossilized remains of Lucy, a 3.18-million-year-old human ancestor, will go on display at Prague’s National Museum in August, giving visitors a unique opportunity to see these priceless relics up close.
Trying to decipher the motives behind owning a football club is like putting together a colorful puzzle. Some clubs are owned by very wealthy businessmen, others by cities or even a foreign company. But they rarely, if ever make money and are definitely not a safe investment. So what motivates some rich Czechs to buy them? Football expert and editor-in-chief of Canal Plus Sport, Jiří Hošek, offers some insights.
Noah Breuer is an American artist with a personal connection to Czech history. His ancestors owned a textile factory in Dvůr Králové, which was confiscated during World War II, and most of his Jewish family perished in the Holocaust. In 2016, Breuer discovered fabric swatches from the factory in Czech archives, inspiring a series of artworks in textiles, paper, and glass that blend historical motifs with contemporary design. His works are currently on display in Břeclav at the exhibition Návrat (Return), organized by the non-profit Moravian Beauty. During his recent visit to Prague, I spoke with him about his family's legacy and his artistic response to it.
Historic trains will probably not receive a red light after all with the arrival of the new European Train Control System (ETCS) signaling system. The system was designed to improve safety and efficiency across European rail networks, but some historic trains were blocked from operating with them. Under new conditions, these trains could now return to the main railway corridors.
Alcoholic drinks are a constant presence in Czech life, with some, especially beer, achieving the status of a national symbol. Yet the ubiquity and normality of drinking alcohol can easily lead to a variety of problems. Danny Bate spoke to Petr Freimann from the national Dry February campaign (‘Suchej únor’), which is running for another year to help Czechs to take a month’s break from booze.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala will meet his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico in Brussels today after a long week of a series of accusations from Bratislava. Fiala said that he found it strange that he hears more criticism of Brussels from Bratislava than criticism of Moscow. Fico, he said, orchestrates a foreign policy that does not correspond to Czech national security, economic, or strategic interests.
Exactly 100 years ago, in February 1925, Czechoslovakia hosted the very first World Ski Championships. The event, called Rendezvous Ski Races at the time, was held in Janské Lázně in the Krkonoše Mountains. A series of events is taking place this week in the northern Bohemian town to mark the anniversary.
Petr Muk (born on Feb 4, 1965) was a Czech pop singer and composer who grew up in communist Czechoslovakia but was influenced by Western bands like the English synth-pop duo Erasure, The Cure and Depeche Mode. At the time, recordings of Western music were secretly smuggled into the country by people lucky enough to be allowed to go abroad.
The Ministry of Culture has added Czech beer and brewing culture to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of the Czech Republic, a step towards its inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Archaeologists in Ústí nad Labem in northern Bohemia have made a unique discovery: a mammoth hunting camp from the Old Stone Age. The site, covered with thousands of animal bones, includes remains of at least 13 woolly mammoths and other Pleistocene fauna, along with artefacts crafted by prehistoric people.
On his first day back in office, US President Trump halted all foreign assistance from the United States – which is the world's largest aid donor. Trump’s decision to stop funding foreign aid will also affect Czech humanitarian and non-profit organizations. Funding from these programs represents about a quarter of the organization's budget for People in Need, one of Czechia’s foremost NGOs. However, just yesterday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that exemptions had been made in US aid for humanitarian work. So, I reached out to the Director of Institutional Relations at People in Need Richard Walker, to see how People in Need is adjusting to the news.
Historic hockey trophies, medals, and iconic sports gear—these are just some of the artefacts on display at the Czech Hockey Hall of Fame. Located on Prague’s Nekázanka Street in the heart of the city, the Hall reopened last year, showcasing the sport’s greatest moments, with each item telling its own unique story.
Aggression in Czech schools is on the rise. In the course of last week alone police received 13 emergency calls from schools reporting attacks on teachers or classmates. Officers arrested altogether 10 persons and seized one firearm, two magazines, two knives, an axe and a mock revolver. How are schools preparing for such crisis situations?
Police have reopened the case of the death of former Foreign Minister Jan Masaryk who died on the eve of March 10, 1948. Originally believed to be a suicide, the Office for Documentation and Investigation of Crimes of Communism (ÚDV), a unit of the Czech Police, now suspects murder, based on newly obtained documents from the diplomatic archives of France, the United States, and Great Britain.
A new model of trams will soon be seen around Prague, as the Škoda ForCity Plus 52T was launched this week for the first time on Škoda's test track in Plzeň. Ahead of their arrival and test runs in the capital, Danny Bate spoke to councillor and former Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr about what the new trams will offer.
On January 29th, Dominik Hašek, considered by some to be the greatest ice-hockey goaltender in history, celebrates his sixtieth birthday. He spoke to Danny Bate about his career, looking back on his early years, his time as a professional sportsman, and his favourite memories.
A student at the Prague University of Economics and Business has invented a new speech-to-text system that can help small airports and small aircraft to communicate better. The system has now caught the attention of pilots, airports and even the Czech Civil Aviation Authority.
Prague may be known for its many gothic structures, medieval alleyways, quaint parks, and bustling pubs. But “the city of a hundred spires” has a darker side too. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, brutal murders and prostitution shocked the capital’s residents. Tour guide for Prague City Tourism Marek Kovář took Radio Prague for a tour of some of these sites, including the so-called “love rooms,” which many, including figures like Franz Ferdinand, would frequent.
Toilet paper, soap, but also period products could soon become mandatory items in the toilets of primary and secondary schools across Czechia. The Ministries of Health and Education are ready to take the necessary steps, but a political agreement is still pending.
Eighty years ago, Allied forces reached and entered the now-infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. The event provided the date for the modern International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which offers Czechia a chance to reflect on the horrors of the Holocaust, and to consider what work still needs to be done.
In Belarus, President Alexander Lukashenko claimed victory in his 7th presidential election on Sunday. The 70-year-old autocrat, who has ruled Belarus since 1994, was reported to have won 86.8% of the vote. On Sunday, dozens of people protested outside the Belarusian embassy in Prague's Troja district to show their discontent with the alleged results. I spoke with the Director of the Office of the Democratic Forces of Belarus in the Czech Republic Kryscina Šyjanok to discuss these developments and the role of the Belarusian diaspora in advocating for a democratic transition in Belarus.
Czech tennis player Kateřina Siniaková has secured her third doubles title at the Australian Open, marking the tenth Grand Slam title of her career. Together with her American partner Taylor Townsend, the top-seeded duo lived up to expectations, defeating the Taiwanese-Latvian pairing of Hsieh Su-Wei and Jelena Ostapenko in a gripping final.
For today's Sunday Music Show, we will be playing you some music by the Czech composer Vítězslava Kaprálová to mark the occassion of her birth 100 years ago on January 24, 1915.
Although neither of the two Czech films that were shortlisted for this year's Oscars—the historical drama Waves nor the short film The Countryman—received a nomination, the Oscar statuette may still be headed to Czechia this year. Czech set decorator Beatrice Brentnerová is nominated in the set design category for her work on Nosferatu and spoke to Czech Radio about her stylistic choices.
Supraphon, the venerable Czech record label specialising in classical and pop music, has this month been bought by the American multinational company Sony Music Entertainment.
Archaeologists in Jindřichův Hradec have made a unique discovery. During reconstruction work at the castle brewery, they uncovered exceptionally well-preserved furnaces dating back to the late 18th century.
Across Czechia, more and more children are losing access to paediatric care. Described as a “ticking time bomb” by one town’s mayor, the problem stems from both aging doctors and a lack of state support.
According to a forecast from the Institute of Planning and Development, Prague is expected to have 400,000 more residents by 2050. If this projection is underestimated, the result could be a sharp increase in housing prices, as demand would outstrip supply by thousands of units each year. So, what can be done?
Jiří Klůc is a young historian with a profound interest in World War II history and particularly in forgotten war heroes scattered the world over. With time fast running out for the last remaining survivors, he feels compelled to find them and tell their stories to the public. When he visited Radio Prague’s studio we talked about what sparked his interest in history, his mission to record the stories of WWII heroes and where that journey has taken him.
The Czech Academy of Sciences’ Institute of the Czech Language is recruiting young language enthusiasts to document dialects and the endangered speech of older generations.
Czechia launched its largest satellite yet, SATurnin-1, into space on Tuesday. Unlike previous satellites, it is not dependent on foreign technology. Its mission will be to take detailed pictures of the Earth for defense and security purposes. The satellite was carried into orbit by a Space X Falcon-9 rocket from the US.
As the world takes stock of the new reality following the inauguration of Donald Trump to office, Czech officials are stressing the need to preserve close security and trade relations with the United States. At the same time they acknowledge that President Trump’s return to office may bring difficult times for Europe.
Since the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Czechs have been purchasing guns more frequently. Last year alone, according to police statistics, Czechs legally bought 30,000 firearms. People cite the global security situation and the upcoming amendment to the firearms law, which will come into effect in 2026, as contributing factors.
The Milovice nature reserve is the first in Czechia to win the country’s top three ecological awards. By reintroducing large herbivorous mammals to the area, the project has successfully rewilded the former military zone northeast of Prague, restoring its unique ecosystem.
There is a shortage of train drivers in the Czech railway sector. Many are gradually retiring, with no replacements lined up. This shortage is unlikely to be significantly affected by the decline in demand for freight transport. As a result, railway operators are offering various incentives, such as signing bonuses and full training, to attract new drivers.
With the eyes of the world on the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump, Czechia’s Foreign Minister, Jan Lipavský, spoke about what he expects for Czech-US relations over the next four years.
In early December, I traveled to Ukraine with an international group of journalists to learn what Ukrainian leaders, analysts, and citizens want the West to know about the country’s needs in 2025. We had frank discussions about peace and war. We asked tough questions and often received even tougher answers. We were thanked, shown immense gratitude, and grace. This is what I learned.
In today’s Sunday Music Show, we’ll be listening to pianist and composer Nikol Bóková’s most recent album, Feathers, released at the end of last year.
Archaeologists in Prague have uncovered one of Europe's largest mass burial sites from the Seven Years' War. The discovery, made in the courtyard of the historic Břevnov Monastery, reveals the skeletal remains of over 1,000 soldiers, offering a rare glimpse into the harsh realities of 18th-century warfare.
Disinformation platforms are gearing up to target the Czech Republic's parliamentary elections this autumn. This stark warning came from Michal Koudelka, head of the Czech Security Information Service (BIS). During a parliamentary seminar on the risks of foreign interference in the electoral process he mentioned Russian interference as a very real threat.
The National Gallery Prague is Czechia's foremost and largest art institution. Its goal is to preserve the nation's artistic heritage and promote it to both its domestic population and an international audience. With that goal in mind, what does it really mean to be a “national” gallery? In today’s politicized climate, some would use the term to exclude and demote minorities. So, how does this celebrated art institution create a balance between celebrating Czech artists and recognizing the diverse nature of the country’s artistic heritage? I went to the Kinský Palace – one of the Gallery’s many exhibition spaces – in Prague's Old Town to meet with its director, Alicja Knast, to find out how she addresses this challenge.
The American horror film Nosferatu, one of the most talked-about movies of the year, has a unique Czech connection. Not only was it mostly filmed in Prague - it also features traditional Czech Christmas ornaments.
The issue of top politicians’ salaries often stirs public emotions, especially in times of economic uncertainty. In Czechia, a proposed 6.9% salary increase for Members of Parliament (MPs) has ignited a fiery debate. Opposition parties argue for a salary freeze, citing economic concerns and public discontent. According to Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of Europeum think tank, such debates are not unique to Czechia and are quite common across Europe.
The West Bohemian Gallery in Pilsen has received a collection of 66 works by the world-renowned Czech writer, poet, and artist Jiří Kolář. The works, acquired directly from Kolář in the late 1990s, have been donated to the gallery by ČEZ. I asked the gallery’s international project coordinator Tomáš Hausner to tell me more about the collection:
The Czech government has moved to liberalize its policy on kratom and other psychoactive drugs. Under a new law that came into force in January, substances considered low-risk will be sold under strict conditions to adults only. However, the premature lifting of the ban on their sale is causing problems.
The National Gallery Prague is hosting an exhibition, "École de Paris: Artists from Bohemia and Interwar Paris," from 8 November 2024 to 2 March 2025 at the Waldstein Riding School. It highlights artists like Georges Kars, Othon Coubine, and François Zdeněk Eberl, to the Czech audience since they were more known in interwar Paris than in interwar Czechoslovakia. I spoke with National Gallery Prague Director Alicja Knast to learn more.
A newly restored historic Mevro tram, a distant relative of the legendary trams in Milan, can now be seen roaming the streets of Prague. The 76-year-old veteran is running along one of Prague's historic routes, attracting tourists and locals alike.
Karel Čapek's villa, located in Prague's Vinohrady, is undergoing plans for restoration. The goal is to restore the villa to reflect the atmosphere of the Friday gatherings once held there. The renovation is expected to begin in the spring and the villa is anticipated to open for visitors around the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Are bioplastics and plant-based materials safer than conventional plastics? Scientists from Mendel University in Brno have been investigating one type of bioplastic, and their findings are alarming. Even plastics marketed as eco-friendly, can negatively affect the soil, causing an overgrowth of microorganisms, which then compete with plants for vital nutrients.
An investigation is underway into a night fire in a restaurant in the town of Most, north of Prague, that claimed six lives and left eight others injured. The third worst fire in the country’s modern history has put the spotlight on gas heaters that are used by many restaurants around the country and were the likely cause of the accident.
The Prague Symphony Orchestra’s story is closely intertwined with the history of the Czech capital, and this connection is clearly reflected in their repertoire, which we feature on today's edition of our Sunday Music Show.
January marks 60 years since the launch of Večerníček, a beloved Czech children’s TV programme that airs every evening. Czechoslovak Television broadcast the first episode of the bedtime series on January 2, 1965, and it has since become a treasured part of Czech cultural heritage.
Young foreigners with Czech bank accounts are the usual target of gangs, who use the accounts to launder money acquired through online fraud. The well-organised, Russian-speaking gangs put up adverts on the Russian social network Telegram to entice people who will help to launder the money, usually unknowingly.
In October 2024, Czechia signed a treaty with the Vatican, becoming one of the last countries within the European Union to do so. Such a treaty has been a long time in the making, having been rejected by the Czech parliament back in 2003. The 2024 treaty, signed by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December, but has now met with criticism by members of the Senate, some of whom have recommended a review of it by the Constitutional Court. Dr Daniel Bartoň, an independent lawyer with a focus on religious freedom and human rights, and an assistant professor at the Evangelical Theological Faculty of Charles University, joined me to discuss the treaty and the objections to it.
Jakub Hrůša, the acclaimed Czech conductor, has reached an extraordinary career milestone, as he prepares to take over as music director at the Royal Opera in Covent Garden. His current focus, however, is bringing Jenůfa by Leoš Janáček to life on the London stage.
Over the years, Czech photographer Martin Wágner has taken on a fascinating mission: rescuing discarded photographic negatives and giving them a second life. His efforts have drawn thousands of followers to his Facebook page, Negatives from the Trash. A selection of these images has now been published in a book of the same name.
Archaeologists in northern Bohemia have announced a unique discovery. While conducting a rescue excavation during the construction of an emergency services call centre, they uncovered evidence of a Neanderthal settlement, dating back between 126,000 and 115,000 years BC.
Criminal investigators have requested the extradition of Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) chair Tomio Okamura from the Chamber of Deputies over charges of inciting hatred or restricting the rights of a group during last year's controversial billboard campaign. The request was sent to the lower house on Tuesday. Okamura claims the prosecution is an attempt by the ruling coalition to silence him.
Driving on Czech roads can be a nerve-racking experience. Speeding, drink-driving, inattention and road rage all contribute to the high number of accidents. And even on a good day, transgressions such as failing to keep a safe distance or break checking can wear down the patience of those sticking to the rules.
The first installment of the Czech video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance has sold more than six million copies globally. The highly anticipated sequel, which continues the story of Henry of Posázaví, is set to be released on February 4.
Starting January 1, joining the Czech Army requires less demanding fitness tests . Instead of traditional push-ups and treadmill exercises, recruits now throw medicine balls and perform five-kilo squats. The goal is to attract more candidates, especially IT specialists and other professionals.
A team of scientists from Brno’s Masaryk University has set off to the world’s coldest continent, Antarctica, with a second team to follow on January 11th. Ahead of the second departure, Danny Bate spoke to Pavel Kapler, manager of the Czech Antarctic Research Programme , about the purpose and logistics of their twenty-first expedition.
Czech hockey players have won their third consecutive medal at the 2025 World Junior Championship in Ottawa. In their final match on Sunday night, the Czech team defeated Sweden 3-2 in a shootout for the bronze medal.
The 2025 concert season will offer Czech music fans pop-music legends, rock stars and a metal icon. Check out what international performers you can look forward to in the coming year on this week’s Sunday Music Show.
Beer is the national drink of Czechia and holds the same status in Belgium. This shared cultural importance is why both countries have been at the forefront of efforts to unite European beer nations and resist efforts to classify beer as a hard alcohol, which would subject it to stricter regulations. Czechia has now also taken the lead as the head of the European Parliament's Beer Club.
A recent survey by the Czech Chamber of Commerce reveals that nearly 70% of Czech companies have yet to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) in their operations. However, over a third plan to integrate AI within the next three years, suggesting that businesses are slowly warming up to the technology.
On January 1, Ukraine halted the transit of Russian gas to Europe via its territory, following the expiration of a five-year agreement between Ukraine's Naftogaz and Russia's Gazprom. The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is strongly opposed to the move, whereas Czech politicians broadly welcome it and claim that it will not have an impact on the country's economy.
At the start of January, the Three Kings will again be seen in cities, towns and villages across Czechia, raising money for the Catholic charitable organisation Caritas Czech Republic and its many good causes.
In a country known for its beer tradition, the rise of non-alcoholic beer is turning heads. More Czechs are choosing alcohol-free options, driven by health concerns and changing habits, with breweries responding to the growing demand. Even in pubs, non-alcoholic beer is becoming a staple on tap.
Bells across Czechia may now get a new lease of life, thanks to a technique developed by scientists at the Czech Technical University in Prague, which uses fast-moving metal particles to repair parts cracked or worn down over time.
The Czech economy showed signs of mild recovery in 2024, but according to economist Tomáš Sedláček, this progress barely scratched the surface of deeper structural issues. Inflation fell, and unemployment remained at record lows, but Sedláček warns that without bold reforms, the country risks stagnation.
Czech singer Helena Zeťová, best known for her hit song Impossible (Unstoppable) died tragically a few days before Christmas at the age of just 44.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (Civic Democratic Party) used his Christmas address to warn against fearmongering and the dangers of authoritarianism, calling for unity, responsibility, and perseverance. While Fiala highlighted his government’s achievements and urged citizens to resist negativity, opposition leaders dismissed the speech as overly political and lacking self-reflection.
Czechia has long struggled with one of the lowest shares of female researchers in the EU, and a recent report from the Czech Academy of Science’s Centre for Gender and Science has revealed that the country now ranks last in this regard. I discussed the key findings with the centre’s director, Marcela Linková:
Dream Prague, a popular Youtube channel, was started by Jennifer Preston. Her videos dissect Czech culture for expats and even pose a funny mirror to the Czechs themselves. Jennifer and I sat down to talk about her take on Czech culture, the beginnings of her channel, and the current stage of life she finds herself in, after living in Czechia for a number of years.
One of the staples of Czech Christmas, along with fried carp, Christmas cookies and fairy tales, is Jakub Jan Ryba’s Christmas Mass.
Brno was declared European Capital of Christmas 2024 and the Moravian metropolis has pulled out all the stops to create a magical winter wonderland for visitors. While the city’s Christmas markets celebrate local crafts and traditions, a lightshow at Špilberk Castle highlights of the city’s history and legends.
A unique nativity scene is currently on display in the Prague district of Žižkov. Alongside the traditional Biblical figures, it features notable Žižkov personalities, including Jaroslav Hašek, the celebrated author of Švejk, and Jára Cimrman, a beloved fictional character. Each year, a new figure is added, keeping the display fresh and connected to Žižkov’s history.
This edition of the Sunday Music Show features Leona Machálková, one of Czechia’s most popular musical singers, who has just released her first Christmas solo album. Titled Christmas in the Heart, Leona Machálková’s album includes 13 Christmas hits with original Czech lyrics and fresh arrangements by Daniel Wunsch. The tracklist features songs like 'Greensleeves (What Child Is This?)', 'When A Child Is Born' from Soleado, and the timeless 'Silent Night'.
On December 21st 2023, a series of horrific events transpired at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University. The fourteen deaths in the heart of Prague, the deadliest mass attack in Czechia’s history, shocked the country and the world, and forever tainted a place of learning and vibrant student life with tragedy and grief. One year later, Czechia prepares itself to commemorate the events of that day for the first time. In the intervening months, what has changed for the Faculty of Arts?
With Christmas just around the corner, the eternal question arises: which cookies should we bake this year? If you’re still deciding, an ongoing survey on the popularity of traditional Czech Christmas cookies by Czech Radio might help!
The Year of Czech Music will culminate this Sunday with two unique concerts in the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, featuring over a thousand singers from forty amateur choirs across Czechia. They will perform alongside soloists and the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of Petr Popelka.
Regular heart rhythms can now be monitored through various apps and smartwatches. Among the most notable recent technological innovations is the Czech app Kardi AI, which utilizes artificial intelligence to detect heart arrhythmias. Doctors from Ostrava University Hospital are participating in its testing and are currently preparing a clinical registration trial to help integrate the app into routine medical practice.
The Czech lower house on Wednesday approved a series of amendments to the Lex Ukraine law, stemming from the need to address asylum issues and security concerns relating to the ongoing war. One of the controversial points of the bill was its aim to make it more difficult for Russians to obtain Czech citizenship.
People in Need (Člověk v tísni) is a Czech charitable organisation with an impressively global reach. Founded in the early 1990s in the wake of the Velvet Revolution, the non-profit, non-governmental organisation seeks to provide humanitarian support and foster human rights across forty countries, as well as within Czechia itself. Danny Bate sat down with Jan Mrkvička, the director of its Relief and Development Department, to talk about his career, the ongoing projects of People in Need, and the annual Christmas scheme that helps people to give a ‘real gift’.
Václav Havel, the first president of democratic Czechia, died 13 years ago. Leading politicians remembered him at a ceremony at his graveside, a special concert will be held at the National Technical Museum, and many other events are organized around the country.
Russian oligarch Rostislav Zorikov, the former son-in-law of Russian arms dealer Boris Obnosov, will remain on the Czech national sanctions list. The Prague Municipal Court on Tuesday rejected his complaint, ruling that the government’s decision to blacklist him and his now ex-wife Olga had been fully justified.
Ensuring children’s safety online is a challenge that nearly every parent faces in today’s world. This concern is shared by schools, which are beginning to implement educational programs that address cyber safety. The Smíchov Secondary School of Industry has taken an even more proactive approach. For the past seven years, the school has offered a specialized study program in cyber security.
The British government has agreed to the sale of the parent company of Royal Mail to Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský. He will become the first foreign owner of the country’s centuries-old postal service.
On Strossmayer Square in Prague 7, the Technical Road Administration (TSK) has started planting 17 Julian alder trees, selected for their resilience to man-made climate change. I spoke with Katarína Svitková, Associate Research Fellow at the EUROPEUM Institute, about this project as a case study for what Czechia can do differently to combat extreme weather conditions in its cities.
Boží Dar in the Ore mountains is a popular Czech ski resort which almost always gets the first snow of the year. However, its claim to fame is linked to a special Christmas tradition. Its post office –which is closer to the sky than any other in the country- deals with mail addressed to Baby Jesus, the Czech equivalent of Santa Claus.
Our Sunday Music Show today celebrates the life and music of one of the most famous Czech voices, Zuzana Navarová, who died twenty years ago at the age of only 45. The singer, who was inspired by Latin rhythms, left an indelible mark on the nation’s musical history. In our music section, we will offer you a sample of the work of this phenomenal performer. We hope you enjoy!
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský received the seal and stamp symbolizing the termination of the Warsaw Pact from Hana Hlaváčková, President of the Czechoslovak Foreign Institute, which has been their custodian until now. The handover took place at the opening of the Foreign Ministry's traditional year-end event, held to thank partners, institutions, and NGOs for their collaboration in strengthening the Czech identity within the Czech diaspora.
An exhibition dedicated to Rychlé šípy or The Rapid Arrows, a legendary Czech comic series by Jaroslav Foglar about the adventures of five boys in the city, got underway at the Museum of Literature this week. Among other things, it showcases the original first editions of the legendary comic strip. I spoke to its curator Pavel Kořínek:
On the 12th of December 1952, a senior academic died in Prague. This lifelong scholar was Bedřich Hrozný, a Czech man born in the Bohemian town of Lysá nad Labem, and he remains famous today for his work on ancient languages. Most notably, it was thanks to him that the first translations of the lost language of the Hittites were not into English or French, but Czech. To understand the genius and the legacy of Hrozný, Danny Bate spoke to Krishnan Ram-Prasad, a scholar of Hittite and other languages of antiquity at the University of Oxford.
On Thursday, Czech Radio Vltava will premiere the documentary Postscriptum of Bedřich Smetana. Created by Tomáš Dufka, head of the radio archive, the project examines pivotal political and social events, such as the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, through the lens of Smetana's music, which left a powerful legacy after the composer's death. The documentary uses dozens of newly discovered materials from the Czech Radio archive, among other sources.
The Senate has passed an amendment to the gun law that will oblige arms dealers and shooting range owners to report suspicious clients to the police. The measure is a forerunner of a massive overhaul of the gun law that will come into force in 2026, approved in reaction to the tragic shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts almost exactly a year ago.
A unique racing car from the early 1900s, built by Laurin & Klement—the company that later became Škoda—is set to be auctioned off in Miami next year. The Type S2 Sportswagen, with its groundbreaking design, has been preserved in its original, unrestored condition, making it a rare find for collectors.
The “Lex Babiš” law prohibiting members of the government from owning media outlets has been a political battleground since it was approved in 2016. Now significant parts of the law have been invalidated by the Constitutional Court for procedural reasons, presenting a new setback in efforts to prevent conflict of interest in politics.
In the late 1950s, the communist authorities came up with a plan to demolish Prague's district of Žižkov, replacing it with modern, prefabricated housing. Their plans moved slowly, and it was only in the 1970s that they commissioned photographer Pavel Štecha to document the poor conditions in the district. However, his photographs had an unintended effect: rather than justifying destruction, they helped rally preservation efforts. The compelling story is now explored in a new online exhibition by the Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, titled Předvečer Asanace (The Eve of the Clearance). I spoke with its curator, historian Petr Roubal :
Conservationists discovered extensive Baroque paintings on the walls and vaults of the Church of St. Michael the Archangel in Dolní Věstonice. They describe it as a fundamental contribution to the history of early Baroque art in Moravia. Its discovery was shortlisted in this year's competition of the National Heritage Institute Patrimonium Pro Futuro.
Scientists from Mendel University in Brno have cultivated highly efficient algae capable of removing residues of fertilizers and pharmaceuticals—including paracetamol and antibiotics—from water. These algae are grown in specialised bioreactors, and laboratory experiments are yielding promising results.
Today, we’re marking the 35th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which saw the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. To celebrate, we’ll be listening to some of the songs that filled the public squares during those historic days—many of which still resonate in Czech society, including Marta Kubišová’s Prayer for Marta and Jaroslav Hutka’s Náměšť.
To commemorate the anniversary of the death of the great Moravian thinker and religious leader John Amos Comenius, Danny Bate spoke to scholar Lenka Pospíšilová about his life, legacy and relevance for the modern world.
An exhibition showcasing the work of photographer Helena Wilson got underway at the Prague City Gallery’s House of Photography earlier this week. Featuring over 140 images, it offers an intimate glimpse into life under communism in Czechoslovakia, as well as Wilson’s later projects in Canada and Cuba.
In October, the team at Charles Games, the creators of such games as Playing Kafka and Attentat 1942, released Velvet 89, an immersive and educational experience that invites players to turn investigator in five cities across Czechoslovakia. Ahead of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on November 17th, Danny Bate spoke to designer, animator and university lecturer Ondřej Javora, who was behind the graphics of the new game.
Eighty years ago, U.S. pilot William L. Kiggins was killed during a combat mission over Brno, becoming the only American soldier to die in the Moravian capital during World War II. On Wednesday, the American Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Bijan Sabet received the skeletal remains found at the crash site a few years ago, believed to belong to the pilot.
An exhibition exploring the fascinating world of mushrooms is currently on display at the National Technical Library in Prague. Titled Do hloubi houby, or Into the Depths of the Mushroom, the exhibit explores the potential uses of mycelium in construction, architecture, and design.
Summer is over, and now CzechTourism, the country’s state-funded central tourist office, is reflecting on its successes and problems. The organisation’s director, František Reismüller, spoke to Danny Bate about the season just gone, as well as his predictions for this winter and his vision for CzechTourism in the years to come.
Prague’s car problem is not a secret. High car ownership persists, mainly because of political resistance and historical preservation laws which inadvertently hinder efforts to reduce car dependency. The dependency poses a challenge to its sustainability goals, increases noise pollution in the city, and is dangerous to pedestrians. So, what’s being done? I spoke with Urbanist at the Sustainable Urbanism Laboratory Zuzana Poláková to discuss some of these challenges that prevent a more sustainable Prague.
The European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Czechia for discrimination of Roma children placed in special and substandard schools.
Inflation, man-made climate change, wars, and other global events have an understandable impact on people's mental health. What is the situation like in Czechia and what are Czechs most concerned about? A new study from PAQ Research has some of the answers.
The Duke Wenceslas Future Leaders Programme, which welcomes the diplomats, activists and political analysts of the future to Czechia, has been successfully completed for a second year. Organised by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the scheme this year welcomed ten participants from eight countries, and gave them an in-depth look at Czech life and politics.
Solar e-biking is a new sport that is attracting people from around the world. Two Czechs from Hradec Králové took part in Sun Trip 2024: Destination Sahara earlier this year, covering 7,000 km on solar bikes that they themselves designed.
Approximately 2,400 people develop pancreatic cancer in Czechia annually and almost 2,200 succumb to it over the same period. It can now be detected by regular pancreatic MRI and endoscopic ultrasonography. However researchers at the University of Pardubice say they have found a simpler and equally effective method. If confirmed, Czechia could become the first country in the world to require only a few milliliters of blood for testing.
André Amalio is an actor and director who specializes in documentary theater. He and his wife, Tereza Havličkova, co-founded a documentary theater company called Hotel Europa, based in Portugal. Magdalena Kadula caught up with them on their recent working visit to Prague.
Czechia has vetoed a European Union statement that urged an "immediate ceasefire" between Israel and Hezbollah and condemned the civilian casualties in Lebanon. Critics of the veto argue that it prevents the EU from issuing a unified stance on the latest developments in the Middle East. Divisions among EU member states have surfaced since Hamas’ October 7 attack.
The annual Designblok, the biggest festival of its kind in Central Europe, has just got underway at a number of venues in Prague. This year, the festival centre – the so-called Superstudio – is located at the historical building of Prague City Museum, which opens to the public for the first time since its reconstruction. I discussed the event with Jana Zielinski, the director of Designblok, and first asked her about the choice of this year’s main topic, which is Youth:
In roughly half a year, fans of the video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance will have the chance to explore the streets of medieval Kutná Hora in the upcoming sequel. Anticipating a wave of tourists eager to visit real-life locations from the game, Kutná Hora’s town hall is already preparing to accommodate potential visitors.
Lower house committee recommends raising this year's deficit by CZK 30 billion due to floods
September 30 marks eighty-six years since the signing of the Munich Agreement in 1938, by which Czechoslovakia was compelled to surrender the large region of the Sudetenland to Nazi Germany. To commemorate the event, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shared official documents and private correspondence from the week leading up to the infamous agreement.
Last week’s regional elections saw Andrej Babiš and his ANO party triumph in 10 of the 13 regions. On Saturday, ANO also led in the Senate elections, securing eight of the 27 seats contested. Voter turnout was historically low, however, with only 17.5% in the second round. I spoke with political analyst and author Jiří Pehe to discuss the results of both elections and what they mean for ANO ahead of the October 2025 parliamentary elections.
The town of Cedar Rapids in Iowa now boasts the only astronomical clock in North America. The Buresh Immigration Clock Tower, which honours the Czech and Slovak immigrants who settled in the United States in the late 19th century, was launched on Friday by President Petr Pavel and his Slovak counterpart, Peter Pellegrini.
On today's show, we bring you Karel Gott’s greatest hits in commemoration of the fifth anniversary of his passing. The Czech singer debuted with a jazzy duet in 1962 as his first single. Within a year, Gott was named Czechoslovakia's best singer, and by the end of the 1960s, he had achieved international fame.
35 years ago tomorrow, one of the most significant events of the end of the Cold War took place in the garden of the West German Embassy in Prague. The German Foreign Minister at the time, Hans-Dietrich Genscher, stepped onto the balcony of the Lobkowicz Palace and announced to around four thousand East German refugees that they were allowed to travel west to the Federal Republic of Germany.
Six authors are representing the modern face of Czech literature at the Brooklyn Book Festival, an annual book fair that attracts tens of thousands of attendees. From today until Monday, readers will have the chance to hear, talk to and even go for a beer with leading Czech writers.
New data from the World Health Organisation's European Section shows a sharp increase in problematic social media use among adolescents. This, coupled with the finding that 12% of adolescents are at risk of problematic gaming, raises urgent concerns about the impact of digital technologies on the mental health and well-being of European youth.
Nine months after the terrible attack at Charles University’s Faculty of Arts, a group of students, academics and family members of victims have launched an official petition. Entitled “To all who care”, the petition aims to push for tighter legal restrictions on the ownership of firearms in Czechia.
At the 79th session of the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, Czech President Petr Pavel called for reform of the Security Council, which he said must be more effective and inclusive to better reflect the voices of underrepresented regions. At the same time, he applauded African efforts for peace and security even beyond their borders and called for global cooperation in areas such as Russia’s war on Ukraine, cybersecurity, AI, quantum technologies, and more.
The annual Architecture Day festival gets underway on Friday in more than a hundred cities and towns across Czechia and Slovakia. The week-long event will offer free guided tours of both famous and lesser known buildings, which are usually inaccessible to the public, as well as lectures, film screenings and family workshops.
This year’s floods are the second-largest natural disaster in Czechia’s modern history, with only the August 2002 floods causing more damage. As communities grapple with the destruction, NGOs have ramped-up efforts to provide critical support. I interviewed Marek Štys, Head of Emergency Programs for People in Need, the country’s biggest charity, to find out what they are doing to help.
A new study, carried out by an international team of scientists, shows that the devastating floods that hit Czechia and other central European countries were made much worse by man-made climate change. The fossil fuel driven warming also increases the likelihood of such events happening in the future.
This week sees the return of the annual Old’s Cool festival, put on by the non-profit organisation Elpida. Their mission is to change how people see old age, and to help the elderly continue to live life to the full.
The seventh Serial Killer festival , dedicated to TV and internet production, kicks off in Brno on Wednesday. Over the next five days, visitors will have a chance to see some of the best Czech and foreign shows at a number of cinemas in the Moravian capital. The event will open with the premiere of The Well, a prequel to an infamous Czechoslovak communist propaganda series. I asked the festival’s director Kamila Zlatušková to tell me more:
The company Technology of the Capital City of Prague is working on a considerable increase in the number of charging stations for electric cars around Prague. Their target is to have over a thousand such stations operational by 2026.
An exhibition of the legendary US photographer Bruce Weber, known mainly for his work with fashion brands and magazines, is currently underway at the Stone Bell House on Prague’s Old Town Square. Called Bruce Weber: My Education, it is his first ever major European retrospective, mapping more than five decades of his career.
The opposition ANO party won a landmark victory in the weekend regional and Senate elections, coming out top in 10 of the 13 regions where voting took place. I discussed the outcome of the vote and its possible consequences with political commentator Pavel Havlíček and began by asking what contributed to ANO’s huge success in the elections.
Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Antonín Dvořák’s Symphony No. 5 in F Major, which represents a milestone in the composer’s work. Written in 1885 in just six weeks, the piece is a culmination of his early symphonies. It also marks the beginning of the series which would eventually be recognised as Dvořák’s symphonic masterpieces.
The biggest Czech festival of illustration and comics, LUSTR, kicks off on Friday at Prague’s Holešovice market. Over the next eight days, people will have a chance to visit exhibitions, presentations, and also meet some of the most interesting illustrators and comic creators in person.
The 2024 Senate and regional elections could not have come at a worse time for thousands of people in the badly flooded eastern parts of the country. Around 30 municipalities are voting in makeshift polling stations with the help of power generators and volunteers. Many mayors have resigned themselves to a dismally low turnout.
Father Adolf Kajpr spent 13 years of his life in concentration camps and prisons. He was persecuted by both the Nazis and the Communists for his journalism and opposition to the regimes. He dedicated his life to faith, the Church, and civil truth. He did not live to see the presidential amnesty in 1960 and died in Leopoldov prison.
Adam Štěch, the Czech art journalist and researcher, has now opened his exhibition Elements at the Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna. Adam spoke to Radio Prague International about what awaits visitors to the exhibition, as well as his career, perspectives on art and design, and his love for modernism.
This week marks the 80th birthday of Ivan Theimer, one of the most prominent contemporary Czech sculptors, who is based in France and Italy. His monumental bronze artworks, which draw inspiration from the works of old masters, can be found all over Europe, including the Elysée Palace in Paris.
Prague ranks as the number one student city in Europe, surpassing London, Paris, and Berlin in key categories like cost of living and safety, according to Campus Advisor.
The elections to the Senate and regional councils, due to take place this weekend, remain on track despite the fact that many parts of the country are still recovering from the damage caused by the recent floods. The government is confident that voting can be organized even in the hardest-hit regions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday unveiled her team of commissioner candidates and their portfolios for the 2024-2029 cycle. The Czech nominee, Industry Minister Jozef Síkela, has been selected Commissioner-designate for International Partnerships.
Loučeň Chateau is a Baroque estate situated in the town of Loučeň within the Nymburk District. I was given a tour of the chateau by head guide Hana Michalčíková, along with members of our team at Radio Prague, to learn more about its history, the families that made the estate into what it is now, the significance of the estate to the Habsburgs, and more. The tour focuses on the life of the Thurn and Taxis family at the estate at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. However, important snippets from its history are brought to life on occasion revealing the years the chateau has endured.
The Czech UN Youth Delegates Programme connects the youth in Czechia with the United Nations. It provides a platform for the Czech youth to be represented within the organization, while also raising awareness about the UN through the activities of the youth delegates across the country they represent. I spoke with Veronika Novotná, who is one of the three Czech UN Youth Delegates for the 2024/2025 period, about her agenda, what topics she considers most pressing, and why the youth should be more involved in politics.
As of today people have the rare opportunity to view the authentic Bohemian crown jewels which have been put on display in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle. These priceless symbols of the Czech nation are being exhibited for a fortnight to mark the Day of Czech Statehood on September 28th.
As the flood waters slowly subside, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has outlined the government’s strategy in dealing with the damage wrought by strong winds and high water in many parts of the country. He promised state finances, material aid and support from the armed forces.
The northern parts of Moravia and Silesia are the most affected by recent flooding in Czechia, particularly the Moravian-Silesian and Olomouc regions. Tens of thousands of people have been asked to evacuate. I interviewed the Director of the Office of the Czech Red Cross Karol Čukan to see what is being done to help those most in need in the region.
Czechia has experienced a very difficult weekend. As Storm Boris swept across Central and Eastern Europe, swollen rivers flooded many towns and villages across the country.
Madeleine Albright's life story is a truly remarkable journey through history, shaped by her experiences during tumultuous times in Europe and the United States.
Czech soprano Nada Šormova is one of the well-known voices in the Czech opera world. In the course of a career spanning close to half a century she has appeared on leading stages at home and abroad.
The NATO Military Committee retreat in Prague, scheduled for this weekend, will focus on discussing Europe's security, the implementation of prior NATO Summit decisions, and the feasibility of the Alliance’s defense plans. This marks the first time Czechia hosts the meeting.
This Sunday, the Jewish Museum in Prague is hosting a celebration at the Spanish Synagogue, to mark 30 years since the museum was put back into the care of the Czech Jewish community. Beginning at 2 pm, the event will include musical and theatrical entertainment for the whole family. From Polish 1930s jazz to Czech-German cabaret, this free event will celebrate both the museum and Jewish contributions to the art, music and life of Central Europe.
Czechia is bracing for potential severe flooding due to heavy rainfall which started on Thursday and is predicted to last for the next couple of days. Environment Minister Petr Hladík has likened the weather forecast to the years 1997 and 2002, when Czechia was hit by devastating floods. I asked hydrogeologist Jan Ďaňhelka if the situation is really that serious:
One of the winners of this year’s Most Beautiful Czech Books of the Year Award is Birds of Prague 1800-2020, published by the Czech Ornithological Society and Revolver Revue. It follows up on the work of the pioneering Czechoslovak ornithologist Veleslav Wahl, who was executed in 1951 by the Communist regime for alleged treason. The impressive volume contains not only the original book from 1944. It also includes Wahl’s biography and maps the development of bird communities in the city over the last decades. I discussed the book with Petr Voříšek from the Czech Ornithological Society, who initiated its creation.
The Crown of St. Wenceslas made for the coronation of Charles IV has a magic attraction. It is rarely put on display and people cue up for hours to see it. Few people know that there is a replica of it at Barrandov film studios that anyone can borrow.
Today marks the centenary of the birth of Rudolf Vrba, a Czechoslovak and Jewish biochemist, who escaped from the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1942 together with fellow prisoner Alfréd Wetzler. Together they published the Vrba–Wetzler report. This eyewitness description is credited with waking the world up to the full horrors happening at Auschwitz.
Labor market conditions in Czechia have deteriorated for the third consecutive year and are now ranked as the tenth worst in the EU, primarily due to low flexibility and significant gender pay disparities. Despite having the lowest unemployment rate in the EU, Czechia is struggling to create favorable conditions for workers. I spoke to Lukáš Kovanda, Chief Economist at Trinity Bank, to find out what is contributing to the worsening labor market conditions.
Antonín Dvořák is one of the greatest musicians that Czechia has given to the world. Throughout his life, he remained firmly rooted in his native region of Central Bohemia.
Chilli peppers may not always be as spicy as the label says. According to experts, manufacturers often do not even know how to measure the spiciness of their products correctly and sometimes quote values twice as high as the real strength. Chemists from the Brno University of Technology have therefore started testing chillis and trying to find out the exact value of their hotness.
As the election campaign heats up in Czechia, tensions are high and some parties have resorted to controversial tactics. A racist billboard in Prague has sparked outrage and lawsuits.
According to the Distillers' Union, the distilling season in Czechia will be particularly bad this year. Fruit distillate production is expected to fall to about one fifth of last year's level – which was already bad. Between 20 and 30 percent of distilleries will not reopen because they are no longer profitable, the Distillers' Union has warned. As a result, the black market has also seen surges.
Beaver tail, bear paws or squirrel meat - these are just some of the ingredients from historic recipes currently on display at the Olomouc Research Library . The exhibition presenting unique cookbooks from the Middle Ages until the 1930s will run in the Moravian city until November.
With 1 gold, 4 silver and 3 bronze medals, Czech athletes finished in 53rd place in the national rankings. But the joy the Paralympics brought was first rate.
Have you ever wondered what motivates today's young adults? Magdalena Fendrychová, who performs under the stage name Kvietah, offers some insights. Her album Diky, včely (“Thanks, Bees”) has received acclaim for the powerful stories in which the young singer-songwriter reflects on her life.
Built to protect Czechoslovakia against Nazi Germany and later repurposed as a nuclear shelter by the Communist regime, Fort Hanička served neither purpose. Today it is a museum that attracts thousands of military enthusiasts.
The Dvořákova Praha festival brings world-class orchestras and soloists to Prague, showcasing not only Dvořák’s works but also compositions by other classical masters.
Prague Art Week , a four-day event presenting the best of Prague’s galleries and art museums, gets underway in the capital on Friday evening. The festival’s main venue will be located at the historic Savarin Palace in the centre of the city, which will open to the public for the first time since its reconstruction started in 2021.
Hundreds of Czech schools faced bomb threats this week, causing evacuations and fear. Authorities are prioritizing safety while minimizing disruption.
Experts from the Czech Academy of Science’s Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry have developed a new compound that could address two major health challenges of the present day: obesity and Alzheimer's disease. I discussed the promising new compound, which is derived from one of the peptides naturally occurring in the brain, with head of the research team, Lenka Maletínská:
The newly inaugurated Nicholas Winton Street in Prague was officially opened today by representatives of the Prague 7 municipality and other organizations. The ceremony coincides with the anniversary of the outbreak of the Second World War and the departure of the last "Winton Train" in 1939, a poignant reminder of the lives saved and those lost during the Holocaust.
The Constitutional Court has issued a landmark ruling allowing midwifes to assist home births. The ruling sets an important precedent in what has been a long-standing battle for home births in the Czech Republic.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in bullying online in Czechia, contributing to an increase in users of the Czech helpline, Linka bezpečí, intended for children and young adults up to 26 years old. The nature of the calls has shifted dramatically over the past eight years, with psychological difficulties, including self-harm and suicidal thoughts, becoming more prominent.
Twenty teenage "space ambassadors" will help to promote fighter pilot Ales Svoboda’s journey into space as an astronaut of the European Space Agency (ESA) within the next five years. The newly-launched Zero-G project aims to popularize science among the young.
The GLOBSEC 2024 Forum, held in Prague over the weekend under the patronage of Czech President Petr Pavel, centered around the theme “Taming the Storm,” with an emphasis on central and eastern Europe’s crucial role in maintaining global stability. It attracted more than 2,300 participants from more than 80 countries including heads of state and businesses, diplomats, journalists, and more.
September 1st saw the culmination of a 10-year-long government program aimed at helping households to replace old heating appliances with more modern ones. As of Sept 1, there is a ban on using first and second-class emission boilers, with heavy fines for non-compliance.
The Czech Paralympic team has already secured five medals at the Games in Paris. So far the most successful Czech athlete is the blind teenage swimmer David Kratochvíl, who clinched the country’s first gold in the 400m breaststroke and added silver in the 100 mark.
The first days of the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia were closely tied to the Czechoslovak Radio building in front of which bloody clashes took place and at least 15 civilians were killed. The newly released film Waves, inspired by the true story of a group of journalists from the radio’s foreign service section, focuses on these traumatic events and the preceding Prague Spring period.
Top officials gathered outside Czech Radio at middday on Wednesday to recall the battle that took place there in the first hours of the Soviet-led invasion on August 21, 1968 and to pay homage to those who died defending the Czechoslovak Radio building.
The Usti nad Labem Region has many attractions but there is nothing to beat the breathtaking beauty of the sandstone rocks of Bohemian Switzerland and the Pravčice gate of sandstone created through millions of years of erosion.
On August 21, 1968 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring and ushering in a long period of political and moral decline. More than 130 people died during the invasion and thousands fled the country in the years that followed. The late Czech filmmakers Jiří Menzel and Miloš Forman share their personal memories of that fateful night, reflecting on the shock, fear, and surreal experiences.
Venus of Dolní Věstonice, a Stone-Age ceramic sculpture of a female figure considered one of the oldest pieces of art in the world, was made from fragments of rocks and tiny fossils, not mammoth bones as previously believed. The discovery was made by experts from the Moravian Museum in Brno using micro-CT scanning. I discussed the findings, which have been published in the Journal of Archaeological Science, with the head of the research team Petr Neruda:
An upcoming amendment to the decree on medical fitness for active military service, effective September, aims to streamline the process for military enlistment. It will reduce paperwork, simplify entry requirements, and enable the government to mobilize more people quickly in times of crisis or war. But whether or not people are called up will depend on the specific role they apply for.
Czech children and teenagers are crafting their own language, filled with slang and new expressions, often borrowed from English. The internet speeds up the creation of new words and phrases, which can be confusing for people who aren't active online. In particular, it can be difficult for their parents and grandparents to understand.
A small pond in Jeseník is attracting plenty of attention. Kurt Gebauer, a provocative Czech sculptor, painter and lifelong fighter for better public space, has selected it for one of his latest public installations.
Vítězslava Kaprálová was born into a musical family; her father was even a pupil of Leoš Janáček, providing her with a strong foundation for success. For her graduation project at the Prague Conservatory, she composed the Military Sinfonietta, which was performed by the Czech Philharmonic—an exceptional achievement, as it is unlikely the orchestra has performed another graduation work since. Not only that, she conducted the performance herself, with President Edvard Beneš attending the premiere.
World Photography Day is observed annually on August 19th to celebrate the art of photography and its roots globally. On this day in 1902 the first amateur photography club was founded in Prague.
Prague authorities and NGO Konsent launch campaign against sexual harassment on public transport
Despite years of appeals from nature and animal conservationists, the Czech police have not created a dedicated unit to address incidents of poisoned birds of prey or poaching. The frequency of these cases has been rising annually in Czechia. Instead, Czech police officers employ an alternative approach to tackling what is known as environmental crime.
While some European countries, namely France, Italy, the UK, and the Netherlands, have totally banned the use of mobile phones in schools, there is still no clear consensus on this issue in Czechia. At the moment, each school decides for itself which position to take, without a coordinated approach from the government or the Czech School Inspectorate. Some schools allow them to be used in class, others only during breaks. But some have started to take a more radical approach.
The Russian prosecutor's office is demanding a ban on the distribution of the computer game Last Train Home, developed by Ashborne Games in Brno. According to the Russian authorities, the game about Czechoslovak legionnaires incites hatred against the Russian government and the soldiers of the Red Army. I interviewed Managing Director of Ashborne Games Petr Kolář about the Russian prosecutor’s office accusations.
The 21st edition of the Letní Letná festival, which showcases contemporary circus and theatre artists from at home and abroad, kicked off in Prague’s Letna Parks on Wednesday with a breathtaking performance by the French artistic ensemble Akoreacro. Several thousand people watched their acrobatic show “Arrêt d'urgence” near the Prague Metronome.
In light of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Czech military has moved to increase the number of recruits it can rely on in case of an escalation. One program the army has rolled out this year is a one-month training for high school students. Over 100 students chose to participate, trading holiday comfort for early mornings, running in the woods, and military drills.
The Cistercian monastery in Vyšší Brod is the final resting place of the Rožmberk clan, one of the richest and mightiest noble families in Bohemia. Thanks to cutting-edge technology experts have been able to view its interior and even produce replicas of the twin wedding rings of Petr Vok and his wife Kateřina.
Anton Raphael Mengs, one of the most prominent artists in 18th century Europe was born in Ústí nad Labem. We take a closer look at his connection to this region.
In the week from 17 to 24 August 2024, more than 30 young volunteers from five European countries will participate in an international camp focused on wetland restoration in Šumava National Park. The event is organised jointly with the Šumava National Park Administration and the Na Mysli organisation. I interviewed its director, Viktorie Tenzerová, to find out the organization’s motivations and impact of the camp.
Leading Czech cultural figures have come out in support of their Slovak colleagues, many of whom have recently been sacked for opposing the policies of the Slovak culture minister. Czech artists say the former sister state should offer them jobs or at least a platform for expression.
Archaeologists have uncovered a Neolithic settlement in Dobren, near Kutná Hora. This site, inhabited by the region's earliest farmers during the early Stone Age, provides insight into life in the Czech lands seven thousand years ago.
In the overall medal rankings at the Paris Olympics, Czechia finished 28th, earning its lowest count in its independent history with three gold and two bronze medals.
The late Eva Pilarová, one of the legends on the Czech music scene, would have turned 85 this weekend. In the course of her impressive career she sang swing, jazz, rock’n’roll, middle of the road pop and even funk and folk music.
The population of the critically endangered peregrine falcon has been thriving in the Jeseníky Mountains in recent years. More than twenty pairs of these birds live in the highest peaks of the Moravian mountains in southern Czechia. This year they have produced 32 chicks, the third highest number since 2000.
One of the oldest and most colorful folk festivals in the country, the Chodsko Folk Festival, starts on Friday, offering visitors three days of bagpipe music, folk dancing and delicious Chodsko pies which are famous across the Atlantic. So if you want to see the real thing –Domažlice is the place to go this weekend.
According to the latest Deloitte Property Index, Czechia ranks as the second-most expensive country in Europe to buy property when adjusting for salaries. The situation is equally dire for renters, with rent prices nearly doubling between 2005 and 2020, making Czechia one of the least affordable rental markets in Europe. I asked Vladimír Vaňo, Chief Economist at GLOBSEC, about the factors contributing to these rising costs.
What We Should Have Said But Didn’t is the title of a new installation by Ester Geislerová, an artist who is perhaps better known as an actress. The exhibition, at Kunsthalle Praha, explores relationships via a series of related videos.
The previously inaccessible underground of Prague Castle has been unveiled with the release of a new archaeological app. This application allows visitors to view the remains of buildings dating from the 9th and 10th centuries up to the 15th century, located beneath reinforced concrete structures spanning several thousand square meters.
Antisemitic incidents in the Czech Republic nearly doubled last year, with more than 4,000 cases reported, primarily online.What is fueling this trend and how bad is the situation?
In response to a recently foiled plot targeting the Rainbow Pride march in Slovakia, police have ramped up security for this week’s Prague Pride Festival. The Interior Ministry has deployed riot police, anti-conflict teams, and additional personnel to oversee over 200 events across Prague, anticipating around 60,000 participants. So are we seeing growing intolerance to the LGBTQ+ community in Czechia? I spoke with Georgy Kalakutskii from Group ComingOut , an organization supporting the Russian LGBTQ+ community.
Summer holidays in Czechia are firmly associated with one of the most favourite Czech pastimes – mushroom picking. And although the weather might not seem like it, conditions for mushroom hunting are quite good at the moment. At least according to a special map predicting mushroom growth around the country.
Prague 1 is fighting a lone battle against nighttime noise pollution. The city council has reintroduced a nighttime ban on vehicles entering certain streets from 10pm till 6 am in order to lower the excessive noise disturbing residents in the city centre. Prague City Hall, which invalidated such a ban last year, has said it will leave it in place for the time being.
The "kulajda" is a rich, creamy, sour-sweet soup perfect for cold weather. Many families have their own recipe for this Czech specialty and you can order it both in pubs and classy restaurants. Watch our video to find out how it is made.
Czechia consistently lags behind in terms of English proficiency compared to the majority of its European neighbours. Education Minister Mikuláš Bek thinks the key to improving results is starting to teach English earlier, and is proposing that the compulsory age at which children start learning the world’s most widely-spoken foreign language be decreased.
Rocker Michael Kocáb, who turned 70 on Sunday, is known as front man of Pražský výběr but also oversaw the departure of Soviet troops from Czechoslovakia.
Professional rock climber Adam Ondra, who arrived in Paris on Thursday, is set to compete in his second Olympic Games. In Tokyo three years ago, when climbing was included in the Olympic program for the first time, the Czech finished sixth in an event that combined speed climbing, bouldering, and lead climbing. Ondra says the three radically different disciplines in a single format did not suit him at the time. What will be different in Paris?
The Czech House in Paris’s La Villette, which will serve as the country’s public hub for the Olympic Games, was officially inaugurated on Friday afternoon by snowboard cross champion Eva Adamczyk. Just before the opening ceremony, I spoke with the centre’s communications manager Daniela Jurion.
Ten years ago, Czech mountaineer Radek Jaroš successfully climbed the world's second-highest mountain, K2, and thus completed the ascent of all 14 of the globe’s “eight-thousanders”. He was the first Czech to achieve this feat, and only the 15th person in the world to do so without using supplemental oxygen.
The Czech government has decided that the country's candidate for the next European Commission will be the current minister of industry and trade, Jozef Síkela. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday evening that Mr. Síkela had a proven track record in both the private sector and government. I spoke with Viktor Daněk, deputy director of the Europeum Institute, about the decision and its implications.
A mini Eiffel Tower made entirely out of recycled ocean waste has been erected near Lake Most in north Bohemia. The replica will be one of the centrepieces of the Olympic Festival, organised by the Czech Olympic Committee, taking place on the shores of the country’s largest pit lake during the Games.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
July 3rd marked 170 years since the birth of Leoš Janáček - a classical music composer with a distinctly Czech style.
Saints Cyril and Methodius, often revered as the Apostles to the Slavs, are celebrated each year on the 5th of July. This day is also a public holiday in both Czechia and Slovakia.
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 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?
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.
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?
A Czech amateur mycologist has discovered a unique truffle-like mushroom in South Moravia. It was identified by experts as Sedecula pulvinata, a rare and protected species previously thought to grow only in the west of the United States.
The 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:
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.
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.
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.
Czech, Hungarian and Austrian parties establishing “Patriots of Europe” faction in European Parliament
Some 110 years ago, on 28 June 1914, Franz Ferdinand was assassinated in Sarajevo. His wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg was killed alongside him.
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.
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 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.
Central bank governor ready for euro adoption, but would advise waiting for crown to strengthen further
Foreign Ministry has no indication Czech nationals may have been among victims of tragic train-bus collision
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.
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.
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.
On June 25, Canadian embassy officials, dignitaries, and friends met at the Kaiserstein Palace in Prague to preemptively celebrate Canada Day, which is on July 1. Guests at the event highlighted the strong bonds between the two countries and the special need for transatlantic unity as Russia’s war on Ukraine continues.
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.
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.
Czechia’s footballers are preparing for a do-or-die clash with Turkey at the European Championship on Wednesday. Coach Ivan Hašek insists his team will do their utmost to win their final group game, but recent history suggests getting past the Turks may not be easy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
The diversity of plants in Europe's forests, wetlands and meadows is rapidly declining. This long-term trend has been confirmed by data collected by botanists from Masaryk University in Brno in collaboration with their European colleagues. To assess the changes in flora, vegetation and habitats, they created the largest database to date. I asked Milan Chytrý from the university’s department of zoology and botany how they collected the data:
US chip maker Onsemi is planning to invest $2 billion in its production facility in Rožnov pod Radhoštem–the biggest single foreign investment in Czechia’s modern history. The company’s chip production in Czechia would shoot up by hundreds of percent, boosting value-added production, creating thousands of new jobs and contributing more than CZK 6 billion annually to the country’s GDP.
The Czechs did not manage to secure a point after their game against Portugal, conceding in the 87th minute for a final score of 2:1. However Coach Ivan Hašek believes that they can draw on the game’s positives against their future opponents, particularly Georgia, which they play on Saturday. What are some other takeaways that the Czech national team can learn from moving forward?
The star guests for this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival – which gets underway in nine days – have just been revealed. Audiences can look forward to Hollywood stars such as Viggo Mortensen, while Oscar-winner Steven Soderberg will be the most successful director in attendance. I discussed the big guests, and more, with the festival’s artistic director, Karel Och.
The west Bohemian city of Plzeň is without doubt synonymous with beer. It was here that the world’s first-ever Pilsner lager was brewed in 1842. But Plzeň, which has a population of around 170,000 people, has much more to offer than just the golden brew, for instance, the second largest synagogue in Europe or striking interiors designed by the world-renowned architect Adolf Loos.
The Mayors party, who have a say in the matter under the coalition deal, have announced they will put forward both Danuše Nerudová and Jozef Síkela for next Czech European commissioner – with the government to decide on a candidate by August. I discussed the pair’s chances, and other aspects of the process, with Klára Votavová of the think tank Europeum.
Avoidance of the news is at a record high, according to the Oxford-based Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, which produced the 168-page Digital News Report 2024 analysis. Nearly 39 percent of people worldwide said they sometimes or often actively avoid the news, up 10 percent from 2017. So how are Czechs doing in this respect?
The two-day peace summit on Ukraine held in Switzerland over the weekend was attended by 93 countries from around the world. Russia and China were notably absent. And the BRICS member states present failed to sign the joint declaration on the agreement reached. So how effective will it be in paving the ground for peace-talks and what was the Czech contribution to the debate?
Dogstar pulled the crowds at the Rock for People festival in Hradec Kralove. They appeared at the festival within their 2024 summer tour to support their latest album Somewhere Between the Power Lines and Palm Trees.
The Czech-Canadian émigré author and publisher Josef Škvorecký wrote his novels and stories on reams of paper. After his death in 2012, he left behind over 140 boxes of documents, manuscripts and personal correspondence, which he donated to the university library in Toronto. These are rarely shown to the public – but recently they were put on display during a conference for Czech teachers in North America.
The era of the rise of hip hop, the growing popularity of music videos, and the influx of boy bands and girl groups – all of this describes the early 2000s perfectly. While the world was ruled by Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync or Spice Girls, Czechia was dominated by Lunetic and Holki.
Czech President Petr Pavel and his wife Eva received the outgoing Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová and her partner Juraj Rizman at Prague Castle on Thursday. With the trip, Čaputová has concluded her farewell foreign visits before the end of her five-year mandate.
The 2024 European Football Championship gets underway in Germany on Friday and among the two dozen nations taking part are Czechia. But what are the Czechs’ chances of reaching the knockout stages, given that their group also includes Portugal, Greece and Turkey? That’s just one question I put to football journalist David Čermák.
Róza Andělová is a budding young Czech actress who studied French and English literature at Charles University. Magdalena Kadula invited her to Radio Prague’s studio to talk about her work, the opportunities for English-speaking actors and actresses in Prague and how she happened to get into acting in the first place.
The Czech government has moved to open the labor market to foreign workers from nine countries outside of the European Union. As of July 1, foreign workers from the selected states will no longer need employment cards or work permits in Czechia.
This weekend representatives of 90 or so states will be taking part in a conference at the Bürgenstock Resort in Switzerland aimed at finding a route to sustainable peace in Ukraine. Specifically the event will focus on issues such as nuclear safety and security, food safety and prisoner exchanges and the protection of civilians. Formally named the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, it follows other such gatherings based on the Kyiv government’s own peace formula. Notably, however, it will not feature any representation from Russia. What’s more, other major states such as Brazil and China have ignored invitations to attend. Czechia, by contrast will be there, represented by President Petr Pavel and Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian – and for Prague’s perspective on the summit I spoke to the latter at the Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Czernin Palace on Thursday.
The Czech government has approved a proposed amendment that would outlaw corporal punishment of children. Czechia is one of the last EU member states to adopt such a regulation and while there will be no sanctions for breaking it, child experts hope it will change age-old habits.
Some seven percent of children and adolescents in Czechia witnessed or directly experienced repeated domestic violence last year. This behaviour is often linked to excessive alcohol consumption. Experts across the board are currently drafting an action plan regulating access to alcohol and reducing alcohol-related damage.
Under pressure to decide the never-ending battle between outdoor concert organizers and local residents regarding excessive noise, the Czech Health Ministry has ruled in favour of the culture scene. In a statement published on its web page, the ministry argues that short-term exposure to loud music is a nuisance, rather than a health risk.
Czech footballer Petr Čech, considered one of the best goalkeepers of the modern era, was born in the west Bohemian city of Plzeň. His journey to the top of the football world is a fascinating story of determination and talent. He launched his career at the local club Viktoria Plzeň and worked his way up through Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague and Rennes in France all the way to London’s legendary clubs Chelsea and Arsenal.
What really happens to your waste after you’ve sorted it and dutifully put it in your local recycling container? The Czech Environment Ministry attempted to find out via a unique experiment – at least for one very specific type of rubbish. They put tracking devices on 100 PET bottles and put them in recycling bins in locations all around the country to see where they ended up after three months – and the results were surprising.
Moscow is very likely to blame for a recent failed arson attack on city buses in Prague, the Czech prime minister said on Monday. Petr Fiala said the foiled plot was part of a hybrid war Russia is waging against Czechia. But what can the authorities do to combat this kind of “low level” terrorism?
A newly restored Jawa 750, which appeared at the start of the legendary 1930s race Thousand Miles of Czechoslovakia, was recently unveiled at the National Technical Museum in Prague. This Thursday, the fiery red sports car will take part in the race again, 90 years after its first appearance.
Citizens around Europe are taking stock of the outcome of elections to the European Parliament. How may the results change the direction and policies of the EU? And what do they signal about the domestic situation? I spoke about the outcome of the elections in Czechia and the EU with the deputy director of the Prague-based Europeum Institute Viktor Daněk.
Like in other EU member states, elections to the European Parliament in Czechia brought a number of surprises. In addition to a record turnout, almost double that ten years ago, many voters came to the polls to cast a protest vote.
Concerts packed with Czech and foreign performers, music enthusiasts from around Europe and a great community atmosphere - summer music festivals, are becoming more and more popular in this country and there are plenty to choose from. Here are a few of the events you shouldn’t miss in the upcoming months.
The ceremony was attended by Emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth, also known as Sissi. The imperial couple also made a significant contribution to a public fundraiser for the construction of one of the largest church buildings of its time.
In the past 12 years Eva and Rob McLean, who live just outside Prague, have fostered no fewer than 12 children. All of them were new-borns who stayed with the pair for a year. What motivates them to devote so much care to often traumatised infants? How do their own sons feel about sharing their lives and home with a succession of babies? And how hard is it go give the children up after 12 months? I discussed these questions and much more with the Czech-American couple.
The Czech Republic has only had two presidencies so far in the course of its membership in the European Union. The first Czech presidency in 2009 was complicated by the fall of the government, when a caretaker cabinet had to step in and complete it. The country’s second stint at the helm of the European Union, in 2022, was much more successful. In the last edition of our series Czechs in the EU, I discuss the country’s performance at the helm of the EU with Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute for European Policy.
Four people were killed and over 20 injured in a head-on collision between two trains in a station in Pardubice on Wednesday night. Investigators say the accident occurred when one of the trains failed to respect a stop signal.
Rosa Bohemica is not your typical arts festival in that it doesn’t just take place in one location, but in 13. Spread out over four different Czech regions, the festival includes concerts, theatre and talks, all held in unique and exceptional settings.
This year, Czechia is marking the 20th anniversary of its accession to the European Union. When it joined the club, some people in this country were concerned about whether the Czech voice would be heard in the competition of so many other countries, especially the ‘heavy-weights’. Twenty years on, one can say that in a number of cases, the Czechs have even been the driving force behind changes affecting the whole of Europe.
3D printing has found a home in several industries, primarily the industrial and electrical sectors. But healthcare has also found many uses for the technology, including for creating medical devices, dental implants, patient-specific surgical models, and prostheses. One of the leading applications of 3D printing in healthcare is in orthopaedic surgery – which is precisely where it has started to be used in Ústí nad Labem’s Masaryk Hospital.
The 80th anniversary of D-Day, otherwise known as "Operation Overlord," will remember the Allied soldiers who stormed the beaches of Normandy on 6 June, 1944. Czech President Petr Pavel will attend, along with 25 other world leaders, 43,000 officers, and more than a million visitors.
Věra Jourová is one of the best-known Czech names in Brussels’ circles. In 2019, the former Czech minister and commissioner, now Vice-President of the European Commission, made Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people on the planet. Ironically, she entered the EU-executive with a slight disadvantage, because she was put in charge of a portfolio she didn’t particularly want. In this edition of “Czechs in the EU” we look back at Věra Jourová’s work in Brussels with Viktor Daněk, Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute and Czech Radio’s former Brussels correspondent.
Over 50 young creators from around 20 cities in 10 European countries gathered in Prague over the last few days for the first ever USE-IT map conference to be held in Czechia. These free, non-commercial maps are intended to promote sustainable tourism by giving young travellers tips on where to go without spending a lot of money and how to blend in and act like a local.
More than two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine started, there are over 339,000 Ukrainian nationals with temporary protection status living in Czechia. As the war drags on, many have grown accustomed to the idea that they may never return. But, there are also refugees who wish to go back, no matter the risks, and the Czech government has launched a program to help them do so.
All Czech presidents got the chance to address the European Parliament during their time in office. Some of their speeches received a standing ovation, others stirred controversy. In today’s instalment of our five-part series “Czechs in the EU”, we look back at how Czech heads of state presented themselves in Brussels and Strasbourg. My guest is Viktor Daněk, former Czech Radio correspondent in Brussels, now Deputy Director of the Europeum Institute for European Policy.
Czech voters will cast their ballots in European Parliament elections at the end of this week. A last minute poll suggests the SPOLU (Together) alliance are on the heels of opposition leaders ANO, while the Communists, no longer in the lower house, could take as many seats as the Pirates. I discussed the elections with political scientist Petr Just.
The Jungborn nudist sanatorium, the Paris metro, or the picturesque town of Stresa by Lago Magiorre – these are just some of the many places visited by Franz Kafka, the great Prague-born Jewish writer who died exactly 100 years ago. To mark the occasion, a new book, has just come out dedicated to Kafka’s travels. I spoke to its author, journalist and publicist Judita Matyášová:
Trumpeter and composer Štěpánka Balcarová , a two-time Anděl Award winner in the jazz category, recently released a new album inspired by her own experience of becoming a mother. It includes eight compositions, inspired by one of the basic human emotions. Called simply Emotions, the album was voted Czechia’s second best jazz album of 2023 by Czech Radio’s Czech Jazz Harvest critics’ poll.
For the third consecutive year, Prague’s DOX Centre for Contemporary Art is hosting Prague Offspring, a Prague Spring festival concert format dedicated to contemporary music. The legendary Klangforum Wien will again appear in the role of ensemble-in-residence and will also feature in a special concert featuring 50 pianos. I asked Josef Třeštík, Prague Spring’s programme director, to tell me more:
The war in Ukraine dominated an informal summit of NATO foreign ministers in Prague, which entered its second day Friday. Also in attendance was the alliance’s secretary general, who responded positively to news the US is allowing Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia with American weapons.
Ondřej Krutílek is a member of the ruling Civic Democratic Party and is running in the European elections within the coalition SPOLU, made up of Civic Democrats, Christian Democrats and TOP 09. He is an expert on EU legislation and is familiar with the workings of the EU.
Facts on Climate Change, a Czech team of independent analysts and experts, is committed to making the public debate on climate change factual, constructive and based on scientifically verified data. They recently published an English version of their Atlas of Climate Change, which was previously only available in Czech, to provide teachers, students, journalists, influencers, and political and business decision makers across the world with easy-to-use maps, explainers and infographics that summarise key facts about one of the greatest challenges facing our civilisation today.
Lucia Moholy was a Prague-born photographer who documented, often uncredited, the interwar Bauhaus movement in Germany. She has largely been overlooked as an artist – something a major new retrospective at the gallery Kunsthalle Praha aims to redress. I asked curator Jordan Troeller what role Moholy played in the Bauhaus.
Jaroslav Bžoch is running in the European elections for the ANO party. He is a business executive and has been a member of the Czech Parliament since 2017.
The Liberec Region boasts a picturesque, hilly landscape, dotted with many castles and chateaus and a sight you can’t miss - the iconic TV transmitter on Ještěd. Czech out its landmarks in our photo gallery.
The Liberec Region is known for its glassmaking tradition and its exquisite costume jewellery exported to many countries of the world. It offers great mountain hiking in both summer and winter, beautiful nature and picturesque towns. Test your knowledge of the Liberec Region in our quiz!
Have you ever wondered what a Baroque pharmacy looked like? The answer lies in a monastery called Zlatá Koruna, in southern Bohemia, which recently re-created such a pharmacy from authentic items dating back to the 18th century.
The Czech prime minister on Tuesday hosted a work dinner for a group of EU leaders and the prime minister of Ukraine aimed at coordinating and strengthening aid to the embattled country in the face of continuing Russian aggression. The meeting, attended by some of Ukraine’s most prominent allies, focused on the Czech shells-for-Ukraine initiative, Ukraine's air defence and European cooperation in the defence industry.
Petr Mach is a Czech economist and former MEP who is running in the European elections for the Freedom and Direct Democracy Party.
Billed as “the world’s largest professional Romani festival”, Khamoro, meaning ‘sunshine’ in Romani, has been taking place in Prague since 1999. But as Izabela Chalupníková from the festival’s production team told me, it’s not your typical Romani festival. While most Romani festivals focus on music, Khamoro, in addition to concerts, presents a diverse programme of exhibitions, children’s activities, oral history, film screenings, dance performances, workshops, conferences and more.
A special concert performance of Bedřich Smetana’s opera Libuše will be performed at Prague’s Rudolfinum on Tuesday, marking the 200th anniversary of the great Czech composer’s birth. The event, featuring Czech opera stars Kateřina Kněžíková and Adam Plachetka, is part of the Prague Spring international music festival.
Two Czech titles, Tiny Lights and Our Lovely Pig Slaughter, will be in the main competition at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, organisers revealed on Tuesday. Meanwhile Hollywood star Geoffrey Rush will be part of the jury deciding who takes home the Crystal Globe. I spoke to artistic director Karel Och at the unveiling of this year’s official selection.
Danuše Nerudová is an economist and university professor and a former rector of Mendel University in Brno. She is running in the European elections for the Mayors and Independents Party.
The annual Ride of the Kings folk celebration – a centuries-old UNESCO listed tradition – took place in the village of Vlčnov in South Moravia on Sunday. The festive ride of young men, led by a nine-year-old boy in the role of king, signifies their transition to manhood.
Czechia won the Ice Hockey World Championship with a 2:0 defeat of Switzerland in the final on Sunday night. The Czechs, led by star David Pastrňák, secured the title for the first time in over a decade and a half in front of an ecstatic home crowd in Prague.
Jazz Dock, one of Prague’s most popular jazz clubs thanks to its cool location in a modern glass building that appears to be floating on the river Vltava, plays host to a wide variety of jazz, funk, Latin and soul bands. But it also has its own house band, the Jazz Dock Orchestra, which recently released its first album.
A new exhibition highlighting the Celtic history of South Bohemia is currently underway in the South Bohemian Museum in České Budějovice. It presents the latest archaeological findings, but also sheds light on the everyday life of people living in the region during the Iron Age.
Conservationists are attempting to save a large-scale mosaic created by the famous twin sisters Jitka and Květa Válová in the late 1970s. The artwork, believed to have been lost, was discovered some time ago in a building, which is slated for demolition.
The town of Opava has a unique octagonal chapel, called the Swedish Chapel, which boasts a rare find. Its walls are covered with fragments of 15th century frescoes depicting the Apocalypse.
The last years of Kafka's life were associated with severe illness and numerous stays in sanatoriums. On this account, Kafka has often been described as sickly. However, as long as his health allowed, he exercised regularly, washed with cold water and generally tried to keep fit. In 1922, two years before his death, tuberculosis forced him to resign from the Workmen's Accident Insurance Company. Following his doctor’s advice, he went to the mountains to get some fresh air, says David Stecher, director of the Prague Literary House:
Final preparations are underway for the 23rd edition of the Prague Fringe, which starts on Monday. Alongside an array of artistes from around the globe, this year’s edition will also include a local company performing a play “by” fictional Czech legend Jara Cimrman. Founder Steve Gove discussed that booking – but first told me about a production by Shinehouse Theatre, a company from Taiwan.
Often misunderstood, polyamory is an alternative relationship model that aims to free itself from the traditional nuclear family style relationship. But even as this relationship structure gets more common, many people still misunderstand proponents of it, and polyamorous couples are often subject to judgement and prejudice.
A fresh Russian offensive targeted at Kharkiv puts Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Putin’s aggression under renewed focus. It may also increase the importance of a Czech initiative to provide large amounts of artillery ammunition to Ukraine, funded by partner states, which is set to begin next month.
The making of glass and jewellery by hand, a tradition which has survived for hundreds of years in the Liberec Region, draws thousands of tourists to the area each year. Radio Prague paid a visit to the oldest still-functioning glassworks in Bohemia, the Novosad Glass Factory, nestled in the Giant Mountains in the small town of Harrachov. The nowadays privately-owned Novosad & Son was founded in the 18th century, or possibly even earlier, on the former estate of the aristocratic Harrach family and remains fully functional, with everything preserved almost exactly as it was originally.
The international book fair and literary festival Book World Prague, held annually by the Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers in the capital’s Výstaviště grounds, usually primarily targets the domestic readership, i.e. a Czech-speaking audience. But this year is a little different – largely due to the Frankfurt Book Fair, the world's largest trade fair for books, announcing Czechia as its Guest of Honour for 2026.
The 2024 Ice Hockey World Championships are well underway in the Czech cities of Prague and Ostrava. The tournament, which brings together teams representing 16 nations, is held annually in alternating host cities. As the group stage of the tournament winds down, excited fans are anticipating who will play who in the quarterfinal matches in what has already been a competitive tournament. Here’s a quick rap up of what’s been going on.
The great Czech architect Eva Jiřičná has been living in the UK for many decades. But the biggest project in the 85-year-old’s career, a 1,000-apartment development, is set to go up in Prague. I spoke to Jiřičná on Monday at a presentation of Centrum Nového Žižkova, New Žižkov Centre, on which she collaborated with the UK’s Arup Group. Plans for the complex were first revealed five years ago, but they have been forced to change considerably since then.
Every year, Czechs consume millions of chickens, leaving behind tons of feathers as a by-product. The feathers typically end up in incinerators or on landfills. Czech scientists have now come up with a way of repurposing this by-product – turning it into liquid fertiliser.
The Botanical Garden in Liberec has been celebrating World Bee Day, which falls on May 20, with an interactive tour of its hives.
The Botanical Garden in Liberec has been celebrating World Bee Day, which falls on May 20, with an interactive tour of its hives.
Just ahead of the centenary of Franz Kafka’s death, new translations of short stories by the Prague German-language writer come out this week. Entitled Selected Stories, the collection is the work of Mark Harman, an Irish-born, US-resident academic who has been described as “the finest living Kafka translator” into English. From his home in Pennsylvania, Professor Harman discussed many aspects of the author’s work, including his distinctive style, his sense of humour and where he stands in the literary pantheon.
Just ahead of the centenary of Franz Kafka’s death, new translations of short stories by the Prague German-language writer come out this week. Entitled Selected Stories, the collection is the work of Mark Harman, an Irish-born, US-resident academic who has been described as “the finest living Kafka translator” into English. From his home in Pennsylvania, Professor Harman discussed many aspects of the author’s work, including his distinctive style, his sense of humour and where he stands in the literary pantheon.
Fantastic Scherzo by the great Czech composer Josef Suk premiered at Prague’s Rudolfinum in 1905.
Fantastic Scherzo by the great Czech composer Josef Suk premiered at Prague’s Rudolfinum in 1905.
As Russia steps up its offensive in Ukraine, the country’s leadership is stressing the urgent need for more weapons and soldiers to hold the front. In an exclusive interview for Czech Radio, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov spoke about the military’s most urgent needs, the call to action for Ukrainian citizens abroad and the need to boost Ukraine’s own weapons‘ production capacity with foreign investment.
As Russia steps up its offensive in Ukraine, the country’s leadership is stressing the urgent need for more weapons and soldiers to hold the front. In an exclusive interview for Czech Radio, Ukraine’s Defence Minister Rustem Umerov spoke about the military’s most urgent needs, the call to action for Ukrainian citizens abroad and the need to boost Ukraine’s own weapons‘ production capacity with foreign investment.
Disappointed fans, crying children, angry parents: some of the scenes that could be witnessed at the turnstiles to hockey arenas in Prague and Ostrava when excited ticket holders realised the passes they had bought to the 2024 IIHF World Championship were fakes. The police have so far uncovered hundreds of cases and one person is being prosecuted.
Disappointed fans, crying children, angry parents: some of the scenes that could be witnessed at the turnstiles to hockey arenas in Prague and Ostrava when excited ticket holders realised the passes they had bought to the 2024 IIHF World Championship were fakes. The police have so far uncovered hundreds of cases and one person is being prosecuted.
The 2024 World Hockey Championships are well underway in Prague and Ostrava. One week into the tournament, there have already been memorable moments and upsets, making this year’s tournament one to remember. To check in on how team Czechia is doing, I spoke with Czech Radio sports reporter Adam Weidenthaler, who’s been covering the championship in Prague.
The 2024 World Hockey Championships are well underway in Prague and Ostrava. One week into the tournament, there have already been memorable moments and upsets, making this year’s tournament one to remember. To check in on how team Czechia is doing, I spoke with Czech Radio sports reporter Adam Weidenthaler, who’s been covering the championship in Prague.
Czechs are satisfied with their sex life despite having sex significantly less frequently than they did a decade ago. That is the main message to come out of a survey carried out by the National Institute of Mental Health. It also shows that dating in Czechia is increasingly moving online.
Czechs are satisfied with their sex life despite having sex significantly less frequently than they did a decade ago. That is the main message to come out of a survey carried out by the National Institute of Mental Health. It also shows that dating in Czechia is increasingly moving online.
Czech firms have increasingly been looking across the ocean at opportunities to expand to North American markets, specifically in fields such as IT. But what specific skills can Czech born businesses offer these already competitive marketplaces, and why is now a good time for expansion? I put those questions to CEO of COPS Solutions, Ondřej Dvořák.
Czech firms have increasingly been looking across the ocean at opportunities to expand to North American markets, specifically in fields such as IT. But what specific skills can Czech born businesses offer these already competitive marketplaces, and why is now a good time for expansion? I put those questions to CEO of COPS Solutions, Ondřej Dvořák.
In the previous episode of ‘In Kafka’s Footsteps’, we visited the town of Frýdlant, believed to have inspired Kafka’s novel ‘The Castle’. But there is another contender vying for the same accolade: the village of Siřem, a tiny hamlet in northern Bohemia surrounded by hop fields. It was here that Kafka went to stay after being diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917, in search of peace, fresh air and nature on his sister's farm.
In the previous episode of ‘In Kafka’s Footsteps’, we visited the town of Frýdlant, believed to have inspired Kafka’s novel ‘The Castle’. But there is another contender vying for the same accolade: the village of Siřem, a tiny hamlet in northern Bohemia surrounded by hop fields. It was here that Kafka went to stay after being diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1917, in search of peace, fresh air and nature on his sister's farm.
News of the brutal assassination attempt against Slovak PM Robert Fico, who is now fighting for his life in a Slovak hospital, sent shockwaves around Europe. Politicians in Czechia have been sending messages of support and solidarity to the former sister state and urging restraint in what threatens to be a potentially dangerous situation.
News of the brutal assassination attempt against Slovak PM Robert Fico, who is now fighting for his life in a Slovak hospital, sent shockwaves around Europe. Politicians in Czechia have been sending messages of support and solidarity to the former sister state and urging restraint in what threatens to be a potentially dangerous situation.
If you’ve taken the metro to Prague’s Anděl station, you may have noticed a bronze sculpture that reads ‘Moskva-Praha’. Constructed in 1985, it was meant to symbolize friendship between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. After the fall of the regime, it remained, stirring debate amongst the public. Recently, Prague City Hall decided to add a plaque explaining the contentious history of the sculpture, instead of tearing it down. To learn more about this, I spoke with Cold War historian Jan Adamec.
If you’ve taken the metro to Prague’s Anděl station, you may have noticed a bronze sculpture that reads ‘Moskva-Praha’. Constructed in 1985, it was meant to symbolize friendship between Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. After the fall of the regime, it remained, stirring debate amongst the public. Recently, Prague City Hall decided to add a plaque explaining the contentious history of the sculpture, instead of tearing it down. To learn more about this, I spoke with Cold War historian Jan Adamec.
The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is marking the 50th anniversary of its founding this year. Radio Prague was at the launch of the official celebrations, which kicked off earlier this month in the Midwest city, known for its large population of Czech and Slovak expats.
The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is marking the 50th anniversary of its founding this year. Radio Prague was at the launch of the official celebrations, which kicked off earlier this month in the Midwest city, known for its large population of Czech and Slovak expats.
Ferdinand Porsche was a Liberec-born genius engineer, who designed the first-ever hybrid car. He also contributed to the development of Volkswagen Beetle, which remained in production for 65 years.
Ferdinand Porsche was a Liberec-born genius engineer, who designed the first-ever hybrid car. He also contributed to the development of Volkswagen Beetle, which remained in production for 65 years.
Open House Prague , the week-long festival where many buildings throughout the city normally closed to the public open their doors, kicks off this week. Until May 19th, visitors will be able to explore famous sites across the city, and learn more about their history, says spokeswoman Michaela Pánková.
Open House Prague , the week-long festival where many buildings throughout the city normally closed to the public open their doors, kicks off this week. Until May 19th, visitors will be able to explore famous sites across the city, and learn more about their history, says spokeswoman Michaela Pánková.
Professor Josef Michl, a world-renowned Czech chemist, died on Monday at the age of 85. Professor Michl, who excelled both in theoretical and experimental chemistry, led research groups at Prague’s Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) and at the University of Boulder, Colorado.
Professor Josef Michl, a world-renowned Czech chemist, died on Monday at the age of 85. Professor Michl, who excelled both in theoretical and experimental chemistry, led research groups at Prague’s Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) and at the University of Boulder, Colorado.
Perhaps you’ve seen one in the Charles University Faculty of Law building – the old wooden ‘infinity’ elevator known as a paternoster. The vintage ride has become quite a tourist attraction, especially the one at Prague’s City Hall. But the influx in visitors poses disruptions to the work at the Municipal building and damages to the lift itself. From June, Prague City Tourism will be operating the paternoster at Prague City Hall, charging 250 crowns for a spin. Lenka Davidová, spokeswoman for Prague City Tourism told me more about the decision.
Perhaps you’ve seen one in the Charles University Faculty of Law building – the old wooden ‘infinity’ elevator known as a paternoster. The vintage ride has become quite a tourist attraction, especially the one at Prague’s City Hall. But the influx in visitors poses disruptions to the work at the Municipal building and damages to the lift itself. From June, Prague City Tourism will be operating the paternoster at Prague City Hall, charging 250 crowns for a spin. Lenka Davidová, spokeswoman for Prague City Tourism told me more about the decision.
A brown bear weighing as much as 200 kilogrammes has been spotted on the outskirts of the Moravian city of Zlín. The authorities say the animal could be passing through the area but have warned locals to exercise caution.
A brown bear weighing as much as 200 kilogrammes has been spotted on the outskirts of the Moravian city of Zlín. The authorities say the animal could be passing through the area but have warned locals to exercise caution.
Singer and songwriter Petr Hapka, one of the most significant composers of Czech film music scores, would have turned 80 this week. He died at the age of just 70 in 2014, leaving an unforgettable music legacy behind.
Singer and songwriter Petr Hapka, one of the most significant composers of Czech film music scores, would have turned 80 this week. He died at the age of just 70 in 2014, leaving an unforgettable music legacy behind.
What really happens to your plastic after you’ve carefully sorted it and put it in your local recycling container (in Czechia, those iconic yellow bins)? According to many recent media reports, rather than being recycled, it likely ends up in landfill, an incinerator, or even worse, in the ocean or dumped in a field, as most of the plastic that people put in recycling containers is unusable using current recycling methods. But a new technology currently being tested in Czechia may provide hope of a solution.
Jane Goodall, the famous English primatologist and anthropologist who has spent decades studying chimpanzees, is paying a special visit to the Prague Zoo this weekend. Goodall will be naming one of the Zoo’s new baby gorillas, a special event which spokesman for the Prague Zoo Filip Mašek told me more about.
Survey: Czechs vote in EP elections to express opinion on government rather than influence EU policy
Thursday marks exactly 50 years since the opening of the first section of the Prague metro, running between Kačerov and Florenc on the C line. Today there are 61 stations and three lines. But did you know that there is also a secret metro station, known as Klárov? Classified as confidential, it was one of the best-kept secrets of the Communist era.
The 2024 Ice Hockey World Championships are set to begin this Friday in host cities Prague and Ostrava. The tournament, which brings together 16 teams, will take place over the course of two weeks. But how is the Czech team expected to perform on home ice? I put that question and more to Czech Television Sports commentator, Michal Dimitrov.
Frýdlant, a town of about 7,400 inhabitants in Czechia’s Liberec Region, certainly has a Kafkaesque feeling about it. You arrive there only to find that the people you arranged to interview suddenly don’t have time to meet you, saying they are sure that one day, however, one day you will meet – uncannily reminiscent of Kafka’s unfinished last novel ‘The Castle’, where the protagonist desperately tries to gain access to the fortress where the mysterious authorities who govern the village he has been summoned to reside.
Among the books nominated for the prestigious Magnesia Litera Award this year was a graphic novel called Arnoštova cesta, describing the life story of the great Czech Jewish writer Arnošt Lustig. I met with his daughter Eva, a writer and documentary filmmaker herself, to discuss the book, and also to talk about the Arnošt Lustig Foundation, which she is in charge of. However, I had to start by asking about an onion which she took out of her handbag upon entering the studio:
Singer song-writer Aiko will represent Czechia at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with her empowering song called Pedestal. The 24-year-old singer, who was born in Russia, won the Czech national round, leaving behind six other finalists. This Thursday, she will appear in Eurovision’s semi-finals:
The Czech Constitutional Court has ruled to abolish forced sterilization for individuals who want to make an official sex change. Czechia is one of the last few EU countries enforcing the sterilization requirement. The change, which will necessitate an amendment to the law, should come into effect in mid-2025. Trans advocate Lenka Králová, told me more about the situation and how she is feeling on this historic day.
The Prague metro is celebrating 50 years of service this week with a number of special events for the public. People can visit an exhibition on the history of the metro, ride on the historic first trains that opened the Prague subway or play a geo game that will take them to all the stations around the city.
Police investigating video of woman waving Nazi flag from truck in convoy at Plzeň Freedom Celebrations
Police investigating video of woman waving Nazi flag from truck in convoy at Plzeň Freedom Celebrations
Police investigating video of woman waving Nazi flag from truck in convoy at Plzeň Freedom Celebrations
Deputy mayor to propose removal of sculpture in Anděl metro commemorating Czech-Soviet friendship
Deputy mayor to propose removal of sculpture in Anděl metro commemorating Czech-Soviet friendship
Deputy mayor to propose removal of sculpture in Anděl metro commemorating Czech-Soviet friendship
The 79th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival , the largest and oldest classical musical festival in Czechia, gets underway in the Czech capital next Sunday with a performance of Bedřich Smetana’s My Country by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
The 79th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival , the largest and oldest classical musical festival in Czechia, gets underway in the Czech capital next Sunday with a performance of Bedřich Smetana’s My Country by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
The 79th edition of the Prague Spring International Music Festival , the largest and oldest classical musical festival in Czechia, gets underway in the Czech capital next Sunday with a performance of Bedřich Smetana’s My Country by the Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Kirill Petrenko.
One of the final two Czechoslovak RAF veterans still alive today celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday. Jiří Pavel Kafka, also one of the “Winton children”, marked his centenary in the hangar of Prague’s Kbely military airport in the company of family and army representatives.
The National Gallery at Prague’s Kinsky Palace has been converted into a hockey fans paradise for a new exhibition titled “Get on the ice! Ice Hockey and Skating in Art”. The exhibit showcases skating and hockey in Czech fine art throughout the years, but as I discovered, the sport represents much more to the people of Czechia, and has deep roots in the nation’s political and social identity.
Karel Raab trained as a locksmith in view of taking over the family firm, but his yearning to create art was stronger. He started out by creating small pieces for his garden in his spare time. They soon got noticed and enabled him to turn his hobby into a thriving business.
May 1 is the Czech equivalent of Valentine’s Day, when couples kiss under blossoming cherry trees to seal their relationship. Now, however, the custom may be threatened by climate change, which causes trees to bloom much earlier than before.
A two-meter-wide stained glass window with the Eye of God, which was most likely hidden by a priest during the communist regime so as to safeguard it, has been discovered and restored to the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kunratice u Cvikova, north of Prague.
The Franz Kafka Museum in Prague gives visitors an insight into the inner world of Franz Kafka, one of the most important writers of the 20th century. The exhibition portrays Kafka’s life and work, his fascination with Prague and how its atmosphere is reflected in his novels.
Pro-Russian Ukrainian politician and businessman Marchevsky granted temporary protection in Slovakia
Since 2008, the organization ComingOut has been working to protect the rights of LGBTQ+ folks in Russia, as a response to the many dangers and difficulties this community faces on a daily basis. Georgii Kalakutskii, a member of the queer community himself, is taking the work ComingOut is doing across Europe, including Prague, to draw attention to these issues and to build solidarity. He told me more about the discussion he is hosting on May 1 in Prague.
We'll hear from two extraordinary Czech women who've woven their lives into the fabric of this the vibrant city of London.
Zoologists from the Dvůr Králové Safari Park have started researching elephants in the Mkomazi National Park in Tanzania. One of the zoo’s main missions is protecting endangered and threatened wildlife species directly in their natural habitats, and this is precisely the aim of their research in Tanzania. Millions of elephants once lived throughout Africa, but today, they only number around 350,000. Ivory poachers kill eight percent of the elephant population every year, but as Michal Šťastný from the Department of Communication and International Projects at Safari Park Dvůr Králové told me, it is not only poaching that threatens the African elephants.
Last year Mason Parker and a group of other US investors bought American football club Prague Lions , the sole Czech team in the burgeoning European League of Football. Why does Parker feel this is the right time to back the sport in Europe? And just how far can the Prague Lions go? I discussed these questions and more with the Texan-born businessman at the ground where the team trains.
After a period of stagnation, prices of apartments and houses in Czechia are again on the rise, according to players on the property market. But what is driving this development? And what other trends can be observed?
The world-famous Czech composer Antonín Dvořák died 120 years ago in Prague on May 1, 1904, at the age of 62. The 120th anniversary of his death is naturally being commemorated with a host of concerts, but also by us here at Radio Prague International. In today’s Sunday music show we listen to his truly lovely Czech Suite in D major from 1879.
Czech-made video game Kingdom Come: Deliverance achieved massive success at home and abroad when it was released in 2018. Warhorse Studios, the games developers are gearing up for the highly anticipated sequel to be released. Tobias Stolz, spokesman for the gaming studio, told me more about what’s to come.
The first ever National Development Day was held at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. The event highlighted the country’s active cooperation with developing countries around the world – including in the human rights field.
With just over three months to go to the Summer Olympics in Paris, work on the Czech Olympics House is in full swing. Where will it be and what can visitors expect?
In today's episode of our series In Franz Kafka’s Footsteps we are back in Prague to visit places where the famous writer lived, worked and wrote, and also where he spent his free time.
While the streets of Prague 1 may be breath-taking by day, they turn ugly by night for the city’s residents who are severely plagued by noisy drunk tourists wanting to make the most of their time in Prague. The locals, many of whom have lived in the city centre for generations, accuse the authorities of turning a blind eye to the problem. But the solution is not so simple. Many businesses in the city centre rely on these tourists for their survival, as Karolína Šnejdarová, spokesperson for Prague 1 explained to me.
How would cities look if we designed them with children in mind? That’s the topic of an event hosted by Prague’s Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) taking place on Wednesday evening. The lecture, titled “Start with Children”, argues for cities to put children at the centre of urban planning in order to create greener, safer places for youth to grow. Head architect at CAMP, Štěpán Bärtl, told me more.
Roma representatives, top officials and cultural figures attended the opening of a memorial to Romany and Sinti victims of the Holocaust in Lety, south Bohemia on Tuesday. Due to communist neglect, the site of a former concentration camp originally served as a pig farm and it took close to three decades for the state to buy out the property and erect a dignified memorial in its place.
Ever wondered what happens to your Christmas tree after the festive season is over? Well, in the case of one particular Christmas tree at least, it won’t end up on a scrapheap or in an incinerator. Apprentice carpenters from one of the capital’s vocational schools are turning Prague’s Old Town Square Christmas tree into useful wooden objects for old people’s homes.
The first details about this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival have just been revealed. The 58th edition of the region’s biggest cinema event will feature a special section dedicated to Franz Kafka, while its visual identity will reflect the Brutalist hotel at the centre of the festival.
Nicholas Lowry leads viewers through IDENTITA: A Film About Czech Graphic Design, which is set for release later this year. The New York auctioneer, art expert and TV personality seems the ideal man for the job, given his vast knowledge of the subject and his family background. We discussed Lowry’s Czech heritage, his time in Prague in the “Wild East” early 1990s and what he has learned from working on IDENTITA in Prague recently, shortly after shooting wrapped on the feature-length documentary.
Czechia is one of the last countries in Europe to still require transgender people to undergo medical sterilisation in order to legally change their gender – meaning that officially changing your sex is not possible without undergoing surgery to remove your reproductive organs. The Justice Ministry announced over a year ago that they were preparing legislation to scrap this requirement, but with little political will to change the law, it has so far not made it to parliament, despite years of criticism from international human rights organisations. Recently around two dozen Czech NGOs and prominent people signed an open letter to Prime Minister Petr Fiala calling for the government to take action. To help make sense of this often-misunderstood topic, I spoke to Jáchym, a trans man (meaning he was born female) about his experiences of going through the Czech system for gender reassignment. I know Jáchym personally, and indeed had known him as a man for several years without knowing that he was trans. He spoke very candidly and openly about his personal process, starting with when and how he came to the realisation that he wanted to live life as a man.
While the worst of the winter months are behind us, the need for the services that aid people experiencing homelessness in Prague have not diminished. Homelessness continues to be a significant problem across Czechia’s capital, as Jitka Klánová, Director of Social Services for the Salvation Army , told me.
Bedřich Smetana has been in the spotlight recently in connection with the 200th anniversary of the Czech composer’s birth. Smetana is also the subject of a new novel, Friedrich řečený Bedřich (Friedrich, Known as Bedřich), by Milena Štráfeldová. One focus of the book is the music great’s complicated German and Czech background.
Music must be beautiful,” wrote Bohuslav Martinů, “or it wouldn't be worth the effort.” One of the most prolific 20th century Czech composers wrote around 400 works, drawing inspiration from different styles and genres. His long-lost Concerto for Violin and Orchestra carries typical Czech traits.
After nearly a week of temperatures in the mid-20s Celsius, Czechs are having to put their winter coats back on as the weather dips below freezing. But the sudden change doesn’t only impact our clothing choice – it has an even more detrimental effect on the crops that have begun to grow and respond to the warm temperatures. To understand more, I spoke with Miroslav Havránek, a researcher from the Charles University Environment Centre.
A new monument honouring the courage of those who fought in the May 1945 Prague Uprising has been selected in a public competition and will be erected in the Bubeneč district. It will replace a statue of the Soviet Army commander Ivan Konev, which was removed in 2020.
A new study by the Prague Institute of Planning and Development (IPR Prague) comparing the Czech capital with 11 other European cities has found that there is still a gap between East and West in many respects. The analysis looked at areas of life such as housing, transport, work and free time to see how Prague fared in a European context, and concluded that the city has not yet shaken off its post-communist legacy in some ways. I spoke to Lucie Pára from IPR Prague to find out more.
When your child isn’t feeling well, the next step any parent would take after over the counter medicine would be a paediatrician – but that’s not so easy any more in Czechia. Today, many Czech parents don’t have a general practitioner for their child, meaning more end up going to emergency rooms for more minor issues, causing a backlog in hospitals. Czech Radio reporter Lucie Pávová told me more about the issue.
One of the places writer Franz Kafka liked to visit was Třešt'. Indeed before he entered the workforce he regularly visited his uncle in the small Vysočina town in summer.
Amid growing warnings about the downside of AI, the Czech Justice Ministry is proposing an amendment to the law that would make deep fake porn a criminal offense. The amendment would make it easier for victims to defend themselves and act as a deterrent to those ready to abuse it.
Czechia’s Minister of Education Mikuláš Bek recently expressed his support for implementing education about the LGBTQ+ community into the country’s secondary school curriculum. If applied, the move would be a step towards members of the LGBTQ+ community feeling more included and visible, HateFree Culture’s Lukáš Houdek told me.
Following talks with US President Joe Biden on Monday, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala visited the US Congress on Tuesday meeting with House Speaker Mike Johnson and a number of Democrat and Republican lawmakers ahead of a crucial vote on funding for Ukraine.
Písek, a South Bohemian town of around 30,000 inhabitants, was an important town in the Middle Ages and has a well-preserved medieval centre with six churches and a partly preserved Gothic castle, rebuilt into the town hall and a brewery. Known as a centre of education, it also is home to a number of important schools.
A telescope in the Štefánik Observatory on Prague’s Petřín hill has been returned after underdoing extensive repairs in Germany for two years. The telescope, which was first placed in the observatory in 1930, allows visitors to observe the moon, planets, and even the Sun during the day. Magdalena Hrnkova, a specialist at the Observatory, told me more.
Support for Ukraine in the face of Moscow’s aggression was among the main items on the agenda when the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, was welcomed at the White House by US President Joe Biden on Monday. Indeed Mr. Fiala told his host he remembered Russian tanks on Czech streets – and did not wish to see them again.
The Jewish Museum in Prague has joined an international project called the Library of Lost Books. It invites readers from all over the world to help track down the thousands of books that once belonged to the Higher Institute for Jewish Studies in Berlin, one of the world’s most important Jewish libraries before the Second World War.
About one million people live on the poverty line here in Czechia – that’s nearly one tenth of the country’s population. This past weekend, a spring food collection was hosted by the Czech Federation of Food Banks and will continue to accept donations online till the end of the month. I asked the Federation’s spokesperson, Vendula Seifertová, to tell me how it went.
Czechia joined international condemnation of Iran's strikes on Israel on Saturday night, backing Israel’s right to self-defense and expressing concern regarding a further destabilization of the region. The worsening global security situation is expected to be high on the agenda of Monday’s meeting between US President Joe Biden and Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala.
Guitarist David Dorůžka, regarded as one of Czechia’s leading jazz musicians, teamed up with flutist Robert Fischmann and drummer Martin Novák to record an album inspired by Jewish music. Called Gilgul, which means “cycle” in Hebrew, it has recently been awarded the Czech Music Academy Anděl award for the best jazz album of the year. You can listen to excerpts from the record in today’s edition of Sunday Music Show.
The Mriya International Film Festival will take place in Prague on Saturday, screening films made by Ukrainian directors while raising funds for the country. The festival had its premiere back in 2022 in Toronto, Canada, and the founder and organizer Kateryna Horina told me more about its expansion across Europe.
The Prague Zoo has announced the birth of a critically endangered western lowland gorilla cub. The baby gorilla, whose sex still remains unknown, was born to 30-year-old mother Kijivu and 26-year-old father Kisumu in the early hours of Friday morning. It is already the second gorilla cub born in the zoo this year. A female named Mobi was born at the beginning of January. I discussed the latest news with the zoo’s spokesman Filip Mašek:
Travelling along Route 66, riding free by plane, going to a casino and taking part in a beer run. These are just some of the many adventures Czech traveller Vojtěch Pechar experienced on a hitchhiking trip across the United States, during which he didn’t spend a cent of his own money. He spent three months travelling from New York to San Francisco, passing through 18 states, getting rides in 50 cars and covering a distance of 9,000 kilometres. He documented his journey on an Instagram account called Mullet na tripu or Mullet on a Trip, which refers to his rather unusual haircut, and which attracted more than 90,000 followers. I caught up with Vojtěch Pechar to discuss his unusual journey and I started by asking him what made him embark on his trip across the US without a single dollar.
The Czech government has officially acknowledged the term "antigypsyism" with the aim of curbing discrimination towards Roma people in the country. But what does the term mean, and how will its use effect change? I asked human rights activist Gwendolyn Albert.
The Czech statute books are set for a significant change. After a lower house debate on Wednesday rape will be defined as non-consensual sex, rather than the current forcible sex. The new bill also gives greater protection to the under 12s in this area.
The great writer Franz Kafka was born in Prague in 1883 and spent his entire life in the city. His early years, and the life of his family, are closely linked to its Old Town district.
Czech President Petr Pavel travels to Vilnius on Thursday for a summit of the Three Seas Initiative, which aims to boost connections between countries by the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas. But why is the landlocked Czechia involved? And what will be the focus of the gathering in Lithuania?
The name Vlasta Kálalová Di Lotti might not mean very much to you – even many Czechs have not heard of her. But the woman with the exotic-sounding name was decidedly one of the most fascinating figures of the First Republic and had an incredible life story that deserves to be more widely known. Not only a female surgeon at a time when this was extremely uncommon, she was also intrepid and pioneering, setting up a clinic in Iraq in the 1920s, and was said to have been fluent in over a dozen languages.
With European Parliament elections around the corner, Czechs are gearing up to head to the polls. But how do Czechs, specifically younger ones, feel about the EU and Czechia’s membership? That’s a question that Czech Radio reporter Anna Urbanová set out to answer based on data from a new study , and I spoke with her about it in our studios.
For years scientists have been warning against the dangers of antibiotic resistance, with increasing numbers of diseases proving impervious to such drugs. One potential solution might be using bacteriocins against bacteria that have developed resistance to antibiotics – a possibility which scientists from Brno’s Masaryk University are currently investigating.
Conservationists have applied a special protective paint on one of the Gothic towers on Prague’s Charles Bridge, the city’s most famous landmark. The transparent nano-coating can decompose algae and mosses with the help of light alone, keeping the stone walls clean and protected.
Czechia experienced its first bout of tropical weather this past weekend, with temperatures reaching as high as 30 degrees Celsius in some parts of the country. While the warmer weather is welcomed by some, it’s indicative of a larger problem being experienced globally – climate change. Miroslav Havránek, a researcher from the Charles University Environment Centre , told me more.
The weekend’s presidential elections in Slovakia were also closely watched in Czechia. Czech leaders have congratulated winner Peter Pellegrini, despite his pro-Russian image. But what is Prague really thinking about his victory? And could Czech populists take inspiration from Pellegrini’s campaign rhetoric? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The 33rd annual Anděl Award winners received their trophies last week at a prize giving ceremony in Prague’s O2 Universum. Among them were young singer Pam Rabbit (Best Female Solo Artist), musician and record producer David Koller (Best Male Solo Artist), and band November 2nd (Best Album) for their record of the same name. Veteran performer Jiří Korn was inducted into the Czech Music Academy’s Hall of Fame. In today’s Sunday Music Show we’ll listen to some of the artists that took home prizes.
Apparently the first aerodynamic mass-produced car in the world, the Tatra 77a is notable for not only having the usual two left and right headlights, but also one in the middle. With only a few cars of this model surviving until today, one of the iconic limousines was restored by the National Technical Museum with the help of EU funds and can now be seen at the Plzeň region’s branch of the museum in the town of Plasy.
A new laboratory enabling safe work with highly infectious viruses and bacteria opened this week at the Biocev science centre in Vestec near Prague. The state-of-the-art facility will enable scientists to study hepatitis B, HIV, Covid and other dangerous viruses.
Walking through the streets of Czechia, you might spot people sporting tri-coloured sneakers in the country’s national colours; blue, white, and red. Those kicks are from an iconic brand called Botas, originally founded in 1949. Last year, the company almost went under, but two brothers came to its rescue. I caught up with 22-year-old Vít Staněk to learn more about the plans to give this classic Czech brand a new lease on life.
Farah Abou Kharroub has one of those personalities that draws you in from the moment you meet her. That warmth and hospitality is something that she is trying to translate into her new venture, Aleb – a wine bar purveying exclusively natural wines from around Czechia and serving up food from the Levant region where she hails from. A filmmaker by training, a wine bar was never in the cards for Farah, but when I visited Aleb, she told me more about her time in Prague and how it’s led her here.
A new night train route has just been launched between Prague and Brussels, also making stops in Amsterdam, Berlin, and several other smaller cities along the way. Train and sustainability enthusiasts are extremely excited about the new route, but with the ever-present temptation of cheap flights available, will it catch on? I went along for the train’s first ride to see for myself.
In the West Bohemian city of Plzeň there is a modern sculpture that people either love or hate. Its official name is The Panopticon, but in Plzeň everybody calls it “the pink rabbit”. Why is it there? And is it art or a terrible kitsch?
Revelations a Czech-based Russian influence network was paying politicians in several states have made headlines around Europe. Czechia’s European commissioner says she sensed Moscow was using such dirty tricks – and says steps should be taken to weed dodgy politicians out of the European Parliament.
Researchers at the Czech Technical University in Prague are using artificial intelligence to train robots, teaching them to search unfamiliar or hard-to-reach areas. In the future, these intelligent robots could help search for missing persons or victims of accidents.
Hundreds of Czech musicians and other artists have signed an open letter to the country’s leaders, urging them to push for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The initiative takes inspiration from the Artists4Ceasefire collective in the US and is led in Czechia by singer-songwriter Tomáš Klus.
A new work by David Černý – a five-tonne kinetic metal head of iconic movie director David Lynch – was recently unveiled at an apartment complex in Santa Monica, LA. The Czech sculptor is perhaps best known for works that have made their mark on Prague, such as the babies crawling on Žižkov TV Tower. So how did this project in California come about?
The Crystal Touch Museum in Litoměřice offers a unique exposition of authentic handprints of famous personalities captured in Bohemia crystal. The exhibition is the work of glass master Jan Huňát who launched the project in 2007.
Pavel Bobek gained his first teaching experience in an immigrant neighbourhood in London’s district of Croydon. After two years he returned to Prague and has since been teaching at one of the city’s primary schools. Are the teaching methods that he learned in the UK also applicable in a Czech school? How does he gain respect in a classroom of 30 kids? And how does he make sure that all the children, including those with a different mother tongue and with learning disabilities, move forward? These are just some of the questions we discussed, but I started by asking what prompted Pavel, who originally studied political science, to become a teacher:
On this week’s Sunday Music show, we spotlight a classic piece of Easter music - Jan Dismas Zelenka’s ‘Cantata sacra Il serpente di bronzo’. Composed in the year 1730, the piece was first performed on Good Friday of that year in Dresden, Germany. Performed at the Saxonian-Polish court, the piece is an important contribution to Catholic sacred music.
Prague’s Hradčany Square right next to Prague Castle is a top-notch address, but with hordes of tourists and ever rising noise levels it is not conducive to quiet contemplation and prayers. This led the community of Barefoot Carmelite Sisters to roll up their sleeves and get to work to turn a derelict farmhouse on the periphery into their new spiritual retreat.
An exhibition called New Realisms opened in Prague City Gallery on Wednesday, offering a fresh perspective on visual culture and art in Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1945. It presents works by well-known artists, such as Otto Guttfreund and Jan Zrzavý, alongside artists from the German, Slovak and Hungarian-speaking minorities. I discussed the exhibition with one of its curators, Ivo Habán, and I first asked him to explain the term New Realisms:
The Municipal District of Prague 1 recently launched an initiative to help residents of the area deal with common problems. The aim is to curb depopulation and reassure residents of the area that the heart of the city is in fact a comfortable place to live for locals and families, and is not just a reserve for tourists.
The Czech secret service has scored a major success, uncovering a Russian network attempting to influence elections in various European states. The Prague government followed this revelation with sanctions on two individuals, including a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician.
The rapid growth of generative AI is influencing many areas of life and there is no doubt that it will play a role in campaigning in the European elections. So are Czech parties preparing to harness the potential it affords and will Czech voters be able to recognize AI-driven disinformation?
A recent study that analyses the housing situation in Prague revealed that the country’s real estate market is the least affordable in Europe. Factors such as privatization and a lack of growth in real wages have put an increasing number of residents in an insecure position. To learn more, I spoke with one of the editors of the study, Václav Orcígr.
Thursday is the 55th anniversary of a famous moment in the country’s modern history. On March 28, 1969 a Czechoslovak ice hockey win over the USSR – less than a year after the Soviet invasion – sparked celebrations that turned into riots in Prague and other parts of the country.
The Czech independent studio Amanita Design has won the award for Excellence in Visual Art at the prestigious San Francisco Independent Games Festival for their new game Phonopolis. The hand-crafted adventure, set in a dystopian city made of cardboard, was inspired by George Orwell’s 1984. I discussed it with Amanita’s producer Lukáš Kunce and I first asked him about the inspiration behind the game:
Over 400,000 Czechs have availed of the opportunity to take part in Erasmus, the EU’s academic exchange programme, since Czechia signed up in the late 1990s. But what specifically do students get out of the experience? I spoke to some former participants.
The discovery of a 7,000-year-old well in Czechia’s Pardubice region six years ago, thought to be the oldest surviving man-made wooden object in the world, thrilled excavators. Now experimental archaeologists from the Všestary Prehistoric Archaeology Park near Hradec Králové are making a copy of the well, using prehistoric tools and methods, that will be displayed alongside the original.
The new book Red Tape: Radio and Politics in Czechoslovakia, 1945-1969 takes a fresh look at radio broadcasting in, and to, the country between the end of the war and the immediate aftermath of the Soviet-led invasion. How “Communist” were staff at Czechoslovak Radio? How did reporters respond to the new freedoms that came with the Prague Spring? And what happened after that relatively liberal period was brutally curtailed? I discussed those questions and more with author Rosamund Johnston, a Vienna-based historian who is also a former colleague at Radio Prague International.
If you’ve spent a day or two in Prague, you’ll know that the city is dotted with cafes, from the small and cozy places offering good coffee and traditional Czech desserts to the luxury cafes in Prague’s historic city center usually frequented by tourists. But, increasingly clients want more than just good coffee and so some Prague coffee houses are offering a special program to go with it.
This week’s Sunday Music show is devoted to pop singer Aneta Langerová, the winner of the first ever Czech Pop Idol contest, who is celebrating 20 years on stage. To mark the occasion, Aneta has released a double album, mapping the two decades of her career. Apart from her biggest hits, it also includes a brand new song, called Zázračná písně krajina or Miracle Song Landscape.
The well-known Máj department store in the centre of Prague is soon to re-open following a two-year renovation. The long-awaited reconstruction has already sparked controversy, when it emerged that the façade of the building will be adorned with two giant butterflies made of Spitfire aircraft fuselages.
The new Škoda 1000 MB was unveiled in Mladá Boleslav on March 21, 1964. Designed to be an inexpensive family car, it was Czechoslovakia’s answer to the Ford Model T: the first mass-affordable automobile, making car travel available to more people in the country than ever before.
People in Need is one of Czechia’s most well-known NGOs, providing humanitarian relief to crisis-affected regions and implementing long-term development projects and educational and human rights programmes around the world. It has been 30 years since it adopted its current name on 21 March 1994, so on the occasion, I spoke to the non-profit’s founder and director, Šimon Pánek, to find out about its beginnings and how it got its name.
Organizers of the upcoming 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship have unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals that will be awarded to the winning teams. The trophies, produced by glassmakers in the north Bohemian town of Nový Bor, are made of crystal glass, which resembles a piece of ice scratched by skates.
A new exhibition titled ‘ Planet Prague ’ opens on Wednesday at the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in Prague. The installation aims to tell the story of the city’s wildlife through an interactive lens, and was put together with the help of botany and biology experts. I spoke with CAMP’s Štěpán Bärtl to learn more about what visitors can expect.
The ruling coalition has accused opposition leader Andrej Babiš of undermining the government’s support for Ukraine through his “pacifist” language and putting at risk Czechia’s security. At a special session of the lower house on Tuesday the prime minister said the opposition should make clear whether it sides with the free West or with Putin.
Hradec Králové, which lies on the confluence of the Labe (Elbe) and Orlice rivers in north-east Bohemia, is one of the oldest and historically most significant Czech cities. For centuries, it was one of the dowry towns of Czech queens. At the turn of the 20th century, Hradec Králové was remodelled by the pioneering Czechoslovak architects Jan Kotěra and Josef Gočár, who turned it into a modern and progressive city, which became known as the Salon of the Republic.
Erasmus mobility programs, which offer students the chance to study and live in a new country, have become increasingly popular for both Czechs who want to go abroad, and foreigners who wish to move to Czechia. Last year alone, 31,000 Czechs participated in an international exchange program. To learn more about the rise in interest, I spoke with Michal Uhl, Director of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research.
This June will mark 100 years since the death of Franz Kafka, the German-speaking Jewish writer who lived in Prague at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. To mark the occasion, Charles Games studio along with Prague’s Goethe Institute developed a 3D game set in the world of Kafka’s novels. The first module of the game, which is based on The Trial, is already available. The full version of the game will be released in May in Czech, English and German.
Havel Speaking, Can You Hear Me? is the name of a brand new documentary tracing the final years of Václav Havel’s life. The current Czech president and his Slovak counterpart were in the audience for a special screening of the film at Prague Castle on Monday night.
The National Library of the Czech Republic is currently working on getting a project off the ground that will provide mobile units that would be sent to Ukraine to help preserve cultural artefacts endangered by the war. The head of the National Library Tomáš Foltýn, told me more about the endeavour.
As the world watched the orchestrated re-election of Vladimir Putin as Russia’s president for the next six years, Russian nationals in Prague gathered on Wenceslas Square in a symbolic show of support for the “Noon against Putin” protests at home. Many of them did not get the chance to vote.
The Bartered Bride, a comic opera by Bedřich Smetana, is a cornerstone of the Czech opera repertoire.
The mayor of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda, is in hot water after admitting to not staying home despite having whooping cough. Mr. Svoboda, a medical doctor by profession, is now facing a criminal complaint for spreading an infectious disease.
The oldest known human settlement in Europe lies in western Ukraine. New findings by an international team of scientists have confirmed the oldest stone tools on the site date roughly 1.4 million years ago. The study , published in Nature, proves that the “first Europeans” entered the continent from the east. I discussed the findings with Roman Garba from the Institute of Nuclear Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences , who led the research team.
This month a monument was unveiled in Liberec entitled To Children Who Didn’t Get to Know the World. The memorial is specifically to Roma children who were born and died in WWII camps – and follows years of research by historian Ivan Rous and others.
Archaeologists from the central Moravian city of Přerov have announced a unique discovery. While carrying out excavations in the centre of the town, they came across an ice skate made of animal bone dating back some 1,000 years.
The state-owned forest company Lesy ČR, which manages a large share of the country’s forests, is opening the very first plant in Czechia specializing in a wide variety of products made from wild game. Game lovers will be able to start ordering fresh delicacies as of this autumn.
The Brady family, originally from Nové Město na Moravě, has an inspiring story that spans generations and continents. George Brady, immigrated to Toronto, Canada after surviving Auschwitz and fleeing communism. Having promised himself as a prisoner that he would never turn his back on people in need if he survived the war, he assisted expats and helped to educate young people about the Holocaust. On a recent visit home to Toronto, I met with Lara Hana Brady, daughter of George Brady, to find out more about his life story, going right back to his idyllic early childhood in Moravia.
The Czech capital is set to become a so-called city of refuge. The City of Prague has signed a contract with the Norwegian non-profit organisation ICORN, joining a network of more than 80 cities around the world that provide temporary asylum to writers or artists persecuted in their home countries.
She was the daughter of the founding father of Czechoslovakia, took on the role of First Lady after her mother died, and headed the Czechoslovak Red Cross for 20 years during the First Republic. And yet, surprisingly, Alice Masaryk has never had a Czech street named after her – until now.
Known for introducing the word ‘robot’ to the world through his literature, Karel Čapek is one of the most famous Czech writers internationally – and one of the most loved at home. The author of ‘War with the Newts’ and ‘R.U.R.’ lived in several parts of the country throughout his life – but his childhood was spent in what is today the Hradec Králové Region.
Czechia on Tuesday celebrated 25 years since its accession to NATO, on March 12, 1999. One of the main events on the anniversary was the conference Our Security Cannot Be Taken for Granted with speakers including Bill Clinton, who was US president when the Czechs joined the alliance.
What creates a romantic attachment? Is it just genetics, do our parents play a part or is it simply a magical uncontrollable process? What if every relationship you get into is an exact copy of the one that just ended? These are just some of the questions examined in the latest autobiographical novel by Štěpánka Jislová, called Srdcovka or Heartcore.
Despite attempts to redefine the city’s image as a party destination, Prague reigns supreme in a recent UK-based index that measures nightlife across European cities. Taking in factors such as price of accommodation, cost of beer, and the number of bars and clubs per capita, the Czech capital came out on top. But is this title really welcome? I put the question to Barbora Scherf, spokesperson for Prague City Tourism.
Czechia, along with Poland and Hungary, joined NATO exactly 25 years ago, on March 12, 1999. But how has Czech membership of the alliance actually gone over the last quarter century? And how has Russia’s war on Ukraine impacted that membership? I discussed those questions, and many more, with Michal Smetana, an international security expert and associate professor at Charles University.
Czech Television’s series Volga swept this year’s Czech Lion national film awards at the weekend. The mini-series about a Czechoslovak television chauffer picked up five prizes, including the Best Actor and best Supporting Actor. The Best Film Award went to Brothers, a retelling of the Cold War story of the controversial Mašín brothers.
Former US President Bill Clinton is in Prague for a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of Czechia’s admission to NATO. On Sunday night he visited Prague's Reduta jazz club, where he celebrated the country’s admission to Western structures together with then president Vaclav Havel and US secretary of state Madeleine Albright a quarter of a century ago.
Roma singer Věra Bílá was hailed as an extraordinary talent, who had a brilliant career ahead of her. Five years ago, she died ill and in poverty.
Friday marks Petr Pavel’s first year as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes so far? And did he succeed in uniting the divided Czech society? I discussed these questions with political scientist Vlastimil Havlík from Masaryk University in Brno:
Thursday was a red letter day for Czech soccer fans, with Premier League leaders Liverpool coming to Prague to take on Sparta in the Europa League. Sparta did give the crowd plenty to cheer about – but were still beaten 5:1 as Liverpool made the gulf in class pay.
Relations between Czechia and Slovakia, which were part of one country for over seven decades, have consistently been described as “exceptional”. But mounting differences over foreign policy have now led the Czech government to suspend a planned joint meeting of the two cabinets in what is seen as a clear message that Prague wants to distance itself from Bratislava’s pro-Russian stance.
A forgotten sculpture by the visionary Czech-born architect Jan Kaplický was recently discovered in a factory in Italy. The giant stainless steel water drop, designed 20 years ago for the Triennale di Milano, will go on display in Prague later this year.
Before serving as a stylish backdrop to James Bond's Casino Royale, this famous Czech spa catered to the world's elite. In the course of the 20th century the Imperial Baths served monarchs, politicians and more recently film stars. The spa house has now been restored to its former glory.
The 26th edition of the One World festival of human rights films gets underway in Prague in just under a fortnight’s time. For the first time the showcase is also including fiction films this year – but what has not changed is the breadth of projects from all corners of the globe.
Whooping cough has seen a dramatic increase this year in Czechia – at the last count there have been 1,666 confirmed cases since the start of the year, more than in the last four years combined. Over the last two decades, the only year that saw a greater number of infections was 2014, when there were over 2,500. But experts say that on the current trajectory, it is likely that the total number of cases this year will far surpass that. I spoke to Jana Kamanová from the Institute of Microbiology at the Czech Academy of Sciences to find out what is behind the sudden rise in infections.
France’s president Emmanuel Macron recently refused to rule out the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine and that position appeared to find support from his Czech counterpart in Prague on Tuesday. Petr Pavel said combat troops could not be deployed – but sending instructors to the war-ravaged country was an option.
Scientists from Brno’s Masaryk University have grown hundreds of ‘mini brains’ the size of apple seeds using stem cells from Alzheimer’s patients. The idea is to study the causes and development of Alzheimer’s right from the moment the brain starts to develop, rather than waiting until the disease has begun to manifest itself – which may already be too late.
Czech architect Juraj Lasovský has come up with a unique project reviving old military bunkers built in Czechoslovakia before the Second World War. His aim is to turn the concrete structures into liveable spaces that can be used for various purposes.
The European Commission has responded positively to Czechia’s call for the abolition of the fee that Germany charges for the transit of natural gas through its territory. Following Thursday’s meeting of energy ministers in Brussels the Commission said it would look into the matter and consider possible action.
Invest in Bravery is a project aimed at helping find investors for tech start-ups in Ukraine. It will be holding events in Prague – including a conference and workshops – on Tuesday and Wednesday and to find out more I spoke to David Nichols, co-founder of Invest in Bravery.
Blacksmiths, foresters, welders and glassmakers are among the demanding professions where people will be able to retire up to five years earlier that the rest, according to a pension reform bill drafted by the labour ministry. Overall, the proposed reforms will be a major overhaul of the present system.
The National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the foremost institution of its kind in the United States – and this year is marking the anniversary of its founding in 1974. How is the museum and library celebrating 50 years of existence? And what state is it in today? To find out, I invited its director of community outreach and development, Andy Whiting, into our studios when he was in Prague recently.
Karel Kryl, sometimes referred to as ‘the Czech Bob Dylan’ because of his complex and poetic lyrics on political themes, died 30 years ago today, a month shy of his 50th birthday. Kryl was one of the best-known Czech folk musicians of the communist era, famous for his protest songs critical of the Czechoslovak communist regime like Bratříčku zavírej vrátka (Close the Gate, Little Brother), composed in response to the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
The private library of the late Czech writer, translator and publisher Josef Škvorecký will soon open to the public in his home town of Náchod in north Bohemia. The town hall acquired the library and other items from Škvorecký’s family in Toronto, where the famous writer settled with his wife after the Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968.
Ordinary Czechs can now experience the life of astronauts on the ISS space station. Students of the Czech Technical University have developed a virtual reality application, which simulates a space flight, everyday life in orbit, as well as some of the problems that astronauts may face.
Czech MPs have approved broader rights for people in same-sex unions. However in a vote on Wednesday they stopped short of approving same-sex marriage or equal rights when it comes to adoption. I discussed the news with Czeslaw Walek, the head of Jsme fér /We Are Fair, a group pushing for marriage equality for many years.
The Czech Tennis Federation is embroiled in a massive fraud scandal. Ten people have been charged in the wake of Tuesday’s raid on the federation’s headquarters, among them its president Ivo Kaderka.
An unusual research study is currently underway at Prague’s FAMU film school, focusing on the effect of sound on video game players. As part of the project, organised together with the Medical Faculty, participants are asked to play a horror video game while their vital functions are monitored. I discussed the project with Tomáš Oramus from the Department of Sound Design:
Czechia’s Knihobot , which started out in a small second-hand book shop, has become a major name in the country’s resale economy. The service allows people to get rid of their old books for cash – and has made inroads into other markets in Europe.
Two comedies written by dissident playwright Pavel Kohout in the 1970s with the intention of being performed in private in peoples’ homes are being revived by the MANA theatre in Prague's Vršovice district – but not on a regular theatre stage. Instead, the plays are being staged in two small spaces that are evocative of the environments where they were originally performed.
The Czech Parliament has approved a bill which would allow additional voluntary overtime for workers in the healthcare sector of up to 1000 hours per year. The decision has provoked an outcry from doctors, with some threatening to stop working overtime altogether.
This coming Saturday, Prague’s Olšany Cemetery will be hosting a somewhat unusual one-day music festival called Mezi hroby or Between the Graves. The aim of the event is to raise money for the restoration of neglected graves that have a special artistic, historical or architectural significance, but also to invite members of the public to adopt them. I discussed these goals with one of its organizers, architect Filip Ditrich:
The film ‘Brothers’, a retelling of the Cold War story of the controversial Mašín brothers, has been selected by the Czech Film and Television Academy as the Czech Oscar nominee for 2024. Written by top Czech screenwriter Marek Epstein, the film dramatises the events surrounding the Mašín brothers forming an armed resistance group and escaping from communist Czechoslovakia to West Berlin, a topic which remains divisive to this day.
Covid-19 has been back in the news cycle in recent weeks, with cases on the rise across the world. On Monday, Health Minister Vlastimil Válek urged Czechs to get their Covid booster and flu vaccines, with priority being given to those in vulnerable groups. To get a better understanding of the picture here in Czechia, we spoke to molecular geneticist Dr. Jan Pačes.
A new survey from Eurostat indicates that no fewer than 48 percent of Czechs do not eat a single serving of fruits or vegetables every day. What does this mean for individuals – and for the country’s health care system? I discussed the implications of these findings with nutrition expert Dr. Eliška Selinger.
Set up by eager but wholly inexperienced young music fans, Prague’s Radio 1 was the first non-state station in Czechoslovakia after the fall of communism. Decades later, the story of the station – which is still going strong – is the subject of a colourful new book, Radio 1: Life in the Ether, by Jana Kománková, one of its longest serving DJs. We spoke on the eve of its publication.
Museum Kampa, an institution best-known for the works of František Kupka and other leading Czech modern artists, first opened its doors in 2003.
Vašo Patejdl, who recently passed away at the age of 68, was a leading Slovak singer, keyboardist and songwriter. He co-founded the legendary Slovak group Elán and is considered to be one Czechoslovakia’s biggest hit-makers. In today’s edition of Sunday Music Show, you can listen to some of his best-known songs.
The Venus of Petřkovice, a statuette from the late Stone Age period believed to be 23,000 years old is currently being exhibited at the site where it was first discovered in the Ostrava district of Petřkovice 70 years ago. The unique item, which is the only “slender Venus” ever discovered in Europe, will be on display until Sunday.
The annual Vinohradské vinobraní festival is taking place in Prague 3 this Friday and Saturday. The event, which has a curated theme each year, is celebrating the wines of Bohemia and Moravia, highlighting the rich wine making history in Czechia. Just before it began, I spoke to one of the event’s coordinators, Jiří Hannich.
After dropping for three consecutive years, the number of suicides in Czechia increased in 2022. Over 1,300 Czechs took their own life last year and the increase was most significant in younger age groups. I discussed the alarming development with Alexandr Kasal from the National Centre for Mental Health:
Cardinal Duka sparks outrage by claiming Catholic Church faces same pressure as under Nazism
Vodafone CEO Petr Dvořák presented an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Petr Fiala at a press conference on Wednesday signed by 66 Czech firms urging the government to introduce marriage equality. The letter cites both the economic and social reasons why the legislation is important for Czech society, and for the global image of the country. I spoke with Dvořák about why he felt it was necessary for private firms to take action.
When Miloslav Stašek took up his post as Czechia’s ambassador to the United States at the end of 2022 he hit the ground running. His daily work agenda includes collaborating closely with the US government to create robust support packages for Ukraine, helping Czech firms find a foothold on the US market, seeking new opportunities for bilateral cooperation in science and technology and supporting Americans with Czech heritage. I spoke to him about the challenges this involves.
The wife of Czech President Petr Pavel, Eva Pavlová, travelled to Kyiv on Wednesday to attend a summit of first ladies and gentlemen organised by Olena Zelenska, spouse of Ukraine’s head of state, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Situated in the eastern part of Czechia, the South Moravia Region, covers an area of 7,000 square kilometers and ranks as the country's fourth largest region. It is a region of upbeat and friendly people and is famous for its wine tradition and folklore, beautiful UNESCO-listed castles and Moravian metropolis Brno.
After years of legal disputes, the City of Prague and the descendants of Art Nouveau painter Alfons Mucha have finally reached agreement over ownership rights to Mucha’s famous Slav Epic. The two sides have agreed to cooperate in creating a centre where the cycle of paintings will be displayed.
Czech highways and first-class roads are dotted with illegal billboards. For over twenty years now the authorities have been engaged in a cat and mouse game with their owners who frequently move them from place to place. A new amendment to the road law, due to come into force next year, should put an end to that.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala has just launched a plan he says will help modernize the Czech economy in key fields – and make the country a European hub within the next 10 years. But what are the chances of his Restart Czechia programme actually having a lasting impact?
Scientists in Czechia have discovered a new species of mammal. The greater white-toothed shrew migrated to the country from North Africa and has become the 90th mammal species recorded in Czechia. Scientists say it was most likely driven to this territory by global climate change.
A fierce battle is expected in the lower house this week over a government-proposed austerity package aimed at reducing the steep deficit in public finances. A recent poll by Generali Investments indicated that 81 percent of Czech citizens are concerned about its impacts on their finances. I spoke to Prague-based economist Lukáš Kovanda about whether this fear is grounded.
Next Saturday, Sparta Prague will take on city rivals Slavia Prague in the women’s edition of the most fiercely contested derby in Czech football. In goal for the hosts will be 24-year-old Sydney Schneider, who just weeks ago was at the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand with the Jamaican national squad. Ahead of the derby at Sparta’s 19,000 capacity Letná stadium, I spoke to Schneider at a club facility in the Prosek district.
Czechia holds the unusual distinction of having the most organs per capita in the world, with about 10,000 of them to the country’s roughly 10 million inhabitants, meaning there is one organ for every 100 people. This edition of our Sunday music show brings you a selection of organ music performed by Adam Viktora, who is the organiser of the Czech Organ Festival currently taking place around the country.
Just a few minutes away from Charles Bridge, overlooking the picturesque Old Town square, lies GOMA, or the “Gallery of Modern Art ” as it calls itself in English. Having just opened earlier this year, it has bold plans to become a “living space” in the city. For now, however, it may be described as a little bit of Český Krumlov in Prague, exhibiting the works of one of the town's prominent modern artists – Miroslav Páral.
Prague Sounds is hosting a special concert at Vladislav Hall at Prague Castle in collaboration with the Prague Philharmonia, Czech Philharmonic, and Kyiv Symphony Orchestra – as well as the Prague Philharmonic Choir this Sunday. The music to be performed is Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, based on poetry written by Wilfred Owen, a British war poet who was a victim of World War I. I spoke to the Programmer of Prague Sounds, Guy Borg about the upcoming performance and its significance.
Nestled just off of the Jiřího z Poděbrad square in Vinohrady is the newly opened Chi Xiao Mian restaurant , where owner Gong Xuewen brings a taste of her hometown’s unique cuisine to residents and visitors of Prague. Her mission: to break down people’s stereotypes of Chinese food. I caught up with Xuewen to discuss the restaurant, and started by asking why she chose Prague to open her business.
The Czech government has decided in favour of regulating, rather than banning, the sale of kratom, CBD or HHC products. A proposed bill to that effect would create a new legal category of "psychomodulating substances" which would be sold to adults only, under strict conditions.
Visitors to the Crystal Valley Week glass festival , taking place in Liberec this week, were wowed by the sound of an exotic-looking musical instrument that few people could put a name to. It was a Celtic carnyx made of glass, specially produced for the festival.
Between a third to a half of all art works for sale in Czechia could be fakes, according to the Art Report 2023 . The report, which surveys the main actors in the Czech art world, including collectors, dealers, and experts, found that forgeries are considered to be the biggest problem currently facing the domestic market and that the number of forgeries, especially of works of modern art, has been on the increase. But how are forgeries uncovered, and how can you test the authenticity of a painting?
The Wallenstein Garden will host an outdoor concert Wednesday evening, with music being performed by the Prague Symphony Orchestra and directed by Czech conductor Jan Kučera. The show will present classical music and also the soundtracks of famous films. We spoke to the program coordinator Martin Rudovský about what’s in store.
When Roman Posolda set up his Bikes for Africa project in Ostrava in 2012, he had no idea how well it would take root in this country and how long it would run for. More than a decade later, the organization is still going strong, attracting new volunteers and expanding its vision. I spoke with Roman about where the project is heading and what inspired him to send bikes to children in Africa.
At the moment, there is no limit in Czechia to the amount of times somebody can donate their egg and sperm cells for assisted reproduction. But the government wants to change that with a centralised register of donors that they hope will stop overzealous individuals and inadvertent inbreeding.
The Ukrainian foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, paid a brief working visit to Prague on Monday for talks on further Czech assistance to Ukraine, the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia and preparations for the third Crimea Platform Summit due to take place in Prague in October. During his visit, he granted Czech Radio an exclusive interview.
Addressing a meeting of Czech diplomats at Czernin Palace, Prime Minister Petr Fiala highlighted Russia's imperialist policy as the foremost security concern facing the Czech Republic and the democratic world. He said Russian attempts to recover its one-time sphere of influence must be stopped, no matter how costly it is, or how long it takes.
Reacting to the high profits posted by agricultural companies, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the price of basic foodstuffs like milk, sugar, and butter are beginning to fall and that others must follow suit. However, given the country’s dependence on imported products, there is little control over determining food prices due to a lack of internal competition. I spoke with Dana Večeřová, President of the Czech Food Chamber, about the situation.
One of Czechia’s most important Roma leaders, Karel Holomek, has died at the age of 86. An activist, politician and journalist, Mr. Holomek was involved in the foundation of the national Museum of Romani Culture and numerous other key initiatives.
Czech scientists develop method to make cultivation of climate change-resistant wheat strains faster
The Czech band Sto Zvířat has been on the scene for over thirty years. Last week it lost its frontman and co-founder Jan Kalina.
The Svatá Hora Basilica near Příbram, 60 km south-west of Prague, is one of the most famous Roman Catholic pilgrimage sites in Czechia. The early Baroque complex was built on a site where miracles attributed to the Virgin Mary are said to have occurred.
Police statistics indicate a year-on-year increase in reported cases of domestic and sexual violence in Czechia. The police registered 430 cases of domestic violence last year, while this year, there were 274 cases in the first six months alone. I spoke to Branislava Marvánová Vargová, head of the government committee for the prevention of domestic violence, to find out what is behind the statistics.
The Centre for Metropolitan Planning (CAMP) in Prague is hosting their first annual Archirun , an event spotlighting the iconic architectural work of Karel Prager who was born 100 years ago. The run will take joggers on a tour across the city, where they will stop at the buildings Prager designed to learn about their history, which at times is seen as controversial. I spoke with Štěpán Bärtl, head of CAMP, about what’s in store for Saturday, and why we should remember the work of Prager.
Charles University rector concerned over dismissal of priest who supported marriage for all
A new program being launched by the Ministry of Industry is hoping to attract more highly skilled workers to Czechia, but they don’t necessarily need an employment contract from a Czech company to lock down a visa. We spoke to Lucia Legáthová from the Expat Centre in Prague about what this move means for Czechia and foreigners wishing to relocate to the country.
Folk architecture is one of the cornerstones of regional and national identity, but it is rapidly disappearing. That is why ethnologists from the National Museum and Czech Academy of Sciences worked together with IT specialists from the Czech Technical University to create a virtual museum of folk architecture in Czechia.
New numbers are revealing that Czechia is home to one of the most expensive real estate markets in Europe – it would take 13 gross annual salaries to purchase property in the country. This year, Czechia is falling behind Slovakia, the neighbouring nation taking the first place spot. We spoke to Petr Hána who works at Deloitte here in Prague about the market situation.
August 21 marks the 55th anniversary of the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Soviet-led Warsaw Pact troops. The crushing of the Prague Spring dashed people’s hopes of democracy and ushered in a long period of political and moral decline. More than 130 people died during the invasion and thousands fled the country in the years that followed.
As Soviet tanks rolled into Czechoslovakia on the night from 20 to 21 August 1968, Czechoslovak Radio played an important role in keeping people informed of what was happening. The radio building was an immediate focus for the invaders, but remarkably, during the days that followed, radio journalists and engineers managed to carry on broadcasting, firstly from the building itself, and then from other secret locations around the city. One of the prominent voices on the airwaves was Jiří Dienstbier, who many years later reflected on the importance of those uncensored broadcasts at a time when the occupiers were trying to sow confusion in the country. To mark the anniversary of the invasion, we return to Jiří Dienstbier and his memories of that time.
Fifty-five years ago, on the night of August 20-21, 1968, the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia began, marking a definitive end to the hopes that the series of liberalising and democratic reforms that had taken place in the country in the 1960s, known as the Prague Spring, had brought with it.
Helene Ritchie spent many years as a politician in her home city of Wellington, New Zealand. She has just written a book telling the moving story of her search for her family’s past. In 1945, Helene’s mother Lidi Hess, received a letter from a distant relative in Prague. It included a long list of names of members of the family who had been murdered in the Nazi death camps. Faced with the unimaginable scale of the tragedy, Lidi burned the letter, and went on with her life in her new country. It was only many decades later that she told her daughter how she regretted destroying it. This inspired Helene to try to piece together her family’s history, to find out who all these family members had been.
This Saturday, the Summer Shakespeare Festival will be concluding in Prague, with a special performance of Romeo and Juliet in English . The performance will take place in the courtyard of the Liechtenstein Palace in Prague’s Malá Strana neighbourhood. We spoke to the director of the show, Guy Roberts, about what’s in store this weekend.
Hollywood film and TV productions have been on hold since the SAG-AFTRA actors’ union went on strike in July, two months after a similar move by the Writers Guild of America. Many international productions shoot in Czechia, so the shutdowns are a major concern to the local industry, which has already seen layoffs. I discussed the situation with Jason Pirodsky of The Prague Reporter.
The Krkonoše Mountains are a beloved spot in Czechia, but recently, they have become the focal point of growing concern amongst environmental scientists. Movement in the tree line boundary of the mountains is threatening the existence of other important ecosystems, as environmental scientist at Charles University, Dr. Jan Tumajer, explained to us.
The 20th annual festival of new circus and theatre Letní Letná opened in Prague on Wednesday night with a breathtaking water show. The festival offers over 100 performances in its jubilee year.
The news site Seznam.cz has questioned the moral integrity of one of the most successful managers in the health sector, the head of the prestigious Institute of Clinical and Experimental Medicine (IKEM) in Prague, suggesting that he had made millions from usury through a company controlled by a suspect individual. The prime minister has called for the claims to be investigated without delay.
Prague has long been one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe, ranking in the top 10 of capital cities by visitor numbers and beating other well-known cities such as Vienna, Berlin and Venice, despite its relatively small size. Equally, the Czech capital has long suffered from tourist blight and overtourism, and is now trying to shake off its reputation as a cheap place to get drunk and party. I spoke to Jan Herget, head of CzechTourism, about swapping stag parties for symposiums, how Michelin stars could lure foreign tourists out of the capital, and why inflation might perversely be a good thing for Prague – and much else besides.
Sparta Praha lost in penalty kicks to FC Copenhagen last night, a devastating loss to the league’s reigning champions who were eager for a spot in the next round of the Champions League qualifications. We spoke to sports commentator Jiří Hošek about last night’s match.
The Prague authorities said this week they were opposed to a planned performance in the city by Russian opera star Anna Netrebko, citing her ties to the Putin regime. The venue for the concert is now set to negotiate with the agency handling the booking.
No sooner was Robert Fremr nominated as one of three new constitutional judges when accusations began to surface about sentences he handed out pre-1989. Now he has made the decision to step down, although he had already been approved by the Senate. But questions remain about what this means for choosing another candidate and the pasts of other key figures in the judiciary.
After 16 NHL seasons with the Boston Bruins, Czech-born David Krejčí announced his retirement from the National Hockey League on Monday. Krejčí played all 16 seasons of his professional hockey career with the Boston Bruins, developing a reputation of being a skilled and intuitive playmaker.
Scientists say climate change causing upward shift in the forest ecotone of Krkonoše Mountains
The Dvořák music festival is a popular annual event, but this year’s 67th edition brings an exciting new twist to the tradition – it takes place on a boat on the Vltava River. Visitors can listen to the music of Dvořák while blissfully floating along on the Florentina ship. I spoke with the festival manager, Lucie Strnadova about what to expect.
Czech politicians have moved to quell anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the wake of two violent attacks against Czech women, which were reportedly committed by Ukrainian youths. President Pavel has warned against applying the principle of collective guilt and Interior Minister Vít Rakušan has assured the public that the growing number of foreigners in Czechia is not a security threat.
British linguist Danny Bate divides his time between Prague and Edinburgh, where he is completing a PhD. Given his academic background, the 26-year-old has many fascinating things to say on the Czech language, which he himself is studying. But I also asked Bate – who, incidentally, helps shape Czechia’s “maturita” school-leaving exam – about his experience of living in the country to date.
Prague’s metro A line passes under Prague’s iconic monuments, has a uniform design and vestibules featuring figures of Czech kings. No wonder one its stations, Staroměstská, was ranked by the CNN among the most beautiful metro stops in Europe.
What connection do artists such as ABBA, The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Edith Piaf have with Czechoslovakia? Most of them never even performed in the country. However, Czech cover versions of their songs became huge hits in the former communist state. In many cases, domestic audiences didn’t even realise they were listening to cover versions, not being acquainted with what was going on beyond the Iron Curtain.
Although the substance known as ayahuasca is illegal in Czechia, there have been some scientific studies showing that it could have potential as a treatment for depression. In order to test its therapeutic possibilities, Czech scientists have travelled to Peru to partake in the infamous ceremony and try out the drug themselves.
Prague was recently featured on the New York Times travel guide 36 Hours – where journalists give their best recommendations for local gems and places that tourists may not find in their guide book. I caught up with writer Evan Rail to talk about the process of putting his Prague guide together.
Jan Hocek is an enthusiastic traveller, tourist guide and columnist, who has completed some of the world’s most challenging trails. In 2020, he created a comprehensive network of long-distance tourist and pilgrimage routes leading through the country, called Via Czechia . The trails cover some 10,000 kilometres, passing through the lowest and highest points in the country and offering countless opportunities to explore its natural and historical landmarks. When I met with Jan Hocek to discuss Via Czechia, I started by asking how he got the idea for the project:
The head of the Czech police, Martin Vondrášek, has apologised after saying in an interview that women “very often” make up claims of sexual assault. However, advocacy groups says the force needs to do far more to reassure women.
The importance of dealing with and seeking out assistance for mental health has become more common over recent years, but regardless of the decrease in societal taboos, young people in Czechia – specifically Gen Z and Millennials, are dealing with high levels of stress in their everyday lives. I spoke with Tom Mertin, a psychologist based in Prague, about what he has observed in his practice.
The Prague Civil Society Center, located in the heart of the city, works with various stakeholders across 18 different countries, helping civic groups and independent journalists grow their audiences and expand their reach, even those in nations under authoritarian rule. I spoke with Director of Partnerships and Communications, George Leech about the work they are doing.
Mushroom picking and foraging forest fruits is something of a national pastime in Czechia. Indeed, Czechs harvested nearly 39,000 tonnes of forest fruits worth almost eight billion crowns last year, and six out of ten Czechs visited the forest at least once a month.
Many tributes have been paid to senior Czech diplomat Martin Povejšil, who has died at the age of 62. Mr. Povejšil held several key posts in over three decades at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and his death is being described as an enormous loss.
If you’re looking for the perfect place to spend a day in nature, the Botanical gardens in Troja is the perfect destination. Diverse plant life and magnificent views of Prague can be seen, making it the ideal place for plant lovers and families with young children.
A travelling exhibition of photographs by leading Ukrainian war photographers, has currently opened on the premises of the Červený kostel church in Olomouc. The collection includes the winner of the 2022 World Press Photo Award.
Recycling water from sewage treatment plants is a common practice in many countries with a warmer climate, including Texas, Israel or the southern European states. The purified water is used in industry, agriculture and even in households. A team of experts is now testing the possibilities of water recycling in Czechia:
The controversy surrounding the nomination of Robert Fremr to the panel of Constitutional Court judges has flared up once again. New allegations have surfaced that he may have knowingly served the regime in over 100 communist-rigged trials pre-1989 and lied about his past in Senate hearings.
Modlivý důl (Prayer Valley) near Svojkov in the Liberec Region is one of the most haunting spots in the Lusatian Mountains. The monolithic rock chapel created in one of the sandstone rocks of a former mine is an old pilgrimage site that has been dubbed “the small Lourdes”.
Regular blockades of the “magistrála” through road cutting across Prague have become a fact of life in the city, incensing some drivers. The protests are aimed at promoting the idea of a 30 kilometre an hour speed limit in the capital and are organised by a climate crisis activist group called Poslední Generace, or Last Generation. I spoke to one of its leading members, Arne Springorum, who is from Germany but has been living in Czechia for three decades.
The World Scout Jamboree, an international meeting of Scout organisations from around the world which takes place every four years in a different country, was plagued by problems from the start this year in South Korea. Heavy rains, a lack of preparation, a heatwave and now an impending typhoon have caused delays, difficulties, the premature departure of some countries, and now a government-ordered evacuation of the campsite. But the Czech Scout contingent is still looking forward to the second half of the Jamboree, even after its planned relocation to Seoul, says one of its leaders.
It proved to be an exciting weekend for the world of Czech athletics, as the country collected three medals, two of them gold in men’s basketball, archery, and ice hockey.
Czechia was among 40 states attending a meeting in Saudi Arabia at the weekend focused on a possible settlement of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Also present were China, India and Brazil, which has been seen by some as a sign of progress. Czechia’s representative at the consultations was Deputy Foreign Minister Jan Marian and I spoke to him following his return to Prague.
Senators protest against possible appointment of Robert Fremr as Constitutional Court judge
What connection do artists such as ABBA, The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Edith Piaf have with Czechoslovakia? Most of them never even performed in the country. However, Czech cover versions of their songs became huge hits in the former communist state. In many cases, domestic audiences didn’t even realise they were listening to cover versions, not being acquainted with what was going on beyond the Iron Curtain.
The 1983 World Championships in Athletics, held in Finland’s Helsinki, were the first edition of the competition – and proved the most successful ever for Czechoslovakia.
According to the Ministry of Interior’s biannual report on extremism, the anti-establishment, anti-government movement in Czechia has been gaining strength and is now overshadowing the traditional xenophobic extremist groups. Where did this movement originate and how serious a threat does it pose? I discussed these questions with extremism expert Miroslav Mareš from Brno’s Masaryk University.
For three decades, the Czech Summer Course for Expatriates has been bringing people with Czech ancestry from all over the world to their ancestral home to get in touch with their roots and brush up on their language skills. Now in its 30th year, the course has brought a diverse range of students of all ages and many different nationalities to Czechia once again. While they were on a tour of the Czech Radio building, we managed to catch up with a few of them to hear about their motivations, struggles and successes.
Prague’s annual Pride festival is set to begin on Monday, running one week of events and festivities that celebrate queer culture and understate the importance continuing to push for full gender and racial equity in Czechia. I spoke with Kateřina Šilhová, one of the events coordinators, about what’s in store this year.
Helppes is a non-profit organisation based in Prague that trains and matches assistance dogs to clients who have varying disabilities. I took a trip to their training facility to learn more about what they do, and the impact their work has on the lives of their clients.
A new method developed by Czech scientists could eliminate the unpleasant side effects of cancer therapy. Experts from the Academy of Sciences have come up with a new chemical reaction, based on so-called fluorescent tagging, that allows them to better target drugs to specific places in the human body.
The Czech Republic is one of many countries marking Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on 2 August, the day in 1944 when 2,897 Roma were murdered in Auschwitz. Up to half a million Roma were murdered in total, including over ninety percent of the pre-war Roma and Sinti population of what is now the Czech Republic. To mark the anniversary a new database has been launched by the Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, bringing together testimonies of Czech and Slovak Roma who survived what is known in the Romani language as the Porajmos – the Devouring. David Vaughan spoke to the initiator and head of the project, Kateřina Čapková.
Three Czechs who risked their lives to save nine members of a Jewish family from the Holocaust have been recognised in memoriam as Righteous Among the Nations, the highest Israeli tribute to Gentiles who saved the lives of Jews during the Second World War. On Wednesday their relatives received the award from the Israeli ambassador to Prague.
The Senate met on Wednesday to consider three judges nominated for places on the Constitutional Court. However, the candidacy of Robert Fremr for Czechia’s top court sparked controversy, following recent allegations of impropriety pre-1989.
International headlines were made at the weekend when Czech police stopped a Russian player from entering the country to appear at a tennis tournament. However on Monday the police said they would take no action against players with Russian passports taking part in a different competition. Why the discrepancy?
Recently there have been a lot of Czech media reports about tensions and conflicts between the Roma and Ukrainian refugee communities in the country. In early June, a young Roma man was stabbed in Brno, according to unverified reports by a Ukrainian national, and died afterwards as a result of his injuries. The attack prompted a wave of anti-Ukrainian reactions and protest marches in Brno and other cities demanding increased security for Roma people. Further incidents, protests, and rumours followed, prompting the Czech Interior Minister to call on those affected not to allow themselves to be manipulated into prejudice and hatred.
Conventional is not the concept when it comes to the new bistro in Prague’s Vršovice operated by couple Meggie and Nugy. The duo have created a space that brings together a fusion of the food they love from all cuisines, curating a unique dining experience for their guests. I spoke with the pair about the process of opening the bistro, and the ambitions they have for its future.
Much may depend on the continent of Africa in the future. In a shifting geopolitical landscape where Western hegemony is no longer a given, what African countries think and which way they choose to go will likely be highly significant for many global issues later on. And Czechia has paid attention, setting its sights on forging relationships with the future leaders of the continent by inviting them on a study trip to the country.
The minister of labour and social affairs, Marian Jurečka, says that Czechia could be on track to adopt the euro by 2030. But, nearly 20 years after EU accession, what are the chances the country will actually adopt the common European currency this decade? I discussed issues surrounding the euro with Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist with Trinity Bank.
What do artists such as ABBA, The Beatles, Queen, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan and Edith Piaf have in common with Czechoslovakia? While most of them never performed here, cover versions of their hits became huge hits in Czechoslovakia.
A long-awaited new pedestrian bridge connecting Prague’s districts of Holešovice and Karlín officially opened to the public on Friday. The Štvanice footbridge is named after the island it crosses, but it is also referred to as HolKa, girl in Czech, after the two districts it connects.
If you’re planning to watch the Barbie film, you might be surprised to learn that the drinks and pitchers in the Barbie bar were designed by Czech glassware company Klimchi . I spoke with CEO Lukáš Klimčák on what this feature in one of the summer’s biggest films means for his company, and for the reputation of Czech design.
Prague football club Bohemians 1905 surprised almost everyone when an unexpected fourth place in Czech football’s top flight last season earned them a place in the qualifiers for the Europa Conference League – their first European competition since 1987. The team, and hundreds of fans, are now in Norway in the town of Bodø, located just north of the Arctic Circle, to take on the local team.
After years of negotiations, the Jewish Museum in Prague has received a substantial part of a unique art collection discovered in 2018. Nearly 380 paintings and drawings by the artist Gertrud Kauders have been donated to the institution by her relatives. Unlike her famous contemporary Franz Kafka, Kauders remained completely forgotten for nearly 80 years. I discussed the discovery with the museum’s chief curator Michaela Sidenberg:
David Strauzz is a mixed media artist who was born to Czech immigrants in Ontario, Canada. Since 2015, he has lived in Prague, where he came to public attention mainly through his large-scale murals. He also runs the MEGA Gallery, located at the Karlovo náměstí and Můstek metro stations, which promotes street art. I met with David Strauzz in his studio in the Pragovka Art District in Vysočany and started by asking him what brought him to the Czech capital in the first place:
Jiřina Šiklová and Madeleine Albright are just two of the women who streets and green areas will be named after in a new Prague district called Smíchov City, after a City Council vote this week. While Albright was a US secretary of state, Šiklová was a communist-era dissident who pioneered gender studies in this country in the 1990s. I spoke to Lucie Přibyl, librarian at the Center for Gender Studies in Prague – which the academic created – about her legacy.
One of Czechia’s biggest alternative music festivals, Pop Messe , takes place in Brno this coming Friday and Saturday. The third edition of the event has a slightly different venue but, with names like Spiritualized and Young Fathers, boasts perhaps its strongest lineup to date. I spoke to Pop Messe’s founder Tomáš Kolar.
With its monumental neo-classicist style and lavish interiors, Prague’s Petschek Palace was one of the most expensive buildings of its time when built in the 1920s. However today most Czechs don’t associate the palace with architecture but rather with its dark history as the headquarters of the Nazi secret police during the Second World War.
We’ve probably all taken back some sand or a shell from the beach as a souvenir from a holiday before. But what about a gecko or a turtle? According to Prague Airport customs officers, coming across illegal food items, plants or even exotic animals in people’s luggage is an almost everyday occurrence during the summer holidays.
2022 and the start of 2023 brought a great deal of concern around affordability and inflation for Czechs. But new data from the Czech Statistical Office shows that Czechs are feeling slightly more optimistic about their country’s economic situation, as Jiří Obst, head of its Business Cycle Surveys Unit explained to Radio Prague.
The new movie Barbie is currently doing incredible box office around the world. And the film’s male lead Ryan Gosling has delighted many Czech fans by saying that the way Barbie was made reminded him of the work of the pioneering 1950s and 1960s director Karel Zeman. But how does Gosling know the Czech filmmaker?
Scientists are warning that 2023 could be the hottest year in the world on record, and heat waves are predicted to become all the more common each year. This summer, heatwaves have swept across Europe, as the El Nino climate pattern leaves citizens in sweltering heat, resulting in increased mortality and heat-related health issues.
Firefighters in Greece have been struggling to contain wildfires which have been burning across the country for the past week. The island of Rhodes, from which 19,000 have fled, is the worst-hit. Czech tourists there have begun to be flown home on repatriation flights, but many complain of chaos and poor communication from travel agencies.
Some of the country’s biggest ever musical artistes, including Karel Gott, Helena Vondráčková and Waldemar Matuška, have recorded hits at Czech Radio’s storied Studio A.
Youth Included , a grassroots organization founded in 2013, has been providing opportunities and support for migrant youth in Prague. Managed by foreigners for foreigners, the organization aims to bridge the language gap and create a sense of belonging and community for individuals seeking to explore their talents, engage in projects, and integrate into Czech society.
The 2023 Women’s World Cup kicked off Thursday in host countries New Zealand and Australia. But the Czech women’s team will not be dressing for the country, unable to qualify for this year’s international tournament. To get a sense of where the team stands and their hopes for qualifying for the next major tournament, we spoke with sports commentator Jiří Hošek.
When one door closes, another opens. At least, that seems to be the case in Prague 6’s Dejvice district. Just as one establishment in the neighbourhood closed down – the legendary A Maze in Tchaiovna, a quirky meeting point that fused British pub food and beer with the concept of the traditional Bohemian-style teahouse – another opened practically right next-door: the second branch of La Paisanita , an Argentinian empanada eatery with a majority meatless menu.
The number of foreign workers coming to Czechia continues to grow, as new data compiled by the Czech Statistical Office shows. To understand these new trends, we spoke with Dalibor Holý, Director of the Labour Market and Equal Opportunities Statistics Department.
Czech police are investigating two deaths associated with a cult led by a self-proclaimed healer from the town of Kutná Hora. The two men died last August after engaging in a ritual, which involved physical violence. The healer himself was murdered two months later by two female members of his sect, who claim they killed him at his own request.
The second largest park in Prague's city centre, the Wallenstein garden was built by Albrecht von Wallenstein and modelled after an Italian mannerist garden. Visistors can enjoy beautiful flower beds, fountains, and of course the famous peacocks who breed in the garden every year.
The Myslbek Palace on Na Příkopě street is one of Prague’s newest modern palaces. Constructed in the late 1990s, the building connects two historically distinct areas of Prague, the city’s main shopping boulevard and the Old Town behind it. In keeping with the tradition of the city’s older urban palaces, Myslbek is not just a shopping mall, as it incorporates art into its design and also serves as an exhibition space.
The controversial monopoly, enshrined in law, which one company has held over health insurance for non-EU citizens for the last two years, has finally been abolished. The lower house of parliament voted last week to overturn the widely-criticised law that made it mandatory for people from so-called “third countries” to take out health insurance with VZP, Czechia’s largest health insurance provider.
The annual Summer Festivities of Early Music get underway in Prague on Tuesday evening, bringing historical music to unique venues around the Czech capital. I discussed the event with its director Josefína Knoblochová and I first asked her about the opening concert by Germany’s Ensemble Polyharmonique:
Under the communist regime, Czechs were limited to say the least in terms of their travel destinations. Those who were able to get permission often went to the then Yugoslavia – and Croatia remains the leading summer holiday destination for Czechs. But how are travel trends changing in Czechia, and where are Czechs vacationing today? I spoke to Jan Papez, CEO of Marco Polo travel agency in Prague to find out.
Czechoslovakia’s victories over the USSR at the 1969 ice hockey world championships – just a year after Soviet tanks had rolled into the country – represent a famous moment in the country’s modern history. Those games, and the riots they sparked in Prague and elsewhere, are a central theme of Freedom to Win, a gripping, freshly published book by Ethan Scheiner, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis. I spoke to the author on the eve of its release.
Czech tennis has just enjoyed an unforgettable weekend. Markéta Vondroušová became the first ever unseeded champion of Wimbledon in women’s singles, while Barbora Strýcová lifted the women’s doubles titles in her last appearance at the All England Club.
Prague’s best-known attractions are familiar to millions around the globe. But now unconventional sights and secret corners of Prague, far from the usual tourist spots, are gaining online fame as a young generation of travelers seeks new experiences in the Czech capital.
The Bohemia Jazz Festival was launched in 2006 by the acclaimed jazz guitarist Rudy Linka with the aim to bring world-class jazz to the Czech Republic. Over the years, it has become one of the biggest and most popular jazz festivals in Europe.
To celebrate Czech Radio’s centenary, its creative team wanted to highlight not only its vast historical archives, but also its future. And so the idea was born for Gott Forever, a project to recreate the speaking voice of Karel Gott , who passed away in 2019, using artificial intelligence. I spoke to Czech Radio’s creative producer Lukáš Sapík to find out more about the project, and started by asking: why an AI-generated voice?
An exhibition marking 100 years since the start of regular radio broadcasting in Czechoslovakia will get underway at the Czech Center in New York this coming Monday. The commemoration will also feature a concert, live broadcasting from the US to Czechia and interviews with influential figures and foreign reporters.
Some 374 Czechs and 26 Poles were murdered by Nazi soldiers in the village of Český Malín in the Volhynia region of western Ukraine on 13 July, 1943. The reason for the massacre still remains unclear to this day.
Karel Bucháček was a keen amateur photographer who captured everyday life in Prague in the final decades of communism, as well as the dramatic events of the 1968 invasion. A new book called Stifled City aims to bring fresh attention to this unknown photographer, who never had a chance to present his work.
A Czech-based, Russian-owned company is under investigation on suspicion of violating EU sanctions by exporting heavy machinery to Russia, news outlet Deník N reported on Thursday. The case is being described as potentially the country’s biggest sanctions breach since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The internationally renowned Czech-born writer Milan Kundera has died at the age of 94. He was the best-known contemporary Czech novelist in the world, authoring books such as The Unbearable Lightness of Being, which became famous the world over through translations and an English-language film adaptation.
The Czech government recently approved the country’s first new National Security Strategy since 2015. Unsurprising, the plan of action is influenced by Russia’s war on Ukraine. But how? And what else is different? I spoke to Petr Tůma, visiting professor at the Atlantic Council in Washington and author of a new article on the subject on the organisation’s website.
The constructivist Svět Palace was for many decades the focal point of community life in Prague’s Libeň neighbourhood. Known as Libeň’s answer to the Lucerna Palace, Svět appeared in several works by the famous author Bohumil Hrabal, who was a frequent visitor himself. Listed as a cultural monument, the palace has unfortunately met a sad fate in recent years, having fallen into disrepair under a severely neglectful owner.
A rehab programme for prisoners, originally developed by a New Zealand clinical psychologist to rehabilitate sex offenders, has just reached the end of its three-year pilot phase in Czechia. It has proven to be a success – and will now be introduced in prisons across the country.
The eyes of the world are on Vilnius where NATO is debating Ukraine’s increasingly pressing demands to be allowed to come under NATO’s protective umbrella and new defense plans for the alliance. Czechia has made it clear that it supports membership for Ukraine when the war ends and has pledged to continue providing military and humanitarian aid.
Supreme Court rules environmental audit should have been requested for Chvaletice power plant
The big winner at this year’s Karlovy Vary film festival, which culminated on Saturday night, was Blaga’s Lessons, with the Bulgarian film taking the Best Film and Best Actress prizes. Meanwhile, star Robin Wright brought Hollywood glamour to the closing ceremony.
The great Czech composer Leoš Janáček was a regular visitor of the Moravian spa town of Luhačovice, and composed a number of his works there. However, only one of his musical compositions is actually set in Luhačovice – the opera Osud (Destiny or Fate).
Memorandum on cooperation in arms industry to help Czech firms get foothold on Ukrainian market
Romany organizations call on Zelensky to prevent further attacks from Ukrainian refugees
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Czechia within a tour of several European states aimed at drumming up support for his country’s admission to NATO ahead of next week’s summit in Vilnius. Although Czechia has shown itself to be a staunch ally, there are limits to what it can promise. So did the Ukrainian leader get what he came to Prague for? A question I put to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Prague on Thursday for talks aimed at drumming up support for his country’s fast track admission to NATO ahead of next week’s summit in Vilnius. He received assurances from the president and prime minister that Czechia would remain a staunch ally.
The 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival comes to a close on Saturday night with the traditional glitzy awards ceremony. But what have been the best films in the main Crystal Globe competition? And what has been the overall standard of the festival this year? I spoke to iRozhlas.cz film journalist Kristina Roháčková.
Whether you are a shoe junkie or a history buff, this is a place that will stop you in your tracks. The Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto is the largest museum in the world entirely dedicated to the culture, traditions and styles of footwear.
July 6th is a public holiday in the Czech Republic marking the 608th 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.
Built at the end of the 1930s, the Skleněný palác or Glass Palace is a late functionalist-style apartment building constructed for Prague’s middle class. With its groundbreaking design and plush amenities, the palace was extraordinary not just for Prague but also for the whole of Europe.
This year marks 90 years since the publishing of Karel Čapek’s children’s book Dashenka, which chronicles the life of a fox terrier puppy growing up in the famous writer’s household. To mark the anniversary, the Karel Čapek Memorial at Strž near Dobříš has prepared a special summer programme dedicated to the legendary dog.
Lucia Legáthová is an economic diplomacy specialist for the City of Prague and also runs the Prague Expat Centre , located in the heart of downtown. I recently sat down with Legáthová to talk about what the Centre does to help newcomers, and the allure of Prague as a city to foreigners.
The Karlovy Vary film festival is currently in full swing in the West Bohemian spa town. As every year, the region’s biggest cinema event offers extremely broad fare, from main competition films to fascinating documentaries – and all sorts of titles in between.
Since the fall of communism, Prague has seen a massive increase in foreigners, and part of this group of expats are Canadians - a close knit community here in Prague who meet a few times a year to share some memories and laughs, and celebrate their culture.
Prague is home to beautiful cycle paths in quieter areas of the city, but when it comes to hopping on two wheels in the heart of the city centre, it can be a safety gamble with aggressive drivers behind the wheel of cars, coupled with narrow historical streets.
July 3 marks 50 years since the death of the phenomenal Czech conductor Karel Ančerl. Ančerl was a Holocaust survivor, artistic director of the Czech Philharmonic for 18 years, and later a 1968 emigré to Canada.
Barbora Tellinger is a Czech-born jazz singer, composer and music teacher who spent most of her life in South Africa, only returning to her native Czechia shortly before the covid pandemic broke out. After a successful career in the South African jazz scene, she now works with her husband, Grammy-nominated pianist John Fresk, performing under the name Tellinger and Fresk.
One of the most valuable medieval monuments at Prague Castle, the glass mosaic of the Last Judgement at Saint Vitus Cathedral, is undergoing a close inspection. Two decades ago, the 650-year-old glass mosaic of the Last Judgement was completely renovated, but some of the glass pieces have now started showing signs of corrosion.
Marine biologist Petra Nevečeřalová, who hails from the north-Bohemian town of Ústí nad Labem, has been obsessed with whales since early childhood. Today, she is part of an international team of scientists who study evolutionary genetics of the Southern Right Whale and spends a significant part of her time off the South African coast. When I caught up with her in Prague to discuss her work, I started by asking her what sparked her interest in the giant ocean mammals:
As every year, a restored Czech classic gets its premiere at the Karlovy Vary film festival on Saturday afternoon. However this time out the slot will feature a relatively little-known work from the Czechoslovak New Wave: Every Day Courage, directed by Evald Schorm. I discussed the 1964 film with Michal Bregant of the National Film Archive, which oversaw the restoration.
In your standard guidebook it may be referred to as the “city of a hundred spires”. Its municipal administration is certainly interested in making Prague a destination for high culture and congress events. But, if you know the right people and the right places, you will discover that the Czech capital is also a budding techno hotspot.
Established in 1945 by members of the Czech and Slovak community, the Masaryk Memorial Institute, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, Canada, provides a space for young and old to celebrate their Czech and Slovak heritage.
Pornography, sex shops and prostitution were all taboo in communist Czechoslovakia. And there was no sex education of any kind, neither in schools nor in teen magazines. So how did Czechs live without all that?
One of the landmarks of Prague’s Holešovice district, the Veletržní palác or Trade Fair Palace was once the largest functionalist building in the world. Constructed in the 1920s, the palace now houses the modern art collection of the National Gallery. Before that, it was one of Prague’s important business and shopping centres, complete with restaurants, cafés, and one of the largest cinemas in Czechoslovakia.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Czechia has deployed a mobile ICU bus to be used across Ukraine to provide medical aid to those in need. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, Director of the Department of Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid, about the purpose the bus will serve, and its symbolism for Czechia’s ongoing support of Ukraine.
It is well-known that jeans – a symbol of the West – were a highly sought-after commodity in the final decades of communism in Czechoslovakia. How did people manage to obtain them? And what imported brands were even available? I visited a new exhibition in Prague dedicated to all things denim, pre-1989.
Czechs are marking 73 years since the death of Milada Horáková, a democratic opposition leader who was sentenced and executed in a communist show trial on June 27, 1950. A host of events is taking place around the country in honour of the brave politician and champion of women’s rights.
Czech electronic music artist dné released his debut LP several years ago, picking up multiple domestic awards and millions of streaming plays. Now dné, known to his friends as Ondřej Holý, is back with a long-awaited follow-up, Basic Living.
Over 150 Czech economic diplomats based the world over met in Prague this week for consultations on how to further the country’s economic interests. Addressing the gathering, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský stressed the need to transform the Czech economy from assembly to design, seek new markets outside the EU and build a solid Czech brand.
Lucerna Cinema, built in 1909 by the grandfather of the late Czech president Václav Havel, is one of the oldest cinemas in Europe. While they screen both Czech and international films, their monthly series Made in Czechoslovakia spotlights a classic movie with English subtitles, making it friendly to expats and tourists alike.
Czech tennis star Petra Kvitová will be bringing home yet another trophy after Sunday’s German Open final in Berlin. The current top-ranked Czech tennis player in the world cemented her position by beating the Croatian Donna Vekic without losing a single set.
As the turbulent events of the past weekend unfolded in Russia, world leaders braced for potential civil war that could turn the tide of history within the space of hours. The Czech foreign ministry warned Czech nationals against travelling to the country, but said its diplomatic representation would remain in place for the time being.
Czechia has handled a wholly unprecedented refugee situation since Ukraine was attacked by Russia 16 months ago. Among those working to help provide education, accommodation and other services to Ukrainian families is UNICEF, the United Nations children’s fund. I discussed that assistance – and much, much more – with Yulia Oleinik, the agency’s head of office in Prague.
Czech singer songwriter Marek Ztracený is currently at the height of his career. Earlier this month, he sold out Prague's Eden stadium three times in a row, attracting a domestic record of 100,000 spectators.
At 111 metres, Brno’s AZ Tower remains Czechia’s highest building a decade after it officially opened in June 2013.
Czechia has slipped down the World Economic Forum's rankings for gender equality . The country is currently ranked 101st out of 146 countries, 25 places lower than it was last year. I discussed the situation with Johana Jonáková, head of Gender Studies organization promoting equal opportunities for men and women, and asked her about the main reasons behind Czechia’s poor performance:
Homelessness is a significant problem for both men and women in Prague, but women have specific issues and vulnerabilities they face on the streets. Olga Pek, an employee of the NGO Jako Doma , is working to raise awareness around these issues and advocate for these women.
Taste of Prague is an Instagram page, food tour business, and now a bistro run by husband and wife duo Jan Valenta and Zuzana Valenta Daňková. I spoke with Jan to talk about how the business has grown over the years, and how Prague’s food scene has developed and grown since they got started.
An international conference on Ukraine organised by Czech Radio on the occasion of its 100th anniversary took place in Prague on Thursday. The event, focusing on the role of public media in covering the events in Ukraine was attended by, among others, American academic Marci Shore and Russian opposition journalist Zhanna Nemtsova.
Czechoslovakia decriminalised homosexuality in 1961, earlier than many Western European countries. Why was it that the generally repressive Communist regime showed such tolerance? And what was like life for gay people under communism?
In the latest in a series of moves by the city to rid itself of reminders of its decades of Soviet occupation and oppression, Prague City Hall voted on Monday to rename Koněvova Street, which is called after the controversial Soviet military commander Ivan Konev.
On Wednesday the sixth edition of the Metronome festival will kick off in Prague, ushering in four days of international musical programming and cultural events. I spoke with David Gaydecka, the founder of the festival, about the development of Metronome over the years, and the new elements being implemented this year.
Although perhaps not as well-known as the nearby Lucerna, the Koruna Palace is an architectural masterpiece. With its unique blend of function and style, the palace has been an important Prague feature for over a century.
Prague’s Vyšehrad Railway Bridge, built in 1901 and granted national monument status in 2004, has long been in need of repair. But the dispute over how those repairs should be carried out have intensified since an architectural competition to design a new replacement for the bridge was held, with even UNESCO recently trying to intervene.
Pavlína Adam, a biologist and adventurer, recently became the first Czech woman to complete the Great Himalaya Trail, one of the world’s most difficult treks, stretching 1,700 kilometres across the Himalayas, with an approximately 240,000 metres of elevation gain. Pavlína and her US friend Sarah Kruger covered the trek in just 101 days, during the monsoon season, becoming the first female-only team to complete the challenge. When I met with Pavlína during her brief stay in Prague in between other adventures, I first asked her how she and her friend got the idea to set on the trail:
This Tuesday, June 20, marks World Refugee Day, held to honour people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes in the face of conflict and persecution. In connection with the annual day, the Czech office of the UN Refugee Agency hosted a debate in Prague addressing the current situation of Ukrainian refugees in Czechia.
František Bělský is largely unknown in his native country. However, the Czech, who was born in 1921, achieved great success in his adopted UK, becoming the only sculptor ever to create busts of four generations of the royal family. Bělský’s remarkable life and career are the subject of a new book by journalist Bohumil Vostal, who first reported on his legacy while serving as Czech Television’s London correspondent.
Going to a Czech school and getting a Czech education is one of the key routes by which young refugees from Ukraine can successfully integrate into Czech society. But Ukrainian teenagers are apparently far less integrated than their younger counterparts, with the vast majority of adolescents not attending secondary school.
Dinner in the Sky is a food concept taking place across the world highlighting the best chefs and faces in contemporary gastronomy. Since 2017 the event has also been held in Prague, presenting Czech chefs who serve guests – at an altitude of 50 metres.
Špejchar 1969–1991 I–II is the title of a compilation by the great Czech singer and guitar player Vladimír Mišík.
Ukraine, Czechia and Slovakia agree on joint purchase and maintenance of fighting vehicles
Father’s Day is this Sunday, but are Czech dads actively involved in the day to day domestic duties of running a family amongst heterosexual couples, or are mothers still bearing the brunt of the workload? I asked Dr. Jana Klímová Chaloupková from the Institute of Sociology at the Czech Academy of Social Sciences about the current division of labour in the home.
If you’ve heard the roars of a crowd at Prague’s Viktoria Zizkov stadium, there’s a chance it’s been fans of the Prague Lions, the American football team who recently qualified for the European League of Football (ELF) this season. This past week, I sat down with head coach Zach Harrod and quarterback Shazzon Mumphrey to talk about what the process of stepping up into the ELF has meant for the team and for the sport here in Czechia.
Saturday marks Petr Pavel’s first 100 days as president of Czechia. What have been his biggest successes – and his biggest failures? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe about how he would rate how the fledgling president is doing so far.
In the 1950s, during the darkest phase of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia, Czech sexologists started to research the female orgasm, outpacing most of their colleagues abroad. What triggered their interest in the topic and what exactly did their research focus on? Find out in another part of our mini-series Sex under Communism.
Czech-born all-time tennis great Martina Navrátilová has just received an award in Prague, the silver medal of the president of the Senate. The 66-year-old said she was happy to be back – and glad that today’s young sports people don’t have to leave their native country.
A march set for Prague on Thursday aims to show solidarity with victims of sexual and domestic violence in Czechia. The organisers are also demanding change – specifically for the Czech government to ratify the Istanbul Convention.
The Platýz Palace is a grand building located on Prague’s Národní třída, not far from Jungmanovo náměstí. During its long history the palace served as a noble residence and an inn, before later becoming one of Prague’s first apartment buildings. Today Platýz’s tranquil courtyard offers visitors a welcome respite from the busy city centre.
Hundreds of people gathered at Prague Castle on Monday evening to break bread with their neighbours. Long tables were arranged in the shape of a heart around St. Vitus Cathedral for people to sit and share a communal feast together.
Researchers have announced a gruesome find at Prague’s Pankrác jail: the cremated remains of 80-plus communist-era political prisoners. The dead included executed opponents of the regime, though much remains unclear about the victims’ identities.
The annual microbrewery festival took place this past weekend in the Prague Castle gardens, highlighting 50 of the best microbreweries from every end of Czechia. Each year, the festival draws in thousands of beer lovers, local and tourists alike who are keen to try the budding new flavours of Czech brews.
A pair of white storks from Czechia have recently made international headlines. The unusual couple, consisting of two females, have been nesting on a chimney in south Bohemia, taking turns in caring for their two chicks. According to ornithologists, it is the first recorded case of a same-sex pair among white storks.
The Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, has just kicked off a working trip to Angola and Zambia. Czech foreign policy is increasingly focused on Africa and Mr. Lipavský says Europe needs to “bring a better offer” if it is to weaken Russian and Chinese influence on the continent.
Lenka Lichtenberg is a Prague-born world-music artist based in Canada. Her most recent album, Thieves of Dreams: Songs of Theresienstadt’s Secret Poetess is based on poetry that her grandmother wrote in the Terezín concentration camp during the Holocaust, which she discovered in 2017 among her mother’s belongings. It has become the first Czech album ever to win the Juno Award, Canada’s highest music prize.
The Czech Hiking Club was born 135 years ago in June 1888, established by a group of travel enthusiasts. Its chairman, Vojtěch Náprstek, came up with a unique hiking trail network that serves tourists and hikers to this day.
Jakub Cigler is perhaps THE architect of post-1989 Prague. His Jakub Cigler Architekti are behind the ongoing remodeling of Wenceslas Square and have also designed such buildings as Quadrio, Florentinum and The Park in Chodov. The studio is also involved in the massive project to overhaul Masaryk Train Station and the surrounding area. I spoke to Jakub Cigler, who is 61, at his company’s offices in the Podolí district.
The Open Gardens festival will be taking place across Prague this weekend, with different gardens scheduling unique programming. The festival is the perfect opportunity to learn about the unique art and architecture featured in gardens throughout the city.
Two pilgrims from the United States and Canada have just covered over 700 kilometres across Moravia on foot . They were tracing the footsteps of their distant ancestors from the Hutterite community, who were driven out of Europe in the 18th century.
Czechia’s Karolína Muchová has achieved the greatest moment in her career to date after sensationally reaching the final of tennis’s French Open on Thursday. The unseeded Czech overcame world number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, becoming one of the lowest ranked players ever to reach the final of the Grand Slam tournament.
There were no goods in shops. You weren’t allowed to travel. Rock stars didn’t come to the country to perform. So how else were Czechs supposed to entertain themselves?
Best friends Phillip Schniedermeier and Jeff Couloute who together make up the duo behind the American restaurant Philly & Co’s in lower Žižkov have turned their passion for cooking up American and their native Chicago style food into a hub for local Czechs and expats alike. Amelia Mola Schmidt went to check it out.
In the wake of the Kakhovka dam flooding, the Czech government and NGOs have joined the humanitarian aid effort. The Czech Defense Ministry is preparing a consignment of tankers for the distribution of drinking water, life vests and water pumps and the Foreign Ministry has earmarked 10 million crowns to assist the humanitarian effort. NGOs are also pitching in. I spoke to Petr Štefan from the largest Czech charity organization People in Need about its response to the crisis.
Immersion, translated into Czech as ‘Do Hloubky’, is the new and cool-looking graphic novel by Adam Trachtman that details his adventures – linguistic, itinerant, and sexual – as he joins the hordes of young Westerners heading east in the early 90s to experience the brave new world of post-Communist Europe. What they find is, in Adam’s words, “a not-so-brave visa-free world where conversational English teachers make more than doctors, beer is cheaper than water, and law enforcement is entrepreneurial.” I spoke to Adam in our studio about how he used AI to help him with the novel, what brought a poor kid from Philadelphia to Czechia, and what kept him here for 29 years. But first, I wanted to know a bit more about the plot of the book…
Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space, the largest festival of its kind in the world, gets underway in Prague on Thursday. Located in various venues around the capital, it will explore scenography in its broadest sense, from scenic art to street performances. I discussed the event with its artistic director, Markéta Fantová, and first asked her about its main theme, which is RARE:
At CAMP in downtown Prague, a new exhibit presents a mosaic of everyday life in the city through the eyes of Dutch photographer Iwaan Baan. The exhibit features thousands of images of Prague, shot on the ground level and from a birds eye view.
Located just off Wenceslas Square, the Lucerna Palace is an iconic building. Its rooftop terraces and passages are unique even for the historic centre of Prague. Interestingly, the palace was originally planned to be one storey higher and have an ice rink instead of its main concert hall.
On the outskirts of the city centre in Prague 3, a delicious Italian bakery serves up traditional Tuscan and Italian fare, and has become a social hub for both Italian expats in the neighbourhood and local Czechs.
Thousands of football fans are descending on Prague to witness the UEFA Europa Conference League final between West Ham and Fiorentina, scheduled to take place in the city’s Eden Arena on Wednesday evening. I discussed the significance of the match, one of the biggest football events to take place in Prague to date, with football expert Jiří Hošek:
The legendary Czech goalie Dominik Hašek (nicknamed The Dominator) paid a visit to the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Monday to express support for the country, which has been successfully resisting Russian military aggression since February of last year.
The Ministry of Justice announced last week that it plans to enshrine the inadmissibility of physically punishing children in law. The proposed amendment to the country's Civil Code would not make hitting children illegal or impose penalties on parents for doing so, but is rather intended as a recommendation that, the ministry hopes, will change societal norms. But does it really stand a chance of doing so? To find out, I spoke to Pavla Gomba, director of UNICEF Czech Republic.
This Friday, June 9th will be the opening night of the first annual Prague Art and Activism exhibition. A night showcasing the talent of artists whose thought-provoking work crosses boundaries between advocacy and multi-medium beauty.
Czechia has a rich history of cinema and that heritage is carefully administered by the National Film Archive in Prague, which is currently celebrating 80 years of existence. I discussed the archive’s establishment during the Nazi occupation, the recent tradition of restoring classic Czech movies, how NFA archivists defied the authorities to save treasures and much more with its director, Michal Bregant.
To mark the centenary of Czech Radio, the public broadcaster’s jazz station prepared a special project called 100 Years of Jazz/100 Years of Radio. Within the project, contemporary composers were asked to create new arrangements of traditional jazz compositions, which are connected in one way or another to the history of Czech Radio. To mark the anniversary, Czech Radio also commissioned a brand new composition called Swinging on the Radio Waves. The songs were performed by the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band at a concert earlier this year and you can listen to some of them now, in this edition of Sunday Music Show.
More than 1,800 churches, temples and religious sites will open their doors to the public within the 15th annual Night of Open Churches on Friday, June 2. The event includes concerts, exhibitions, and access to houses of prayer otherwise closed to the public. I spoke with Stanislav Zeman from the Prague Archbishopric and asked him how this increasingly popular tradition started.
Several dozen people gathered in Prague’s Stromovka Park at sunrise on Friday morning to take part in the annual scythe mowing event, during which they cut down a wild flower meadow to the sound of folk music.
Down, set, hut - those aren’t words you hear often when it comes to athletics in Czechia. The American football club the Prague Lions, formed in 1991, has been growing in strength and is headed to the European Football League this season.
The 2023 edition of the multi-genre Prague Sounds music festival will feature the likes of Benjamin Clementine, Alva Noto & Ensemble Modern and jazz great Ron Carter. Though the event is not until November, the organisers unveiled the line-up this week – and I spoke to programmer Guy Borg.
An exhibition presenting an overview of independent Polish art of the 1980s got underway in Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region this week . Called Uncensored, it presents the Polish equivalent of the post-1968 Czech underground art scene. I discussed the exhibition with one of its curators, Richard Drury:
The Covid pandemic placed a lot of restrictions on the society and resulted in a large number of court cases in which people sought compensation. A father who was banned from seeing his child born has now won an important battle over his rights.
Cigarettes are getting increasingly more expensive in Czechia, but recent data suggests that as much as a quarter of people over the age of 15 are smokers. On the occasion of World No Tobacco Day, we spoke to Dr Eva Králíková, who heads a stop smoking clinic at Prague’s General Faculty Hospital, asking her how big of an issue smoking is in Czechia when compared with other addictions.
Brno, Prague, Warsaw, Budapest, and Calgary – these are some of the cities where an ingenious invention by two Moravian dog owners has spread. Their patented dog urinal prevents unsightly stains and nasty odours from sullying public spaces.
One of Prague’s iconic Brutalist structures, the Central Telecommunications Building in the district of Žižkov, is gradually being demolished. However, some valuable art pieces from its interior have been saved, including a large-scale mosaic created by Italian artist Sauro Ballardini out of hundreds of pieces of glass.
The tragic earthquake that recently hit Turkey and Syria served as another reminder of the catastrophic damage earthquakes can cause, especially in countries that can’t afford expensive early warning systems. But a new cheap sensor that is being tested by Czech scientists in Nepal could be the solution and provide the valuable seconds needed to save lives.
If you regularly take the Prague tram between Čechův Most and Nábřeží Kapitána Jaroše, you may have noticed the giant pieces of artwork on display in the niches of the wall that runs parallel to the Vltava river below Letná. Until June 6, those spaces are being occupied by Markéta Garai’s exhibition With(out) Care, a commentary on the stigmatisation of sex workers and the ecological impact of the global flower trade.
Ex-Czech prime minister Andrej Babiš has had his wrist slapped at international level. The ALDE liberal group at the European Parliament, of which his ANO is a member, has condemned Mr. Babiš’s recent appearance at a highly anti-liberal CPAC gathering in Budapest hosted by Viktor Orban. I discussed the situation with Pavel Havlicek of Prague’s Association for International Affairs.
Tomio Okamura’s Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD), an anti-EU, anti-migrant party with 20 seats in the Czech lower house, is preparing to form an electoral alliance with fellow populist right party Tricolour. The latter’s leader, Zuzana Majerová, announced the move last week. I discussed the possible reasoning behind it with political scientist Jiří Pehe.
The country’s largest Protestant denomination, the Evangelical Church of the Czech Brethren, announced over the weekend that it will officially allow pastors to bless same-sex unions. I spoke to Filip Milde of the organisation Jsme Fér, which campaigns for marriage equality in Czechia, to find out what he thought the significance of this move is.
This weekend the Moravian village of Vlčnov celebrated its most cherished festival of the year: the traditional “Ride of the Kings” which is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Czech-born mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kožená (born on May 26, 1973) is one of the bright lights of world opera. Although based in Britain, she returns regularly to Czechia to perform and was one of the biggest attractions of this year’s Prague Spring Festival together with the award-winning Japanese pianist Mitsuko Uchida.
A largescale project is currently in the works that seeks to present the history and current forms of Czech graphic design to both the domestic and international audience. Bohemian Identity, as it is called, will trace the story of how various designs, ranging from banknotes, state symbols, brands, metro signs and more, helped shape the country’s national identity. To find out more about what’s in store I spoke to one of the founders of the project, Michal Gregorini.
This week the Prague authorities approved studies to revitalise the through-road cutting across the centre of the city. The plans – which still need permits – would make the unpopular “magistrála” more attractive for pedestrians and cyclists. But could the communist-era road ever be removed? I discussed the matter with leading Prague architect Jakub Cigler.
Susan Loy is an American artist who had a successful business selling her paintings in the US, but left it all behind a few years ago to move to Prague, when she was already in her 70s. Like Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk, the American wife of Czechoslovakia’s first president, Susan is a Unitarian, and moved to the Czech Republic with Unitarian sponsorship. She is also the curator of an international art exhibition which is on display right now at the Unitarian Church in Prague , so I started by asking her what prompted her to organise it.
The east Bohemian city of Pardubice is gearing up for its annual aviation fair this weekend. Highlights this year include air shows by Lukasz Czepiela, who successfully landed a plane on top of a skyscraper in Dubai in March, and Felix Baumgartner, the man who parachuted to Earth from the stratosphere.
The Czech government announced on Wednesday that Czechia would abstain from a vote on the EU’s accession to the Istanbul Convention on combatting violence against women. Two of the ruling parties are reluctant to support it and the cabinet is yet to decide whether to put the convention to a vote in the Czech parliament.
Czechia possesses several leading institutions of higher learning that have produced internationally renowned scientists, businesspeople and academics. No wonder then that the number of foreigners studying in the country has been growing. We asked some of them what they like about the country and the student lifestyle it offers.
Earlier this week, Czechia and the United States signed a Defence Cooperation Agreement in Washington. The treaty creates a legal framework for the possible deployment of US soldiers on Czech territory, though officials on both sides insist it does not pave the way for a permanent American base. The American ambassador to Prague, Bijan Sabet, who arrived in the city early this year, discussed the DCA – and more – with Czech Radio journalist Jan Bumba.
Less than three weeks after the coronation of Charles III, Czechia has received its first visitor from the British royal family, H.R.H. Prince Edward. The prince, who drank a pint with Czechia’s President Petr Pavel on Tuesday, is in Prague to present the Duke of Edinburgh award to young people who have successfully completed the programme in Czechia.
A new exhibition showcasing the fashion style of Czechoslovak and Czech first ladies is currently on display at the National Museum in Prague. Visitors can see dozens of items from the first ladies’ wardrobes, including a blouse and skirt that belonged to Charlotte Garrigue Masaryk and the inaugural dress of the current first lady, Eva Pavlová.
Sparta Prague have been crowned champions of the domestic soccer league for the 37th time. A scoreless draw on Tuesday night sealed the storied club’s first title in almost a decade.
In the early 2000s, native Scot Steve Gove decided to resurrect the intimate feel of the original Edinburgh Fringe festival, before it became the gargantuan beast it is today, and bring it to Prague. Now in its 22nd year, the Prague Fringe is running from 22 – 27 May at venues dotted around Malá Strana. I spoke to him as the festival got underway and started by asking him to summarise what the Fringe is all about, for people who have never heard of it.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Černochová will meet with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington on Tuesday to sign a Czech-US Defense Cooperation Agreement. The treaty sets a framework for closer cooperation between the countries’ armed forces at a time of growing instability.
Machine translation experts from Charles University have developed a new system that can translate between 43 languages in real time. Intended for international conferences, Elitr shows words said by a speaker on a screen within milliseconds, and in all languages at once.
Two valuable documentary collections from Czechia have been inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register: the Antonín Dvořák Archive, which contains most of the great Czech composer’s manuscripts and the Moll Map Collection , a set of ancient maps dating from the late 16th century to the 1860s.
Many thousands of people helped Czech Radio celebrate its centenary this week at a special free concert at the Prague park Riegrovy sady. The line-up for the marathon event included a whole host of popular Czech names, including Aneta Langerova, K.M. Tichá and Bandjeez, Zdeněk Sverák, Lenka Filipová and Michael Kocáb.
When Time Stopped is the title of Ariana Neumann’s first book, about the history of her Jewish family in Prague during the war. Before he emigrated to Venezuela in 1949, her father Hans (or Hanuš) Neumann survived the Holocaust thanks to false papers and the audacity that allowed him to find work in… Berlin. The book is filled with extraordinary personal documents and letters preserved in a few boxes found by the author in Caracas, Prague but also Libčice or Teplice.
Many of Prague’s architectural gems will open to the public for free this weekend within the Open House Prague festival, which is now in its ninth year. Visitors can admire the interiors of more than 100 buildings as well as spaces that are usually inaccessible to the public, including the brutalist Hotel Intercontinental, which is currently under reconstruction. I spoke to one of the festival organizers, Michaela Pánková, and I first asked her about the buildings that have been included in the project for the very first time:
The Czech government has decided to scrap several Communist-era decrees that allowed Russia to use land in Czechia rent-free for diplomatic purposes. The decision has elicited an angry reaction from Moscow, which is threatening to retaliate.
Telč is not just a town; it's an experience. A journey through its picturesque squares and streets allows you to explore a slice of the past, unchanged by time.
Czech Radio’s youth and alternative station Radio Wave lost its FM frequency not long after its launch. But that didn’t stop the channel finding sustained success online, thanks to clever marketing and pioneering use of podcasts.
A radio receiver used by the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk or the microphone into which the very first radio announcer spoke. These are just some of the rare exhibits that are currently on display at the National Technical Museum in Prague as part of an exhibition marking the centenary of Czech Radio.
Until recently, it was thought that the oldest full-length radio play preserved in the Czech Radio archives was from after the Second World War. But that changed thanks to a chance discovery of a Czech adaptation for radio of Jack London’s 1906 novel White Fang, which though in a very poor condition, was restored and digitised.
It was exactly a hundred years ago, on 18 May 1923, that listeners in Czechoslovakia were first able to tune in to regular radio broadcasts. Much has changed since then. Today Czech Radio has ten nationwide stations and fourteen regional studios, based in towns and cities around the country. And of course, there is also Radio Prague International, broadcasting in seven languages around the world. Back in 1923 there was just one station, which in those early days broadcast for a few hours every day from a scouts’ tent on the edge of Prague. To mark the anniversary, we take a journey through the radio archives.
Czech public radio broadcasting, which marks its 100th anniversary on Thursday, relied from its early days on the popularity of radio plays. Until 1948, it was a common practice to broadcast these plays live, as it was technically difficult to record them on tape. Czech Radio recently renewed the tradition, employing its veteran sound effect specialists.
One of the first challenges foreign students in Czechia face after arriving in the country is finding accommodation. While most universities offer places in dormitories, many foreign students prefer to stay in private housing. How difficult is to find a place to live in Czechia when you are a foreign student? And what are the advantages of living in a shared apartment? Find out more in the next edition of our miniseries dedicated five top Czech universities.
Perhaps the most anticipated event of the 78th Prague Spring takes place on Wednesday night, with rising classical star Klaus Mäkelä making his debut appearance in Czechia, conducting the Czech Philharmonic and viola player Antoine Tamestit. Ahead of the concert, featuring works by Schnittke and Mahler, I asked Tamestit what it meant for him to also be the music festival’s artist-in-residence.
Prague City Hall has commissioned a new copy of the Old Town Square astronomical clock calendar that will replace the heavily-criticised version that was created in 2018. The artist who created the copy was lambasted by art historians and heritage enthusiasts for changing elements of Mánes’s 1866 original, to give it a more modern look.
Ponrepo , the Prague cinema administered by the National Film Archive, will be screening a very special film this Tuesday evening. Arsenal is a revolutionary epic that depicts the January workers uprising in Kyiv in 1918. Directed by the famous Ukrainian-Soviet director Oleksandr Dovzhenko, it is considered to be the most prominent expressionist film in Ukrainian cinematography and was voted one of the best films of the year by the American National Board of Review when it came out in 1929.
The Czech government, which recently unveiled a far-reaching austerity package aimed at curbing the growing state deficit, has said it will not submit to trade union pressure to water-down the proposal. Responding to a strike alert called by the unions on Monday, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the planned reforms would remain on track.
One of the last battles to take place in World War Two Europe occurred south-west of Prague around the town of Milín, several days after Germany had officially capitulated. It was unique in that the combat saw units of the Wehrmacht, SS, Soviet Union, United States and Czech partisans all take part in the fighting. A newly opened exhibition documents the events that took place there and the deaths that may have been avoided had the allies taken a different approach.
President Petr Pavel on Sunday took part in an annual memorial in South Bohemia to victims of the Roma and Sinti Holocaust. He was the first Czech head of state at the event in over two and a half decades and his attendance meant it garnered extra attention.
Lasvit is Czechia’s leading exporter of high-end glass and light installations, producing often stunning creations for luxury hotels, residences and retail outlets around the globe. The company was co-founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimič, who was initially based in Hong Kong but is now back in his native North Bohemia. We spoke at Lasvit’s exquisite showroom – packed with wonderful lighting creations and glass pieces – in Prague’s Holešovice district.
Bass-baritone Boris Prýgl ranks among the most talented Czech young opera singers. One of the finalists of Plácido Domingo’s Operalia, Prýgl has performed at the Slovak National Theatre and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He is now a guest singer at the National Theatre Opera.
A question that never ceases to intrigue Czechs: Could their country have joined the democratic fold of nations if the US army had liberated Prague in 1945?
This week the Czech government announced a major package of economic legislation aimed at reducing the country’s record budget deficit. The move, which includes a largescale pension reform, is intended to save CZK 94 billion in 2023 and close to CZK 150 billion by 2025. I asked politics professor Vít Hloušek from Masaryk University in Brno what he makes of the government’s announcements and approach.
Czechia has participated 12 times in the Eurovision Song Contest, but only made it to the final five of those times, and only reached the top 10 once, with their best ever result of sixth place in 2018. This year, a catchy song by Czech entrant Vesna – a “pan-Slavic” all-female group – has already made it to Saturday’s final. So could 2023 be the year that Czechia finally makes it into the top five – or better? I put this question to Dean Vuletic, author of the book “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest”, who is in Liverpool for this year’s edition.
The 78th edition of the Prague Spring music festival gets underway on Friday night at Prague’s Municipal House. The country’s top classical event will traditionally open with Bedřich Smetana's Má vlast or My Country, this time performed by the Welsh National Opera Orchestra, led by Czech conductor Tomáš Hanus. I discussed the opening concert as well as some other festival highlights with its programme director Josef Třeštík:
For the first time in the country’s history, Czechia is sending its own team to the ISA World Surfing Games – the sport’s world championships. Six contestants are traveling to the upcoming event, which is set to take place in in El Salvador, Central America. For many it is the culmination of a long road towards getting surfing established in the landlocked country.
The annual international book fair and literary festival Book World Prague got underway on Thursday at the city’s Výstaviště grounds, featuring over 350 exhibitors from 30 countries. I spoke to Radovan Auer, the head of Book World Prague and asked him to tell me more about the choice of this year’s main theme, which is “Authors without Borders”.
The Fiala government has unveiled an austerity package aimed at reducing the country’s deepening state deficit and plans for a radical reform of old-age pensions. To understate the gravity of the situation the package titled “Czechia in Good Shape” was unveiled at a press briefing scheduled for five minutes to twelve – signalling the lateness of the hour.
Bohumil Pospíšil, a native of Přerov, was once a famous Czechoslovak traveller and adventure. The man, who spent five years on a journey around the world in the 1920s, was known as the Moravian Marco Polo . His estate, including thousands of photos, was thought to have been lost until recently, when it was discovered in the attic of his house in Auckland, New Zealand. Some of the unique photos are now on display as part of an exhibition in Břeclav.
Markéta Davidová has been voted Biathlete of the Year, the fifth year in a row that she has received the award. The young Czech sportswoman, who was the 2021 world champion in the endurance race, beat other top male and female biathletes to win the poll.
Czechia is second on the crony capitalism index compiled by The Economist , after Russia and just ahead of Malaysia, Singapore and Mexico. According to the paper, the Czech share of crony capitalism wealth is over 15 percent of GDP. I asked political scientist Jiří Pehe to explain why cronyism thrives so well in this country.
In Czechia, as well as in most Central and Southern European EU states, still wines are not subject to consumption tax. However, with the ongoing need to balance the budget, government experts have suggested introducing precisely such a tax, arguing that it could bring CZK 2 to 5 billion crowns into state coffers. This has angered the country’s winemakers who say that it would not just hit them hard in times of crisis, but also place a long tradition under threat.
The Czech University of Life Sciences is a place where an education rooted in science and agriculture is merged with other subjects like economics and business; a place where students from all over the world can get a truly unique and well-rounded education, grounded in multiple subjects.
Prague music lovers can look forward to a treat on Wednesday. The US contemporary classical greats Kronos Quartet are set to celebrate half a century of existence alongside the Czech ambient artists the Havels, who are themselves marking 40 years together. The venue is a 17th century church.
The Czech opera singer and actress Soňa Červená, who gained worldwide fame for her rendition of Carmen in the world’s leading opera houses, has died at the age of 97. Červená started her career in the early 1950s but had to flee the country due to communist persecution, only returning to her home stage after the fall of communism.
This Tuesday evening will see Czech girl band Vesna represent their country at the Eurovision Song Contest semi-finals in Liverpool and, if the band is successful, a subsequent final round later in the week. Vesna will be performing the song My Sister’s Crown and have been tipped as one of the favourites to advance into the Saturday’s Grand Final by the BBC. I caught up with the lead singer of the group, Patricie Fuxová, and asked how they are feeling ahead of the big night.
Located just below Prague’s Vítkov Hill, the Czech Army Museum is one of the places to check out if you are into military history, thinking of honouring Victory Day, or just generally into great exhibitions. It features more than 7,000 exhibits displayed in various fashion. The largest exhibition hall covers the period encompassing the Second World War, including the Prague Uprising.
If you’re a Eurovision fan, you’ll already know that the semi-finals are coming up this Tuesday 9 May. The all-female group Vesna are representing the Czech Republic at this year’s Eurovision Song contest with the song "My Sister's Crown", which features lyrics in English, Ukrainian, Czech, and Bulgarian.
Czechia was the place where the last shots of World War II were fired in Europe. The generally accepted narrative is that, with most of the country liberated by the Soviet Red Army, the former Czechoslovakia was inevitably headed for the communist Soviet bloc. Vít Smetana from the Prague Institute of Contemporary History dispels some deeply-rooted myths perpetuated by the communists about what happened in the very last days of WWII in Czechoslovakia.
The coronation of King Charles III is taking place at Westminster Abbey on Saturday. Although it has been 13 years since his last visit to Czechia, the former Prince Charles took a huge interest in the country during the 1990s and 2000s, visiting a total of five times, and even setting up a charity fund with Václav Havel to preserve Prague’s architectural heritage.
Pilsner Urquell was created in Pilsen in the 1840s and is today the best known Czech beer around the world. Its producers Plzeňský Prazdroj run a fine museum in the West Bohemian city. Now, however, visitors to Prague can also learn a lot about the classic pale lager at the Pilsner Urquell Experience, which is intended to be analogous to the likes of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
The Czech-American community in Chicago will be marking 150 years since the birth of Anton Cermak, a Czech immigrant who became the mayor of Chicago and was assassinated in 1933, after only two years in office. Two such events are planned for the coming days.
ANO party ready to file complaint with Constitutional Court against controversial pensions law
In their hey-day Czechia’s many spas attracted royalty and celebrities from around Europe. To this day many of them have mementos of their famous visitors. The Teplice spa boasts the Beethoven Spa House where music lovers can book their stay in the luxury suite he occupied, eat the food that he loved and listen to the music he composed.
As of this week, commuters in some of Prague’s busiest metro stations are seeing photographs of war-stricken Ukrainians sheltering in their own underground. The images were captured by Ukrainian photo journalists and were first displayed in the Berlin metro last year under the title “Next Station Ukraine”.
The Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský made it clear during his meeting with his American counterpart Antony Blinken in Washington on Tuesday that Czechia is aligned with the US on important issues such as support for Ukraine, mutual defence, and relations with China.
What was life like in the Gulag camps, how many of these camps were there in the Soviet Union, and how could a person end up in one? These are just some of the questions explored by a new educational project designed for primary and secondary school students. It was created by the organisation Gulag.cz and is now being tested in one of Prague’s schools.
One of the largest nuclear accidents in history – the Chernobyl disaster, took place on April 26, 1986. While in the West, countries were quite swift to react to the dangers of radiation, Czechoslovak authorities decided to downplay the incident, withholding information which resulted in people going out into the streets oblivious to the danger.
The annual Anifilm festival of animated films kicked off in the north Bohemian town of Liberec on Tuesday. Over the next six days, dozens of films, as well as music videos and computer games, will be screened in numerous venues all over the town. I discussed the event with programme coordinator Radek Hosenseidl and I started by asking him why they decided to focus on Japan this year:
Russia’s war against Ukraine has had widespread negative impacts outside the country’s borders. Among them is a drop in interest in Russian studies at Czech universities and a gradual loss of academic contacts.
Mrs Palermo’s Cottage is a novel by AR Parker, inspired by the Czech borderlands. Vit Pohanka spoke to the author about what brought him to Czechia and what led him to set his latest novel in the town where he bought a house and settled.
This week marked the 50th birthday of one of Czechia’s best-known violinists. Pavel Šporcl, often recognised for his signature head-scarf, has had a rich career filled with both domestic and international successes. He has performed with renowned singers and orchestras such as Karel Gott, Vojtěch Dyk, Ewa Farna, the Prague Philharmonic, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, or France’s Orchestre national.
Last year, the non-profit Centre for Civil Liberties was one of three recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize - the first time ever that a Nobel Prize has been awarded to a Ukrainian citizen or organisation. Ukrainian human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk started working for the organisation, which she now heads, in 2007. She has been involved in a number of activities relating to the protection of human rights, including the collecting of evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, so when Czech Radio's Jan Bumba interviewed her recently, he started by asking her what specifically she is focusing on right now.
Czech President Petr Pavel arrived in Ukraine early on Friday morning, shortly after Kyiv and other cities were hit by Russian missiles. Accompanied by his Slovak counterpart, Zuzana Čaputová, Mr. Pavel visited the sites of atrocities and criticised Moscow’s attacks on civilian targets.
Russia’s attacks on civilian targets intentional, says Czech president during Borodianka visit
A new iRozhlas.cz report has found a sharp rise in the number of single-occupant homes in Czechia, from 32 percent in 2011 to 39 percent a decade later. The jump is attributed to an increase in single people in major cities and more seniors, often widows, living by themselves. I discussed the findings with the report’s author, Jan Boček of Czech Radio’s data journalism team.
The European Space Agency (ESA) is looking for ways by which its future spaceships and probes could use nuclear-powered engines in order to travel across the extreme distances of outer space. Scientists at the Czech Technical University in Prague are among the many institutions involved in the effort, specifically a project called “RocketRoll”. I spoke to Jan Frýbort from the university’s Department of Nuclear Reactors to find out more.
President Petr Pavel has repeatedly said this week that Petr Fiala’s coalition government is poor in communication with the public, echoing a commonly heard assertion. But is the head of state correct on this point? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Women’s basketball was significantly popular in the 1990’s and early 2000’s in Czechia, but a slight dip in popularity made the sport take a hit. The USK Praha team and their head coach Natália Hejková are changing the face of the sport as we know it here in Prague.
The Czech government has placed the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, on its national sanctions list for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His name is the first to appear on the Czech sanctions list after the government passed its own version of the US Magnitsky Act last year.
The film festival in Cannes has revealed its La Cinef school film selection and two films from students at Prague’s FAMU film school have made the cut. The 2019 student Oscar winner Daria Kashcheeva will be competing with her master’s thesis movie Electra. Meanwhile, fresh FAMU bachelor Petr Pylypchuk got into the nominations with his film Osmý den (Eighth Day), which explores the story of a sect runaway.
Two months before it kicks off, the organisers of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival have just revealed the first details of this year’s programme, including a retrospective of Japanese director Yazuo Masamura and a restored version of a neglected Czechoslovak New Wave drama.
Palacký University located in the Moravian city of Olomouc is a multicultural hub for students from countries the world over. Of the university’s 23,000 students, over 4,500 are foreign nationals.
Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, who currently serves as the acting director of the Royal Opera House in London, returns for a special concert with the Czech Philharmonic this week. He will perform two iconic works by Josef Suk and Alexander Scriabin featuring world-renowned pianist Daniil Trifonov.
Mysterious ritual sites, ancient burial tombs, and rock carvings in an unknown script. These are some of the exciting discoveries made by an international expedition in Oman led by Czech archaeologists, which has found monuments and tools dating back thousands of years.
Suicide themed phone calls among seniors rose twofold between the years 2021 and 2022, according to Czechia’s helpline for old age people Linka seniorů . I asked the head of the helpline, Dr Kateřina Bohatá, why this is the case.
Czechia’s most important classical event, the Prague Spring International Music Festival , will kick off, as every year, on May 12. But this time out there will be a new director at the helm – 38-year-old Pavel Trojan. Ahead of the 78th edition I sat down with him at the cramped but cozy offices of the Prague Spring festival in the Malá Strana district.
The late Miroslav Žbirka, who passed away in November 2021 at the age of 69, dominated this year's Anděl Awards, winning all four categories in which he was nominated for his posthumously released album and single, including – best male artist, best album, best Slovak album and best song. We’ll listen to his songs as well as to the other winners of this year’s Anděl Awards in this edition of Sunday Music Show:
85 years ago, on April 24, 1938, Konrad Henlein of the Sudeten German Party voiced a list of demands commonly known as the Carlsbad Programme. They opened the way for Hitler’s Third Reich to annex the Sudetenland and rob Czechoslovakia of its vital border defences.
Brian Jakubec was born in South Africa and is a successful IT manager at Lenovo. But his life was shaped by events that took place in far-away Czechoslovakia when his father, still in his teens, joined the Bata shoe empire, where he would one day become a senior official. Fate would have it that, almost a century later, Brian’s work took him to Slovakia and opened a quest of discovery about his Czech roots and the Bata school of work ethics that he himself adopted. Brian joined me in the studio to talk about his journey into the family past.
Czechia’s king of castles, Karlštejn, ceremonially opened new spaces for visitors this Friday after a major CZK 164 million reconstruction. They are the result of three years of work, which included the reconstruction of the imperial residence and the castle’s gothic cellars. An enclosed visitor’s centre has also been built and there are new exhibitions detailing the construction of the castle as well as the history of wine growing in the surrounding countryside.
Sit-ups, push-ups, long jump and beep test run — these athletic disciplines were used by the Czech School Inspectorate to measure the physical fitness of schoolchildren across the country. Compared to the same tests carried out 30 years ago, the results have shown a dramatic drop in children’s endurance.
Sloths, slugs, and starfish – those are some of the unlikely patterns that young textile designer Anna Šebestová draws as the basis for the prints on her clothes and accessories, which she markets and sells under her brand annanemone. Her bold designs have won her the attention of Prague Zoo and even the former mayor, Zděněk Hříb. I met her recently and started by asking whether she had always been drawn to the weird and wonderful.
Martin Dvořák confirms interest in becoming Czechia’s new Minister for European Affairs
A portrait of a Jewish woman called Anna Wotzilkova, who was born in South Moravia and died in the Holocaust, has been donated to the newly planned Mehrin Moravian Jewish Museum by her descendants, who now live in the United States. The painting was brought to Brno this week by her granddaughter Ann Altman:
On average, every Czech throws away roughly 70 kilograms of food a year. In an effort to get them to stop, economists have now calculated just how much money they are throwing away.
The small town of Vysoké Mýto, in north-east Bohemia, has been named Czech Historical Town of the year for 2022. The award, which comes with a one-million-crown cheque, honours those towns and cities that have excelled in preserving and renewing their cultural and architectural heritage.
Czech scientists are collaborating on an international project, SMELLODI, which aims to digitise human scent. At the moment it is not yet possible to record a smell, send it halfway around the world and then regenerate it, but SMELLODI is trying to make that possible. And it could have real and beneficial applications in medicine.
Most checkpoints at Prague Castle began to be removed at noon on Monday, just minutes after President Petr Pavel announced a security overhaul. The head of state said that the checks had caused long queues and “negative emotions” at the popular tourist destination.
‘Giving birth in Brno’, ‘Five easy tips for passing the A2 Czech test’, and ‘How to leave your lover but stay in the Czech Republic’ – those are some of the kinds of workshops you can expect at the Brno Expat Fair on Saturday 22 April, along with a whole host of stands and exhibits showcasing what Czechia’s second-largest city has to offer international residents. I spoke to Marie Lungová of the Brno Expat Centre, which organises the event, about why it’s worth a visit.
Harry Macourek, who would have turned 100 this month, was active in various musical genres and styles, scoring pop hits as well as working in the jazz, film score, classical and other fields.
Vojtěch Hynais is one of the lesser-known Czech artists, at least abroad. But recently a painting of his aroused the interest of the world-famous Pompidou Centre in Paris.
Czech military chiefs have moved to quell public alarm sparked by the fact civilian doctors will take part in an exercise call-up drive next month. Top brass say the conscription readiness test is in fact a routine matter.
The government has nodded to the planned closure of 3,000 post offices around the country. The state-owned company Czech Post is in the red, due to a marked drop in demand for its services, but critics argue that the state must continue to meet the needs of the thousands of elderly citizens who depend on postal services.
For 85 years, a monument in Orlová to the fallen Czech soldiers of the 1919 Polish–Czechoslovak War has been a plain list of names on slabs of stone. But it used to be dominated by a huge statue of a Silesian eagle with soldiers at its feet, which was torn down by Polish troops after the 1938 Munich Agreement. Now a five-metre copy of the statue is being crafted and will soon adorn the monument in the east Moravian town once again.
Established in 1348 by Emperor Charles IV, Charles University is the oldest university in Central and Eastern Europe. The university enjoys international prestige and 20 percent of its students are from abroad.
A recently published Time Out survey placed Prague second in the world, behind Berlin, when it comes to how convenient locals find its public transport system. But in reality how good are the city’s tram, underground and bus services? I jumped on a tram in the downtown area with experienced travel writer and Prague resident Mark Baker.
One of the foremost opponents of the former Czechoslovak communist regime, Dana Němcová, passed away early on Tuesday morning at the age of 89. Despite years of persecution by the secret police, she never let up in her quest for freedom.
Czechia is one of the last countries in the European Union which still lacks a Children’s Ombudsman. The respective amendment to the law is currently being finalized and the post should be established early next year.
Czechia has a vast number of cathedrals, churches and chapels from centuries past and it is only rarely that new houses of prayer are built. One such endeavor is close to completion. The small Moravian village of Nesvačilka, which lacked a house of prayer for over 300 years, will soon have its own unique wooden chapel.
While delicious, Czech food is heavily reliant on meat and animal products. But as society gains more and more awareness about the health and environmental impacts, more support for restaurants purveying locally sourced or vegetarian options is growing.
In today’s Easter Sunday music program we’ll be listening to an excerpt from the only Italian oratorio by František Xaver Richter, an 18th century Czech composer, musician and teacher, and one of the main representatives of the so-called Mannheim School.
Art can be expensive, but three expat artists who go by the pseudonyms Vinny Bonger, Big Kill, and Kilo Blimp, are partnering with local Prague businesses to make art more accessible for the city’s residents. The founders of the Fruit Juice Collective joined me in the studio to talk about their art philosophy, their current exhibitions, and the importance of art being accessible for everyone.
Abhejali Bernardová is only the tenth person in the world, and the first from a landlocked country to complete the so-called Oceans Seven, a marathon swimming challenge consisting of seven open water channel swims, including the English Channel and the Strait of Gibraltar. The Brno-based swimmer recently published a book describing her adventures and completed another challenge, the English Channel Triathlon from Dover to Prague.
Freedom and Direct Democracy Party MEPs want special labelling of insect-based food stuffs
Passion plays, in which people dramatically re-enact the trial, suffering and death of Jesus Christ at Easter, have a rich tradition in the South Bohemian town of Hořice na Šumave. The settlement was once the site of some of the largest passion plays in Europe. With the tradition having been revived over the past three decades, the town is now set to host a Europe-wide festival for passion reenactors and is even applying for its plays to be listed by UNESCO.
Prague is currently home to one of Europe’s hottest real-estate markets. Real estate prices have soared, subsequently triggering higher rent prices for those who can no longer afford house ownership. An exhibition in the Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning highlights the housing crisis that many residents are facing.
One of Prague’s iconic cafes has been drawing visitors after a thorough reconstruction that brought back its original Art Nuveau feel. Located inside the capital’s busy Main Train Station, it may be hard to find at first. But those who take the time are likely to be impressed.
Many women suffer from depression or anxiety during pregnancy or after childbirth. The Kogito app, launched 18 months ago, is a form of “first aid” accessible to women who may not be able to afford therapy for financial or time reasons.
After more than three centuries, a golden carriage made by Johann Anton I. of Eggenberg in 1638 for a diplomatic mission to the Pope, has been restored to its original glory. As of April, the unique carriage will be on display at Český Krumlov Castle.
There have been a number of reports of wolf sightings in the Krkonoše Mountains over the past few weeks, either in small packs or lone individuals. As the wolf population has steadily grown and become more settled there since they first began returning to the area in 2018, encounters between wolves and humans will only continue to become more and more commonplace.
The Czech and Slovak cabinets held a joint session for the first time in three years on Monday. Ministers discussed a range of issues, including energy and security in Slovakia – and rejected planned new EU regulations they say would hit their respective auto industries.
A new exhibition marking 200 years since the birth of Josef Mánes, one of the pioneers of modern Czech art, is currently underway at Prague’s National Gallery. The retrospective, entitled Josef Mánes: Man – Artist – Legend, features more than 400 items, including the original Calendar Plate from Prague’s Astronomical Clock.
Just off Prague’s Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad is where you will find The Boršč. The Ukrainian soup restaurant was opened two years ago by the married couple Alexander Martynov and Nataliya Bas with a view to promoting their nation’s food and culture in their adopted home of Czechia. However, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the bistro found new significance. Recently The Boršč also made a splash on social media thanks to a visit from Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe.
The keenly awaited Milan Kundera Library had its grand opening this weekend on April 1, the day of the celebrated writer's 94th birthday. The collection, which includes around 4,000 of Kundera’s publications, is being housed on the first floor of the Moravian State Library in Brno, the author’s hometown.
Boston Bruins forward David Pastrňák scored a milestone hat-trick in the team’s 4:3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at the weekend. With a total of 56 goals and 47 assists Pastrňák thus became only the second Czech ice hockey player after Jaromír Jágr to score more than 100 points during the regular NHL season. I asked Czech Radio’s sports journalist Petr Tomášek about the significance of the achievement.
The Czech Music Academy has decided on the nominees for this year's Anděl awards, with prizes up for grabs in a total of 15 categories. The winners will be announced later this month on Saturday, April 15th at an awards ceremony broadcast live on Czech Television.
The annual Easter Festival of Sacred Music gets underway this weekend in Brno. The festival is organised by the Brno Philharmonic and over the two Easter weeks it will bring concerts to various venues around the Moravian capital. I discussed the event with the festival’s programme director Vladimír Maňas and I first asked him about its main theme for this year, which is Transformations:
Representatives of Czechia and Japan on Thursday ceremonially signed a contract regarding the project of constructing the Czech pavilion at the world EXPO 2025 that is set to take place in Osaka. The winning design, which is to be built out of Czech glass, was selected by a star jury earlier this month.
Starting this Saturday, visitors to Prague’s Clementinum will be able to enjoy a new Baroque tour at the Czech National Library’s historic complex. The route will take visitors to the Clementinum Astronomical Tower and Baroque Library, which are otherwise inaccessible to the public.
This Wednesday will see the Palacký University in Olomouc take part in Worldwide Ukrainian Play Readings, an international project initiated by the famous US theatre critic John Freedman that sees the readings of works written by Ukrainian playwrights following Russia’s invasion of the country. It is the first time that the project, which has already raised over a quarter of a million dollars, is taking place in Czechia.
It is not unusual to see men wearing Scottish kilts on the streets of Prague and other Czech cities during the summer, but Czech men might soon rival the tourists in showing a bit of leg. Ondřej Ludín, artistic tailor at the Technical University of Liberec is now designing and producing skirts for men.
The Madonna from Havraň is a precious medieval wooden statue of Mary sitting on a heavenly throne with baby Jesus resting on her lap, surrounded by three angels, which was recently acquired by the National Gallery in Prague. Experts from the Czech University of Agriculture in Prague are now using a CT scan to find out more about its origin.
Sometimes popularly referred to in Czechia as “Knights of the Sky” (Rytíři nebes), Czech RAF pilots have a glorious reputation in their home country and are still honoured in Britain to this day. Last Saturday saw the passing away of the last of their kind with the death of Emil Boček, just a month after his 100th birthday.
Chiune Sugihara was a Japanese diplomat, who saved thousands of Jewish lives during the WWII. His heroic actions are now being celebrated by a new piece of music composed by Lera Auerbach. The Czech premiere of her Symphony No. 6 Vessels of Light will be performed on Monday evening at the Rudolfinum concert hall.
As children growing up in Yorkshire, brothers Andy and Martin Fell drank a lot of tea – and for almost a decade, the two have owned a pair of quirky sister teahouses, one in Prague and one in Glasgow. Born in Scotland to a Czech mother and English father, the brothers fused the British tea-drinking tradition with the concept of the Bohemian-style teahouse to create two establishments which are each unique in their own locales for very different reasons.
Laco Déczi is an American jazz trumpeter, composer and painter of Slovak origin. He left Bratislava for Prague in 1962, where he stayed until emigrating to the US in 1985. The jazz legend now often returns to perform in Czechia.
The Semler Residence, a striking interwar apartment designed by Heinrich Kulka based on the concept of the pioneering modernist architect Adolf Loos, has become part of the Iconic Houses network. It is only the 12th building in Czechia to be added to the prestigious list of significant houses and artists’ homes.
Botas, the Czech brand known for its iconic sneakers, which recently fell on hard times and had to cease production at the turn of last year, may yet be resurrected. A rapidly rising Zlín-based newcomer to the Czech shoe market – Vasky – recently announced that it plans to incorporate Botas into its own company and keep the sneakers in production. I spoke to the founder of Vasky, Václav Staněk.
Czech David Vencl made international headlines last week after setting a new world record. He carried out a vertical dive of 52.1 metres without a wetsuit beneath an ice-covered lake in Switzerland, covering the distance in under two minutes – and in a single breath.
Among the most hotly anticipated Czech documentaries at the ongoing One World festival is Blix Not Bombs by Greta Stocklassa, which premieres on Saturday. The film is built around interviews with Hans Blix, the Swedish diplomat best-known as the UN’s chief weapons inspector in the lead-up to America’s 2003 invasion of Iraq. I discussed the film with its director.
Next Tuesday 28 March, on Teachers’ Day, a large-scale, nationwide demonstration will be taking place to protest against the chronic underfunding of the humanities in Czechia. Academic communities from arts and humanities faculties in Prague, Brno, Olomouc, Ostrava and a number of other cities have declared warning strikes and planned protest marches, as well as a programme of events open to students and the public. I spoke to Mirka Horová from Charles University’s Faculty of Arts in Prague to find out more.
Spring is in the air and the country’s tourist industry is preparing for the annual influx of foreign visitors. What are the main tourist attractions this year, is Prague still a magnet for foreign tourists and can the country hope to return to pre-Covid figures? I spoke to Jan Herget, the head of CzechTourism about what Czechia has to offer in 2023.
An art installation by Israeli artist Keren Goldstein Yehezkeli protesting against the global phenomenon of gender-based murder committed by spouses and other family members, is currently on display in the lower house of Czech Parliament. The main aim of the exhibition, called She’s Gone, is to raise awareness of femicide, which claims the lives of around 47, 000 women and girls around the world every year.
Bohemia: History of an Idea, 1950–2000 is the name of a major new exhibition at Prague’s Kunsthalle gallery. It focuses on Paris in the Left Bank days, swinging London and 1970s New York – but also lesser-known scenes, including the Prague of photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková. I discussed the new show with US-based curator Russell Ferguson.
A long-awaited exhibition opened in Paris on Wednesday, using huge projections, 3D animation and music to bring the work of Czech painter Alfons Mucha to life. A so-called “immersive” exhibition, it uses the power of smell and sound as well as sight to recreate his world. The exhibition also focuses on his legacy, from the “Flower Power” movement of the sixties to Japanese manga, street art, and even tattoos.
Jaroslav Hašek’s The Good Soldier Švejk is one of the most popular Czech books ever published. So it was a special occasion when the original manuscript of the classic novel was exhibited to the public for one day only on Tuesday by Prague’s Museum of Czech Literature.
One of Prague’s oldest and most stylish cinemas, Prague 9’s Kino Atlas is reopening to the public this Tuesday after a change in management. The new operators of the venue are a collective of Czech film directors, who intend focus on documentary and artistic films. In a bold move, they also plan to lower ticket costs for visitors.
Restorers from the University of Pardubice, along with colleagues from Germany, have started to examine a unique cycle of paintings in the Emmaus Monastery in Prague, dating to the reign of Emperor Charles IV. During the next three years, they will determine the state of the frescoes, and only then will they start to restore them.
The remains of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhino, which had been on display at the National Museum in Prague, are due to be shipped to Kenya this week. The taxidermy, created by the National Museum’s conservationists, will be displayed in Kenya as a symbol of the fight for nature protection. I discussed the fate of the famous animal with conservationist Jan Stejskal from Dvůr Králové Zoo, which has been spearheading international efforts to save the breed from extinction:
Last week’s decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to issue an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin for overseeing the abduction of Ukrainian children has been welcomed by leading Czech politicians. Against the backdrop of a meeting of justice ministers in London this Monday, Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský argued for the setting up of an international tribunal.
Since taking over as UK ambassador to Prague in January, Matt Field has, with skilful use of social media and visible eagerness to learn, quickly established himself as one of the best-known diplomats in the country. But how has he actually been finding life in the Czech capital? And what are his priorities as London’s man in Prague? They are just a couple of the things I discussed with Mr. Field in this wide-ranging interview.
Jan Smigmator, one of Czechia’s most famous swing and jazz singers, is set to perform in New York’s Carnegie Hall on April 29. The 37-year-old musician, who also hosts his own show on Czech Radio, says that he hopes this could be an opportunity to break through in the United States. His performance in New York will focus on the music of greats such as George and Ira Gershwin, Johnny Mercer, Henry Mancini or Michel Legrand and Smigmator will be singing in both English and Czech.
John of Nepomuk, one of the patron saints of the Czech lands, was brutally martyred on March 20, 1393, on the orders of King Wenceslas IV. He was beatified in 1721 and declared a saint eight years later.
The “Swing King” of the Czech Republic, Jan Smigmator is headed to New York City this coming April to perform at the legendary Carnegie Hall. Smigmator is the first Czech solo-jazz singer to perform at the legendary venue. Amelia Mola Schmidt spoke to him about his love of music and the upcoming milestone concert in New York.
A portion of the Ukrainian child refugee population in Czechia is missing out on formal education because there aren’t enough school places for them. Schools and kindergartens are already bursting at capacity, especially in the capital.
Although now in his 80s, Geoffrey Chew is still writing about Czech music. The British/South African musicologist devoted most of his career to the music of the Czech Lands and Slovakia as Emeritus Professor of Music at Royal Holloway University in London and as editor of articles on Czech and Slovak Music for the online Grove’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians. He has also translated Czech literature, including a translation of Karel Hynek Mácha’s ‘Cikáni’ (Gypsies) which was published in 2019. For his contributions to Czech music and culture, Chew was awarded a Leoš Janáček Memorial Medal by the Leoš Janáček Foundation in 2018.
For several weeks now, Czech scouts have been making special candles for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians to be used in the trenches and during power cuts. They gathered the material in a public collection and have already produced thousands of candles.
A church in the village of Hojsova Stráž in the Šumava Mountains is one of the many properties the Catholic Church got rid of in recent years in an effort to stabilize its finances. The church was bought for a symbolic one crown by a local man, who has gradually transformed it into a vibrant cultural centre.
In recent times Covid-19 rather put a dampener on events marking St. Patrick’s Day in Czechia. This March 17, however, the country’s embassy in Prague is again celebrating the Irish national holiday in full for the first time in some years. I spoke to the Irish ambassador to Prague, Cliona Managhan.
Hundreds of people in Czechia brew their own beer at home. These "home brewer" enthusiasts are not allowed to sell their products by law, but if they could, they might put some of the big breweries to shame with their excellent homemade brews.
Czech President Pavel has signed into law a controversial government proposal to reduce the indexation of old age pensions in June of this year. At the same time, he said the procedure by which it has been pushed through Parliament was dubious and the law’s validity should be assessed by the Constitutional Court.
A new study looking at differences in tourist behaviour and motivation between countries has come up with some interesting findings - and the Prague municipal government wants to use them to attract travellers who are willing to spend more money on cultural events, historical monuments and gastronomy.
The first written mention of the Harrachov glassworks dates back to 1712, but it was most likely established years before that. Today the oldest surviving glassworks in Czechia makes luxury glass for rich clients the world over and occasionally produces special pieces on commission.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia on March 15, 1939, Czech Radio’s archive has decided to publish the digitised recordings of the trial with Karl Hermann Frank. One of the highest ranking Nazis in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, who played a key role in the infamous Lidice massacre, was sentenced to death in 1946.
The villa of the founder of the global shoe empire Baťa was not built by the famous Czech architect Jan Kotěra as had been assumed by historians for many decades. Freshly discovered evidence from the archives shows that the building, which now functions as the headquarters of the Thomas Bata Foundation, was in fact constructed by a lesser known architect called František Novák.
A new documentary looking at many aspects of the Covid period in Czechia hits cinemas this Thursday, the third anniversary of the country’s first coronavirus lockdown. Entitled Velké nic, or The Great Nothing, the thought-provoking black and white film is directed by Vít Klusák and Marika Pecháčková.
Inflatech Decoy is a Czech company from Děčín which has become a market leader in the production of high-end inflatable models of real military equipment that can be used to deceive the enemy about real troop deployments. Their products are used for training purposes and, possibly, also in real ongoing conflicts. I spoke to Inflatech’s CEO Vojtěch Fresser and began by asking him how the decoys work and what their purpose is on the battlefield.
Leading Czech artist Krištof Kintera is known for large, often complex objects that frequently involve electricity. However, he has also been making poster-style works for two decades and these have now been assembled en masse for a major new exhibition in Prague. I spoke to Kintera at the show at the DOX gallery.
Saturday’s anti-government demonstration in Prague’s Wenceslas Square turned violent when a small portion of the protestors attempted to enter the National Museum building by force to tear down the Ukrainian flag hanging from it. 18 people were arrested, one on suspicion of endorsing genocide, and two police officers were injured.
In Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show, we’ll look back at last weekend’s Czech Lion awards and listen to some of the music from the movies that won the prestigious film prizes, including Petr Václav’s "Il Boemo", Beata Parkanová’s Slovo or Adam Sedlák’s Banger.
Michal Horáček is a man of countless talents. As a very successful song lyricist, his work is familiar to generations of Czechs. He has also been a journalist, was active in the Velvet Revolution, became extremely wealthy with a pioneering betting company and came fourth in presidential elections in 2018. It is rare to meet anybody with such a range of experiences as Mr. Horáček – and he shared several of them on a recent visit to our studio.
Following Petr Pavel’s inauguration as Czechia’s new head of state, the president’s office chief Jana Vohralíková, also assumed her post at Prague Castle. What changes is she planning? And will the castle become more accessible to the general public during Petr Pavel’s presidency?
Last week, a Czech team presented a study at the European Radiological Congress in Vienna that showed an AI that they developed called Carebot is more accurate than human radiologists at detecting suspicious lesions in lung X-rays.
Ties between Czechia and Taiwan have been significantly strengthened over the past several years. The Central European state has arguably become one of the continent’s pioneers in expanding relations with Taiwan, despite threats from Beijing. This month will see the largest Czech delegation yet travel to Taipei. It will be led by the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová. She spoke to Radio Prague International about its significance.
Retired general Petr Pavel was officially sworn into office as president of the Czech Republic on Thursday. The ceremony, which took place at Prague Castle, is part of a wider programme of inaugural events that will also see the new head of state pray in the Cathedral of Saint Vitus and greet members of the assembled public.
Petr Pavel has just been sworn in as the new Czech head of state. While the president’s role in the Czech political system is largely symbolic, the way he communicates and presents himself to the public is all the more important, says expert on strategic communication Denisa Hejlová. I spoke to her just a few hours before Pavel’s inauguration to discuss his communication style:
Czechia is set to get a new head of state. Retired general Petr Pavel, who won the presidential election two months ago, will be sworn into office on Thursday afternoon. Crowds of people could be seen gathering in front of Prague Castle already in the early morning hours to witness the inauguration ceremony, which takes place in many of the country’s most famous secular and religious sites.
On Thursday, Czechia will welcome a new First Lady to Prague Castle – Eva Pavlová. But who is she? And what role does the First Lady play in Czech politics and public life?
Like many cultural institutions, the National Theatre in Prague is struggling with growing energy costs and increasing demand to operate in a more sustainable way. It has recently installed innovative new heat recovery technology – using the body heat emitted by audience members.
The confluence of the Morava and Dyje rivers in South Moravia is set to be declared a protected landscape area, the Ministry of Environment has just announced. The “Moravian Amazon”, as it is sometimes referred to, contains the largest complex of alluvial forests in Central Europe – and may even be declared a national park in the future.
Miroslav Beinhauer is a pianist and player of the sixth-tone harmonium, an instrument conceived by the Czech pioneer of microtonal music Alois Hába in the 1930s. Beinhauer, who is probably the only person in the world to master this unique instrument, only started to play it a few years ago, when he took part in the first ever performance of Hába’s sixth-tone opera Thy Kingdom Come. Since then, he has also encouraged contemporary composers to create new repertoire for the half-forgotten instrument.
In ex-Yugoslavia in 1997, Vladimir Dzuro delivered the first European war crimes indictment from an international tribunal since WWII. The Czech also investigated the notorious 1991 massacre of Croat POWs at Ovčara near Vukovar. His story is recounted in The Investigator, a documentary by Viktor Portel that enters Czech cinemas this week. I spoke to Dzuro on the eve of its release.
Petr Václav’s Il Boemo triumphed in no fewer than six categories, including Best Film and Best Director, at the Czech Lion awards on Saturday. The biopic of 18th century Czech composer Josef Mysliveček trumped the psychological drama Arvéd, which had 12 nominations but ended up with just three statuettes.
A significant percentage of the hundreds of thousands of refugees that have fled to Czechia since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine are children. The nature of the conflict means that some of them arrive into the country completely unaccompanied by adults, or by just a part of their extended family. To find out what the government is doing to address the needs of this especially vulnerable group I spoke to Diana Šmídová, the secretary of the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the Office of Government.
Wednesday will see Miloš Zeman step down after 10 years as Czech head of state. But where does Mr. Zeman stand among the major figures of post-1989 Czech politics? And what will his legacy as president be? I discussed those questions with Dr. Sean Hanley of the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at University College London.
Composer Viktor Ullmann, who lived in Prague before being sent to the concentration camps by the Nazis, is enjoying something of a revival in Czechia.
Czechia has produced some fantastic female tennis players, one of them being Andrea Sestini Hlaváčková. Over the course of her career, she has garnered Grand Slam titles, and a silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, bringing Czechia to the centre stage of international women’s tennis. Andrea recently visited Radio Prague’s studio to talk about her career, life after tennis, and her sports show on Czech Radio.
US journalist Mark Baker spent time in Czechoslovakia in the late 1980s and was long curious whether the Communist state’s secret police kept a file on him. Eventually he did discover that not only was he being monitored in the dying days of the Cold War – the StB also wanted to recruit him as a spy. Baker, who in 2021 published the memoir Čas proměn (Times of Change), has just begun sharing this story – filled with eye-popping details – in a series of blog posts .
Small stores around the country are fast disappearing, giving way to multinational chains which are better able to withstand the impacts of the energy crisis and two-digit inflation. In the last ten years over 4,000 small stores –butchers, bakers and specialty shops - have had to close down after customers turned to cheaper products on supermarket shelves.
The organisers of the One World Festival have just revealed plans for its 25th edition, three weeks before it kicks off in Prague. This year the event will offer 75 feature-length human rights documentaries, including a number focused on Ukraine. I spoke to festival director Ondřej Kamenický.
This week saw the opening of the temporary Moravian Jewish Museum in Brno which offers an exhibition focused on the stories of local Moravian Jews through a variety of authentic objects. The site will operate until the new museum building, designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is constructed.
Czechia has come under fire from the Council of Europe for slow progress in addressing discrimination against the country’s Roma minority. What is the life of the Roma minority like in this country today, how did the Roma fare under communism and why is it so hard to root out existing prejudices against them?
One of the most beloved Czech cartoon characters, Ferdy the Ant or Ferda mravenec, turns 90 this year. Prague’s Villa Pellé is marking the anniversary with a new exhibition celebrating Ferdy the Ant’s creator, Ondřej Sekora.
Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries with a very high rate of migration. According to statistics from the Czech NGO People in Need, four people leave Moldova every hour for a better life abroad. The post-Soviet republic, located between Romania and Ukraine, is one of the six priority countries for Czech development cooperation, which focuses, among other things, on helping children.
At the end of her five-day fact-finding mission to Czechia, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic criticized the country’s slow progress in addressing discrimination against Romanies. She said that, despite the government’s good intentions, the Roma in this country still face discrimination in almost all areas of life – education, housing, on the labour market and in dealing with the police.
Thirteen film reels with five hours of footage depicting the early days of Prague Zoo were recently discovered in the Austrian Film Museum in Vienna. Prague Zoo has now released some of the material, shot mostly made between 1934 and 1937, hoping to reveal the identity of the filmmaker. I asked Prague Zoo’s spokesman Filip Mašek to tell me more about the unique discovery:
Close to 40 percent of Ukrainian refugees in Czechia plan to return home when war is over
Hundreds of independent Russian journalists who fear being prosecuted by the Kremlin could benefit from a new project being set up by Czech Vice President of the European Commission Věra Jourová. Called “Radio Free Russia”, it would include financial and legal support and could even help the establishment of a hub for Russian reporters in Prague.
The Czech tennis player Barbora Krejčíková has scored another major success. She beat the world’s top three players on her way to lifting the title at the Dubai Open at the weekend, a lucrative win that has seen her jump up the rankings.
Male close-harmony singing gained worldwide popularity in the 1920s. In 1930's Czechoslovakia the leading representative of this trend was the Melody Boys quartet.
Prague has changed enormously since 1990, but recently – with projects like the overhaul of the Masaryk Station area – it can feel like development is accelerating further. For an informed view, I spoke to the best possible guide to the city: architecture expert Adam Gebrian.
Gift for Putin has been one of the most active Czech civic groups providing direct support to Ukraine. Its best-known project has been a collection for a tank named Tomáš, which won international headlines. Now – as well as organising a concert in Prague on Saturday – it has begun a collection for Přemysl, a rocket launcher. Gift for Putin’s Jan Polák told me all about it.
General Emil Boček, the last living Czech airman who served in Britain’s RAF during WWII, celebrates his 100th birthday this Saturday. The veteran pilot, decorated with the highest state distinctions, served with the RAF’s 312 and 310 squadrons and participated in over two dozen operational flights.
On the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we look at how the event activated both the Czech state and society towards providing military, humanitarian and political aid for the war-stricken country – and how in turn Ukraine’s resistance inspired many Czechs do go the extra mile in their response.
The Czech government is facing a major battle in the lower house over a bill which would reduce the indexation of old-age pensions. While the cabinet argues the need to economize, the opposition says the government is hurting the most vulnerable group in society at time of “brutal inflation”.
Czechia’s national men's baseball team is on the road to the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo this March, but many may not be aware that this team is largely made up of professional baseball players, who also have full time careers outside of wearing Czechia’s national jersey.
The Zaporizhzhia Regional Youth Centre in Ukraine is one of the largest youth centres in Europe and has served as a volunteer headquarters since the outbreak of the war. The centre also received support from the Czech NGO People in Need and was visited recently by our reporter Daniel Ordonez.
Czechia’s annual Muriel Awards for best comic book of the year went to a comic diary by the respected Czech comic author Lucie Lomová. The book, called Každý den je nový or Every Day Starts Anew, also won the prize of the Czech Academy of Comics. I discussed the book with the academy’s director Pavel Kořínek:
Twenty-five years ago today the Czech national hockey team won gold at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano Japan. We spoke with all-star goaltender Dominik Hašek who helped lead the Czech team to glory, about how he remembers the game against Russia, what it meant for him and all of Czechia, and how he’s hoping for another gold medal in Czech hockey.
Czechia has many friends in Cambodia. And small wonder, hundreds of Cambodian graduates of Czech universities, including King Norodom Sihamoni himself, cherish fond memories of their stay in Czechia and still retain some of the Czech language skills they picked up here. And due to ongoing cooperation, the ties that bind remain strong. Czech specialists, especially medical professionals, have an excellent reputation in the country.
A series of events, organised by the NGO People in Need, will take place in Prague this week to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. They will include a video mapping on the building of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as special film screenings and an exhibition documenting the war month-by-month.
In a forthright speech on Tuesday, the head of the Czech Army said that if there were a war between NATO and Russia, the Czechs would immediately become active participants. Karel Řehka told the country’s top brass that preparations must be made now for such a possibility.
Nearly two-fifths of people who identify as LGBTQ+ in Czechia have faced harassment or insults because of their orientation or identity over the past year. And seven out of ten people think insulting remarks from politicians are widespread. This according to a new study produced by the National Institute of Mental Health and the Queer Geography group. I asked one of the authors of the study, Michal Pitoňák, why these numbers are so high.
The government should this week consider proposals from the Foreign Ministry to terminate treaties allowing Russia free rent of land on which Russian-owned buildings stand in Czechia. The Czech side are also seeking rents paid for the use of such properties. I discussed the matter with Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Dvořák, first asking how Russia came to own dozens of properties in this country.
“Continued support for Ukraine for as long as the war lasts” was the main message to come out of the Munich security conference last weekend. However, the Czech president-elect Petr Pavel stressed that Russia’s defeat could happen under various scenarios, including some that the West should try to avoid.
Naďa Urbánková, one of Czechia’s most famous pop and country signers, died this month at the age of 83. Aside from being a performer, she was also known for her roles in some of the country’s most iconic musicals such as the 1965 movie ‘If a Thousand Clarinets’, where she appeared alongside Karel Gott, Waldemar Matuška. She also starred in Jiří Menzel’s famous Oscar-winning movie Closely Watched Trains. Her funeral took place in Prague’s Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and was attended by many fans. We will listen to some selected tracks from her album “Gold Collection”, which came out on the occasion of her 80th birthday.
The new American ambassador to Czechia, Bijan Sabet, said this week that supporting US firm Westinghouse’s bid to construct a new nuclear bloc at the Dukovany power station is a priority for his embassy. Two other bidders, from South Korea and France, are in the running. I discussed the US Embassy’s plans with journalist Daniel Anýž, an expert on Czech-American relations.
The Czech Society for Ornithology has announced that the Bird of the Year for 2023 is the common pochard. A common type of duck in this part of the world, its population has dropped by a third over the past 30 years.
Prague gets a new lord mayor on Thursday, with Bohuslav Svoboda starting his second term as head of the city council. Critics question whether the Civic Democrat, who is 79, will be able to devote all his energies to the role, given his other positions.
Prague representatives of the Together coalition, the Pirate Party and the Mayors and Independents signed a coalition agreement on Wednesday, which outlines the form of their cooperation for the next four years of the city’s administration. The signing follows five months of tough negotiations.
Flat prices went down for the first time since 2013 in Czechia in the last quarter of 2022, according to the index of Hypoteční banka, a daughter company of ČSOB bank. The index suggests that the cost of an average flat fell by 0.7 percent in quarter-to-quarter terms. However, real price decline may actually be far higher than the statistics indicate.
Czech footballer Jakub Jankto has made major international headlines by becoming the highest profile player currently in the men’s game to come out as homosexual. The 27-year-old’s move has won support from the soccer community around the world.
Survey: More than half of Czech dollar millionaires increased assets despite financial downturn
February 13 is World Radio Day. Under the slogan “ Radio and Peace ”, this year the UN put the spotlight on the role of radio as an independent medium of peace making, Radio Prague International brings you this special broadcast in collaboration with journalists from Radio Canada International , Polskie Radio , Radio Romania International and Swissinfo . We explore these topics with a particular focus on how the respective countries are reporting on the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
The band Vesna has been chosen to represent the Czech Republic at this year’s Eurovision Song contest. The all-female group won the national round with the song "My Sister's Crown", beating competitors such as Markéta Irglová and Pam Rabbit.
“After the 1968 Soviet-led invasion of Czechoslovakia we always rooted for the Czech hockey team” the Israeli ambassador to Czechia, Anna Azari, says in an interview for Radio Prague International. Azari is a seasoned diplomat with a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe. She was posted to Prague in 2021, to what she calls “the friendliest country for Israel in Europe” and says it is easy for her to feel at home here, despite the fact that Czechs and Israelis are often as different as chalk and cheese.
Brno-based startup Mewery has recently had a big breakthrough – it created the first prototype of cultivated meat in the region of Central and Eastern Europe. The company says its prototype has nutritional benefits and that the method to produce it is cost-saving and unique among companies working in this field.
Czechoslovak Radio saw some of the most intense violence when the USSR led an invasion of the country in August 1968. That traumatic moment and the preceding Prague Spring period are the setting for a new film, Vlny/Waves, now being made by well-known actor-writer-director Jiří Mádl. I discussed the project with him at Czech Radio this week.
In Czechia, ice hockey is one of the most popular and celebrated sports. But while men enjoy the privilege of being able to play in different leagues based on their age and skill level, women struggle to finance and find clubs to play in.
Agriculture, water and education are three of the main areas where Czechia cooperates with Ethiopia on development. While just under a third of the country’s inhabitants live below the poverty line and more than half are illiterate, the population is growing fast. Aside from the problems this situation brings with it, such as unemployment and deforestation, Ethopia also has to fight something else caused by the developed world: climate change.
Czech hockey legend Jaromír Jágr has scored the 1,099th goal of his professional career, surpassing Wayne Gretzky, who had 1,098.
Czech “Mardi Gras” celebrations have kicked off around the country. The Zubrnice Open-Air Museum in Ústí nad Labem organized the traditional carnival procession of masks in their locality.
The annual Grammy Awards are due to be announced in the United States on Sunday night. To mark the occasion, we’ll listen to Czech musicians who have received the prestigious award in the past, most of them in the classical music category.
The series of eight murders committed by Jaroslav and Dana Stodol in 2001 and 2002 are unprecedented in the history of Czech criminology. The case was exceptional not only because of the scale and cruelty of the crimes, but also because of several grave errors on the part of the police.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the six countries which the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently focussing on in its development cooperation programmes. Due to its linguistic and cultural proximity to the Balkan state, the Czech Republic has been developing close partnerships there since the 1990s and has also been supporting it in its preparations for EU accession.
Have you ever tried in vain to identify the pests that are eating your houseplants? A new technology, developed by a Czech start-up, could make it easier. It can classify over six thousand insects using Artificial Intelligence. All you need to do is take a picture with your mobile phone and upload it to the Insect.id website.
After a divisive and sometimes bitter campaign, Petr Pavel beat Andrej Babiš by a decisive margin in the Czech presidential elections at the weekend. The future head of state now says he intends to listen to voters across the political spectrum – but does not wish to appear on postage stamps.
A meeting of lovers of PC, board, arcade and retro games, Pokemon, comics and cosplay took place in Plzeň at the weekend as part of the second year of the science fiction and fantasy festival Co.Con.
Václav Chochola, a native of Prague’s Libeň district, is often associated with snapshots of city suburbs. But he also photographed famous Czech and world personalities such as Jan Werich and Salvador Dali.
Events marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism are being held around Czechia on Friday. A special commemorative event attended by foreign diplomats and members of the Jewish community in Czechia is being held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There has only been one Czech Nobel Prize winner in a scientific field to date – Jaroslav Heyrovský, who won it in chemistry in 1959 for his invention of the polarographic method. But another one could have followed just a year later, if not for the Soviet scientific terminology that Czechoslovak scientists were made to use in the 1950s.
During the eleventh year of the international championship in historical skiing in Staré Hamry - Gruň in the Beskydy Mountains, a competitor skis the slope in telemark style.
The Czech government’s humanitarian aid program MEDEVAC provides medical assistance to people in need the world over. In war-torn Ukraine it is literally helping to save lives.
It was her skill as an artist that saved Brno-born Dina Gottliebová-Babbittová from death in Auschwitz’s gas chamber. She was protected by the angel of death himself, SS doctor Josef Mengele.
Folk, rock, jazz, pop music - the musical tastes of Czechoslovak and later Czech presidents differed significantly. Václav Havel had the most friends among musicians, including world stars.
Foreign Minister criticizes ambassador to Israel over meeting with pro-Russian activist
A team of Czech scientists say that they have discovered a parasite with a uniquely chaotic gene structure unreadable to viruses. Their research has since been published in the prestigious science journal Nature. The team believes its findings could also help treat human diseases in the future.
This week people have the rare opportunity to view the authentic Bohemian crown jewels which have been put on display at St. Vitus Cathedral along with a sacred relic – the scull of St. Wenceslas, the nation’s patron saint. They are being displayed on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the founding of the modern Czech state.
On 16 January 1969, Czech student Jan Palach set himself on fire on Prague’s Wenceslas Square in protest against apathy in the wake of the Soviet occupation of his country. He died three days later. Fifty-four years on, his actions are still relevant, says speaker of the Chamber of Deputies and leader of the TOP 09 party, Markéta Pekarová Adamová.
Right after coming second in round one of elections to the Czech presidency, Andrej Babiš attacked his rival for the post, Petr Pavel, referring to the latter’s alleged communist-era intelligence training. Mr. Babiš later released billboards implying the former army chief could lead Czechs to war. But how likely is this aggressive approach to succeed? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
The next president of Czechia will be either Petr Pavel or Andrej Babiš. The ex-head of the Czech Army will go into a second-round run-off against the billionaire ex-PM and ANO chairman in a fortnight’s time.
The first round of presidential elections is taking place in Czechia this Friday and Saturday. Eight candidates are vying for the position of Czech head of state to replace the incumbent president, Miloš Zeman, whose second term in office ends on March 8. He was the first Czech president to be elected by popular vote.
A proposal put forward by a group of five coalition MPs to make October 12 the official Day of Samizdat was approved by the government this week. Although not a state holiday, the marking of the date as a significant day in the Czech calendar brings recognition to the people who risked and suffered persecution by the Communist state between 1948 and 1989 due to their “illicit” activities.
John F. Kotouc is the Co-CEO and Co-Chair of the American National Bank for the midwestern region of the United States. Descended from a family of Czech immigrants to Nebraska, he is also a member of the American Friends of the Czech Republic. He recently visited Radio Prague International’s studios and spoke to us, among other things, about the organisation and its aims.
Jan Zrzavý was a painter, illustrator and scenographer, and a leading representative of the Czech avant-garde. He was a mysterious, solitary artist living in his own world, rarely open to anyone else. Although he was never admitted to the Prague Academy of Arts, his paintings now sell for millions of dollars at auction.
Although still a largely unknown sport among the majority of Czechs, cricket has been played in Czechia since at least the 1990s. Today the country boasts several leagues as well as a national team that has even set some records. The sport is especially popular among expats from Commonwealth countries, but there are also promising signs that the next generation of players may be home-grown.
The Plzeň 35th Regiment, whose fame is reflected in a song familiar to many Czechs, was founded in 1683.
2022 was a very busy year for the Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský. He became a major supporter of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion of the country in February, regularly calling out Moscow’s aggression in forthright language. The issue of the war was also key during the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of the year. Numerous aspects of the Ukraine conflict came up when Mr. Lipavský visited our studio this week, but the conversation also took in the Visegrad Four, China – and several other issues.
Constitutional Court dealing with complaint over former communist bosses not being prosecuted for deaths on Iron Curtain
The Czech government has approved an amendment to the Road Traffic Act that will mean higher penalties for the most serious transgressions such as speeding and drink-driving, while allowing young people to start driving a year earlier, from the age of 17, under the supervision of a parent. The proposed changes are expected to go into force next year.
Soviet-era Russian dissident Viktor Fainberg, one of the eight brave human rights activists who risked their lives to protest against the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, has died at the age of 91. Fainberg was locked up in a psychiatric hospital for five years for his brave action and later emigrated to the West where remained a vocal defender of human rights the world over.
Jaroslav Hašek, author of the most translated Czech book The Good Soldier Švejk, died 100 years ago today ( January 3, 1923) before he had reached the age of forty. Vit Pohanka looks at the life and work of this improbable titan of Czech literature.
People across Czechia are getting ready for Saturday’s New Year’s celebrations. Here is a summary of some of the events that are happening in the big cities.
Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, when families get together to eat, drink, and be merry. But for seriously ill children who have to spend the festive season in hospital, it may be neither a time of joy nor one they can spend with their families. That’s where the organization Puppets in Hospitals comes in.
Ivo Rolčík has been monitoring the weather in the Šumava Mountains since his childhood. The frost hunter and amateur meteorologist cooperates with the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute and manages six weather stations in Volary and its surroundings.
Olena Huseinova is a poet and radio journalist from Kyiv. When she visited Czechia recently to present the work of Ukrainian poets, we invited her to Radio Prague’s studio to talk about her life in the midst of war and the importance of art in coming to terms with suffering and loss.
The Moravia Brass Band is the largest brass ensemble in the Czech Republic. Made up of 30 musicians led by Japanese conductor Chuhei Iwasaki, the orchestra was founded in July 2017 and since its inception has played dozens of concerts in venues around the country.
The highlight of the Christmas celebrations for Czechs is Christmas Eve, when families and friends gather for the traditional Christmas dinner of fried carp and potato salad, listen to Jakub Jan Ryba’s Christmas mass and open their presents. Vit Pohanka reports on the food and customs linked to the Czech Christmas, traditions that are observed not only in this country but by thousands of people with Czech roots abroad.
Virtually every Czech household will be eating some form of potato salad as part of their Christmas Eve dinner – but everyone seems to have their own recipe and surprisingly the list of ingredients can spark heated debate between the “traditionalist” and “liberal” camps. To find out what most Czechs put into their potato salad, and whether there are any significant regional differences, a team of data journalists at Czech Radio polled a number of listeners and did a statistical analysis on the results.
On Saturday, December 24, many Czechs will be putting up and decorating Christmas trees – and enjoying the common seasonal dinner of carp and potato salad. But while Czech seasonal traditions are much loved, some are relatively new – and have fascinating regional variations.
For readers around the world, Josef Lada's illustrations of the Good Soldier Švejk are inextricably linked to the famous character created by Jaroslav Hašek. But Lada did far more than illustrate Hašek's novel, and his idealised paintings of carol singers and family gatherings are for many in Czechia an enduring symbol of Christmas.
Subsidiaries of Babiš's Agrofert ordered by court to return fraudulently acquired funds
Over a million Christmas trees are sold in Czechia each year, many of them having been imported from as far as Denmark and Norway. A new initiative, called Zachraň stromek or Save a Tree, has come up with a more sustainable way of celebrating Christmas. It offers locally grown trees that would never make it to the market due to their imperfections. I discussed the project with one of its authors, Jana Brišová, and first asked her how she got the idea to sell crooked Christmas trees:
Ester Ledecká has been crowned Czech Sportsperson of the Year for the second time. The 27-year-old took her third Olympic gold medal in Beijing – but perhaps surprisingly says that wasn’t the high point of her 2022.
The annual Christmas ice swimming competition in the Vltava River, known as the Alfred Nikodém Memorial, is taking place for the 76th time this Monday. Every year several hundred people take part in the event, which honours the founder of the sport in Czechia.
Despite the economic crisis, Czechs have donated a record amount to charity this year. According to preliminary statistics of the Czech Donors Forum, the final sum collected in 2022 is expected to reach some CZK 15 billion. This year, the money was mostly raised to help war-stricken Ukraine.
Czech artist Yemi Ayinkemi Dele (professionally known as Yemi A.D.) is one of eight people selected to join Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa on a trip around the Moon on board Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket next year. The dancer and choreographer with Nigerian roots, who has worked with Madonna and Kanye West, was handpicked from more than a million candidates. I caught up with him shortly after the news was announced to discuss what it feels like to be Czechia’s first space tourist, and started by asking him how he got involved in the project:
The number of electric vehicles in Czechia is growing and according to official estimates their number could reach 100,000 by 2030. Most of them will be in the capital city. Prague has therefore decided to increase the number of charging stations available. Drivers will find them, among other places, in the smart lampposts lining the streets of Prague’s Vinohrady district.
Kateřina Siniaková has won the Golden Canary award for Czech tennis player of the year for the first time. The 26-year-old is currently world number one in doubles.
Czechia’s six-month presidency of the European Union is slowly coming to a close. Petr Fiala’s cabinet took over the role at a challenging moment, with Russia still waging war against Ukraine and energy prices rocketing. So what have been the main achievements of the Czech presidency? That’s a question I put to Filip Nerad, head of the international news department at Czech Radio.
With only weeks to go until the elections, a new poll suggests the three frontrunners in elections for the Czech presidency are neck and neck. For ages it seemed it would be a battle between Andrej Babiš and Petr Pavel, but recently Danuše Nerudová has emerged as a serious contender. How has she achieved this surge? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
Independent Prague cinema Kino Pilotů received a prize for Best Programming at the Europa Cinemas Awards earlier this month – the first time a Czech movie theatre has won. But what makes the small “kino” so special?
Nobody is as impacted by the freezing weather we have had recently in Czechia as the homeless. However, some are being helped by the Iglou, which offers an alternative to night shelters. The portable emergency shelter was introduced to this country by Frenchman Manu Chilaud and his partner Pavla Klečková – and the two are now bringing it to states as far afield as Canada. Chilaud spoke to me from Ostrava, where he has lived for some years and, alongside non-profit work with Iglou, is senior director of manufacturing for a major international firm.
This edition of Sunday Music Show marks the Fourth Sunday of Advent, called Golden Sunday here in Czechia, when people light the last candle on their Christmas wreath. To help you get into the festive spirit we’ll be listening to some of the best known Czech Christmas songs, featuring Karel Gott, Eva Farna and other Czech pop stars.
Toyen was unconventional in many ways for a woman of her time and even by today's standards, both in her life and art. She rejected gender conformism, favouring a gender-neutral pseudonym over her birth name, referring to herself in Czech using masculine grammatical forms when speaking in the first person, and often dressing in masculine-style clothing.
Český Krumlov, one of Czechia’s best preserved historic towns, is celebrating three decades since it was added to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The listing placed the town on the global tourist map with tens of millions of visitors having traveled there since.
The number of cross-cultural marriages in Czechia is on the rise. Last year alone close to 5,000 Czechs tied the knot with a partner from a different cultural background. Kevin Loo explores the challenges and joys of being married to a Czech partner and making a new home in Czechia.
A new street dedicated to the late Czech president, dissident and playwright Václav Havel was unveiled in Luxembourg on Tuesday. The ceremony, marking a symbolic end to the Czech presidency of the EU Council, was attended by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and his Luxembourg counterpart Xavier Bettel.
Architect Jan Kaplický earned an international reputation for futuristic projects that often resemble something out of a sci-fi movie. Now one of his earliest realised projects, a London apartment designed in the 1980s, has been brought back to life at an exhibition in Prague.
With Christmas just around the corner, there’s no better time than now to stop by one of Prague’s many Christmas markets. Czechs may be buying less this year but they are enjoying the good cheer.
Shelters and temporary housing across Czechia are starting to fill up with homeless people who are being driven off the streets by freezing cold weather that hit the country in recent days. However, many organizations caring for those sleeping rough, especially in the capital, say they are already full.
A new project on the Google Arts & Culture platform is a real treasure trove, bringing together over 3,000 Czech art works from some of the country’s top institutions. Entitled The HeART of Czechia , it was launched within the Czech EU presidency. I discussed it with Liudmila Kobyakova, program manager at Google Arts & Culture.
EU foreign ministers are presently meeting in Brussels to debate a ninth package of sanctions against Russia proposed by the European Commission. Helping to reaching broad agreement on the proposal is the last important foreign policy task for the Czech presidency before it hands over the lead role to Sweden at the end of this year.
Václav Havel is coming to Czech schools. Well, not exactly, but an AI version of him is to be introduced into the civic education curriculum of several Czech secondary schools from January of next year with the aim of educating children about topics such as freedom, democracy and human rights. To find out more about the project I spoke to Alena Resl from the Czech office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, one of the organisations behind the project, and began by asking her what exactly DigiHavel is?
Czechs are not very mobile or quick to act. At least that is the generally accepted truth. But are Czechs as a nation really lacking in enterprising spirit, curiosity, and mobility?
An international team of scientists working to save the northern white rhino from extinction has announced a major breakthrough. They have succeeded in cultivating primordial germ cells, the precursors of rhino eggs and sperm, from stem cells. I discussed the latest achievement with Jan Stejskal of Dvůr Králové Zoo, which is spearheading the international effort to save the rhinos:
In the coming months, Czechia will employ thousands of experts from Ukraine in its arms manufacturing industry, thanks to a deal struck between Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting the pair had in October.
Along with Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák is perhaps the best known Czech composer. Contemporary accounts from the time of his life show that it was not just Dvořák’s music that made an impression on people, but his character as well.
“Digital nomad” is a phrase that many of us have been hearing increasingly frequently in recent years. In 2021, Merriam-Webster even added the term to their dictionary. And Czechs are no exception to this trend – more and more of them are getting a taste for the digital nomad lifestyle too.
If you wander into any Czech chapel or church during the festive season you are likely to see elaborate nativity scenes on display. These ‘betlémy’, as they are known in Czech, have a long and interesting history – and a large private collection of them can be viewed at the Museum of Nativity Scenes in Karlštejn.
The EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA), whose headquarters are located in Prague, is set to open up to visitors from the public this Friday and Saturday for the first time since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The rapidly expanding agency, which manages Europe’s navigation, observation and communications systems from space, has prepared a wide array of events, ranging from a satellite image exhibition to various workshops and lectures.
Fumio Obata is a British-based Japanese comic artist who specializes in ‘comic reportage’. This summer, he spent a three-week residency programme in Prague, organised by the Czech Literary Centre in cooperation with the international Lakes Comic Art Festival , during which he worked on his new book about Franz Kafka. What sparked his interest in the writer? And how does Franz Kafka go together with comics? These are just some of the questions I asked him during his recent visit to Prague:
December 7 marks exactly 104 years since the formation of the Prague Castle Guard. The unit tasked with guarding the Czechoslovak and later Czech head of state went through several transformations during its history.
At least two-fifths of Czechs believe that victims of rape are partly responsible for the crime, for example because of the way they dress or behave, suggests a new survey commissioned by human rights watchdog Amnesty International. The good news is that the number of Czechs who hold this view has been on the decline in recent years. I discussed the outcome of the survey with Amnesty’s campaigns and advocacy manager Irena Hůlová:
Single-use plastic packaging contributes to landfill waste and microplastics in the oceans and drinking water. Small Czech firm Myco's mycelium-based packaging material offers a completely biodegradable alternative – and received recognition for it at this year's Energy Globe World Awards.
Prague Castle has announced that Bohemia’s crown jewels and the skull of Saint Wenceslas will be displayed to the public in January next year, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Czech Republic. Next year’s exhibition will be all the more special as people will have the chance to view the objects within the spaces of Prague’s Saint Vitus Cathedral for the first time since 1955.
On the evening of December 5, Mikuláš – or Saint Nicholas as he is known in the English-speaking world – will be making his comeback in Czechia after a two-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
After five years, British ambassador Nick Archer’s time in Prague is now coming to an end. In an interview on the eve of his departure, the career diplomat discusses a wide range of subjects. These include the joys of having exclusive use of a Malá Strana palace during lockdown, lobbying for the expulsion of Russian diplomats and how his teenage sons discovered Prague as a “city of the night”.
Tunnel Vision by Lazer Viking is sure to feature in many Czech LPs of the Year lists. On this latest record the artist, AKA Jakub Kaifosz, has abandoned the guitars of previous releases for a pure ‘80s, super catchy synth pop sound. What hasn’t changed are Lazer Viking’s phenomenal vocals (unlike many Czech male vocalists, this guy can sing!) and as-good-as-it-gets songwriting.
Unique photographs from the WWII Terezín ghetto are set to be shown at the European Parliament in Brussels as the six-month Czech presidency of the EU comes to a close. The photos had been lost for decades and only recently came to light.
There is a saying: “Every Czech a musician”. But is there any truth in it? One can hardly doubt, that this country has a very long and rich musical tradition. But are Czechs really more musical than other nations? Vít Pohanka set out to find out, whether this saying is more a cliché than reality.
Carp has been the traditional Christmas dish for centuries. But it is only now that scientists have discovered its other possible uses – in smoothing out wrinkles and making jelly bears.
The Prague food scene is becoming increasingly diverse, with more room for cuisines outside of traditional Czech food. While Japanese, Vietnamese, and Indian places continue to pop up, restaurants serving Carribean food, and specifically Jamaican cuisine, remain few and far between.
For two weeks this month, the nationwide ‘Den poezie’ or Poetry Day festival took place in roughly 50 towns and cities throughout the Czech Republic. The festival, now in its 24th year, takes place annually around the birthday of the great Czech Romantic poet, Karel Hynek Mácha. This year, there were two events in English – one involving a project where three Scottish poets and three Czech poets translated each other’s work – despite none of the Scottish poets speaking Czech.
Prague is currently hosting the fifth edition of the annual Czech Space Week festival, which features a wide range of events for experts in the field, as well as for related businesses and the wider public. The launch of the festival was accompanied by a government announcement that Czechia will increase its contribution into European Space Agency (ESA) programmes, a move that should also help domestic companies that are active in the space sector.
Coca-Cola is one of the world's most recognised brands, but if you are someone who’s spent any length of time in the Czech Republic you will likely have noticed that the Czechs have their own alternative – the similarly-named and similar-looking soft drink Kofola. However, Kofola has quite a distinct taste from Coke, Pepsi, and other cola-flavoured drinks – and for foreigners who are new to the Czech beverage, the flavour can come as a bit of a shock. Despite this, popular Swedish blogger SwedishNomad included Kofola on his beverage bucket list as one of the drinks that everyone has to try at least once before they die, so it does have a following abroad, if a somewhat niche one.
Two years ago, a small Czech studio called Play By Ear released an interactive audio game, in which players navigate their way through a mysterious detective story using their smartphones. Now they have put out an English version, called Evidence 111, starring, among others, the famous British actress Rosamund Pike.
What is the European Union and the wider Western world doing to tackle financial crime? And can financial tools be used to curb hostile regimes such as the one in Russia? These are some of the questions that are being explored by the Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies (CFCS), a part of Britain’s leading security think tank - the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). I caught up with the founder and director of CFCS, Tom Keatinge, when he was in Prague attending an event organised by the Prague Security Studies Institute last week. He warned that dirty money is undermining European democracy and I asked him how.
On Monday night, members of the Chinese community in Prague gathered in Prague’s Národní trída, in a show of solidarity with the anti-government protests that have broken out across China. Many donned facemasks to protect themselves and feared to speak openly.
More than a quarter of a million people in Czechia are currently either homeless or facing a housing crisis, according to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. Experts believe that this number is likely to rise in the near future as the effects of the energy crisis become more apparent.
Hundreds of people turned out for the official tree lighting ceremony on Prague’s Old Town Square on Sunday. After an enforced two-year Covid break, the traditional Christmas market is back with close to 80 stalls selling hand-made Christmas decorations, small gifts and refreshments.
Nine people are in the running to succeed Miloš Zeman as Czech president in elections in January, after fulfilling the necessary criteria. Two, Petr Pavel and Danuše Nerudová, collected 50,000 signatures, while the remainder secured the backing of legislators. But, now the field has officially been declared, who are the candidates?
Many of Prague’s trams and busses, including the historic Ringhoffer and Irisbus Citelis 12 M are decked out for Christmas adding to the festive mood in the Czech capital. Passengers will be able to enjoy the sight until January 6, 2023.
Ministry: More than a quarter-million people in Czechia suffer from inadequate housing conditions
Not even boundless loyalty to the Soviet Union could save Rudolf Slánský, a general secretary of the Communist Party, from the death penalty in a trial that culminated on 27 November 1952.
Musician, composer and multi-instrumentalist Jiří Stivín turned 80 this week. As every year, he will celebrate with a concert in tribute to St. Cecilia, the patron of musicians.
The grand Pařížská street has just ranked 17th in the latest analysis of the world’s most expensive streets, overtaking its old rival Na Příkopě.
The Old Town Bridge Tower, a gateway to Charles Bridge, which dates back to the 14th century, is to undergo extensive renovation. The tower is steeped in history, having witnessed the coronation procession of Czech kings on their way to Prague Castle.
The European Space Agency announced its new team of astronauts at the Grand Palais Éphémère in Paris on Wednesday – and among them is Czech fighter pilot Aleš Svoboda. Svoboda is part of the reserve pool, but if he gets to go into space, he will become the second Czech ever to do so.
Tereza Stehlíková is a film and visual artist engaged in cross-disciplinary research at the intersection of art, philosophy, and science. As well as an interest in landscape and place, Stehlíková has devoted much of her career to exploring how the different senses interact with one another – particularly how moving images can be used to communicate embodied experience, how the audio-visual senses can evoke touch, taste, and smell, and the connection of the senses with emotions and memory. On December 1 she will be hosting a multidisciplinary symposium in Prague, bringing together artists, scientists and philosophers to discuss humans’ relationship to our physical environment.
The Czech Army must prioritise being able to fight in a largescale war against a sophisticated opponent, the Chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff Karel Řehka said on Tuesday at the armed forces’ annual meeting of commanders. Despite next year’s budget being nearly double that what it was five years ago, General Řehka said that the army’s capabilities will still be lacking in the near future and called therefore for “brutal effectiveness”.
Scientists at Mendel University in Brno are exploring the possibility of using cyanobacteria to clean up plastic waste in the oceans. After special treatment, the photosynthetic microscopic organisms could break down micro-particles of plastic waste, which accumulates in so-called garbage patches in the oceans.
GZ Media, based at Loděnice near Prague, produces vinyl records around the clock in order to meet huge demand. In fact the company, which also has three plants in North America, is the world’s biggest producer of a music medium that many thought was bound for the dustbin of history.
This year will see real wage decline in Czechia reach 8.3 percent, the largest such drop within the Visegrad Group (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia), according to an analysis conducted by investment firm Cyrrus. Meanwhile, for next year the firm expects real wages to fall by 0.1 percent. I asked Cyrrus’ chief economist Vít Hradil why this is the case.
The Senate is due to convene on Wednesday for its opening session after the elections and the first issue on its agenda is raising eyebrows. The upper chamber will address a proposal by two of its members for the Senate to hand out “fidelity” awards for long-lasting marriages.
A papier-mâché effigy of the Russian and Belarusian leaders Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, made famous at anti-Russian demonstrations in Prague over the past year and a half, has now been put to auction. Bidding starts at 10,000 euros.
Traditionally, the first snow of the winter season is meant to be brought to Czechia by Saint Martin riding in on his white horse on St. Martin's Day (November 11). This year, however, the first snow came to Prague a week later. On Friday night, the first flakes began to fall and gradually formed a thin layer on the ground. The snow remained there the following day and could still be seen in some parts of the city on Sunday.
Václav Brožík is arguably the most famous Czech painter of the late 19th century and the best-known representative of the style of Czech historicism. His artworks, often addressing important moments of Czech history, grace some of the most important buildings in Prague, including the Old Town Hall, the National Theatre and the National Museum.
This year’s Czech Nightingales saw Lucie Bílá win her 21st Golden Nightingale for best female singer. She was also voted, for the twelfth time already, the overall Czech Nightingale winner of 2022. The best male signer award went to last year’s winner Marek Ztracený. Calin Palfini, a singer with Moldavian roots, was chosen by voters as this year’s Czech music discovery. Meanwhile the rock band Kabát won the Nightingale for best band. ATMO received the Nightingale in the Hip Hop & Rap category and Jiří Suchý was inducted into the Hall of Fame. We will look at their music in this week’s Sunday Music Show.
The National Gallery in Prague has acquired a particularly valuable item – a wood carving of Mary sitting on a heavenly throne with baby Jesus resting on her lap and surrounded by three angels. The object is being called the Madonna from Havraň and is believed to have been carved during the 1360s or 1370s.
Don Hall grew up in the Deep South of the United States, in a poor, conservative, religious family. He became a successful evangelical Christian minister and was preaching to crowds of people all over the southeastern United States. But he was deeply unhappy because he held a secret that would ruin him if it were found out – he was gay.
This Thursday saw the 33rd anniversary of the onset of the Velvet Revolution. Commemorative events as well as demonstrations were held across the country.
A picture can paint a thousand words. This is certainly the case with the photograph of a pregnant woman being carried out on a stretcher by five paramedics from a Mariupol hospital, where a Russian bomb had just landed on March 9th 2022. This picture by Ukrainian photojournalist Evgeniy Maloletka has become a symbol of the Russian war in Ukraine. It made such an impact on Czech writer Kateřina Tučková that, when a few days after the bombing, Czech Radio asked her for a short story about the war, she was in no doubt as to what the topic would be. She filled in with words the gaps left by the photo and thus tried to save the nameless war victims from disappearing into the annals of history. You can hear her short story Epitaph read by Czech actress Petra Bučková .
“Czechs have golden hands,” boasts a popular saying meaning, that Czechs are generally manually a very skillful nation. Economists do not doubt that the Czech economic success is based on a long tradition of manufacturing and other industries. But can there be any truth in such a claim in the highly globalized, high-tech economy of the 21st century?
Teams of archaeologists and anthropologists are currently excavating on the site of the former military cemetery in Prague’s Karlín district. The site was in use from the second half of the 1700s to the end of the 19th century and excavators believe that many of the remains belong to men who were casualties of the Napoleonic Wars.
Czech officials have responded with concern to the news that two allegedly Russian missiles hit Polish territory on Tuesday, killing two people. Czechia has said it will coordinate with its EU and NATO partners and support whatever action is agreed on.
Hand-made Bohemia crystal-glass and glass jewelry have a centuries old tradition that is taken to new heights by cutting-edge technology. Stunning crystal glass lighting installations, art works and glasses grace palaces, luxury hotels, public spaces and private residences worldwide. Bohemia glass artisans pioneered a technique for replicating the look of precious stones, producing cut-glass crystals that closely resembled diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds sought after the world over.
An exhibition presenting the life’s work of the twin sisters Jitka and Květa Válová got underway in Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region in Kutná Hora earlier this month. Entitled A Path Destined by Faith, it presents numerous works on loan from other galleries, as well as works from both sisters’ estates that were donated to the gallery's collection in 2021, marking the centenary of the sisters’ birth.
University students across Czechia are taking part in protests against climate change, calling on the government to take immediate action to address global warming, soaring energy prices and growing social inequalities. The series of events, including sleep-in and sit-in protests as well as demonstrations, started on Monday and will culminate on Thursday with a march through Prague. I discussed the events with one of the organisers, Anežka Lindaurová:
The newly-restored greenhouse in the garden of the Augustinian abbey in Brno where the father of modern genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel, cross-bred pea plants and thereby discovered the laws of heredity, opened to the public for the first time on Saturday afternoon. The ceremonial opening was planned to coincide with the anniversary celebrations of the bicentenary of Mendel’s birth.
The Czech men’s national floorball team has just registered its greatest international success in nearly two decades, reaching the final of the World Championships in Switzerland. Despite losing to Sweden 3:9 in Sunday’s final, recent Czech successes at junior level suggest that this may be a sign of things to come.
Proponents of “Czechia” got a boost this month, when Olympic officials in Prague asked the International Olympic Committee to register it in its database of country names. But will the short name ever replace the official “the Czech Republic” in common speech? I discussed the matter with leading Czech linguist Karel Oliva.
Czech band Vltava recently released a new album, much to the delight of their fans who have been waiting six years since the last one. Indeed, fans were so eager for its release that they supported its creation with a crowdfunding campaign.
This year’s celebrations of November 17, the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, will see the centre of Prague and many other cities across Czechia fill up with events and festivities. The organisers of one of the largest annual events, the Festival of Freedom, opened up about their programme earlier this week. It includes the annual Concert for the Future on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, where there will be a performance by the famous Russian music group Pussy Riot, says spokesman Marek Cieslar.
Andrea Vytlačilová is only 26 years old – but has the extremely impressive CV you’d expect of a person with many more years of life behind them. Already with work experience under her belt from fashion houses such as Marc Jacobs in New York, Acne Studio in Stockholm, and Kenzo in Paris, and collaborations with famous names like Versace, Swarovski, and 20th Century Fox, Andrea is an up-and-coming designer who was voted one of Forbes Czechia’s 30 under 30.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala is meeting with his Slovak counterpart Eduard Heger this Thursday in Prague. The chief topic on the agenda is the issue of illegal migration and the associated border controls between the two countries which the Czech government recently reinstated. Slovakia is unhappy with the Czech measure, arguing that it goes against Schengen Area rules.
A new Czech Children’s Book Centre has recently opened in Prague with the aim of promoting quality children’s books by small publishers and encouraging a love of reading among the young. The institution, located at Janský Vršek just below Prague Castle, also serves as a meeting place for authors, illustrators and readers of all ages.
Dumplings, poppy-seed cakes and Czech traditions help keep the memory of the “old country” alive in the community of second and third generation Canadian Czechs in Saskatchewan province, Canada. A group of local enthusiasts are now also working to restore a derelict Jan Hus church built and used by their forefathers.
A previously unknown work by one of the greatest Czech composers, Bohuslav Martinů, was recently discovered in the Israeli National Library in Jerusalem. Czech musicologist Natálie Krátká came across the piece while researching the library’s catalogue. On Tuesday night, it was performed for the first time in Prague.
It may be a little known fact, but Czechia houses a company that was once the main producer of photographic materials for the Eastern Bloc. The foundations of Foma Bohemia’s success were set up during the First Czechoslovak Republic. Today, the company is a leading manufacturer on the black and white photography market, as well as producing essential equipment for medical and forensics professionals.
The case of a man who was allowed to work with children after twice raping a minor has led the authorities to consider blacklisting offenders of child sex crimes.
No fewer than 21 people applied to stand in Czech presidential elections before Tuesday’s deadline for registration, though many may be disqualified. Meanwhile polls suggest Danuše Nerudová is catching up on frontrunners Petr Pavel and Andrej Babiš.
Seven miniature versions of Prague’s Communist-era brutalist buildings have been installed in a park outside the Malostranská Metro Station. The site-specific project, featuring seven illuminated sculptures cast from concrete, was created by Czech artist Krištof Kintera for Kunsthalle Praha. I discussed the installation with its curator, Christelle Havránek, who says it is a continuation of their first exhibition, called Kinetismus.
A film festival highlighting brave acts of resistance to the Nazi and Communist regimes and the people behind them is currently underway in Prague. Organized by the Museum of 20th Century Memory the festival offers screenings, lectures and debates about the turbulent events of the 20th century.
Translator, writer and tireless promoter of Czech literature Markéta Goetz-Stankiewicz passed away at the age of 95 in Vancouver on Sunday. During the 1970s and ‘80s, she became a crucial link for Czechoslovak dissidents with the West, smuggling forbidden books into Czechoslovakia and in turn smuggling dissident literature out of the country, helping to bring it into the Western consciousness.
Prague hosted the largest international fair of cannabis and medicinal herbs of its kind last weekend. Known as Cannafest, the 12th edition of the fair drew great numbers of Czechs of all ages to explore and try out the various legal cannabis products looking to break in or widen their share on the Czech market. Among them many international companies.
Written by Amal Al-Kheir (a story inspired by the life of my grandmother, Dana Svobodová)
Written by Gabby Gartner, aged fifteen (inspired by the story of my great-great-grandfather)
Written by Eva Nováková, aged 13 (inspired by my grandmother, Eva Nováková and great-grandmother Olga Szántová)
Written by Johana Trejtnar, aged seventeen (a story that starts with my great-grandmother)
Written by Martin Rada (telling the story of the village where my great-grandmother lived)
Written by Amelie Sophia Piper, aged 11 (inspired by the story of my great-great-grandfather)
Written by Michael Lovitt, aged 13 (a story about my Grandfather Jiří, when he was 10 years old in the 1950’s)
Fyield, a group of musicians from Czechia and Iceland, have just released the LP Future Landscapes. The unusual project, based on field recordings made in a variety of locations in both states, is aimed at boosting awareness of climate change. Member Václav Havelka, a well-known Czech alternative musician, outlines the spark of the endeavour.
The final resting place of the Rožmberk clan, one of the richest and mightiest noble families in the land, was veiled in mystery for over 400 years. When researchers lowered a probe into the Rožmberk crypt in the Cistercian Monastery in Vyšší Brod they mapped the remains of the entire clan. What remained a mystery was the gold ring lying on the coffin of Petr Vok –the last male member of the house.
Founded in 1974, the National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library in Cedar Rapids, Iowa is the most important institution of its kind in the US. For the last four years it has been headed by Cecilia Rokusek, who herself has deep Czech roots and was recently presented with Czechia’s Gratias Agit award for promoting the good name of the country abroad. We spoke at our studio in Prague the same week she received the annual prize.
This week’s Sunday Music Show is dedicated to rock musician Michal Ambrož, the frontman of the popular band Jasná Páka whose music was a beacon for many in a generation of Czechs that grew up in the final years of Communist Czechoslovakia. Ambrož died at the age of 68 on Monday, after suffering from a long illness. Despite his health, the musician continued to be active. Touring as recently as this year with his more recent band Hudba Praha.
Sanusi Ayomide is a 24-year-old professional dancer from Nigeria. For the past year, he has lived in Prague as part of a Nigerian mission established by Czech artist and UN Goodwill Ambassador of the Czech Republic Yemi Ayinkemi Dele (professionally known as Yemi A.D.)
The Oriental Institute (OI) of the Czech Academy of Sciences is celebrating 100 years of existence this year. One of the oldest institutions dedicated to the study of Oriental cultures in Central and Eastern Europe, the OI has played its part in furthering not just domestic but also worldwide knowledge about Asian cultures, languages and history. Marking the occasion, the institute has organised several events profiling its work for the ongoing Week of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
A joint show presenting the youngest generation of fashion designers from Czechia and Belgium is due to take place in Brussels on Saturday. The event, called WE’RE NEXT BRUSSELS, is part of a day dedicated to Czech culture and is organised by Czech Centre Brussels. I asked its director, Jitka Pánek Jurková, to tell me more about it:
On the backdrop of the ongoing Czech EU presidency, a special exhibition titled: “Design and transformation. Stories of Czech design 1990-2020” is currently on display at the Design Museum Brussels. The exhibition serves not just as an opportunity to show beautiful Czech designs and the stories of selected brands, but also as a much-needed call for a unified strategy of how to present Czech product design abroad. I spoke to one of the key figures behind the exhibition - the Vice-Rector of the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague Radek Sidun.
The Mucha exhibition which opened in July at Prague’s Waldstein Riding School has proven so popular that it has been extended until the end of the year, although it was originally slated to close on Monday. Marcus Mucha, the great-grandson of the famous artist, led Radio Prague’s Till Janzer around the exhibition.
New documentary The Investigator follows one-time Prague detective Vladimír Dzuro as he returns to former Yugoslavia, where he made a groundbreaking 1997 war crimes arrest after helping uncover a grisly mass killing. The film had its world premiere at the Jihlava documentary film festival, where I asked its young Czech director Viktor Portel what had drawn him to the subject.
A faithful replica of the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, Czechia’s most famous archaeological find, went on sale on Tuesday at the Moravian Museum in Brno. The current model is much more accurate than any of the previous ones. The prototype for the mould from which the copies were cast was based on CT scans of the original.
A faithful replica of the Venus of Dolní Věstonice, Czechia’s most famous archaeological find, went on sale on Tuesday at the Moravian Museum in Brno. The current model is much more accurate than any of the previous ones. The prototype for the mould from which the copies were cast was based on CT scans of the original.
One of the highlights of this year’s Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival was the Czech premiere of Darkening, a film by Ondřej Moravec that explores depression – via virtual reality. Headsets are used for Darkening, with several viewers experiencing it at the same time. I spoke to the director of the interactive, very personal film, which had its world premiere in Venice.
One of the highlights of this year’s Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival was the Czech premiere of Darkening, a film by Ondřej Moravec that explores depression – via virtual reality. Headsets are used for Darkening, with several viewers experiencing it at the same time. I spoke to the director of the interactive, very personal film, which had its world premiere in Venice.
Prim watches, which started to be produced more than 70 years ago, are one of the most famous Czech trademarks. For many people in Czechia, who grew up during the Communist regime, the brand is synonymous with wristwatches. Today, Prim watches are produced by two separate companies, which have been fighting over the trademark for more than two decades.
Prim watches, which started to be produced more than 70 years ago, are one of the most famous Czech trademarks. For many people in Czechia, who grew up during the Communist regime, the brand is synonymous with wristwatches. Today, Prim watches are produced by two separate companies, which have been fighting over the trademark for more than two decades.
A Czech government delegation led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala has returned from Kyiv, following a day of talks with their Ukrainian counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The trip was intended to express support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia and in its ambitions to join the EU and NATO.
Data released by Eurostat on Monday show that Czechia saw the sharpest year-on-year rise in electricity prices out of all EU member states in the first half of 2022 (+62%). The average cost of electricity for Czechs was the sixth highest in the EU and higher than in any other Visegrad Four state (Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). I asked ENA analyst and executive director of the Association of Independent Energy Suppliers Jiří Gavor why this was the case.
According to sexologists, interest in sex change among young people in Czechia is on the rise. While in 2013 a special commission at the Ministry of Health approved 47 applications for gender transition, last year it was 195.
Czechia has become an increasingly popular destination for foreign students from around the world, offering a rich cultural scene and a cost-effective, quality education in different fields of study. But for some of them finding a place to live may prove to be a challenge.
ANO party leader Andrej Babiš announced on Sunday that he will be running in the January 2023 Czech presidential election. The former prime minister made the decision despite currently being behind in the polls after several months of touring the country’s regions. I asked political analyst Petr Just why he thinks Mr Babiš ultimately decided to throw his hat in the ring.
Tens of thousands of people joined a rally “against fear” in Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Sunday. The demonstration, called by the civic association Million Moments for Democracy, came at a time when fear of rising prices and the looming energy crunch have led some Czechs to question the foreign policy of the Fiala administration and the country’s staunch support for Ukraine.
The top domestic honour at this year’s Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, the Czech Joy award, went to Kapr Code by Lucie Králová. It explores the story of the once-celebrated but now largely forgotten composer Jan Kapr – in a highly original, colourful manner. I spoke to the director just after she picked up the prize.
The great singer and dissident Marta Kubišová – who many Czechs associate with key moments in the country’s modern history – turns 80 on November 1.
A unique collection of newly discovered photographs depicting everyday life in the Terezín ghetto are currently on display at the Memorial of Silence in Prague. The previously unseen images are on display at the Bubny train station, the place which saw tens of thousands of Czech Jews leave for the ghettoes and Nazi death camps. The exhibition, called simply Album G.T., also presents the stories of the people whose identity has been revealed.
Neela Winkelmann-Heyrovská never had the chance to meet her Nobel-prize winning chemist grandfather – Jaroslav Heyrovský died in 1967 and she was born two years later. But she had to live with his legacy her whole life – which, she says, was both a blessing and a curse. To complicate matters further, she grew up in a mixed-race family in Czechoslovakia, the daughter of a Czech father and Indian mother, at a time when such things were extremely uncommon.
After nearly seven decades, the National Literature Memorial has left its premises in Prague’s Strahov Monastery and moved to its new headquarters in the district of Bubeneč. Last week it opened to the public under the name Museum of Literature.
Thousands of people gathered on Wenceslas Square in Prague on Wednesday evening to call for an end to prejudice against LGBT+ people, which led to the homophobic murder of two young men in Bratislava earlier this month.
When the #MeToo campaign resonated in the Western world many Czechs were openly sceptical and even ridiculed what they considered to be a typical excess of Western feminism. Then two cases of multiple rape made media headlines – one involving Dominik Feri, at the time the youngest MP in the lower house of Parliament, and the other Jan Cimický, a well-known and respected psychiatrist who is now charged with 28 cases of rape committed mostly on his patients over the years. These cases appear to have been an eye-opener for many in the country.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Lidice tragedy, the Czech village razed to the ground by the Nazis in 1942 as revenge for the assassination of Nazi governor Reinhard Heydrich. 340 people were murdered, including 88 children. For the last 50 years, an international children’s art competition has taken place to commemorate the child victims, and now a special exhibition comprised of some of the best entries from over the years has opened in Paris to mark the anniversary.
Czech MPs debated a windfall tax on profits in the energy and banking sectors in the lower house on Tuesday. The government plans to generate tens of billions from the tax from next year, not retroactively for 2022, as some voices in the coalition had demanded.
Rudolf Jelínek is one of Czechia’s best-known brands of slivovitz (slivovice in Czech). The plum brandy firm was set up in Moravia in the late 19th century and the brand is still going strong today.
The great Czech artist Theodor Pištěk, who turned 90 on Tuesday, won an Oscar in 1985 for his costumes for Amadeus. However, he regards himself primarily as a painter – and a cross-section of his works can now be seen at a joint exhibition in Prague with his son Jan.
The 26th edition of the Ji.hlava International Festival of Documentary Films has just got underway. This year’s edition of Czechia’s biggest documentary event will deliver nearly 100 world premieres and several valuable retrospectives. On the eve of the festival I called founder Marek Hovorka in Jihlava and asked him about the film to be screened at Tuesday night’s gala opening.
The world-renowned Czech conductor Libor Pešek has died at the age of 89. In a career spanning seven decades, Mr. Pešek, who was best-known for his interpretations of Czech music, helmed orchestras across Europe and headed the Czech Philharmonic, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Liverpool Orchestra in Britain.
Czechia has just over two more months at the helm of the EU and according to the Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek, the hardest test of its ability as a negotiator is yet to come. Prague needs to push ahead with some of the basic agreements of the Green Deal at a time when Europe is increasingly feeling the energy crunch.
Josef Václav Mysliveček, was a famous 18th century Czech composer who spent most of his life in Italy, where he was known as the ingenious 'Il Boemo'. Musicologists speak about his significant contribution to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music.
Ivan Chvatík worked closely with Jan Patočka, helping organise underground seminars for the great Czech philosopher, and since his death has done more than anybody to keep his legacy alive. Chvatík himself came to philosophy after studying nuclear physics and was also involved in the advent of computing in communist Czechoslovakia. Today an active 81-year-old, the head of the Jan Patočka Archive shared some stories from his fascinating life during a recent interview at our studios.
Screenwriter and director Patrik Křivánek has become the first Czech to win a prize at the Page International Screenwriting Award competition, which aims to discover up-and-coming scriptwriters from around the world. His story about an aging Holocaust survivor who has spent her whole life trying to escape a painful past was selected from nearly nine thousand entries.
The global network of Czech Centres operates as the cultural wing of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, promoting the Czech Republic abroad and strengthening cultural ties between countries. There are 26 Czech Centres operating in 24 countries on three continents. On a recent trip to the UK, I spoke to Přemysl Pela, director of the Czech Centre London, and started by asking him what projects they have lined up for the next few months.
The iconic Lennon Wall in Prague’s Kampa is one of the most visited sites in the Czech capital. Now a Czech artist has taken this symbol of resistance to Paris within celebrations of the Czech EU presidency.
One of Prague’s leading arts venues, the Archa theatre, has begun its final full season, with the final curtain set for the end of next year. Since its foundation in 1994 Archa has hosted some of the world’s greatest alternative theatre and dance companies, as well as musicians such as Philip Glass and Patti Smith. So why is Archa coming to an end? I asked founder Ondřej Hrab.
Following a mass expulsion of each other’s diplomats in 2021, Prague and Moscow are now engaged in a spat over diplomatic ground. The Czech Foreign Ministry has sent Russia a protest note over the dismantling of a fence around the Czech House in Moscow, while the mayor of Prague 7 is suggesting tearing down the wall around the Russian Embassy premises in Stromovka Park.
Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša is set to become music director of the Royal Opera House in London. The 41-year-old Hrůša, who is currently chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, will take over from Antonio Pappano in 2025. However, he will serve as a guest conductor at the famous Covent Garden venue in the previous season.
The 2022 Gratias Agit awards were presented at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague on Wednesday. This year the prize, which recognises efforts to promote the good name of Czechia internationally, went to seven individuals and one institution.
Say “Tesla” and most people think of electric cars. But here in Czechia people associate the brand name with a wide variety of electronic products they grew up with. During the communist era Czech households relied on Tesla radios, Tesla TV sets, Tesla gramophones, cassette recorders, CD players and a great deal else.
Currently, only one EU country has legalised recreational cannabis – and despite popular misconception, it is not the Netherlands, where the sale of cannabis is tolerated at licensed coffeeshops, but cultivation, supply and possession of cannabis still remain criminal offences. In December 2021, Malta became the first EU country to legalise cannabis for recreational use – and Czechia may be well on its way to becoming the second.
The country’s counterintelligence service BIS traditionally performs quietly and efficiently behind the scenes. But on Monday it was at the centre of media attention due to a rare visit by the prime minister, the first in 24 years.
Popular Czech actor Josef Somr passed away on Sunday at the age of 88. He played the womanising train dispatcher Hubička in the Oscar-winning 1966 film Closely Watched Trains and starred in The Joke, released in 1968.
The shooting dead last week of two young gay men in the Slovak capital Bratislava has also rocked the LGBT community in Czechia, with many drawing a link between negative portrayals of sexual minorities and acts of violence. I discussed that issue with Czech marriage equality campaigner Adéla Horáková – but first asked her about the mood among her community.
The Russian-born American conductor Semyon Bychkov, who has served as music director and the chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra since 2018. In September, his contract was extended for another five years.
Anna Fodorova is the daughter of the well-known Prague Jewish author Lenka Reinerová – but is a successful novelist in her own right, as well as a practising psychotherapist and former animator. On a recent trip to the UK, I had the pleasure of interviewing Anna in her home in South London.
Prague is hosting the 10th edition of the annual Signal Festival of light art this week. Well over a dozen venues across the Czech capital have been transformed into light installations that are spread across two routes around the Vltava river and the nearby Vinohrady and Vršovice districts. Among the highlights is a powerful installation focusing on the ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as a unique AI project created by Turkish-American artist Refik Anadol.
The Lauder School of Prague, the only Jewish educational institution in Czechia, is marking 25 years since its foundation this year. The school, which opened its first class in 1997, celebrated the anniversary this Thursday, on the occasion of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
Recently a Czech crowdfunding campaign collected CZK 33 million for a tank for Ukraine named “Tomáš”, making international headlines. This was the brainchild of Gift for Putin ( Dárek pro Putina ), which uses colourful projects to raise cash to help Ukraine repel the Russians. Jan Polák is the group’s spokesperson.
The Czech government has responded to Russia’s intensified bombing of civilian targets in Ukraine by closing its doors to Russian tourists with Schengen visas. The cabinet also approved a plan for Czechia’s participation in the reconstruction effort of the war-torn country.
According to the findings of the Czech School Inspectorate, schools have a problem finding and identifying gifted children. Teachers tend to focus more on pupils with special educational needs as they lack experience and training in identifying and educating gifted children – although gifted and talented children have their own set of special needs, which also require attention.
In the wake of worrying reports regarding the quality of care for patients in Czech mental hospitals there is a push to expand the existing network of mental health centers, which help people to avert the onset of serious problems requiring hospitalization.
The Czech furniture brand TON is synonymous for its manually bent wood furniture, created with the help of a technology that has been in continuous use for more than 160 years. The company, widely considered to be the founders of modern furniture trade, became known worldwide for its iconic bentwood chair No. 14, which remains popular to this day.
Czechia is facing the “worst security threat” in its modern history and “Russia is the Third Reich in colour”. Strong words of warning could be heard on Monday from the various heads of Czech intelligence who gathered at a special conference organised by the head of the Committee on Security of the Chamber of Deputies.
The Václav Havel Human Rights Prize was awarded on Monday to Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Russian dissident who is currently in jail for speaking out against Putin’s war in Ukraine. Michael Žantovský is head of the Václav Havel Library, one of the founders of the award, and sits on the panel that chooses the laureate. I spoke to him after the winner was announced and asked how he felt about the awarding of the prize to the Russian dissident.
All three winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize are people or organisations from the former Soviet Union: the imprisoned Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties. Memorial was banned in Russia last year for allegedly operating as a foreign agent, and the Czech branch of the organisation has been doing its best to support them since then.
With prices rising fast – and a vocal minority against the country’s support for Ukraine – some are concerned that tensions in Czech society could intensify this winter. A large “Czech Republic first” demonstration on Prague’s Wenceslas Square early last month fanned those fears, though a subsequent protest drew smaller numbers to the streets. What can we expect in this regard in the coming months? That’s just one of the questions I put to Charles University extremism expert Jan Charvát when we spoke last week.
The Czech minister of defence says the country’s army is stepping up the defence of strategic infrastructure due to the threat of Russian sabotage. Jana Černochová says Moscow is trying to weaken the arms industries in states that are helping Ukraine.
Dimitrij, which premiered in Prague at the New Czech Theatre on October 8, 1882, was Antonín Dvořák's most ambitious grand opera. Set to a libretto by Marie Červinková-Riegrová, with a plot derived from Ferdinand Mikovec's Dimitr Ivanovič – itself based upon Friedrich Schiller's incomplete Demetrius – the opera was a great popular success.
Hynek Martinec, a Czech artist originally from Broumov in northeastern Bohemia, won the BP Young Artist award at London’s National Portrait Gallery in 2007 for his hyper-realistic portrait of his partner, Zuzana, beating 1,869 other contenders. He is currently exhibiting a new portrait of his daughter titled What Are You Most Afraid Of? as part of the exhibition ABSURD at the OHSH Projects gallery in central London.
The archive of the world-famous writer Milan Kundera is currently in the process of being transported to his home city of Brno, where the collected works are being catalogued and digitised by the staff at the Moravian Library. The archive should open to visitors by February 2023.
A small farmer in the Opava region in the north-east of Czechia made a unique discovery while working in a field, unearthing a golden belt dating back to the Bronze Age. The ornamented piece, which is exceptionally well-preserved, should go on display at the Bruntál museum at the end of next year.
More than 40 leaders gathered in Prague on Thursday afternoon for the first ever summit of the European Political Community. It is a new grouping set up by France that also includes many states that are not EU members. At the summit I discussed its aims with Czech deputy foreign minister for Europe, Jaroslav Kurfürst.
According to a freshly released survey conducted by the education firm Scio, four out of ten Czech elementary school students between the ages of 11 to 15 say they often encounter verbal abuse in their class and 13 percent reported that physical abuse is relatively common as well. The authors of the study say they were particularly surprised by the lack of student knowledge about ways through which such forms of bullying can be reported.
Alena Saladiaková's original profession is a wedding coordinator, but two years ago her career unexpectedly changed course when the family decided to acquire two Alpacas as pets. Now she and her husband own four Alpacas and have established a business based on the growing popularity of llama and Alpaca therapy.
The Qatari head of state, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is currently on a state visit to Prague where he is meeting not only with Czech leaders but also with several other European representatives on the backdrop of the European summit in the Czech capital. Aside from the key topic of energy, discussions are also set to revolve around investments into the transport, spa, and weapons industry sectors.
With 100 days until Czechs elect a new president, the bookmakers have Petr Pavel as favourite. Andrej Babiš had been expected to go head to head with the ex-army man, though it is not clear whether he will run. Meanwhile the governing Together alliance have just recommended their voters back Pavel, Danuše Nerudová or Pavel Fischer. I discussed the election with political scientist Miloš Gregor.
Škoda Auto boasts one of the oldest unbroken histories among car manufacturers still operating today. It is the fifth-oldest company in the world still producing cars, after Daimler, Opel, Peugeot, and Tatra, another Czech company – meaning that two out of the five oldest car manufacturers still operating today are Czech.
The renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma has won an international competition for the design of a new Jewish Museum in the Moravian city of Brno. The striking building in the shape of a seemingly endless white ribbon with a tree in the centre was selected by an international jury, presided by the famous Czech architect Josef Pleskot:
Lenka Morávková is a sound-artist and electronic producer from North Bohemia who divides her time between Prague and Los Angeles. A few years ago, she created a one-of-a-kind glass sculpture called the Bohemian Cristal Instrument, a unique version of the legendary Cristal Baschet. The sonic explorer, as she calls herself, has since achieved wide international acclaim. She performed at the prestigious Broad Museum in Los Angeles and her video, shot in the blooming Californian desert, has attracted more than two million views.
An investigative team at Czech Radio has unveiled the shocking story of a young woman who was held in mechanical restraint in a mental home in Opava for a period of twelve years. Her fate has once again highlighted the inhumane conditions in many Czech psychiatric institutions and the urgent need for reform.
Elections to one-third of the seats in the Czech Senate were not a success for opposition leaders ANO, which took only three of 27, compared to 20 for the governing Together group. Where did it go wrong for Andrej Babiš’s party? And will the results impact how ANO approach January’s presidential election? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
Czech researchers at the Technical University of Liberec have developed a new material that could find multiple uses in interior design and various artistic fields such as the creation of perfumed jewelry. The new glass-ceramic porous material called Porous Glass Plasticine (PGP) will have its world premiere at the international glass fair glasstec in Düsseldorf later this month.
The best-known Czech pop punk band Rybičky 48 is celebrating two decades on stage. The popular band will mark the anniversary with a special show in Prague’s O2 Arena this month, performing not only their biggest hits, but also some of their latest songs from their most recent album Jedeme dál.
The 11th annual Architecture Day has got underway in more than 100 cities and towns across Czechia and Slovakia. Despite its name, the festival will run for a whole week, offering free guided tours of famous buildings as well as lesser known architectural gems, but also lectures, concerts and family workshops.
The 11th annual Architecture Day has got underway in more than 100 cities and towns across Czechia and Slovakia. Despite its name, the festival will run for a whole week, offering free guided tours of famous buildings as well as lesser known architectural gems, but also lectures, concerts and family workshops.
A forestry worker in north Bohemia came upon a valuable prehistoric treasure: a massive bracelet and other objects dating back to the Bronze Age.
A forestry worker in north Bohemia came upon a valuable prehistoric treasure: a massive bracelet and other objects dating back to the Bronze Age.
Russia’s plan to annex more of Ukraine on Friday, following sham referendums in the occupied eastern regions of the country, have drawn widespread condemnation from Western democracies. Czechia, which currently holds the EU presidency, has slammed the move as "an unacceptable farce“.
Russia’s plan to annex more of Ukraine on Friday, following sham referendums in the occupied eastern regions of the country, have drawn widespread condemnation from Western democracies. Czechia, which currently holds the EU presidency, has slammed the move as "an unacceptable farce“.
Czech Foreign Minister hopes to find political agreement on visa liberalisation for Kosovo
Czech Foreign Minister hopes to find political agreement on visa liberalisation for Kosovo
This week Prague hosted a summit of the Pact of Free Cities, a cooperation agreement that was jointly signed nearly three years ago by the mayors of Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest. The pact has since grown in membership and now also includes Kyiv whose mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, was also present at the summit where support for Ukraine was at the center of focus. I asked one of the founding members of the Pact, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, how Central Europe’s metropolises want to help.
This week Prague hosted a summit of the Pact of Free Cities, a cooperation agreement that was jointly signed nearly three years ago by the mayors of Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest. The pact has since grown in membership and now also includes Kyiv whose mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, was also present at the summit where support for Ukraine was at the center of focus. I asked one of the founding members of the Pact, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, how Central Europe’s metropolises want to help.
This week Prague hosted a summit of the Pact of Free Cities, a cooperation agreement that was jointly signed nearly three years ago by the mayors of Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, and Budapest. The pact has since grown in membership and now also includes Kyiv whose mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, was also present at the summit where support for Ukraine was at the center of focus. I asked one of the founding members of the Pact, Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, how Central Europe’s metropolises want to help.
On the occasion of Czech Statehood Day, the Czech Embassy in Canada organized a gala evening in Ottawa, awarding EU presidency medals to the Czech-Canadians who helped mold the close relationship between the two nations.
On the occasion of Czech Statehood Day, the Czech Embassy in Canada organized a gala evening in Ottawa, awarding EU presidency medals to the Czech-Canadians who helped mold the close relationship between the two nations.
On the occasion of Czech Statehood Day, the Czech Embassy in Canada organized a gala evening in Ottawa, awarding EU presidency medals to the Czech-Canadians who helped mold the close relationship between the two nations.
Czechia reinstated border controls with Slovakia for a period of ten days as of midnight Wednesday. The government ordered the move in connection with a sharp increase in illegal migration in recent weeks.
Czechia reinstated border controls with Slovakia for a period of ten days as of midnight Wednesday. The government ordered the move in connection with a sharp increase in illegal migration in recent weeks.
Czechia reinstated border controls with Slovakia for a period of ten days as of midnight Wednesday. The government ordered the move in connection with a sharp increase in illegal migration in recent weeks.
The cult of St Wenceslas is ever-present in the Czech Republic, not least in the field of music. Many people are probably familiar with the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" about a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen. But possibly fewer people abroad have heard of the St Wenceslas Chorale.
The cult of St Wenceslas is ever-present in the Czech Republic, not least in the field of music. Many people are probably familiar with the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" about a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen. But possibly fewer people abroad have heard of the St Wenceslas Chorale.
The cult of St Wenceslas is ever-present in the Czech Republic, not least in the field of music. Many people are probably familiar with the Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" about a Bohemian king who goes on a journey, braving harsh winter weather, to give alms to a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen. But possibly fewer people abroad have heard of the St Wenceslas Chorale.
Around a hundred representatives of international education agencies across Europe gathered in Prague this week to discuss current challenges facing the Erasmus+ program. The so-called Directors' Meeting is traditionally organised by the country holding the EU presidency, which is currently Czechia.
Around a hundred representatives of international education agencies across Europe gathered in Prague this week to discuss current challenges facing the Erasmus+ program. The so-called Directors' Meeting is traditionally organised by the country holding the EU presidency, which is currently Czechia.
Around a hundred representatives of international education agencies across Europe gathered in Prague this week to discuss current challenges facing the Erasmus+ program. The so-called Directors' Meeting is traditionally organised by the country holding the EU presidency, which is currently Czechia.
With inflation at over 17 percent and energy prices expected to go through the roof in the autumn, economizing has become the order of the day for the vast majority of Czechs. According to polls, eighty percent of Czechs are feeling the crunch, a third of them “very strongly”.
With inflation at over 17 percent and energy prices expected to go through the roof in the autumn, economizing has become the order of the day for the vast majority of Czechs. According to polls, eighty percent of Czechs are feeling the crunch, a third of them “very strongly”.
With inflation at over 17 percent and energy prices expected to go through the roof in the autumn, economizing has become the order of the day for the vast majority of Czechs. According to polls, eighty percent of Czechs are feeling the crunch, a third of them “very strongly”.
The Petřín cable car will soon get a new look courtesy of designer Anna Marešová and her team. It's airy, practical and sassy!
The Petřín cable car will soon get a new look courtesy of designer Anna Marešová and her team. It's airy, practical and sassy!
Four out of ten people in Czechia expect that they will be doing the same job until they retire and a further 20 percent believe that they will be doing the same job for at least another decade, according to a survey conducted by the Data Collect agency for personnel company Předvýběr.cz. The survey shows that many Czechs are unwilling to get themselves requalified despite expectations of major changes on the demand side of the labour market.
Four out of ten people in Czechia expect that they will be doing the same job until they retire and a further 20 percent believe that they will be doing the same job for at least another decade, according to a survey conducted by the Data Collect agency for personnel company Předvýběr.cz. The survey shows that many Czechs are unwilling to get themselves requalified despite expectations of major changes on the demand side of the labour market.
Four out of ten people in Czechia expect that they will be doing the same job until they retire and a further 20 percent believe that they will be doing the same job for at least another decade, according to a survey conducted by the Data Collect agency for personnel company Předvýběr.cz. The survey shows that many Czechs are unwilling to get themselves requalified despite expectations of major changes on the demand side of the labour market.
The weekend municipal and Senate elections took place in an atmosphere of growing concern about soaring energy costs, inflation and the global security situation, raising fears that this might fuel nationalist and extremist tendencies. I asked commentator Jiří Pehe whether the election results gave any indication this could be happening.
The weekend municipal and Senate elections took place in an atmosphere of growing concern about soaring energy costs, inflation and the global security situation, raising fears that this might fuel nationalist and extremist tendencies. I asked commentator Jiří Pehe whether the election results gave any indication this could be happening.
The weekend municipal and Senate elections took place in an atmosphere of growing concern about soaring energy costs, inflation and the global security situation, raising fears that this might fuel nationalist and extremist tendencies. I asked commentator Jiří Pehe whether the election results gave any indication this could be happening.
Bohemian Switzerland park director dismissed following complaints over handling of forest fire
Bohemian Switzerland park director dismissed following complaints over handling of forest fire
The 21st Prague Fringe gets underway on Monday, with organisers promising one of the best editions yet. The week-long event will also feature an act from Ukraine – and the festival is planning to bring alternative theatre to Kyiv in future. I spoke to Prague Fringe founder Steve Gove.
The 21st Prague Fringe gets underway on Monday, with organisers promising one of the best editions yet. The week-long event will also feature an act from Ukraine – and the festival is planning to bring alternative theatre to Kyiv in future. I spoke to Prague Fringe founder Steve Gove.
The 21st Prague Fringe gets underway on Monday, with organisers promising one of the best editions yet. The week-long event will also feature an act from Ukraine – and the festival is planning to bring alternative theatre to Kyiv in future. I spoke to Prague Fringe founder Steve Gove.
The 2012 Olympic champion in cross-country cycling, Jaroslav Kulhavý, has called time on a great career. The 37-year-old Czech (right) took part in his last professional event at a former industrial site at Ostrava’s Vítkovice at the weekend.
The 2012 Olympic champion in cross-country cycling, Jaroslav Kulhavý, has called time on a great career. The 37-year-old Czech (right) took part in his last professional event at a former industrial site at Ostrava’s Vítkovice at the weekend.
UK historian Mark Cornwall is an expert on Czech-German relations and the late Habsburg Empire. His book The Devil’s Wall explores the previously little-known story of Heinz Rutha, an associate of Sudeten German leader Konrad Henlein whose sexuality led to criminal charges. Cornwall is currently preparing one book that should be entitled Queer Bohemians and another on treason under Austria-Hungary. We spoke during a recent visit he made to Prague.
UK historian Mark Cornwall is an expert on Czech-German relations and the late Habsburg Empire. His book The Devil’s Wall explores the previously little-known story of Heinz Rutha, an associate of Sudeten German leader Konrad Henlein whose sexuality led to criminal charges. Cornwall is currently preparing one book that should be entitled Queer Bohemians and another on treason under Austria-Hungary. We spoke during a recent visit he made to Prague.
UK historian Mark Cornwall is an expert on Czech-German relations and the late Habsburg Empire. His book The Devil’s Wall explores the previously little-known story of Heinz Rutha, an associate of Sudeten German leader Konrad Henlein whose sexuality led to criminal charges. Cornwall is currently preparing one book that should be entitled Queer Bohemians and another on treason under Austria-Hungary. We spoke during a recent visit he made to Prague.
With the final results now out from this weekend’s municipal and Senate elections, political commentators are noting that there are is no sign of fundamental change on the Czech political scene.
With the final results now out from this weekend’s municipal and Senate elections, political commentators are noting that there are is no sign of fundamental change on the Czech political scene.
ANO takes eight regional towns in municipal elections, ruling parties dominant in Prague and Brno
ANO takes eight regional towns in municipal elections, ruling parties dominant in Prague and Brno
The first ever football match in the Czech lands is not very well documented. According to some sources it took place 135 years ago, according to others it was five years later.
The first ever football match in the Czech lands is not very well documented. According to some sources it took place 135 years ago, according to others it was five years later.
This week’s Sunday Music Show is focused on the new vinyl record Traxler 110, which will receive its ceremonial christening at the Gala Evening of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union on September 26, 2022. The record is dedicated to the Czech-Canadian singer, arranger and pianist Jiří Traxler, who co-defined the Czechoslovak First Republic’s swing music era.
This week’s Sunday Music Show is focused on the new vinyl record Traxler 110, which will receive its ceremonial christening at the Gala Evening of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union on September 26, 2022. The record is dedicated to the Czech-Canadian singer, arranger and pianist Jiří Traxler, who co-defined the Czechoslovak First Republic’s swing music era.
This week’s Sunday Music Show is focused on the new vinyl record Traxler 110, which will receive its ceremonial christening at the Gala Evening of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union on September 26, 2022. The record is dedicated to the Czech-Canadian singer, arranger and pianist Jiří Traxler, who co-defined the Czechoslovak First Republic’s swing music era.
Voting has ended in municipal elections and elections to a third of seats in the Czech Senate. Traditionally independent candidates have won the most votes followed by the ANO party. ANO will also challenge the ruling parties in the second round of elections to the Senate.
Voting has ended in municipal elections and elections to a third of seats in the Czech Senate. Traditionally independent candidates have won the most votes followed by the ANO party. ANO will also challenge the ruling parties in the second round of elections to the Senate.
Czechs have cast their votes in the 2022 municipal and Senate elections. Voting booths around the country closed precisely at 2pm and preliminary results are expected in the late afternoon or early evening.
Czechs have cast their votes in the 2022 municipal and Senate elections. Voting booths around the country closed precisely at 2pm and preliminary results are expected in the late afternoon or early evening.
Friday sees the start of the 2022 municipal and Senate elections in Czechia. Voting booths are open on Friday from 2pm to 10pm and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm. In those districts where a Senate candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a subsequent second round of elections will take place a week later.
Friday sees the start of the 2022 municipal and Senate elections in Czechia. Voting booths are open on Friday from 2pm to 10pm and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm. In those districts where a Senate candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a subsequent second round of elections will take place a week later.
Friday sees the start of the 2022 municipal and Senate elections in Czechia. Voting booths are open on Friday from 2pm to 10pm and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm. In those districts where a Senate candidate does not receive more than 50 percent of the vote, a subsequent second round of elections will take place a week later.
Following President Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation on Wednesday, there were reports of thousands of Russians leaving the country to avoid the call-up. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said that Russians fleeing their homeland for this reason do not fulfil the conditions for a humanitarian visa in the Czech Republic.
Following President Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation on Wednesday, there were reports of thousands of Russians leaving the country to avoid the call-up. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said that Russians fleeing their homeland for this reason do not fulfil the conditions for a humanitarian visa in the Czech Republic.
Following President Putin’s announcement of a partial mobilisation on Wednesday, there were reports of thousands of Russians leaving the country to avoid the call-up. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský has said that Russians fleeing their homeland for this reason do not fulfil the conditions for a humanitarian visa in the Czech Republic.
Recent weeks have seen important events take place in relation to the war that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine, whether it be the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, or Vladimir Putin’s Wednesday announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia. To find out more about the wider ramifications of the current situation on the global balance of power, I spoke to Dr Jan Kofroň, an international relations and security expert at Charles University. He said that Russia’s partial mobilisation comes far later than it should have.
Recent weeks have seen important events take place in relation to the war that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine, whether it be the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, or Vladimir Putin’s Wednesday announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia. To find out more about the wider ramifications of the current situation on the global balance of power, I spoke to Dr Jan Kofroň, an international relations and security expert at Charles University. He said that Russia’s partial mobilisation comes far later than it should have.
Recent weeks have seen important events take place in relation to the war that Russia has unleashed on Ukraine, whether it be the successful Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region, or Vladimir Putin’s Wednesday announcement of a partial mobilisation in Russia. To find out more about the wider ramifications of the current situation on the global balance of power, I spoke to Dr Jan Kofroň, an international relations and security expert at Charles University. He said that Russia’s partial mobilisation comes far later than it should have.
Lipavský: Russians fleeing mobilisation do not fulfil Czechia’s humanitarian visa requirements
Lipavský: Russians fleeing mobilisation do not fulfil Czechia’s humanitarian visa requirements
A recent public opinion survey of Czech attitudes to environmental issues suggests that, on the whole, Czechs care about the environment and most do not doubt that anthropogenic climate change is happening. But when it comes to concrete measures to combat it, they cannot agree.
A recent public opinion survey of Czech attitudes to environmental issues suggests that, on the whole, Czechs care about the environment and most do not doubt that anthropogenic climate change is happening. But when it comes to concrete measures to combat it, they cannot agree.
A recent public opinion survey of Czech attitudes to environmental issues suggests that, on the whole, Czechs care about the environment and most do not doubt that anthropogenic climate change is happening. But when it comes to concrete measures to combat it, they cannot agree.
Conceptual artist David Černý has a new project. His sculptures will grace a new residential building in Prague’s district of Karlín.
Conceptual artist David Černý has a new project. His sculptures will grace a new residential building in Prague’s district of Karlín.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský addressed the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday urging delegates to defend the UN Charter and stop Russia’s colonial war against Ukraine. In an emotive speech to the assembly he said now was the time for the UN to prove its “raison d'être”.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský addressed the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday urging delegates to defend the UN Charter and stop Russia’s colonial war against Ukraine. In an emotive speech to the assembly he said now was the time for the UN to prove its “raison d'être”.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský addressed the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday urging delegates to defend the UN Charter and stop Russia’s colonial war against Ukraine. In an emotive speech to the assembly he said now was the time for the UN to prove its “raison d'être”.
Barbara Winton, daughter of the late Sir Nicholas Winton, devoted much of her life to sharing the story of how her father, as a young man aged only 29, helped to organise the transport of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II, thereby saving them from almost certain death in Nazi concentration camps. Now she herself has passed away, but her father’s legacy still lives on.
Barbara Winton, daughter of the late Sir Nicholas Winton, devoted much of her life to sharing the story of how her father, as a young man aged only 29, helped to organise the transport of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II, thereby saving them from almost certain death in Nazi concentration camps. Now she herself has passed away, but her father’s legacy still lives on.
Barbara Winton, daughter of the late Sir Nicholas Winton, devoted much of her life to sharing the story of how her father, as a young man aged only 29, helped to organise the transport of 669 mostly Jewish children from Czechoslovakia before the outbreak of World War II, thereby saving them from almost certain death in Nazi concentration camps. Now she herself has passed away, but her father’s legacy still lives on.
The annual Literature Night (Noc literatury), which has become the largest European literature project of its kind in Czechia since it was introduced to the country 16 years ago, is taking place across 80 venues in the country’s capital and regions this Wednesday evening. There will also be readings in several other cities across Europe, Africa, Asia and the US. The event is chiefly being organised by the country’s network of Czech Centres. I spoke to Adriana Krásová, who is heading the project.
The annual Literature Night (Noc literatury), which has become the largest European literature project of its kind in Czechia since it was introduced to the country 16 years ago, is taking place across 80 venues in the country’s capital and regions this Wednesday evening. There will also be readings in several other cities across Europe, Africa, Asia and the US. The event is chiefly being organised by the country’s network of Czech Centres. I spoke to Adriana Krásová, who is heading the project.
The annual Literature Night (Noc literatury), which has become the largest European literature project of its kind in Czechia since it was introduced to the country 16 years ago, is taking place across 80 venues in the country’s capital and regions this Wednesday evening. There will also be readings in several other cities across Europe, Africa, Asia and the US. The event is chiefly being organised by the country’s network of Czech Centres. I spoke to Adriana Krásová, who is heading the project.
Former general chief of staff: Russia is clearly not able to hold its positions in Ukraine
Former general chief of staff: Russia is clearly not able to hold its positions in Ukraine
Czech foreign minister:Czechia will never recognize result of pseudo-referendums in eastern Ukraine
Czech foreign minister:Czechia will never recognize result of pseudo-referendums in eastern Ukraine
While optimism was at a record high when companies in Czechia were asked about their hiring plans during the summer, HR firm ManpowerGroup’s latest survey, which looked into the situation on the country’s labour market going into the final quarter of 2022, shows a marked decrease in optimism, especially among large businesses. Nevertheless, the situation is still far better than it was at the height of the Covid pandemic. I spoke to Jiří Halbrštát, the marketing and candidate sourcing director at the Czech branch of ManpowerGroup.
While optimism was at a record high when companies in Czechia were asked about their hiring plans during the summer, HR firm ManpowerGroup’s latest survey, which looked into the situation on the country’s labour market going into the final quarter of 2022, shows a marked decrease in optimism, especially among large businesses. Nevertheless, the situation is still far better than it was at the height of the Covid pandemic. I spoke to Jiří Halbrštát, the marketing and candidate sourcing director at the Czech branch of ManpowerGroup.
While optimism was at a record high when companies in Czechia were asked about their hiring plans during the summer, HR firm ManpowerGroup’s latest survey, which looked into the situation on the country’s labour market going into the final quarter of 2022, shows a marked decrease in optimism, especially among large businesses. Nevertheless, the situation is still far better than it was at the height of the Covid pandemic. I spoke to Jiří Halbrštát, the marketing and candidate sourcing director at the Czech branch of ManpowerGroup.
Czechia’s national bone marrow donors register marks its 30th anniversary this year. Over the past three decades, the organization has helped find a suitable donor for more than two thousand people with leukemia or other serious blood conditions.
The number of children and adolescents suffering from depression and those self-harming has increased steeply in the last few years, which many experts ascribe to the period of social isolation during the Covid pandemic. Alarmingly, the society is ill prepared for this trend and the number of child psychiatrists is woefully inadequate.
The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, has been facing major challenges recently. Last March, following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia was excluded from its ranks, reducing the number of member states from 47 to 46. Czechoslovakia became a part of the Council of Europe in 1991, and after the dissolution of the country, the Czech Republic joined as a newly independent state in 1993. Petr Válek has been the Czech ambassador to the council since last year. In an interview with Alex Rosenzweig, Mr. Válek began by explaining what his day-to-day work is like.
Today largely forgotten, Emil Fafek was a leading Czech news photographer for decades, covering everything from the Prague Uprising as a young man to his beloved sport. A new exhibition in Prague entitled Emil Fafek: On Guard aims to rekindle interest in his work.
The great Czech multiple Olympic champion Emil Zátopek was born exactly a century ago, on September 19, 1922. Regarded by some as the greatest runner of all time, Zátopek is known for both unmatched determination and an affable nature. However, though he suffered after the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, some feel that political missteps took the sheen off his reputation. I discussed the athletics great with Richard Askwith, author of Zátopek: Today We Die a Little.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala went on national television on Sunday to try to dispel growing public concern regarding energy costs in the coming months. He said he was confident that the cap on energy prices approved by the government and parliament last week would get the country through the winter and called on people to pull their weight and save energy wherever possible.
One of Antonin Dvorak’s greatest works, the opera Rusalka, is set to be performed during the ongoing Dvořák Prague festival by the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Semyon Bychov.
Daniel Matejča is one of the most promising Czech violinists of his generation. At the age of 17, he is studying at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague and has already won a number of prestigious competitions, including the National Arts Primary School Competition and, most recently, the Eurovision Young Musicians 2022. I spoke to Daniel Matejča just two days after his appearance at the Dvořák’s Prague festival and I started by asking him what it was like to perform on stage of the Rudolfinum:
Exactly 150 years ago, on September 16, 1872, the first passenger train was launched on the so-called Prague Semmering, the most picturesque railway line in the Czech capital. The line, which is listed as a cultural monument, earned its nickname due to its hilly profile, resembling the famous Austrian mountain railway.
News outlets on Thursday evening reported that a Czech diplomat with top security clearance had been caught handing classified information over to the Russians. However, a legal loophole means that the alleged mole could well evade prosecution.
According to an analysis of the mobile data market published by the Czech Telecommunications Authority, retail prices for mobile data in Czechia are the highest in the EU. Czechs pay 150 percent more for mobile services than the EU average.
Municipal council elections are taking place in Czechia next Friday and Saturday and it’s not just Czechs who are eligible to vote but EU citizens too. But how exactly does one register? And is it possible to run in the elections as well? We took a closer look at how the process works.
Prague has its fair share of “secret” cafes and restaurants – places that you can only find if you know where to look. But La Paisanita, an Argentinian empanada eatery, probably takes the crown for the capital’s most hard-to-find food establishment. And despite the couple who run it actually coming from Argentina, a famously carnivorous country, it offers a majority meatless menu.
Some Like it Czech, a project introducing foreigners to local culture via movies, returns to Prague next week. The organisers say many of their visitors are mixed Czech-foreign couples – and plan to launch their second season with the 1990s classic Samotáři, or Loners. I spoke to the event’s co-founder Šarka Bekrová.
Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, died in the early hours of September 14, 1937, exactly 85 years ago. His funeral took place a week later in Prague and was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Newly digitised recordings from Radio Prague International broadcasts recreate the atmosphere of the time.
Czech year-on-year inflation slowed in August, from 17.5 percent in July to 17.2 percent. This followed 13 months of continuous rises. Obviously inflation is still very high, but does this mean the Czech economy has finally turned a corner? I spoke to Cyrrus bank chief economist Vít Hradil.
Il Boemo has been selected as the Czech nomination in the Best International Film category in the Oscars. Petr Václav’s movie tells the story of composer Josef Mysliveček and will get its world premiere at the San Sebastian film festival this weekend.
Bořek Lizec is not just Czechia’s ambassador to Canada but also a man on a mission to track down the history of the many Czech communities in North America. He recently visited Radio Prague International’s studios to talk about Czechia’s search for Russian energy alternatives, as well as about his encounters with Canada’s Volhynian Czechs. I began by asking him what it is like to be an ambassador during a time of significant international tension brought about by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
This week sees the release of Good Old Czechs, a powerful new documentary about extremely brave Czech airmen in World War II. Entirely comprised of period footage and with narration read by actors, Tomáš Bojar's film draws on the memoirs of two aviators, RAF squadron leader František Fajtl and Filip Jánský, who initially escaped to France aged just 17. I spoke to Bojar ahead of Tuesday's premiere in Prague.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, there was some debate as to what to call her successor. Until then he was known as Princ Charles, but almost immediately news organisations translated the name and called him Král/King Karel. So why the change? I discussed the matter with well-known Czech linguist Karel Oliva:
Czech tennis duo Kateřina Siniaková and Barbora Krejčíková defeated their opponents in the US Open final on Sunday, meaning they have now won every major title in tennis doubles. But it was an extremely close game, and at first it was not at all clear that the pair would win.
This Friday, September 16, an open-air concert at the Czech Centre in Paris will be taking place to mark Czechia’s EU council presidency, featuring popular young musicians Emma Smetana and Jordan Haj. In today’s Sunday Music show we’ll be listening to some tracks from the duo’s recently-released joint album.
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, her oldest son ascended to the throne as King Charles III. Not so many people outside of Czechia know, however, that Charles visited the country a number of times after the fall of communism in 1989, and took an active interest in Czech architecture, even establishing a heritage fund with Václav Havel.
Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on Thursday, is fondly remembered by many Czechs. Not least thanks to her visit to the country in March 1996, when she met with the then president Václav Havel and chatted with locals on Charles Bridge. One of those who met with the monarch several times during his career is the former Czech ambassador to the UK Michael Žantovský.
A new monument, called The Return of the Stones, has been unveiled at the Old Jewish cemetery in Prague’s district of Žižkov. It is made out of fragments of tombstones from derelict Jewish cemeteries that were cut up into cobblestones during the Communist era and used to pave the base of Wenceslas Square.
All eyes will be on Brussels on Friday, when Europe’s energy ministers meet to discuss ways of tackling soaring power prices. The head of the European Commission has proposed capping Russian gas prices – but the Czech presidency of the EU is firmly opposed to this plan. I discussed the emergency summit with Czech Radio’s Filip Nerad.
Prague’s graffiti-covered John Lennon Wall was a symbol of freedom in the final decade of communism. Now it has been repainted by artists from all around Europe in a project that is part of the Czech presidency of the EU.
According to unofficial data, there could up to ten thousand teachers and teaching assistants among Ukrainian refugees in Czechia. However, only between one to two thousand of them are actually working in Czech schools at the moment. The Ministry of Education plans to earmark more finances to support their integration and, at the same time, help Czech schools, which are facing a serious lack of teachers.
Sunflowers of Hope is the name of a new project launched in cooperation with Prague City Hall and the city’s Ukrainian Embassy. Using Ukraine’s national flower as a symbol, it seeks to combine financial donations with messages of emotional support. The project is the brainchild of the Czech branch of global advertising agency Dentsu. I asked the company’s creative director for Czechia, Troy Palmer, how exactly it works.
This week sees the long anticipated premiere of the most expensive Czech film in history. Medieval, or Jan Žižka as the film is being marketed in Czechia, cost around 450 million crowns and stars actors such as Michael Caine, Ben Foster and Til Schweiger. It focuses on the early life of the famous Czech Hussite general, who was known for his innovative tactics. The movie was written, directed and produced by Petr Jákl, a former Czech judo international and stuntman. I caught up with him and began by asking why he felt that the character of Jan Žižka deserved a film.
Archaeologists in Prague are currently uncovering a monumental building from the Stone Age. The so-called roundel, built around 7,000 years ago, is located in the district of Vinoř on the outskirts of the city. Experts are hoping that the research will reveal more information about these mysterious ancient structures.
Saturday saw tens of thousands of people demonstrating on Prague’s Wenceslas Square against what they see as government mishandling of the energy crisis. Among the attendees were also members of hard left and hard right parties, many of them carrying banners with anti-NATO and anti-EU slogans, as well as calling for an end to pro-Ukraine measures. I asked Otto Eibl from the Department of Political Science at Masaryk University in Brno why he thinks the turnout was so big.
The Czech women’s ice hockey team beat Switzerland 4-2 in the bronze medal match at the World Championships in Denmark on Sunday, winning their first medal from a major tournament. The Czechs dominated from the start and claimed the biggest success in the history of the country’s women’s hockey.
Hana Zagorová, one of the country’s most popular singers and a nine-time winner of the Golden Nightingale award died last week at the age of 75. In today’s edition of Sunday Music show we mark her long and successful career, during which she released dozens of albums and recorded almost 900 songs.
The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra will mark the Czech Presidency of the EU Council with a special concert on a floating stage on the Vltava River on Friday evening. The event will present some of the most iconic pieces of Czech classical music, but it will open with Beethoven’s Ode to Joy. I discussed the programme with the head of the Czech Philharmonic, David Mareček:
Olomouc’s Palacký University is building a micro-brewery for its students. The new facility will be used to teach various aspects of beer, ranging from its earliest known recipes to its effects on the human body. A special course will be set up for students interested in the chemistry of beer. The lecturer in charge says that some of the brew will also be used for “teambuilding”.
Czechia is not one of the countries that ranks very highly compared to fellow EU member states such as Germany, Austria and Belgium when it comes to recycling. With ambitious EU recycling targets set for the next decade, Czechia still has a long way to go – but a few innovate companies and municipalities are leading the way with digital waste solutions.
Prague’s Signal festival of light art will celebrate 10 years of existence from October 13 to 16, again drawing tens of thousands of people to the city’s streets. Among the highlights this year will be a work referencing Ukraine by top Czech designer Maxim Velčovský and a special new work by “superstar” artist Refik Anadol.
A team of experts from the Centre of Experimental Archaeology in North Bohemia is constructing a copy of a real Neolithic boat. The vessel will then be used to test out a hypothetical sea trading route from that era between Greece and modern day Turkey. The team says that not just the journey, but the construction process itself, makes it possible to gain a greater understanding of Europe’s Neolithic ancestors.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, has died at the age of 91. He played a key role in the end of the Cold War and the fall of the Iron Curtain. In Czechia, Gorbachev’s legacy lies mainly in the hope for a better future that his reforms helped bring about and his non-interventionist policy when it came to Soviet satellite states.
A host of events are taking place in the coming weeks to mark the Czech presidency of the EU council, both in Czechia and abroad. One of them is an open-air concert hosted by the Czech Centre Paris, due to take place in mid-September, featuring popular Czech musicians Emma Smetana and Jordan Haj.
Pork crackling spread, or škvarková pomazánka, is a side dish you are sure to find in nearly every Czech pub. The spread, made of ground pork cracklings, lard and finely chopped onion, is usually served on a slice of bread. While not exactly a healthy choice, it does taste rather delicious, especially when paired with a cold glass of beer.
Czech scientists are currently carrying out research on the site of the devastating fire in the Bohemian Switzerland national park that ravaged over 1,000 hectares of forestland last month. They are collecting and analysing the ashes, as well as studying the rare fire-loving fungi and mosses that have sprouted from the burnt soil.
Most Westerners are grossed out by the idea of eating insects. But Czech start-up Grig, which produces and sells insect food products, wants to convince consumers otherwise – and they are having some remarkable success, including having their products offered as part of Czech Railways’ on-board snack selection.
A huge bell, weighing exactly 9801 kg and 258cm in diameter, was unveiled in Prague on Sunday evening. It is a tribute to the exactly 9,801 bells that were stolen by the Nazis during WWII and melted down to be made into weapons.
A video created by a team of scientists from the BIOCEV centre on the outskirts of Prague has won the “Science in Shorts” competition, organised by the prestigious scientific journal Nature. The minute-long video, which explores the role of iron particles in the human body, had to face off against a wide-range of international competition before it was shortlisted by a jury and picked as the final winner by a public vote.
Jewish athlete Kurt Epstein played on the Czechoslovak water polo team and represented the country at two Olympic Games, including the 1936 “Nazi Olympics” in Berlin. Epstein is the subject of a new exhibition set to open at the Terezín Ghetto Museum next week. It has been put together by his daughter Helen Epstein, who previously wrote a book about him entitled A Jewish Athlete: Swimming Against Stereotype in 20th Century Europe. The author spoke to me from her home in the US.
Statistics in recent years have shown that there is a growing number of Indians, both students and professionals that are moving to and living in Czechia. Why is that? And what are Czech-Indian relations like in general? To find out more, I spoke to Dr Eliška Žigová, who served as the head of the Asia-Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed as the country’s ambassador to India earlier this year. I began by asking her how she felt about being appointed as the Czech Republic to the most populous country in the world.
Statistics in recent years have shown that there is a growing number of Indians, both students and professionals that are moving to and living in Czechia. Why is that? And what are Czech-Indian relations like in general? To find out more, I spoke to Dr Eliška Žigová, who served as the head of the Asia-Pacific Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before being appointed as the country’s ambassador to India earlier this year. I began by asking her how she felt about being appointed as the Czech Republic to the most populous country in the world.
26 August is International Dog Day – and in celebration of this momentous event, our reporter and resident dog lover Anna Fodor decided to venture out around the city to talk to foreigners who have dogs about what it’s like living with a canine companion in Czechia.
This week marks exactly half a year since refugees started pouring into the EU after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Czechia has so far provided refuge to more than 400,000 Ukrainians, mainly women and children. How are they doing now and have they been able to find work or study opportunities here? These are just some of the questions that Czech Radio put to several Ukrainian refugees.
The government has just approved measures aimed at easing the pressure that skyrocketing energy costs are putting on many Czechs. Under the scheme, households will receive an average of CZK 15,000, with almost a third of that sum coming this year.
Although decidedly not a dish for vegetarians, roast pork knee (or pork knuckle) is one of the most popular items on Czech pub menus. The combination of well-cooked, not-quite-lean meat and a golden-baked, crispy exterior make this hearty dish a popular choice if you’ve worked up an appetite and want something rather more filling to go with your beer.
Wednesday marks exactly six months since Russia launched its war on Ukraine. Czechia has taken in more Ukrainian refugees per capita than any other state and provided massive assistance to Kyiv. But how did the relatively new Czech government respond to the invasion in March? And with fuel prices rocketing, how is it handling public opinion now? I spoke to Pavel Havlíček of the Association of International Affairs in Prague.
A new advertisement released by Czech Railways this week has been a hit on Czech social media. Unusually for a mainstream ad in this country, it depicts a lesbian couple – and could be seen as a dig at authoritarian Hungary.
A ban on single-use plastics was approved by the Czech Senate earlier this month and should come into effect in the autumn. The new legislation includes a direct ban on certain products, including plastic cutlery, straws, and food and drink containers. Now scientists in Brno are looking into an environmentally friendly alternative: food packaging that you can eat.
A new memorial to Czechs who took part in three resistance periods in the 20th century is set to open this Friday. The monument stands at the home of Josef Mašín, whose family were active in all three.
Which Czech parties are skilled at using social media and why do some politicians get it so wrong? Where should we draw the line over what we share on the internet? And why did some Czech influencers begin spreading disinformation on Instagram? These are just some of the many topics I discussed recently with Marie Heřmanová, a leading Czech digital anthropologist.
The Czech Center New York (CC NY), in cooperation with the Czech National Film Archive (NFA) in Prague, has prepared three feature-length, digitized, animated puppet films by Jiří Trnka for its traditional Summer Films on the Roof of the Bohemian National Hall. With introductory remarks by NFA director Michal Bregant, the CC NY in Manhattan is presenting the following films on three consecutive Thursdays: Old Czech Legends, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and The Czech Year.
Czechia should actively pursue a realist, value-driven diplomacy abroad, while at the same time seeking out new energy sources, Prime Minister Petr Fiala told diplomats at an annual gathering of the country’s ambassadors in Prague. The meeting is mainly centred on economic and security questions related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
When an amendment to the law regarding foreigners’ health insurance in the Czech Republic was passed last year, then-opposition MP Zbyněk Stanjura criticised it. Now, however, as the current finance minister he is having to defend it – and to no less than the European Commission.
František Fajtl, a Czech fighter pilot and RAF squadron and wing commander later jailed by the Communists, was born 110 years ago, on 20 August 1912.
Covid-19 can leave side-effects that persist long after people have recovered from the initial symptoms of the virus. Scientists at the Czech National Institute of Mental Health are currently conducting an extensive research project investigating one specific issue that has come to be associated with Covid-19 infection – sleep disorders.
More than a hundred thousand trees stand in the streets of Prague, working as natural air-conditioning during heatwaves, but many of them have been withering as a result of climate change and unsuitable conditions. Experts are working on new guidelines that would improve the situation.
Czechia will not sue European Commission regarding EUR 3.2 million fine for subsidy errors
The renovated statue of a skateboarder, made in the early 1980s, has returned to its former location in Prague’s Folimanka Park in the district of Nusle. Said to be the world’s oldest skateboarding statue, it had been hidden in a depository for more than 15 years after being destroyed by vandals.
If you visit the European Council buildings in Brussels these days, you will see 12 colourful flower-shaped carpets decorating its main entrance. The installation is part of a project called Flower Union, created by a group of young artists, textile designers and graphic designers to represent Czechia during its EU presidency. Among its aims is to draw attention to the topics of nature protection and climate change.
Minister: State would limit household heating to maintain key industry if gas shortage occurs
It is hard to dispute the fact that traditional Czech cuisine is very carnivorous. With the exception of desserts, most Czech food classics are meaty, filling dishes, such as vepřo-knedlo-zelo (dumplings with sauerkraut and pork), svíčková (marinated sirloin), or španělské ptáčky (beef rolls). But there is one lighter, vegetarian dish that you are sure to find in nearly every Czech pub.
The Czech government is not planning any “draconian measures” to combat the next coronavirus wave, Czechia’s Health Minister Vlastimil Válek said on Monday while presenting the strategy for tackling the expected autumn wave of the epidemic. Booster vaccines are nevertheless strongly recommended by the ministry which announced it will be launching a new campaign for this purpose.
Some people like to collect stamps; others playing cards. But most people who own a lot of handbags don't do so with the specific intention of collecting them. However, for Czech architect Zuzana Ilinčevová, each handbag in her collection is a story of the woman behind it.
Some people like to collect stamps; others playing cards. But most people who own a lot of handbags don't do so with the specific intention of collecting them. However, for Czech architect Zuzana Ilinčevová, each handbag in her collection is a story of the woman behind it.
Part of the annual Pardubice Sports Park family festival is a challenge to cross the river Elbe without getting your feet wet. To complete the challenge, participants must traverse a sixty-metre-long bridge made out of floating panels.
The floods that hit Czechia exactly 20 years ago were caused by the close proximity of two major periods of rainfall that occurred that month, according to a new study by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Czech Academy of Sciences. The team of researchers say that the event was unique in the region of Central Europe since at least the 1960s and couldn’t be predicted ahead of time.
Who would you guess is the biggest producer of food waste – supermarkets? Restaurants? Farms? In fact, according to data from 2021, it’s not any of those, but rather households. Czech initiative Zachraň jídlo has a campaign starting in September which aims to help people reduce the amount of food that ends up in their dustbins.
Who would you guess is the biggest producer of food waste – supermarkets? Restaurants? Farms? In fact, according to data from 2021, it’s not any of those, but rather households. Czech initiative Zachraň jídlo has a campaign starting in September which aims to help people reduce the amount of food that ends up in their dustbins.
Summer hits – catchy tunes that you can hear everywhere, from radios to restaurants and from stadiums to swimming pools – are as much a part of summer as beaches and festivals. Classic summer hits such as Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles, I Gotta Feeling by The Black Eyed Peas, Nobody to Love by Sigma, Summer Nights from the musical Grease, and of course, the Macarena, evoke happy memories of hot summer days and warm summer nights for many of us. But of course, the Czech music scene has also produced its own set of summer hits.
For 130 years, the Štěpánka lookout tower has been offering visitors beautiful views of the western part of the Giant Mountains.
The bare ridge with three peaks near Louny has been a centre for gliding and flying since the 1930s. Nowadays it is especially popular among paragliding enthusiasts.
The most common Czech art collector is a male who has been buying art for more than five years and already owns dozens of artworks, according to a newly released survey conducted by J&T Bank, together with art news site Artplus.cz. To find out more about who the typical investor in Czech art is and what the country’s art market currently looks like in general, I spoke to the head of Artplus.cz Jan Stuchlík.
The most common Czech art collector is a male who has been buying art for more than five years and already owns dozens of artworks, according to a newly released survey conducted by J&T Bank, together with art news site Artplus.cz. To find out more about who the typical investor in Czech art is and what the country’s art market currently looks like in general, I spoke to the head of Artplus.cz Jan Stuchlík.
While the large-scale forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park has been nearly extinguished, people are asking how to prevent similar disasters from happening in the future. A group of experts from the organisation Česká krajina say one of the answers could be the reintroduction of large ungulates, such as horses and bison, into the Czech landscape.
While the large-scale forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park has been nearly extinguished, people are asking how to prevent similar disasters from happening in the future. A group of experts from the organisation Česká krajina say one of the answers could be the reintroduction of large ungulates, such as horses and bison, into the Czech landscape.
Czechs are getting increasingly used to doing some of their work from home, seeing it as part of a standard contract with their employer rather than an extra benefit. At least according to a survey conducted by recruitment agency Randstad, which showed that roughly a third of companies in Czechia offer their employees a hybrid work model.
Czechs are getting increasingly used to doing some of their work from home, seeing it as part of a standard contract with their employer rather than an extra benefit. At least according to a survey conducted by recruitment agency Randstad, which showed that roughly a third of companies in Czechia offer their employees a hybrid work model.
Mushroom-picking is one of the Czech people’s most-beloved pastimes. But mushrooms are disappearing from Czechia – due to climate change-induced drought and deforestation.
Mushroom-picking is one of the Czech people’s most-beloved pastimes. But mushrooms are disappearing from Czechia – due to climate change-induced drought and deforestation.
Czech runner Petr Jedlička has decided to fulfil an unusual challenge – to complete 500 marathons in 500 days. His ultimate goal, however, is to raise money for children suffering from cancer. To date, he has completed 95 runs, covering a distance of more than 4,000 kilometres and raising over CZK 130,000.
Czech runner Petr Jedlička has decided to fulfil an unusual challenge – to complete 500 marathons in 500 days. His ultimate goal, however, is to raise money for children suffering from cancer. To date, he has completed 95 runs, covering a distance of more than 4,000 kilometres and raising over CZK 130,000.
There is perhaps no more iconic a Prague landmark than the 14th century Charles Bridge. Legend has it that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen its construction. While that theory has never been fully confirmed, experts are now using another unusual ingredient – goat hair – to renovate the bridge’s sandstone railing.
There is perhaps no more iconic a Prague landmark than the 14th century Charles Bridge. Legend has it that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen its construction. While that theory has never been fully confirmed, experts are now using another unusual ingredient – goat hair – to renovate the bridge’s sandstone railing.
Entry restrictions into Bohemian Switzerland national park to be extended until end of August
Czech economy to grow by 2.4 percent in 2022, according to banking association forecast
The city of Prague recently published some striking visualisations showing what the cable car connection stretching across the Vltava from Prague 6 to Prague 8, planned for 2025, is supposed to look like.
A new documentary showcasing the wildlife living right in Czechia’s capital city is now out in cinemas. With epic music and the voiceover of well-known Czech actor Jiří Macháček, the film features several Prague locations, but in a way you’ve never seen them before.
The European Commission will present its proposal for the new European Media Freedom Act in September, Commission Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová has told Czech Radio. The legislation proposal will include rules on the management and regulation of public media, as well as greater protections for journalists. Negotiations within the EU on approving the bill will likely take place during the Czech presidency and will not be easy, the commissioner said.
The number of foreigners living in Czechia has risen by nearly a third over the past five years and reached 6.3 percent of the total population by the end of last year, according to a newly published Migration Status Report for 2021 released by the Ministry of Interior. Ukrainians made up the largest foreigner segment, followed by Slovak and Vietnamese citizens.
Archaeologists made an unusual discovery while excavating the ruins of a medieval house in the town of Nový Jičín in the Moravian-Silesian region – a well preserved kitchen that likely dates back to the early 15th century.
The town of Wilber in Nebraska has once again became the “Czech capital of the United States”. Over the weekend, the small south-eastern town hosted the 61st annual Wilber Czech days, attracting some 50,000 visitors. Pictured is the newly elected Wilber Czech Queen.
The Czech Ministry of Education has recently sparked a debate with a proposal to make the learning of a second language in Czech primary schools voluntary rather than compulsory as it is at present. While many teachers have welcomed the idea, a group of foreign diplomats to Czechia have openly spoken against it. Among them is German ambassador to Prague Andreas Künne, who explained his position to Radio Prague International.
Pianist and composer Jiří Malásek, whose recordings of world and Czech hits enjoyed huge popularity in his time, was born 95 years ago.
Prague’s capacities for taking in refugees filled quickly following the Russian attack on Ukraine, and in mid-June, the capital’s centre for Ukrainian refugees closed down. Although it re-opened in July, the capacity problems have not gone away. Neela Winkelmann, a Czech woman living in Prague, decided to do something about it, so in cooperation with the city authorities, she set up The British Homes for Ukrainian Refugees Agency. The agency helps those fleeing the war get to the UK by matching Ukrainian refugees in Prague with British hosts via the UK government’s visa program Homes for Ukraine. The sponsorship scheme offers a visa for 3 years including a work permit, healthcare, social support, free access to education for children, and a welcome payment of GBP 200 upon arrival. I spoke to Neela recently, and asked her what the catalyst was for her idea.
The Prague Pride festival begins on Monday and culminates next Saturday with the first Pride Parade through the city since 2019. The annual celebration of sexual minorities also offers many other events, including some with a strong regional focus. I asked Prague Pride director Tom Bílý what visitors could look forward to this year.
The Prague Pride festival begins on Monday and culminates next Saturday with the first Pride Parade through the city since 2019. The annual celebration of sexual minorities also offers many other events, including some with a strong regional focus. I asked Prague Pride director Tom Bílý what visitors could look forward to this year.
The world’s deepest freshwater cave, the Hranice Abyss in Moravia, is even deeper than previously thought. A team of researchers have recently carried out a new survey of the deep limestone cave, using a special underwater robot, reaching a depth of 450 meters. The previous record, measured in 2016, was 404 meters. However, experts say they are still far from reaching the bottom of the pit.
The 75th edition of the Edinburg Fringe gets underway in the Scottish capital on Thursday, after a year-long break caused by Covid. Czechia will be represented by two companies, Losers Cirque Company and Cirk La Putyka, who will perform the world premiere of a Czech-Ukrainian show called “Boom volume 2”.
The Central European Jamboree, a traditional 10-day event primarily for scouts from the Visegrad countries, has returned to Prague after eight years. It had its opening ceremony at the Prague Exhibition Grounds by Stromovka park on Tuesday evening.
The British are not generally known for their impressive language skills, usually ranking at the bottom of tables comparing countries by foreign language knowledge – and if they know any at all, it is likely to be one of the major European languages such as French, Spanish, or German. However, the University of Sheffield in northern England has a surprising feather in its cap – it has the most students learning Czech out of any UK university.
Svíčková na smetaně, or simply svíčková, is unquestionably one of the most popular Czech meals. The recipe for the beef sirloin in a thick, creamy vegetable sauce was first mentioned in the famous cookery book by Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, published in 1826. Two hundred years later, svíčková is still a staple on Czech menus, as you can find out in our new edition of Czech Food Classics.
On Roma Holocaust Memorial Day on 2 August, Brno’s Museum of Romani Culture is launching an exhibition at the Vítkov National Memorial, focussing on the Nazi persecution and genocide of Roma on the territory of present-day Czechia. Called The Roma Genocide during World War II, it serves as a tragic reminder of a period when almost 90% of Czechia’s pre-war Roma population was murdered, and the consequences this had for the generations that followed.
The biggest forest fire seen in the modern history of Czechia is now under control. But the blaze at a national park in the north of the country has drawn fresh attention to the issue of climate change, with a senior officer saying the fire service must respond to drought.
EU energy ministers made an agreement last week to reduce gas consumption by 15 percent in preparation for a potentially tough winter. However, the agreement has been criticized by some as being too weak, unfair, or inconsistent. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský responded to some of the criticisms in an interview with Czech Radio.
Photographer Libuše Jarcovjáková documented her own turbulent life, and minorities such as homosexuals and Romanies, in the final decades of communism in Czechoslovakia. Some of her best known pictures come from an underground gay and lesbian bar in Prague called T-Club. In those years Jarcovjáková had no real hope of showing her often raw, black and white work publicly. However she eventually did find acclaim, including through a major 2019 exhibition in France’s Arles that really made her name internationally. I spoke to Libuše Jarcovjáková, who is now 70, at our studios in Prague.
190 years ago rail transport came to continental Europe with the opening of a line between České Budějovice and Linz; horse-drawn stagecoaches began running regularly between the cities on August 1, 1832.
In 2016 Markéta Cukrová and pianist Ivo Kahánek recorded a CD titled Ej, smutno je mě – or Ej, I’m feeling sad. The meloncholy album is a compilation of songs by Bohuslav Martinů inspired by Czech folk music and Benjamin Britten's cycle A Charm of Lullabies.
The 48th edition of the Summer Film School festival is kicking off this Friday in Uherské Hradiště in the south-east of Czechia. The festival will run until August 4 and will feature around 180 films including shorts. I caught up with programme director Jan Jílek just before the start of the festival and started by asking him about some of the highlights, such as a retrospective of Luis Buñuel.
A cross-party group of 54 MPs this week submitted a bill that would enshrine marriage in Czech law as solely being a union between a man and a woman. The marriage equality group We Are Fair have come out strongly against the move, asking on social media “is Czechia heading East?” I spoke to its spokesperson, Filip Milde.
The leading Czech artist Kateřina Šedá has recently launched an online database where anyone can submit bad habits. The symbol of the National Collection of Bad Habits is a two-tailed Czech lion holding a mobile phone in its paw. As of this week, the database is also accessible in English, with German and Ukrainian versions soon to follow.
A team of historians and scientists led by Sean Coughlin from the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences are working to rediscover the art and science of perfume-making of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. The project, called Alchemies of Scent, was launched in 2021, and one of its aims is to recreate five different perfumes used in the ancient Mediterranean world.
The second edition of the alternative music festival Pop Messe gets underway in Brno on Friday. The two-day event features international names such as Skepta, Ride and Kae Tempest, as well as a host of acts from this part of the world. I discussed the concept behind Pop Messe with founder Tomáš Kelar.
After four days, firefighters in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park are still struggling to get a large-scale forest fire under control. Now the felling of trees has begun with the aim of stopping the spread of the flames.
After four days, firefighters in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park are still struggling to get a large-scale forest fire under control. Now the felling of trees has begun with the aim of stopping the spread of the flames.
The fire raging in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park is the worst in the country’s modern history. Over 1,000 hectares of forestland have been destroyed by the blaze, which is still not under control. How much damage has been done to the biotope and how long may it take to recover? Those are questions I put to environment expert Vojtěch Kotecký.
The fire raging in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park is the worst in the country’s modern history. Over 1,000 hectares of forestland have been destroyed by the blaze, which is still not under control. How much damage has been done to the biotope and how long may it take to recover? Those are questions I put to environment expert Vojtěch Kotecký.
Hundreds of firefighters continue to battle an extensive forest fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park. The blaze, which broke out in hard to access terrain on Sunday morning, was fanned by a strong wind and has now ravaged some 30 hectares of forestland. By Tuesday morning the smell of the smoke had spread nearly all over the country.
A photo of Emil Zátopek kissing wife Dana Zátopková after winning Olympic gold in his first ever marathon – on July 27, 1952 – is a key image in athletics history. It also means a great deal to Swiss journalist Melanie Pfändler, who says that according to family lore it was taken by her grandfather. I spoke to Pfändler ahead of the 70th anniversary of the race that helped make Zátopek an all-time great.
For the first time, two unique documents about the events surrounding the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in May 1942 can be seen at the National Museum in Prague. They have been on display since Thursday as part of the special exhibition ‘We Will Never Give Up!’, which is being held as part of the 80th anniversary celebrations of Operation Anthropoid.
One of the world’s rarest collections of moldavites – precious, bottle-green gemstones, found almost exclusively on the territory of Czechia – is due to be auctioned in Prague this week. The collection contains over 34,300 pieces and its value is estimated at over CZK 200 million.
I Killed This Song at Karaoke Last Night is a joint album released by Gustav Brom Czech Radio Big Band and singer Dan Bárta. It contains cover versions of eight famous songs, from the hit Human by indie-rockers The Killers to a new version of the legendary Pramínek vlasů by Jiří Suchý.
The demolition work at a former pig farm at Lety in South Bohemia that was the site of a concentration camp for Romanies during the Second World War was officially launched on Friday. A new memorial to the Holocaust of Romanies and Sinti in the Czech Lands will be built on the site and should partly open to the public already next year.
The Czech government announced this week that it will be entering negotiations with the United States about the possible purchase of F35 fighter jets. The Ministry of Defence says that it is hoping to secure two squadrons – around 24 aircraft – worth dozens of billions of crowns, which would quite possibly make this the most expensive purchase in Czech Army history. The negotiations are set to be concluded by October next year. I asked defence expert Matúš Halás, from the Institute of International Affairs in Prague, what he makes of this decision.
Czechia is a popular destination for foreign students, according to a university-wide survey conducted by the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research. Many of those who choose to study at Czech universities also end up finding work and staying in Czechia after they graduate. The field of international students is also becoming more diverse than in past years.
A new street art exhibition has appeared on a wall outside the Czech embassy in Paris, celebrating the accession of the Czech Republic to the presidency of the EU Council.
Under a proposed amendment to the Road Traffic Act young people in Czechia would be allowed to start driving at the age of 17 under the supervision of a parent or another experienced driver with a clean slate. While teenagers living in the country can’t wait to see it approved, urban dwellers are in no rush to get behind the wheel.
In spring of this year, Czech archaeologists unearthed an incredible find – the previously undiscovered tomb of an ancient Egyptian dignitary in Abusir, Egypt. The discovery, announced on Friday on the Czech Institute of Egyptology’s Facebook page, allowed the team to garner important information about the turbulent period surrounding the beginning of Persian rule in Egypt.
The Moravian metropolis of Brno is paying tribute to its most famous citizen – the Augustinian monk, mathematician and biologist, widely known as “the father of genetics” – Johann Gregor Mendel, born 200 years ago. The city is celebrating the anniversary with numerous events: a mass at the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the reconstruction of Mendel’s greenhouse at St. Thomas’ Abbey where he conducted his genetic research on pea plants and an international Mendel Genetics Conference at the university that bears his name.
The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog’s name doesn’t lie – it is indeed part dog, part wolf! Created for the Czechoslovak border guard in the late 1950s, the breed’s creator, Karel Hartl, wanted to improve the stamina and strength of working dogs by crossing German shepherds with Carpathian grey wolves.
The European Space Agency has released images capturing the recent temperature extremes in a number of European cities, including Prague. The photos, taken from the International Space Station, has revealed heat islands in the densely populated areas of the city, where temperatures reached over 45 degrees Celsius.
Scientists at the Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry are developing a next generation measuring device that could help in future attempts to mine asteroids in space. Called HANKA, the machine should be able to determine the compositions of atoms and molecules on remote space objects, thereby allowing for the better mapping of resources and even possible extra-terrestrial life forms in our solar system.
Czechia’s largest and most popular music festival, Colours of Ostrava, closed its gates this weekend after four days of concerts and events held in the industrial complex of Dolní Vítkovice. Attendees were treated to headline acts such as The Killers, Franz Ferdinand and LP. But one act in particular went the extra mile to impress their fans.
A trio of Czech mountaineers is setting out to conquer Masherbrum, the 22nd highest peak in the world and the ninth highest in Pakistan. Radoslav Groh, Marek Holeček and Tomáš Petreček are going to climb the western side of the mountain, which has never been attempted before.
The Guarneri Trio Prague is one of the world’s most renowned piano trios. Founded by Ivan Klanský on piano, Čeněk Pavlík on violin, and Marek Jerie on the cello, the Trio has had the same line-up since 1986, and has just finished its 35th season.
A new exhibition about one of the most famous Czech painters, Alfons Mucha, opens this Friday in Prague’s Waldstein Riding School. Titled “Mucha: The Family Collection”, the exhibit offers a closer look at the development of Mucha as an artist and individual. It features materials that haven’t been displayed before, such as Mucha’s last grand but unrealised project. According to his grandson, Mucha developed a philosophy towards the end of his life that is particularly prescient in current times.
Lavender fields are generally considered to be the hallmark of Provence. But you do not need to travel to southern France to delight in the wondrous sight and heady scent of endless rows of purple lavender bushes. Chodouň in Central Bohemia is a lavender haven and boasts the biggest organic lavender field in Europe.
The National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addictions monitors the use of illicit drugs, alcohol, tobacco and gambling. This year, for the first time, it also mapped addictions to digital technologies and has concluded that close to half a million Czechs over the age of 15 are seriously “hooked” on mobile phones, social networks, and online gaming.
On the occasion of the Czech EU Presidency, the European network of Czech Centres has prepared a wide range of events. Most of them will take place abroad, but the new project Laboratory of the Future is also intended for a Czech audience. From 11 to 31 July 2022, Mariánské náměstí in Prague 1 will host an unusual installation with the goal of opening a broader critical debate about what sustainability actually means.
Czechia may soon have its own version of the 2012 US Magnitsky Act which would allow the country to impose national sanctions for serious violations of international law on individuals and legal entities who are not on the EU sanctions list. The state could, for example, bar them entry to this country or freeze their assets.
The church of Sv. Jiří in the village of Lukova is a place steeped in mystery. Consecrated in 1352 the church served many generations of believers until the mid-20th century when, due to a freak accident, it gained a reputation for being haunted and was allowed to go to ruin. Ten years ago, an art student chose it for his bachelor’s thesis with a project that made international headlines and raised funds for its reconstruction.
After a lengthy Covid-imposed break, one of Czechia’s biggest music festivals, Colours of Ostrava, is back. The first edition since 2019 kicked off on Wednesday and as well as big international acts such as The Killers will again feature the popular Melting Pot forum. I spoke to Colours spokesperson Jiří Sedlák just as the event began.
The Cesky terrier, sometimes known as the Czech terrier or Bohemian terrier, is a small, agile dog, weighing in at no more than 10 kg. Even though it was created by inbreeding three related individuals, nowadays it is a very healthy and robust breed. It was internationally recognized by the International Canine Federation (FCI) in 1963.
The halt of Russian gas supplies to Europe via the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 1, allegedly for technical maintenance reasons, has raised questions about how EU member states would survive the winter without Russian fuels. According to Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela, Czechia would face an uncomfortable period.
According to the results of an audit by the Supreme Audit Office, Czechia still lacks a comprehensive system for protecting so-called soft targets from terrorist attacks. The statement, released on Monday, has evoked concern regarding the level of security in the country, which is now moreover hosting dozens of events connected to the Czech Presidency of the EU Council. I asked Andor Šandor, former head of Czech military intelligence, and a respected security expert, for his take on the matter.
Czech filmmakers had a Karlovy Vary International Film Festival to remember this year: The Best Director and Best Actor prizes went to home names, while the first edition of the Proxima competition was won by a Czech documentary.
Czech tennis duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková won their second Wimbledon doubles title on Sunday, after beating Zhang Shuai and Elise Mertens in the final. It is the fourth out of the recent six major doubles tournaments that the pair has won and is all the sweeter given that they were prevented from taking part in the French Open.
Czechia’s largest international music festival, Colours of Ostrava kicks off next week in the unique surroundings of the former Dolní Vítkovice ironworks.
For a short period of time, a quiet, unassuming block in Prague 7 became a vibrant hub of art and multiculturalism. Part art gallery, part café and part community space, NGO DEI is closing this July. However, this won't dampen director Loretta Lau's spirit to continue building a platform for voices from all over the world, writes RPI's expat contributor Kevin Loo.
This Saturday will see the start of the annual Czech Hitchhiking Championships (Mistrovství ČR v autostopu). Contestants will have to travel from Prague to Istanbul and back, only being able to travel by riding in strangers’ cars. Several checkpoints and accompanying challenges are also waiting for them on their journey. The competition was set up eight years ago and regularly attracts a diverse set of participants.
The top prizes at this year’s Karlovy Vary film festival will be announced at a glitzy ceremony on Saturday evening. Twelve works are in the running for the Crystal Globe for Best Film, while the all-new Proxima competition will get its first ever winners.
The story of Czechoslovak military involvement in World War Two is often told with a focus on a few heroic figures and pivotal events. However, one aspect that has gone largely overlooked in popular memory is the role of women in the fight against Nazism. This despite the fact that over a thousand women served in Czechoslovak Army units on the Eastern Front. Czechoslovak women also took on a variety of tasks in the female branches of the British military.
The origins of the Český strakatý pes, known as the Czech Spotted Dog or sometimes the Bohemian Spotted Dog in English, are rather sad from today’s perspective. Originally known as Horák’s Laboratory Dog, it was bred in the 1950s for use in medical experiments. But from these unhappy beginnings, the world gained one of its most easy-going, low-maintenance, and sociable dogs.
The European Union’s is currently facing many crises and its main task will be to mitigate their effects on EU citizens, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in his address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday. Mr Fiala highlighted Ukraine and the energy crisis as the main priorities of his country’s EU presidency. In a subsequent speech, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen paralleled Czech and Ukrainian experiences with invasion, saying that Czechia was assuming the rotating presidency of the EU Council at the right time.
A hotly discussed issue at this year’s Karlovy Vary film festival is tax incentives. Producers say the Czech government’s failure to earmark funds for such rebates will ultimately cost the state – and lead international movie and TV companies to look elsewhere. I discussed the situation with Pavel Strnad of Negativ Film Productions at Karlovy Vary.
If you live in the Czech Republic, you’ll have been enjoying two extra days off from work due to a pair of consecutive public holidays this week. 5th July, Saints Cyril and Methodius day, and 6th July, Jan Hus day, both have a connection to the way Czech is written – but what is it? And is Czech really easier to learn to read and write than other languages? Our reporter and amateur linguistics enthusiast, Anna Fodor, spoke to well-known Czech linguist Karel Oliva, to find out.
The leaders of the newly established Czechoslovakia could and should have done far more to ensure its stability. So says historian Professor Igor Lukeš from Boston University, author of the recently published collection Dějiny a doba postfaktická (History and the Post-Factual Age). Our interview also touches on NATO enlargement, Václav Klaus and Ukraine, Putin – and much more besides.
The way children in the Czech Republic are marked is not always fair according to a newly published study conducted by the think-tank IDEA at the Economics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences. There is a difference by one whole grade in how individual schools mark their students and this in turn can have a negative effect on the ambitions of pupils to advance further in their education, as one of the authors of the study, Daniel Münich, explains.
The biggest name on the opening weekend of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Liev Schreiber, used his appearance to draw attention to the plight of Ukraine. The Hollywood actor said the conflict had made him reflect on his Ukrainian roots – and explained why he believes Russia will lose.
Waldemar Matuška, one of the country’s most popular singers, would have turned 90 this June. He enjoyed his hey-day in the 1960s and 1970s. With his masculine appearance and rich baritone, he appealed especially to female audience.
The Czech Republic has taken up the rotating presidency of the EU Council at an exceptionally difficult time, when the war in Ukraine is re-writing the world order and states in close proximity of Russia are scrambling to join Western structures. In an interview for Radio Prague International, Czech Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Dvořák spoke about the need to maintain EU unity in the face of Russian aggression, prepare for a drop in living standards and the importance of keeping the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership states on track for EU admission.
A new exhibition, currently underway at the Moravian Museum in Brno, is mapping the development of Czech comics over the past one hundred years. The show presents original drawings by some of the country’s best-known comics authors, such as Kája Saudek or Jan Fisher, but also works by contemporary authors, including Lucie Lomová, Jaroslav Němeček and ToyBox. I discussed the show with one of its curators, Pavel Kořínek:
One of the big events on the opening weekend of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will be the world premiere of a restored version of Jaromil Jireš’s 1968 movie The Joke, based on the novel of the same name by Milan Kundera. On the eve of the screening, I spoke to Michal Bregant of the Czech National Film Archive, which carried out the restoration.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering at Prague’s Czech Technical University recently acquired two new assistants – agile dog-like machines with robotic arms that can navigate terrain and capture data – and is using them to create a digital 3D map of Prague’s underground tunnel network.
On the occasion of assuming the presidency of the EU Council, the Czech Republic is organising a special charity run in Brussels this Saturday. The race is inspired by the friendship of the two great track rivals of 1950s long-distance running – Czechoslovakia’s Emil Zátopek and France’s Alain Mimoun.
“The Czech Republic Talks” is the name of a new project seeking to match up people with very different political views – and get them to speak face to face. But how successful has the project, run by the government’s Hate Free Culture agency, been so far? I asked organiser Bohdana Rambousková.
Český horský pes or the Bohemian Mountain Dog is the youngest and probably the least common of the Czech original dog breeds. It was bred in the late 1970s as a mountain dog and is an excellent companion for the outdoors. Despite its imposing look, it has a very friendly nature and is extremely devoted to its owners.
A new multimedia exhibition has opened up this week at the Riding School of Prague Castle. Covering over 2,000 square metres of space, Alphonse Mucha eMotion combines digitised and 3D animated versions of Czech Art Nuveau master Alfons Mucha’s most famous works, such as the Slav Epic, with the classical music of another famous contemporary - Antonín Dvořák. I spoke to the producer of the exhibition, Richard Fuxa, whose foundation owns the most complete collection of the artist’s posters.
A new museum dedicated to Alice Masaryk, the daughter of the first Czechoslovak president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the co-founder of the Czechoslovak branch of the Red Cross, has opened in Lány in Central Bohemia. The institution is located near the presidential retreat in a building commissioned by Alice Masaryk for the local branch of the Red Cross.
Julia Sherwood, an award-winning translator and literary organiser, was born in Bratislava, but spent most of her life in the UK, where she settled after emigrating from Czechoslovakia in 1978. Today, she lives in London with her husband, linguist and translator Peter Sherwood, with whom she translates mainly Slovak but also Czech authors, including Alena Mornštajnová and Radka Denemarková. Julia Sherwood spent the last weeks in Prague on a residency organised by the Czech Literary Centre. I caught up with her just before her return to London to discuss her work and I started by asking her what she was working on during her month-long stay in the Czech capital.
President Zeman’s second term in office will expire in March of next year and Czechs are already mulling who they will support as their next head of state in elections scheduled for January 13. I spoke to political analyst Jiří Pehe about the outlooks and whether the turbulent times we are living in will influence their choice.
Supreme Court rules that Covid measures restricting attendance at events were against the law
The start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine back in late February prompted an outpouring of support from the Czech population, with many donating money, goods, or even opening up their homes to refugees. But few went to the lengths of Pavel Oskin, a landscape photographer originally from Belarus, who has been based in Prague since 2008. He took an empty building slated for demolition and, with the help of a group of volunteers, transformed it into fully-furnished accommodation for 65 refugees from some of the most war-damaged areas of Ukraine. But the stream of donations and funds that was pouring in at the beginning has dried up as the novelty of the war has worn off.
The jubilee 10th year of the Children and Youth Olympics started on Sunday, June 26, in the city of Olomouc. Over 3,500 children qualified for the games and will compete in 73 disciplines. The Olympic flame was ignited by javelin thrower and Tokyo Olympic silver medalist, Jakub Vadlejch.
Tennis star Petra Kvitová had the perfect preparation for this year’s Wimbledon, winning the traditional warmup in Eastbourne. It was the 29th trophy of the Czech’s career, but her first in over a year.
Numerous events have been taking place in the Czech Republic and Brussels to mark the start of the Czech EU presidency. One of them is an exhibition of designer wine glasses celebrating the 27-member states, which is now on display at the Jablonec Museum of Glass and Jewelry.
After rising to become the third biggest party in the Czech lower house, the Mayors and Independents are now on the ropes. A prominent member in Prague is in custody on corruption charges over a case that has also led to the resignation of the Mayors’ education minister. Can the party recover from this scandal? I spoke to political scientist Miloš Gregor of Masaryk University.
The Czech punk band Visací zámek are currently celebrating 40 years together. Remarkably the group, whose name translates as “padlock”, still have the exact same line-up as when they got together 1982.
As the Czech Republic’s six month EU presidency fast approaches, we discussed the country’s list of priorities for the chairmanship of the European Council with Czech Radio’s EU Affairs analyst and former Brussels correspondent Filip Nerad, and Eastern Partnership and Russia expert Pavel Havlíček from the Association for International Affairs.
Exactly 80 years ago, Nazi forces annihilated the village of Ležáky. A smaller settlement than Lidice, Ležáky have always been in the shadow of the first Bohemian settlement that fell victim to Nazi wrath following the successful killing of acting governor Reinhard Heydrich. But its tragic story is more closely intertwined with the Nazi hunt for the covert Czechoslovak troops that made Operation Anthropoid possible.
Departure of Occupying Forces Day is having its debut this year. June 25 is being officially recognized as a ‘significant day’ in the Czech calendar for the first time this Saturday, marking the anniversary of the signing of the protocol that expelled Soviet troops from the territory of the former Czechoslovakia in 1991.
Archaeologists have discovered an almost intact skeleton of a sixth century warrior during a dig near the town of Pasohlávky in south Moravia. The grave of the young man, who was buried with his spear, two dogs and a horse bridle, belongs to one of the largest Germanic Langobard burial sites in the country.
The Czech Chamber of Architects’ 2021 award for lifetime achievement will go to Eva Jiřičná, perhaps the best-known living Czech architect and designer. A native of Zlín, Jiřičná has lived and worked in London for more than fifty years and is famous for her distinctly modern style as well as her great attention to detail.
Amid growing speculation about the possibility of a sudden halt in Russian gas supplies to Europe, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala went on national television on Wednesday night to assure Czechs that the government had a crisis scenario ready and would not let anyone fall. He also outlined the government’s plan to cut the country’s dependence on Russian fuels.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský on Tuesday outlined his ministry’s priorities for the upcoming Czech EU Presidency. He stressed the need to continue helping Ukraine, boost the EU’s defense and security structures and promote democratic institutions and the rule of law.
The Český Fousek or Bohemian Wire-Haired Pointing Griffon was originally bred in the Czech Republic as a hunting dog. It is wirehaired and has the appearance of having a beard and mustache. A versatile pointer, Český Fousek has the qualities needed to hunt in the field, in the water and in the forest. These dogs are easy to train and very devoted to their owners.
The capital’s biggest music festival, Metronome Prague, kicks off on Thursday, with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Beck and Underworld among the host of international and Czech artists performing. Metronome was cancelled the last two years due to Covid and I asked founder David Gaydečka how it had been organising the festival after such a long gap.
Previously unknown diaries written by a Lidice woman have been recently discovered by her relatives. Emílie Rohlová, one of the survivors of the Lidice massacre of 1942, started writing them after the war, when she returned from a concentration camp. She addressed them to her eight-year-old daughter, Boženka.
Some ships dock for a while, others just for a drink and a feed. Kevin reflects on two of his favourite spots in Prague and how their maritime nature parallels the experience of living in a foreign country.
A new study by researchers from the University of Olomouc on how social media affects children’s self-perception and mental health has found some alarming results. A third of Czech children have been the target of online body shaming, with some being driven to self-harm.
Will the police crackdown on an organised crime ring within the Prague Public Transit Company, which included the now former City Hall Councillor Petr Hlubuček of the government represented Mayors and Independents party, have a significant effect on the Czech EU presidency? And will the Czech government survive the scandal of its second largest coalition member? These are just some of the questions I put to political analyst Jiří Pehe.
Just days ahead of the onset of its EU presidency, the Czech Republic has been hit by a major corruption scandal connected to the second largest government party – the Mayors and Independents. The affair has already cost the head of one minister, but opposition groupings are calling for more blood as the party faces the worst public relations disaster in its 17-year-long history.
The traditional pottery and crafts market in Beroun’s Hus square welcomed thousands of visitors in June. Ceramics-making has a long tradition in Beroun going all the way back to the 14th century and the market, which is now held three times a year, attracts visitors from near and far. Radio Prague’s contributor Martina Kroa went to check it out and spoke with Jolana Izbická, the market’s chief organizer, about how it emerged.
Helena Vondráčková, one of the Czech Republic’s biggest pop stars, will turn 75 next week. She can look back on a career spanning five decades and boast of being the country’s best-selling singer with over a million albums under her belt.
The Czech Republic is preparing to take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council from France on July 1st, for its second stint at the helm of the 27-member alliance. Due to the war in Ukraine, and the need to address pressing issues such as energy security, defense capability and the resilience of the EU economy, it will have to hit the ground running. I spoke to the Czech Minister for European Affairs Mikuláš Bek about the challenges of taking over the EU presidency in this difficult time and how it had changed the country’s priorities.
An increasing number of Czech teenagers and young adults are using nicotine pouches, which are available in shops without any restrictions. The use of nicotine pouches is spreading even among younger children in primary schools, who are especially at risk of overdosing or developing an addiction.
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men worldwide and the most common in the Czech Republic. The incidence of the disease in Czechia has risen by as much as 70 percent since the early 1990s. Martina Benešová, a young Czech researcher, is part of a team at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg which developed a revolutionary new treatment for patients with a very advanced stage of prostate cancer for whom other treatments had proved ineffective. I spoke to her and started by asking what is new about PSMA-617 compared to previous prostate cancer treatment methods.
Czech painter Tibor Červeňák was born in the Moravian town of Hranice and spent part of his youth in a children’s home. A visit to a local sculptor’s studio changed his life and he has since devoted his life to painting. He graduated from the prestigious Chelsea School of Arts in London and has had his work exhibited all over the world. He lived in the United Kingdom from 2004 but in 2020 he returned to his home country. How did he end up living in Belfast? Does his art reflect his Roma background? And why does he use boxing gloves in his paintings? These are just some of the questions I discussed with Tibor Červeňák during his visit to our studio, but I first asked him what triggered his interest in painting:
The Czech music festival Rock for People opened its gates to festivalgoers from around the Czech Republic and beyond at noon on Wednesday, after a two-year break when the festival couldn’t go ahead due to Covid restrictions. The festival, now in its 26th year, opened on its first night with international headline acts such as Biffy Clyro, Wolf Alice and Idles.
The Czech government has presented its list of priorities that it plans to focus on during the country’s upcoming presidency of the EU Council that will run from July 1 to December 31 of this year. Managing the refugee crisis associated with the war in Ukraine as well as helping rebuild the country will be a top issue, along with ensuring energy security for Europe and strengthening defence capabilities.
A European Parliament delegation headed by EP President Roberta Metsola is in Prague for talks with Czech leaders on the upcoming Czech EU Presidency. Viktor Daněk interviewed Ms. Metsola ahead of her trip to Prague and first asked whether she considered the opening of accession talks with Ukraine to be the main task of the presidency.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called for his country to receive EU candidate status and for a seventh EU package of sanctions against Russia in a speech to the Czech Parliament on Wednesday. He repeatedly echoed the famous phrase “we are with you, be with us” that was broadcast on Czechoslovak Radio during the Soviet-led invasion in 1968. The appeal for more European support comes weeks ahead of Czechia assuming the presidency of the EU Council.
The Bohemian Shepherd Dog, along with the Prague Ratter, is one of the oldest Czech dog breeds. It was originally used as a guard dog and a herding dog. Today it is mainly kept as a family pet, due to its friendly and gentle nature. Ruth Fraňková has more in today’s edition of our mini-series dedicated to original Czech dog breeds.
Putin’s war on Ukraine also has implications in outer space, with Russia carrying out cyberattacks aimed at crippling Ukrainians’ access to satellite services – and freezing cooperation with the West on space issues. This will be one area discussed at a space security conference starting in Prague this Sunday. I spoke to Jana Robinson, head of organisers the Prague Security Studies Institute.
Interest in hiring new employees is at a record high according to a newly released survey conducted by HR company ManpowerGroup among hundreds of Czech businesses. Particularly in demand are IT professionals, of whom there is a long-term shortage on the Czech labour market. There are also hopes that the large influx of refugees from Ukraine can compensate for the lack of talent for hire caused by long-term low unemployment.
Bedřich Smetana’s comic opera The Bartered Bride is widely regarded as a major contribution towards the development of Czech music and was the first Czech opera to achieve worldwide fame. Twenty-one different productions of the work have been performed at Prague’s National Theatre since its premier in 1866, but no interpretation has been so divisive as the most recent production, directed by Alice Nellis.
The Together alliance of three centre-right parties would receive 28.5 percent of the vote in general elections, suggests a poll released on Sunday. Behind them would be the Pirates and Mayors, who also contested elections last year together. Forming the two alliances helped the five parties enter government – but does it make sense for them to continue indefinitely? I spoke to political scientist Petr Just.
A 9801 kg bell was cast in Austria on Friday to commemorate the 9,801 church and tower bells stolen from Czech territory and melted down for munitions during the Nazi occupation of WWII. The cost is being covered by a fundraising collection organized by Sanctus Castulus, an association of bell ringers in Prague’s Old Town. I spoke to its chairman, Ondřej Boháč, and started by asking him where the idea for the memorial bell came from.
Czech-born composer and teacher Antonín Rejcha, who spent most of his life in France and who is the subject of a new book published by the Moravian Library in Brno. In Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show you can listen to his Quintet in B flat major for clarinet and strings, Op. 89.
Czech architect František Sammer has been mostly associated in his country with the construction of one of the first housing estates in the style of Socialist Realism. It is less known that Sammer worked for the greatest modern architect Le Corbusier and had friends among the most important figures of interwar architecture.
Exactly eight decades ago, on June 10, 1942, the Central Bohemian village of Lidice was annihilated by Nazi forces in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich. About 340 men, women and children were murdered, the village flattened. Lidice became one of the best known examples of Nazi Germany’s brutality and its legacy survives in many forms to this day.
The National Museum in Prague has brought some twenty valuable artefacts from Syria to the Czech Republic to be restored by local experts. The objects, dating back to the Bronze Age and Antiquity, will then be displayed in the National Museum’s historic building before returning to their homeland.
Beer and scenery lovers will surely appreciate the two-day-long Minibrewery Festival at Prague Castle, whose 10th edition is set to start this Friday. More than 50 minibreweries across Bohemia, Moravia and Poland will be presenting their choice products. Organisers say that the festival is also popular among foreigners and local Prague expats.
Eighty years ago, the Nazis massacred the village of Lidice, hoping to wipe it off the face of the Earth. But it had quite the opposite effect. Various places around the world adopted the name Lidice, so that it would never be forgotten. One of them is the town of Crest Hill near Chicago, which has its own Lidice neighbourhood.
Wages in the Czech Republic are growing, but not enough to cover for the rapid rise in inflation. Data released by the Czech Statistics Agency on Tuesday show that real wages fell by 3.6 percent on average during the first quarter of 2022. The hardest hit are public sector employees, whose trade unions have threatened to go on strike if their demands are not met by the government.
French President Emmanuel Macron received Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala at Elysee Palace on Tuesday night for talks on the war in Ukraine and its global repercussions, particularly in energy security and the need to end Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas. France is due to pass on the EU Council Presidency to the Czech Republic on July 1st and the two counties have been cooperating closely to ensure a smooth transition.
This weekend, the T.G. Masaryk School in Chicago celebrated its 100th year of existence. The institution was established in Chicago’s suburb of Cicero in 1921, when tens of thousands of Czech immigrants already lived in the city. Today, it’s the only beacon of Czech culture in a predominantly Hispanic neighbourhood.
The legendary French high-speed TGV train, which set a speed record of 380 km/h in 1981, has arrived in the Czech Republic where it will be on display to the public in Prague, Brno, Jihlava, and Ústí nad Labem until June 9. Its loan from France for nine million crowns is part of a promotion campaign for the construction of a high-speed rail network in the Czech Republic.
A string of NGOs has written an open letter to City Hall calling for the extension of a programme of renting rooms for homeless people at four Prague hotels and hostels. Set up during the coronavirus pandemic, it has served several hundred people – but is set to end this month. Eliška Konývková from the NGO Jako Doma has worked at one of these facilities for two years. She says over 60 people could end up on the street again, as two new shelters the city has prepared do not have sufficient capacity.
After previously saying he would say in September whether he will stand in presidential elections early next year, Andrej Babiš now says he would only announce “at the last moment”. Why this evident change of strategy? And will his team be satisfied with the latest polling for the former prime minister. I put those questions to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Renowned Czech violin virtuoso Václav Hudeček is due to celebrate his 70th birthday this Tuesday June 7th. We take a brief look back at his life and work.
Martin Klíma was a student leader of Czechoslovakia’s Velvet Revolution, helping organise the gathering in November 1989 that sparked the fall of communism, where he delivered a key speech.
Prague Jewish Community has launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance a monument made of fragments of Jewish tombstones removed from the city’s pavements. The tombstones from derelict Jewish cemeteries were used under Communism to repair pedestrian zones at the base of Wenceslas Square, and they are now being returned to the Jewish community.
EC orders investigation into Czech state aid for digital terrestrial television operators
June 3 marks 100 days since Russia unleashed war on Ukraine. We look back at what the Czech Republic has done to contribute towards supporting and aiding the war-torn country.
Karel Čapek’s War with the Newts, a darkly humorous dystopia about a super-breed of amphibians trying to conquer the world, was published more than 80 years ago. This week, a new ‘surf-rock audio drama’, inspired by Čapek’s pioneering science fiction novel, premiered in the United States, featuring some well-known Broadway actors.
Earlier this week, part of Prague’s Švanda Theatre ensemble embarked on a two-week tour of the Unites States. In addition to two productions representing contemporary Czech drama, the Smíchov theatre group will also present a brand new theatrical text written by artificial intelligence.
The decision of Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib to close the capital’s centre for Ukrainian refugees in mid-June, due to overload, has elicited sharp criticism from regional governors. Many have pointed out that the closure of the country’s busiest refugee centre will only exacerbate the problem and create chaos since many Ukrainian refugees will still head to Prague.
Fans of history and jewellery may appreciate the exhibition “Czech crown jewels that you can reach” (České Korunovační klenoty na dosah), which is opening at Sychrov Castle in Northern Bohemia this Wednesday. The traveling exhibition features exquisite replicas of the Bohemian Crown Jewels made by some of the country’s leading jewellers, as well as several other ceremonial items that were in the possession of Bohemian rulers throughout the centuries.
The Czech Republic’s six-month presidency of the EU gets underway in exactly one month’s time. In parallel the country’s international network of Czech Centres will be running a whole host of events in the second half of 2022, with the motto Vision for Europe.
Prague Castle is not only the face of today’s picturesque Czech capital, but also an important archaeological site whose origins stretch back into prehistory. The castle hill and its surroundings still have much to unveil, archaeologists say. In fact, a recent reassessment found that the area of Prague Castle was very different than previously assumed when the Czech state was being formed more than a thousand years ago.
The Ministry of Culture is looking into a complaint regarding the 2018 reconstruction of Prague’s famous astronomical clock. Specifically the complaint targets the copy of the original calendar on the Old Town Clock by Josef Mánes. According to Milan Patka from the Club for Old Prague, some of the figures on the calendar have changed dramatically.
The Czech Republic was the last EU country to bring in a comprehensive smoking ban. A ban on smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars, cafes, pubs, and bus stops came into effect in the Czech Republic on May 31 2017 – happily coinciding with World No Tobacco Day. On the day of its five-year-anniversary, Anna Fodor takes a look at what effects the ban has had on public health, attitudes, and the economy.
After hours of struggling to resolve their differences, EU leaders on Monday agreed to block more than two-thirds of Russian oil imports to member states in a deal that will cut off a huge source of financing for Russia’s war machine. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary received a temporary exemption for pipeline oil until they can completely cut their dependency on oil imports from Russia.
An estimated 350,000 people have fled Ukraine for the Czech Republic over the past three months. Among the many refugees are also some twenty students from Kyiv’s Municipal Academy of Performing and Circus Arts. They arrived just days after Russia invaded their country and have since found refuge with the Prague-bases circus troupe Cirk La Putyka.
With just over a month until the 56th edition of the region’s biggest cinema event, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival has just announced its main programme. Two Czechs works – Borders of Love and The Word – will be in the running for the Crystal Globe, while there are also be two in the all-new Proxima competition. I spoke to Karlovy Vary’s artistic director Karel Och.
Bohumil Kubišta’s painting Old Prague Motif was sold on Sunday at auction for CZK 123.6 million, the most a painting has ever sold for at a Czech art auction. It was also almost five times the starting price of CZK 25 million, which itself would have been a record for a work by Kubišta. Anna Fodor looks at why this painting garnered so much attention.
The Czech Republic came third at the Ice Hockey World Championship in Finland on Sunday. A storming comeback win over the United States gave the Czechs their first medal at a major tournament in 10 long years – bronze that players say feels like gold.
A team of scientists from the Global Change Research Institute in Brno has created a digital map of the Dyje river basin. With the help of the digitized model they can simulate changes to the basin triggered by Nature and human activity, helping to avoid flash floods and ineffective projects.
The annual Leoš Janáček International Music Festival will traditionally launch by a performance of the composer’s Sinfonietta. Meanwhile, Richard Strauss’ famous Oboe Concerto will be performed by the Czech Republic’s “oboe ambassador” Vilém Veverka. The festival will take place from May 29 to July 1 and will offer more than 30 events strewn across Ostrava and five other locations across Northern Moravia and Silesia.
One of the key factors in the successful assassination of senior Nazi Reinhard Heydrich 80 years ago was the support that members of the Sokol patriotic gymnastics movement provided to the Czechoslovak soldiers. Many of them would later pay for it with their lives.
The Prague Radio Symphony orchestra will enter its 96th season under new chief conductor and music director Petr Popelka. The 36-year-old musician, regarded as one of the most talented contemporary conductors, presented the programme of the upcoming season at a press conference at the Czech Radio building on Thursday. I spoke to Mr Popelka about his inaugural concert, scheduled for the beginning of October, but I first asked him what it feels like, returning to the orchestra where he started his career as a young musician:
A whole slew of events will be held in Prague on Friday marking the 80th anniversary of the assassination of the Nazi governor of Bohemia and Moravia in 1942. The Slovak president and UK foreign secretary are among the dignitaries taking part.
Operation Anthropoid was the only successful government-organized assassination of a top-ranking Nazi official. On the occasion of its 80th anniversary, we look back at how it unfolded, and hear voices from a cast of colourful characters, including a now 96-year-old Czech woman who worked at the Heydrich family home north of Prague.
The Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth got underway in the South Moravian town on Thursday. The oldest and largest film festival of its kind in the world, which is now in its 62nd year, will feature nearly 280 films from 49 countries. I discussed the programme with the festival’s artistic director Markéta Pášmová and first asked her what makes this year’s edition special:
With inflation at over 14 percent and cost-cutting the order of the day, Prague City Hall has announced plans to reduce electricity costs by dimming streetlights in some parts of the capital and switching off the special lighting of monuments several hours earlier. The measure should affect 140 significant sites and buildings including the Rudolfinum concert hall and Petřín Hill.
The Assasination (Atentát) is a unique 1964 depiction of the killing of acting Reichsprotector Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovak parachutists during World War II. It has been newly digitised by the Czech National Film Archive (NFA) and is being screened this Wednesday evening at Prague’s Ponrepo cinema. NFA collections curator Marie Barešová says that the digitisation was made on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Heydrich’s assassination.
The authorities are now creating a second tent city in Prague, in the Malešice district. It will handle some of the hundreds of Ukrainian refugees of Roma origin – many also citizens of Hungary – who have been sleeping at the Main Train Station in recent weeks. I discussed the situation with Martin Rozumek, head of the non-profit Organization for Aid to Refugees.
The Czech state began to form around the 9th century AD. This process was crucially influenced by the Přemyslids, Bohemia’s ruling dynasty which had control over Czech territory for more than 400 years. But what do we actually know about this period? How can archaeology help us understand it? And what were the key moments in the Přemyslid quest for power?
Thanks to contracts signed under the communist regime, the Russian Embassy received a vast amount of real estate in Prague, Karlovy Vary and other Czech cities free of charge to be used for diplomatic purposes. With just six Russian diplomats left in the country, the Czech Foreign Ministry says it is time to revise property relations and make the embassy accountable for how the property is used.
Milan Reindl, a former English teacher from a small town of Sušice, is the only Czech working as a model designer at the Danish toy giant LEGO. He only fell for the LEGO bricks in his mid-twenties and just a few years later, he landed a dream job in the LEGO Technic department. This autumn, Milan Reindl will also star in the first Czech edition of the Lego Masters show.
Thirteen years after being destroyed by fire, the Industrial Palace at Prague’s Exhibition Grounds is now undergoing an extensive reconstruction. As part of the works, which started about two months ago, restorers have now began to repair the massive stained glass windows of the palace.
The successful assassination of high-ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovak soldiers in Prague, code-named Operation Anthropoid, is one of Czechia’s proudest historical moments. This May 27 will be the 80th anniversary of the event, which is being commemorated with a special exhibition in Prague.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala says that the Czech Republic now aims to spend 2 percent of its GDP on defence by 2024, one year earlier than pledged in the government’s manifesto. The statement was made ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid in June. I asked defence analyst Matúš Halás from the Institute of International Relations in Prague what he makes of this new target.
The Prague Spring International Music Festival is now in full swing in the capital, delivering dozens of concerts and set to conclude on June 3. For decades the country’s top classical music event has opened with Bedřich Smetana’s Má vlast, or My Country, which was composed in the 1870s.
Except for a niche interest group, most people have not heard of the Effective Altruism (EA) movement, which developed in the late 2000s at Oxford University and got its name in 2011. But it is gaining increasing visibility, and not only in the English-speaking world – the EA movement is also active in Czechia. I spoke to Irena Kotíková, the main organiser of the second EA conference in Prague last weekend.
For many years, Ostrava has been associated with coal mining and steel production and was not exactly regarded as a tourist destination. But over the past three decades, the city has undergone a huge transformation, turning its industrial past to its favour. A new book called 111 Places in Ostrava You Shouldn’t Miss (111 míst v Ostravě, která musíte vidět) takes you on a tour of the north Moravian city, highlighting not only the most obvious tourist spots, but also some of the less obvious targets, which are worth a visit.
A new museum opened this week in Prague’s Kotva department store, depicting the way of life in 1970s and ‘80s Czechoslovakia. Called Retro Museum Prague, it takes the visitors through a typical communist-style apartment but also explores the designs and trends of the era.
This week marks exactly 30 years since the beginning of the first round of voucher privatisations in post-communist Czechoslovakia. The government scheme made it possible for any Czech adult citizen to buy a “voucher book” that contained shares in a range of state enterprises. I discussed the often derided system with Professor Evžen Kočenda from Charles University’s Institute of Economic Studies.
The Czech government is planning to make changes to legislation covering Ukrainian refugees. This includes a refusal to protect people with EU citizenship, a status shared by many refugees of Roma origin.
A two-day Czech-African Health Forum began at Prague’s Černín Palace on Wednesday, bringing together representatives of 10 African countries and seven health ministers. Pandemic management, strengthening the healthcare sector, and Czech business solutions for hospitals are among the topics on the agenda. I interviewed Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Tlapa to find out why Africa is important to the Czech Republic.
Prague looks set to get a futuristic new building, designed by internationally renowned Danish studio Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). Representatives of City Hall and the city’s Institute for Planning and Development announced the winner of the international design competition on Tuesday. If all goes to plan, construction on the new seat of Prague’s Philharmonic Orchestra should start in five years’ time. I asked the head of the jury Michal Sedláček why BIG came out as the winner.
One of the most important ways in which archaeologists are able to learn about pre-historic cultures and civilisations is by studying the way that they buried their dead. In recent decades this practice has been further improved through the adoption of several methods from the natural sciences. At a large necropolis in Mikulovice, archaeologists are currently using these techniques to gain a better understanding of early Bronze Age Bohemia.
The new exhibition MADe IN CHINA at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art in Prague focuses on the work of Chinese dissident artist Badiucao. The show has also made international news, after the city’s Chinese Embassy tried to have it cancelled. I discussed the exhibition with DOX curator Michaela Šilpochová.
Josef Abrhám, one of the most popular of Czech stage and screen actors, has died at the age of 82. Abrhám starred in a number of the best-loved movies in Czech cinema and was married for many decades to actress Libuše Šafránková, who also had a firm place in the nation’s hearts. I discussed Josef Abrhám’s career with arts journalist Veronika Bednářová.
The US Netflix documentary series Tiger King was released in March 2020 just as most of us were entering Covid lockdown for the first time, and it kept many people happily glued to their TV screens in those first uncertain weeks. The show, with its eccentric characters and bizarre story, may have struck many Europeans as something that could only happen in America. The EU, with its strong rules and regulations, seemed like a world away – most of us, if asked, would probably assume that keeping a tiger as a pet in the EU is illegal. But the Czech Republic, an EU country since 2004, has a huge and roaring exotic animal trade, with a relatively large number of people keeping exotic animals as pets.
After a four-year search for a new Prague archbishop, the Vatican announced that the post would be filled by Jan Graubner, the current archbishop of Olomouc. But given the fact that Mr Graubner turns 75 next year, the age at which church dignitaries traditionally retire, it is most likely just a temporary solution, says expert Petr Kratochvíl, head of the Institute of International relations in Prague.
Film director David Ondříček is currently shooting a TV series about the fascinating Czech Cold War figure Josef Hasil. His exploits smuggling defectors to the West led to the nickname “king of Šumava”.
When Dana Huňátová joined Czechoslovakia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in late 1989 she literally came across a red telephone to Moscow. As head of office of new minister Jiří Dienstbier she was closely involved in the deep overhaul of the ministry required after four decades of communism.
František Kmoch, conductor and famous composer of brass music, composed over 230 marching and dance pieces, which are still played at village balls and events today.
Helping Zambian farmers cope with climate change, tackling drinking water problems in Peru, opening an eye-clinic in Cambodia or strengthening the tourist potential of Georgia – those are just some of the projects that the Czech Republic has undertaken to help improve living conditions in distant parts of the world. Now, the immediate priority has become responding to the needs of war-torn Ukraine. I spoke to Petr Gandalovič, head of the Foreign Ministry’s department for humanitarian aid and development cooperation about what the country is doing to alleviate the suffering of Ukrainian refugees and help people in need elsewhere.
The longest suspension bridge in the world is opening up in the Czech Republic this Friday. At 721 metres in length, the bridge is nearly a third longer than the previous title holder and offers magnificent views of the surrounding mountain range that lies on the border between Czechia and Poland.
Over the last week there have been reports of Ukrainian Roma refugees sleeping at Prague’s Main Train Station, sometimes for up to 10 days, as they wait to be granted temporary protection. As a stopgap solution, a tent city has been erected in the Troja district to provide accommodation for them. I spoke to Magda Faltová, director of the Association for Integration and Migration, to get her take on the situation.
One of the Czech items on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List is the craft of indigo dyeing with block printing, known as modrotisk. The tradition dates back to the 18th century, but today there are only two workshops in the entire country that produce the iconic blue and white folk pattern.
This week saw the establishment of the Ukrainian-Czech Chamber of Commerce. The organisation will support business cooperation between the two countries both during and after the war. To find out what this cooperation may look like, I spoke to the President of the Chamber Petr Krogman, a Czech businessman who owns a major agricultural company in Ukraine.
Dominika Hašková, the daughter of the Czech ice hockey legend Dominik Hašek, will represent the Czech Republic at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The 27-year-old singer and her band called We Are Domi won the national round with a song called Lights Off with which it will compete in the Eurovision semi-final in Italy’s Turin on Thursday night.
Viktoria Plzeň have been crowned Czech soccer champions for the sixth time in their history. The West Bohemian club have surprised many – even their own coach – with their first title since 2018.
The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the Human Rights Council, the United Nations’ leading human rights body. The Czech Republic’s term starts immediately with the council due to meet for a special session on Thursday to examine the deteriorating human rights situation in war-torn Ukraine.
The Prague Spring International Music Festival was first held in 1946, and since 1952 it has traditionally opened on 12th May, the anniversary of the death of renowned Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. With the festival disrupted during the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Prague Spring is happy to return in full force this year with a special programme, as spokesperson Pavel Trojan told me.
The Bronze Age on the territory of the modern day Czech Republic, a period running from roughly 2,300BC to 800 BC, saw the rise and fall of several distinct cultures. Modern archaeology shows that some of them were far more interconnected with the wider Bronze Age world than previously thought. Meanwhile, the remnants of battles unearthed in Bohemia and Moravia show that the Bronze Age Collapse may have also had echoes in this part of the world. Archaeologists have also found evidence of cannibalism among some of the Bohemian settlers and were even able to recreate the curious millet beer that some of their warriors would have drunk.
We’ve all seen the headlines about how animal agriculture is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters and contributes to climate change. At the same time, most people are not willing to give up eating meat. How can we solve this conundrum? Entrepreneur Roman Lauš may have the answer – his Brno-based foodtech start-up aims to grow pork in a lab using cell cultures from pigs.
Prague councillors have voted in favour of stripping the late Soviet military commander Ivan Konev, who led the Red Army’s liberation of Prague, of his honorary citizenship. Among the reasons for the move is his repressive role within the Communist bloc in the years that followed. Others, who were honoured in the past, have suffered a similar fate.
A Czech company has started to produce anti-tank barriers for the Ukrainian army made on a special, 3D printer. The firm is also considering providing Ukraine with the printers themselves, which would allow them to produce the barriers right on the spot.
Top international credit rating agency Fitch has downgraded its outlook for the Czech economy from stable to negative. This has sparked fears it could also cut the Czech Republic’s credit rating – only adding to its mounting economic woes. I discussed the revised outlook with Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist at Trinity Bank.
Petr Janda, founder and frontman of legendary Czech rock band Olympic, celebrated his 80th birthday on Monday.
Jan Patočka is regarded as perhaps the greatest Czech philosopher of the 20th century. A new book makes several of his writings available in English for the first time.
Prague 8 has chosen the winner of a public tender for a memorial to Jindřiška Nováková, the 14-year old “girl with the bike” whose family hid the paratroopers that assassinated high-ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich. The memorial will be in the shape of a sphere made of multiple circles resembling bike wheels, with the illuminated figure of a girl sitting on top.
The Czech National Bank (ČNB) has chosen to raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points to 5.75 percent, the highest rate since 1999. The hike is also slightly higher than most analysts expected and some have even warned of a stagflation effect as high interest rates may cripple economic growth. To find out whether these concerns are justified, I spoke to Vít Hradil, the chief economist at the investment firm Cyrrus, and began by asking him whether he was surprised by the ČNB’s decision.
After a six-year renovation, the main hall of the Spring Colonnade in Karlovy Vary reopened to the public. The Functionalist structure is located right in the heart of the picturesque spa town and houses its warmest and most popular spring, called Vřídlo or Hot Spring.
The Czech Republic is due to take up the rotating presidency of the European Council in July of this year. Alongside preparations for the daunting tasks ahead at a difficult time for Europe and the world at large, there are plans for a series of cultural and promotional events. I asked Marek Zeman, spokesperson for the minister of European affairs, what is in the pipeline.
The Czech Republic is one of the countries that have called for a two-to-three-year transition period from the EU’s plan to ban Russian oil imports. Within this timeframe, the government hopes to enlarge alternate delivery systems such as the TAL pipeline running from Italy. But to do this, Czechia first needs to secure approval from current TAL users – Germany, Italy and Austria.
Bohéma is the name of a new Prague shop selling T-shirts and other items featuring classic Czech images, from Sokol gymnasts to writer Karel Čapek. The company, previously online only, has opened the outlet in a building associated with major figures in the Czech National Revival. At its opening I spoke to Oldřich Neuberger, who founded Bohéma with his wife Eliška.
As part of a number of educational reforms, the government has proposed making the learning of a second foreign language in Czech primary schools voluntary for students rather than compulsory as it is at present, sparking criticism, controversy and debate among academics, politicians, language teachers, and even ambassadors from EU countries. Almost 2500 people, including foreign language teachers and representatives of three different pedagogical faculties, have signed a petition in support of keeping the second foreign language requirement.
The High Court in Prague has decided to reopen the cases of General Jan Syrový and Rudolf Beran, who served as prime ministers during Czechoslovakia’s tumultuous turn from First Republic to occupied Nazi protectorate. The two men were originally sentenced to 20 years in jail for treason, but with the court now acknowledging shady evidence, their families finally have a chance to restore their reputations.
The head of Mšecké Žehrovice is one of the best known surviving pieces of Celtic art not just in the Czech Republic, but in the whole of Europe. Discovered during the Second World War, it took years before its existence was unveiled to the world and several decades of further archaeological excavation to decode its meaning. It now seems that the face depicts a real man who belonged to the most mysterious class of the Celtic world – the Druids.
The online encyclopaedia Wikipedia has been around for more than two decades – and the Czech language version is not far behind, celebrating its 20th anniversary on Tuesday. We take a look at its humble beginnings, and where it’s got to today.
Czech Radio has launched a new fundraising project which aims to provide musical instruments to children of Ukrainian refugees but also to Czech children whose parents don’t have the means to buy them. The project, called If a Thousand Clarinets is spearheaded by the world-famous Czech opera singer Magdalena Kožená.
Art collector, patron and founder of the Museum Kampa in Prague, Meda Mládková, died on Tuesday at the age of 102. Mrs. Mládková spent more than half of her life in the United States, where she and her husband established a collection of modern Czech art, which she donated to her home country after the Velvet Revolution in 1989.
“Things were better under Babiš!” declare billboards that have been popping up around the Czech Republic. ANO’s name does not appear on the ads – depicting people complaining about how they’ve lost out under the Fiala government – and the party denies it even is a campaign. How much impact can these billboards have? I put that question to political scientist Otto Eibl of Masaryk University.
The Ministry of Industry is looking for ways to speed up the planned construction of a nuclear waste facility in the Czech Republic, which would enable the country to fulfil the EU’s taxonomy plan for using nuclear energy as a clean source. However, the plan is running into opposition from local districts who don’t want nuclear waste stored near their homes.
President Zeman says that in the past he misjudged Russia but has now changed his view of the Kremlin. The Czech head of state said in an interview that Putin was destroying his own country with the war on Ukraine – and scoffed at suggestions he or close associates had served Moscow.
The late singer-songwritter David Stypka dominated the Anděl Music Awards (the Czech equivalent to a Grammy) handed out at a gala ceremony in Prague’s Veletrzni Palace on Wednesday night.
Many Ukrainian refugees of Roma origin are having trouble finding accommodation in the Czech Republic, amid allegations that Czechia is employing double standards. The interior minister denies racial segregation and announced that accommodation for 300 Ukrainian refugees of Roma origin could be ready next week.
Czech soprano singer Kateřina Kněžíková has received the highly acclaimed BBC Music Magazine’s Vocal Award for 2022 for her album Phydilé. The jury praised the collection of fin de siècle orchestral songs for showcasing the singer’s “ravishing tone.”
More than 1,400 people, including several foreign leaders, attended the funeral service for the former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright at Washington National Cathedral on Wednesday. Among those present were representatives of the Czech Republic, Madeleine Albright‘s old homeland, where she commanded huge respect.
In recent days, European universities have been the target of a Russian disinformation campaign claiming that they are expelling Russian students in a wave of Russophobia. Charles University this week categorically denied claims that it was expelling or discriminating Russian students in response to the war in Ukraine.
The most successful novel to date by leading Czech writer Kateřina Tučková is coming out in English this Sunday. Tracing the story of a community of women in the White Carpathians, The Last Goddess is – characteristically for the author – based on extensive historical research.
Russia’s decision to suspend gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria has raised concerns about the consequences of a cut in deliveries to this country. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said that while there were no immediate signals that Czechia was at risk of a gas supply shutdown, the country must be prepared for a worst-case scenario.
Almost everyone has heard of the Great Egyptian Pyramids of Giza, the oldest-known of which was built around 2600 BC; most people in the West have heard of England’s Stonehenge, believed to have been constructed somewhere between 3000 BC to 2000 BC; and some may even have heard of Newgrange in Ireland (Sí an Bhrú in Irish), a grand passage tomb built around 3200 BC. But very few people know about Central Europe’s ‘roundels’ – Neolithic circular enclosures, the construction of which between 4600 – 4900 BC makes them far older than all of the more famous prehistoric sites mentioned above. Radio Prague International spoke to archaeologist Jaroslav Řídký about these ancient structures.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised the Czech Republic’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine at a Tuesday meeting with Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský in Washington D.C. Both heads of diplomacy reiterated the importance of maintaining Ukraine’s sovereignty, while also condemning alleged Russian atrocities.
For the Ukrainian war refugees newly arrived in Czechia, finding long-term housing, work or a school for their children is becoming increasingly difficult. A new map by the NGO People in Need and Charles University’s Faculty of Sciences wants to make this process easier by highlighting which regions or cities have already reached their capacity limits and which are ready to accept more refugees.
A new study suggests that about half the populations of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary are concerned about media freedom – and a majority in the Visegrad Four support national or EU legislation to safeguard it.
The remains of Czechoslovakia’s World War II head of intelligence, General František Moravec, are being ceremonially reburied in his home town of Čáslav this Tuesday. The spy chief died in exile in the United States and was buried for decades in Washington D.C. However, through the efforts of his family, he is now being moved back to his home country amid much pomp and circumstance.
A special conference for children addressing the war in Ukraine took place at Czech Radio’s building in Prague on Monday. Among the speakers, who answered the children’s questions was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Vít Rakušan.
The Mesolithic-Neolithic site of Shaqadud in Sudan is one of the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences’ flagship sites. First found in the early 1960s by German archaeologist Karl-Heinz Otto, Shaqadud became known as a famous prehistoric archaeological site after a Sudanese-American joint expedition helped publicise it in the early 1980s. The Czech Academy of Science’s Institute of Archaeology started investigating the site in 2021. I spoke with Dr. Ladislav Varadzin, who has been heading the excavation, working in an international team including five Czechs (one of whom is his wife, Lenka Varadzinová). I started by asking him about the aim of the excavation.
On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death, a reliquary of Charles I, the last Emperor of Austria-Hungary and thus also the last King of Bohemia, was ceremonially placed within the Cathedral of Saint Vitus at Prague Castle on Sunday. Charles I is seen by the Church as an exemplary Christian monarch and was beatified by Pope John Paul II. His relic is now part of the country’s most sacred national symbols that make up the so-called Treasure of Saint Wenceslas.
Czech politicians have welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron’s election victory over his far-right rival, Marine Le Pen, hailing it as good news for Europe and a signal of stability in turbulent times. I spoke to Zuzana Šimek from the Prague-based Association for International Affairs about the implications of this victory and what it may mean for Czech-French relations.
František Vrábel is an expert on Russia’s infiltration of Czech society via sophisticated online disinformation, something his international company Semantic Visions monitors very closely. At their offices in a lovely Art Nouveau building overlooking Prague’s Old Jewish Cemetery we discussed efforts to combat such propaganda – and Facebook’s role in spreading disinformation. But I first asked Vrábel, who is in his early 60s, a little about himself.
This week’s Sunday Music Show is dedicated to one of the Czech Republic’s most popular contemporary female signers Ewa Farna who has received the highest number of nominations in this years Anděl Music Awards. Born in the city of Třinec near the Czech-Polish border, Ewa Farna has released 15 albums in her sixteen year career, of which roughly half are in Czech and half in Polish. Members of the Czech Academy of Music nominated her for the album Umami in the categories Best Album, Best Singer, Best Song and Best Videoclip.
Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine has put millions of people on the move, refugees fleeing from Ukraine to save their lives and others fleeing from Russia for fear of what the country may turn into in the months and years to come. A British writer based in a city in southern Russia told Radio Prague International how the war turned his life upside down and made him seek refuge in Armenia. Fearing for the safety of those he left behind, he agreed to speak to Daniel Ordonez of RPI’s Spanish section under the pseudonym Robert Ginzburg.
Czech Defence Minister Jana Černochová is currently visiting the United States in order to discuss closer defence ties and the speedy purchase of new military equipment. At a meeting with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. on Thursday both sides expressed their interest in signing a mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement.
After decades of exile both in life and death, the remains of Czechoslovakia’s wartime intelligence chief, Brigadier General František Moravec are being returned to the Czech Republic next Tuesday. The Czechoslovak legionary-turned-spy was one of the few Czechs to have actively served in all three forms of the 20th century's Czechoslovak resistance movements. His legacy in the Czech security community remains strong until this day.
The winter low season is over, but restaurant owners say their clientele has been slow to return, although many have already opened their outdoor gardens and terraces to entice passers-by. According to the company SaltPay, which supplies restaurants with cash register systems, revenue in the first three months of this year has risen by less than half compared to last year – and this despite the fact that in the same period last year, restaurants were closed due to coronavirus restrictions and it was only possible to get food from a take-out window.
In the Czech Republic, drinking is almost a national sport, which people train for from a young age. But a new campaign warns parents against the dangers of children drinking even so-called non-alcoholic beers.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia are “showing a new way forward for Western democracies” with their response to Russia’s war on Ukraine. That is the view of Berlin-based political scientist Benjamin Tallis in an article published this week. I asked the security expert how specifically the two states were achieving this.
Czech police have started investigating suspected war crimes in Ukraine. They are currently gathering testimonies from refugees who fled the country to the Czech Republic. The Czech judiciary can sentence the perpetrators of the violence in absentia and they would face up to 20 years in prison or even a life sentence.
A newly published opinion poll on Czech society’s response to Russia’s war on Ukraine suggests that support for NATO is at its highest level for almost three decades – while only 9 percent of respondents now feel there is no threat of armed conflict in this region. I discussed the study’s findings with one of its authors, Matěj Jungwirth of the STEM agency.
Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Radka Rubilina was based in Kyiv, working as director of the local Czech Centre. A few days before the invasion, she had to leave the country, but she continues to run the Czech Centre’s activities from its temporary headquarters in Prague.
Czechs have provided around CZK 3.4 billion in donations since the beginning of Russia’s war on Ukraine. The largest amount overall (1.67 billion) has been collected by the humanitarian NGO People in Need. The organisation’s media coordinator for Ukraine, Milan Votypka, says that the amount of aid coming in is unprecedented.
Czech children’s writer Petr Březina has launched a unique undertaking to help Ukrainian child refugees feel at home in the Czech Republic. He has put together a bilingual book of children’s fairy tales, illustrated by Czech children, which should help the newcomers to make friends and learn Czech in an easy way. The book called “Fairytales for Ukrainian children” should be ready in time for the start of the new school year.
Researchers from the Czech Republic and Ukraine have been carrying out a joint project in western Ukraine, focusing on the country’s traditional wooden churches. Although the research has been stalled by Russia’s war on Ukraine, the data they managed to collect last year show that some of the oak buildings are over 500 years old:
In just six weeks, more than eleven million Ukrainians have fled their homes because of the Russian invasion. Over four million have left Ukraine, another seven million people are thought to be displaced inside the country. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees it is the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War II. Martina Kroa spoke to migration expert and social geographer Tereza Freidingerová, about various aspects of the crisis and begun by asking her how this refugee exodus compares to previous migration crises.
In the Czech Republic, music, both secular and sacred, plays an important part in the Easter celebrations. Among the lesser known collections of Easter music are Baroque songs composed by literary fraternities in the late 16th and early 17th century. The pieces, which survived in old hymn books, were performed chiefly in churches in rural Bohemia. The songs presented in today’s Sunday Music Show were recorded by the vocal ensemble called Czech Madrigalists.
Taking in over 300,000 war refugees in the space of several weeks is an unprecedented challenge for the Czech Republic logistics-wise and in terms of psychological support. A team of experts from the Israel Trauma Coalition, which trains government organizations, NGOs, healthcare workers, teachers and counsellors how to get communities back on their feet following a disaster, visited the Czech Republic this week to share their know-how. I spoke to Gili Nir from ITC about their mission.
The Great Synagogue in Pilsen, has opened its door to the public after a three-year renovation. The monumental building, which is the second biggest synagogue in Europe and one of the five biggest in the world, opened last Sunday, just a few days before the start of Passover, with a Torah scroll being carried inside under a velvet canopy.
Defence Minister Jana Černochová made headlines at the weekend by saying she would discuss potential US military bases on Czech territory on a visit to Washington. However, within days – and following a heated debate – the prime minister had poured cold water on the idea. So what happened? I spoke to political scientist Jiří Pehe.
Hurvínek, one of the Czech Republic’s most popular puppet characters, is heading into space. He will be carried to the outer edge of the stratosphere on board of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Hurvínek is the second children’s character to fly into space after the Little Mole’s Space Shuttle Mission in 2011.
During its presidency of the European Union, the Czech Republic will seek to advance the debate on halting oil imports from Russia, Czechia’s head of diplomacy Jan Lipavský said following a meeting of Central European foreign ministers on Tuesday. The European Union should also strive towards granting Ukraine candidate status as soon as possible, Mr Lipavský said, adding that Vladimir Putin’s war is a broader challenge to the international order.
Nancy Bishop is an award-winning casting director who has worked on some of the largest Hollywood productions over the past 25 years. Although now living in London, she spent most of her career in Prague. She has recently written a new book titled: “Auditioning for Film and Television: A Post #MeToo Guide”, which provides tips for actors on how to navigate the casting process. I caught up with Nancy recently and began by asking how she ended up in Prague.
A discussion on a possible change to the definition of rape in the Czech legal system was held in the lower house of Parliament on Tuesday. Many experts have been calling for a change, arguing that the current definition doesn’t effectively protect women against sexual violence.
The Brno Expat Fair took place this Saturday. Our reporter Anna Fodor went along to see for herself what it was all about.
The minister of defence in the Prague government is set to discuss the possibility of US troops being stationed on Czech territory at high level meetings in Washington. A cabinet colleague has identified possible locations – and suggests Ukraine would not be in its present situation if it had such bases.
Pavel Klusák’s Karel Gott: A Czechoslovak Story was on Sunday named Book of the Year in the Magnesia Litera, the country’s top literary awards. The publication delves behind the myth of pop legend Gott, earning brickbats from hardcore fans but plaudits from the critics. I spoke to music writer and radio host Klusák when the book came out late last year.
A new CD, Rozhlasová jarní ouvertura (Radio Spring Overture), from Czech Radio‘s e-shop Radioteka.cz, has as its theme compositions by Czech 20th-century modernist composers inspired by the coming of spring, featuring recordings from the 1970s and early 2000s by the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Pilsen Radio Symphony Orchestra.
A new Center of the Roma and Sinti in Prague, the first of its kind in the Czech capital, is set to open next year. The institution will focus on Romani history, as well as on its spiritual and material culture. Organisers hope that the center will also offer an opportunity to discuss contemporary questions of Czech-Romany cohabitation.
As of this summer, Prague residents as well as tourists should find it easier to navigate their way around the city. Earlier this week, Prague city councillors presented a brand-new orientation system that will be launched in a pilot mode both in public transport and in the streets.
In an effort to curb soaring fuel prices in the country, the Czech government on Wednesday approved a VAT cut on petrol and diesel by 1.50 CZK a liter from the beginning of June to the end of September. The move was made under growing pressure from producers and haulers who have been calling for a VAT cut on fuels for some time. I asked David Marek, chief economist at Deloitte Czech Republic, for his take on the decision.
Brno, Czechia's second-largest city, has long played second fiddle to the capital, Prague, in terms of attracting foreign talent. But all that may be changing.
In the past few weeks the Czech Republic has opened its door to over 300,000 Ukrainian war refugees, a great many of whom are children. While their material needs are being taken care of, the process of healing war traumas is much more complicated. I spoke to one of the Czech Republic’s leading experts in the field of child psychology, Petra Winnette Vrtbovska about the problems that need to be addressed and how these children can best be helped to overcome the ordeal they experienced.
The Czech Association of Breweries and Malt Houses (ČSPS) is aiming to get Czech beer culture added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. The authors of the application are optimistic about their chances, but warn that it will take at least four years before the effort is successful.
Czech politicians have joined the world in denouncing the atrocities committed by the Russian army in Ukraine, saying that the war criminals must be brought to justice. In the meantime, the Czech government has boosted military support for the country, sending T-72 tanks and infantry fighting vehicles to help Ukraine defend itself.
Following Viktor Orbán’s landslide victory in the Hungarian parliamentary elections this Sunday, some politicians and experts have questioned future cooperation within the Visegrad group, comprising the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Hungary. I discussed the question with political scientist Pavlína Janebová from the Association for International Affairs.
In recent weeks the Czech Republic has been providing essential services to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees. Now many are entering the labour force, but what impact will that have? And how best can they be integrated? I discussed this with labour expert Daniel Munich of CERGE–EI, who believes Ukrainian workers could benefit the country.
Czech animated films have enjoyed international popularity and acclaim that far outstrips what you might expect from a small country of 10 million people. A current Prague exhibition aims to show the public that Czech animation is still alive and well and to popularize it, especially among the younger generation.
A new exhibition focusing on Slovene architect Jože Plečnik has opened at Prague Castle, the Czech capital’s iconic landmark that Plečnik himself had a big role in reconstructing. The exhibit, located both within the Old Palace building and the wider Castle complex, marks the 150th anniversary of Plečnik’s birth.
The Czech Republic is bracing for a possible disruption in gas imports from Russia, as Moscow stands firm on its demand for payments in roubles. According to the Minister of Industry and Trade, Josef Síkela, Czech government is preparing for all scenarios, including the possibility of a total shutdown.
A Czech Army contingent headed for Slovakia on Monday where they will lead a multi-national battlegroup of alliance forces bolstering NATO’s Eastern Flank. The Czech troops will be joined by air and ground forces from five other allied states and tasked with protecting the border with Ukraine.
Zdeněk Liška is regarded as the greatest ever writer of Czech film music, not only for the scope of his oeuvre but also for his distinctive approach to composition. Liška’s work accompanies 160 feature films as well as countless shorts and TV productions. March 16 was the centenary of his birth.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the daring assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the governor of Nazi-occupied Bohemia and Moravia. Operation Anthropoid was one of the most successful acts of anti-Nazi resistance in Europe during the Second World War. However, the Czechoslovak government in exile organized literally dozens of other operations in the territory occupied by the Nazi Third Reich.
The great Czech artist and illustrator Jiří Šalamoun has died at the age of 86. Šalamoun was best known for Maxipes Fík, a cartoon character loved by several generations, and also produced classic book covers and other notable designs.
A team of experts have started to reconstruct one of the four bone pyramids from the famous 14th century ossuary near the town of Kutná Hora. If everything goes according to plan, the first bell-shaped mound, made of hundreds of thousands of bones and skulls, should return to the ossuary by the end of the year.
Many expats living in the Czech Republic are considering buying a property in the country, but for a non-native speaker and foreign national this may sometimes feel like a challenge. To find out more about the most common challenges expats face in this regard we spoke to Robin Petrásek, a mortgage advisor who administers the “Czech Expats property owners group”, a Facebook group of nearly 6,000 people looking to buy or manage their property in Czechia. I began by asking him how the group came to be.
The Czech government is preparing new legislation, inspired by the so called Magnitsky Act, to better implement its sanctions on Russia, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said on Wednesday. Ministries are also coordinating on creating an updated sanctions list. Expropriating Russian-owned property is on the table too.
President Zeman’s team are constantly in the news right now. First it was reported that his head of office, Vratislav Mynář, was behind the shredding of classified documents. Now, following the widely condemned issuing of a presidential pardon, there are reports that Mynář travelled abroad on official business without the government’s knowledge. I discussed the situation with political scientist Jiří Pehe.
During the 1990s the Czech teaching cohort became more “feminised” as large numbers of male teachers opted to leave the profession and pursue a career elsewhere, according to a new study conducted by the CERGE-EI think-tank at the Czech Academy of Sciences. To find out why this happened. and what it means for the Czech education system, I spoke to one of the authors of the study, Filip Pertold.
Czech President Miloš Zeman made headlines on Tuesday after pardoning the former head of the Lány Forestry Administration, Miloš Balák. The man, a direct subordinate of the president’s head of office, recently got a three-year sentence and a CZK 1.8 million fine for manipulating a CZK 200 million public tender.
On Monday Petr Fiala put out a video saying his government’s first 100 days had not been easy, as predicted, but still they had achieved a lot. But how have the Czech prime minister and his ministers really done during the traditional bedding-in period? That’s a question I put to political scientists Petr Just.
An impressive, two-volume book dedicated to Czechoslovakia’s Communist-era architecture has recently been released by Prague’s Bigg Boss publishing house. The ambitious publication, entitled ‘Architecture 58-89’, was written by 30 experts and took more than 10 years to complete.
For the first time ever, the Czech government has a special representative for media and disinformation. His name is Michal Klíma and he has been in charge of several of the country’s leading media outlets in the past. More recently, he has also monitored the Czech media environment for the International Press Institute. I asked him why the government has decided to set up this position and what exactly will be his task.
Czech schools will need more than CZK 5 billion by the end of August to integrate refugees from Ukraine, says Education Minister Petr Gazdík. Despite the unexpected outlay, he still wants to keep his promise to maintain teachers’ salaries at 130 percent of the average wage.
Special school classes for Ukrainian children whose families have fled to the Czech Republic are now running in Prague, Brno and other places. In this report we visit the First Slavic Grammar School, the first such institution in the capital to welcome refugee children in this way.
Balfolk has its origins in 1970s France and revolves around dancing to folk music rhythms from all over Europe. The music is also influenced by several other genres including jazz, tango, rock or even hip-hop. The aim of Balfok is to create a feeling of belonging. In the Czech Republic Balfolk started appearing around a decade ago. Since then, a local dancing community, dedicated to the genre, has been established in the country. In this week's Sunday Music Show we present the new Czech Balfolk album "Karantóny".
A new bridge connecting the districts of Prague 4 and 5 could be named after the recently deceased Prague-born US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. The new name is now set to be approved by Prague City Hall and the relevant district authorities. To find out how the idea came about I spoke to the Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr. He says that there had already been plans to name the bridge after a woman.
Czech billionaire businessman Dalibor Dědek has launched an international petition drive calling for tougher action against Russia over its war on Ukraine. Named We Must Act, the campaign is calling for at least a no-fly zone over Ukraine and humanitarian bridges to besieged cities. Dědek explains what spurred him to action.
Madeleine Albright, a former United States secretary of state who was born in Czechoslovakia in 1937, has died at the age of 84. Mrs Albright was the first woman in history to serve as US foreign policy chief and played a key role in the Czech Republic’s accession to NATO. I discussed her legacy with Daniel Anýž, a well-known commentator on Czech-US affairs:
The Czech Republic has been rocked by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Some are already wondering if the conflict could impact the biggest event in Czech politics this year, campaigning for January’s presidential elections. I discussed the situation with political scientist Miloš Gregor, but I began by asking about the position of incumbent Miloš Zeman, who before the war supported Vladimir Putin.
A new film about a famous skiing race that took place in the Krkonoše or the Giant Mountains in 1913 comes to Czech cinemas this week. Called The Last Race, it depicts the true story of Czech skiing pioneers and friends, Bohumil Hanč and Václav Vrbata, who tragically died in a blizzard on the mountain ridge.
Many in the Czech Republic have been welcoming Ukrainian refugees into their homes. One of the most high-profile Prague residents to do so is the ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Martina Mlinarević, whose family have taken in two Ukrainian families, swelling their usual household of three to no fewer than nine. She explains their motivations.
Many regional and municipal administrations in the Czech Republic who saved at least part of their funds in Russia’s Sberbank have lost access to their money since the bank lost its license after the invasion of Ukraine. Amid fears that this could lead to financial problems for some districts, the Association of Towns and Municipalities is set to discuss the issue with the Ministry of Finance.
Over 270,000 refugees, mainly women and children, have fled to the Czech Republic as a result of the ongoing Russian war on Ukraine. To help them find their way around a new country, a group of IT experts have created a community map showing all the important places and services the refugees might find useful in Czechia.
The annual One World festival of human rights documentary films gets underway on Monday with film screenings in 25 cities across the country. The event, which will officially open at the Prague Crossroads centre on Wednesday evening, will showcase more than 80 documentaries from all over the world over the next two weeks.
The Dresden Barracks, one of the largest buildings in the former Terezín ghetto, are currently in a desolate state. Experts say that the complex needs to be repaired quickly if it is to survive. However, the necessary funds may be harder to secure than was initially thought.
Lenka, which was recently released as a Guardian Documentaries film, offers a sensitive depiction of a methamphetamine addict in a rural Czech community. The documentary is the graduation film of Barbora Benešová, a Czech who has been living in the UK for a decade and a half. I discussed her protagonist’s situation and the Czech Republic’s relatively high levels of meth usage with the director. But first she explained how she made the switch from her original career of banking into film.
This week, Czech Radio hosted a benefit concert for Ukraine, which saw the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra perform famous Czech and Ukrainian compositions in Prague’s Rudolfinum concert hall. The event raised nearly three million crowns, which were sent to the NGO People in Need.
Applications to join the Czech Army’s active reserves, a non-professional pool of troops that the armed forces can draw upon when lacking in manpower, have grown tenfold since Russia invaded Ukraine three weeks ago. Overwhelmed by the number of applicants, the Army is now expanding its training capacities.
The Czech power utility ČEZ has launched a tender for the construction of a new nuclear unit at the Dukovany power plant. The new unit should be completed by 2036 and will be the biggest investment in the country’s modern history.
Many foreign visitors and residents of the Czech Republic’s picturesque cities may have felt the urge at some point to buy property in the country. But what does this exactly entail? And is it worth investing in a real estate market where prices have been rising for several years now? To find out, Radio Prague International interviewed several expats and real estate agents who are active in the business. In part one, we speak to American Colin Shea whose investments in Czech properties have led him to become a full-fledged land lord.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine three weeks ago, Czechs have shown a remarkable wave of solidarity with the thousands of people seeking refuge in the Czech Republic. But with no end of the conflict in sight, experts warn that the Czech society may soon enter a phase of disillusionment.
Czechs have always had a complicated relationship with Russians. At some points in history, they saw them as their Slavic brothers who could help them gain independence and freedom. But Czech hopes for a mutually respectful relationship were repeatedly dashed by the arrogance and aggression of Russian political leaderships.
The church of Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows, which serves the Greek Catholic parish and the Ukrainian community in the town of Pardubice, rarely makes news headlines. The invasion of Ukraine put it in the spotlight as hundreds of people – believers and atheists- descended on it with offers of material aid for the people of Ukraine. Ukrainian priest Marian Kurylo spoke to Czech Radio about the war that changed his people.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, together with his counterparts from Poland and Slovenia, met with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv on Tuesday after traveling to the besieged capital by train. The three EU heads of government stressed in their message that Europe stands with Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s aggression. Negotiations revolved around securing further material help for Ukraine and expanding sanctions on Russia.
Caritas is a Catholic non-profit organization operating at the grassroots level in 160 countries around the world, aimed at helping the poor, vulnerable, and excluded, regardless of race or religion. In the Czech Republic, Caritas is the oldest non-profit organization working at the national level, and also the biggest non-state provider of social and health services. I caught up with Caritas Czech Republic’s Head of Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation, Jiří Škvor, to find out how they are helping with the Ukrainian refugee crisis.
As the influx of refugees from Ukraine to the Czech Republic continues, accommodation capacities is some parts of the country have already been exhausted. In reaction to the situation, the Czech interior minister announced a plan for a stricter redistribution of refugees across all of the country’s regions.
Labour offices around the country are starting to feel the strain of the influx of war refugees from Ukraine. Having settled down in their new surroundings, thousands of newcomers are now looking for a school in which to place their children and a job to help sustain them. The vast majority say that in the initial stage they are ready to take whatever they are offered.
With the Czech Republic facing its worst refugee crisis since the Second World War, the European Union has promised to provide modular humanitarian bases in order to help house the large influx of people arriving in the country. Meanwhile, regional governors are calling for a long-term plan and higher state subsidies for hoteliers in order to unlock more of the country’s recreational facilities for refugees.
Czech Radio is hosting a benefit concert in support of Ukraine in Prague’s Rudolfinum Concert Hall on Monday evening. The concert, featuring the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, will combine music by Ukrainian and Czech composers. The proceeds will go to a collection organised by the NGO People in Need.
From Monday respirators are only required in the Czech Republic on public transport or at health or social care facilities. However, the number of fresh Covid cases has risen almost daily in the last week – raising the question of whether the timing is right. I discussed the situation with biochemist Jan Konvalinka.
Vladimír Mišík is a Czech rock singer, guitarist, lyricist and songwriter. Dubbed “The Legend” Mišík has long been a fixture on the Czech rock scene.
For more than six decades, Czech scientists have been involved in nuclear research at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in the Russian town of Dubna. Now, the Czech Republic has announced it will terminate its long-term cooperation with the Russian institution, following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.
It may surprise you to know that Ukraine has its own Czech-speaking community. Although they are collectively called "Volhynian Czechs", their ancestors settled not only in the Volhynia region in the West of the country, but also in Crimea. Many of these Czech-speaking Ukrainians took advantage of the opportunity to repatriate to their ancestral homeland after World War II, as well as after the fall of Communism in 1989. Nevertheless, several thousand Czechs continue to live in Ukraine and are now experiencing the hardships of war, as is the rest of the country, due to the Russian invasion. Vít Pohanka has their story.
Tributes are being paid to Eva Zaoralová, the former longstanding artistic director of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, who has died at the age of 89. Eva Zaoralová and festival president Jiří Bartoška made Karlovy Vary the region’s biggest cinema event after taking the reins in 1994, says film journalist Vojtěch Rynda.
Fuel prices are continuing to rise and have already reached historic highs in the Czech Republic. The government has therefore decided to abolish the mandatory blending of bio-components into fuels and also to abolish the road tax on vehicles weighing up to 12 tonnes. But is it enough? And how will inflation impact the country’s industry and its citizens? I put these questions to Jan Vejmělek, chief economist at Komerční banka.
Since the start of the Russian aggression in Ukraine close to two million people have fled the country. Close to 200,000 refugees, mainly old people, women and children, have found their way to the Czech Republic –on their own, with the help of volunteers or by getting on one of the humanitarian trains that the Czech government has been sending out to the Slovak and Polish borders daily. Our contributor Martina Kroa enlisted as a volunteer at Prague’s Main Railway Station to experience the humanitarian aid effort first hand.
The Czech government has just rubberstamped a raft of measures aimed at helping the thousands upon thousands of Ukrainian refugees who are arriving in the country. At the same time, the country’s leaders have called for continued solidarity with the new arrivals – and unity in the face of Russian aggression.
Czech volunteers assisting Ukrainian refugees crossing at the Slovak border town of Ubľa are calling for more interpreters to bolster their numbers. Interpreters are needed for organising further transport of the refugees to the Czech Republic and other Western countries.
Prime ministers from the EU’s Visegrad Four bloc, including the Czech Republic’s Petr Fiala, met with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London on Tuesday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. All parties agreed on a common approach to Russia’s aggression against its neighbour, as well as on the necessity to lower their countries’ energy dependence on Russia. Further sanctions against Vladimir Putin’s regime are also on the table.
Has Russia’s President Putin lost touch with reality? And how are things most likely to play out now, following the launch of his bestial war against Ukraine? I discussed those questions with a leading Czech expert on Russia, political geographer Michael Romancov. Our conversation also took in Czech issues, such as President Zeman’s abandoning of his previous support for Putin.
If you’re a parent of young children, you might have found yourself missing going to cultural events such as classical music concerts where children are usually not welcome. Well, fear no more – there is an organisation in Prague offering classical music concerts for parents with kids under three.
Things were already looking grim for the economy before Russia’s war on Ukraine, but now many Czechs are bracing themselves for massive price increases. Ahead of a government meeting Wednesday on helping citizens cope with rocketing energy costs, I discussed various issues with economist Danuše Nerudová.
Prague’s main centre for registering refugees was overwhelmed on Monday and forced to temporarily close its doors to further applicants for 24 hours. The closure has raised concern among those who waited for hours to register. The interior minister later explained that Prague was buckling under the strain, saying the pressure would have to be distributed more evenly among the country’s regional centres.
Schools around the Czech Republic are now scrambling to welcome thousands of Ukrainian newcomers, many of whom are still shell-shocked from the war in their home country and the often harrowing escape to safety. In an effort to help make them feel at home schools are engaging Ukrainian students and teachers already living in the Czech Republic who are able to reassure them by addressing them in their native language and teach them their first words of Czech.
On Monday, March 7, hundreds of guests are expected to gather at Prague Castle for an awards ceremony which will see state honours handed out for the first time since 2019. The ceremony has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine and several leading state dignitaries have announced that they will boycott the event in view of the president’s previous cordial relations with Vladimir Putin.
As a security expert focused on media and the internet, Roman Máca has been very busy lately, monitoring a rise in activity among pro-Russian online voices linked to Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Máca, who works for the Institute for Politics and Society, has also been drawing attention to radical individuals, some of whom he calls Putin's Czech "legion".
This week’s Sunday Music Show is dedicated to the Concert for those affected by Russia’s attack on Ukraine, which took place on Wenceslas Square this Monday and was organised by Czech Television. Various leading Czech bands and signers, including Mirai, Chinaski, Mig 21, Pražský výběr, Marie Rottrová and Tomáš Klus, sang during the fundraiser, which also featured a performance by the Czech Philharmonic orchestra. Many of the songs also had symbolic meaning. For example, Michal Hrůza sang Karel Kryl’s famous 1968 song Bratříčku, zavírej vrátka (Close the Gate, Little Brother). A total of CZK 160 million was raised during the event. The money will be sent by Czech Television to People in Need’s SOS Ukraine charity fund.
Employees at the Brno-Řečkovice shooting range have decided to do their bit in helping Ukrainians defend their country by providing free weapons handling and tactical training courses to those men looking to return to their homeland and fight. Many of the fresh students have never held a gun before, says organiser Josef Kraus. I asked him how the idea to start offering weapons training began.
Despite repeated intelligence warnings, many were caught by surprise when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last week. One of those who predicted that this was likely to happen was Jan Kofroň, an international relations scholar at Charles University’s Faculty of Social Sciences. I caught up with him earlier this week to discuss his impressions of the conflict thus far and began by asking him why he thought it was likely that Vladimir Putin would order the invasion.
For many years the NGO Memory of Nations has been recording the testimonies of Czechs who suffered under the Nazi and Communist regimes. Now the group has a new focus: raising money to buy materials directly for the Ukrainian Army.
In response to a request by the Ukrainian public broadcaster UA:PBC, Czech Radio has launched an internet stream of the UA:PBC radio broadcast in Ukrainian. The stream will be available on the audio portal and in the mobile application mujRozhlas.cz. The aim of the project is to make information about the war in Ukraine available daily to refugees and Ukrainians in the Czech Republic. Czech Radio’s external service, Radio Prague International, will also launch a new podcast next week called “News for Ukrainians in the Czech Republic,” which will focus on practical information for Ukrainian refugees in Czechia.
Alla Větrovcová is a former Radio Prague International journalist who now lives in the suburbs of Kyiv. She described life in Ukraine’s capital as locals wait out the Russian attacks.
The Czech government is further intensifying its efforts to aid Ukraine. Systems are being put in place to help the Ukrainian refugees entering the country every day and ministers say a state of emergency from Friday will accelerate the process of welcoming thousands of new arrivals.
The democratic world is exerting unprecedented economic pressure on Russia to try to stop the country’s aggression in Ukraine. How effective have the sanctions been so far and will they be enough to stop Putin? And how is the crisis in Ukraine going to impact the global and European economy? Those are some of the questions I put to Tomáš Sedláček, a leading Czech economist, university lecturer and a former member of the National Economic Council.
Horrified by images of suffering from Ukraine, many Czechs are setting off in cars and vans to deliver aid themselves to people on the country’s borders – and ferrying refugees back to the Czech Republic. I spoke to two young men who drove to Prague four women and two children from the Ukrainian frontier.
After several days of tense silence regarding the fate of Volhynian Czechs living close to a military facility being bombed by the Russians, the Czech authorities announced on Tuesday that a rescue operation had successfully brought 88 Volhynian Czechs, including 46 children, out of the country.
As the war in Ukraine reaches its sixth day, many Czech NGOs are helping directly in the country or on its borders with the EU. One of them is People in Need (Človek v tísni). To find out what the situation is like on the borders and for Ukrainian refugees, I spoke to People in Need’s media coordinator for Ukraine, Milan Votýpka.
In order to simplify and speed up the admission of Ukrainian refugees to the Czech Republic the authorities have set up a National Assistance Centre and registration hotspots around the country. Ukrainians seeking refuge in the Czech Republic will receive a 12-month entry visa, health insurance and a labour permit.
Within just a single weekend, an initiative of IT experts known as Česko.Digital, has set up an online directory of ways in which people in Czechia can help war-stricken Ukraine. Called stojimezaukrajinou.cz (Stand with Ukraine), the website also works as a directory for Ukrainian refugees seeking help with issues ranging from transport and housing to legal assistance.
Words of support for Ukraine and tributes to its brave people have been flooding the media, social networks and the Czech digital space.
The Russian military aggression in Ukraine and the country’s brave efforts to resist the invasion have sparked an unprecedented wave of solidarity in the Czech Republic. It is not just the close proximity of the country, located just 300 km away, but also echoes of the 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia that have jolted politicians and the public into action.
Divokej Bill, whose name translates as Wild Bill and references Wild Bill Hickock, a folk hero of the American Old West, are one of the most popular domestic bands on the Czech live circuit.
Hundreds of people gathered on Prague’s Wenceslas Square on Thursday to protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There were also gatherings at several other places in the Czech capital, including in front of the Russian Embassy. Among the protestors were many Ukrainians living in the Czech Republic, their faces expressing shock at what just happened.
The Czech Republic tried to persuade its EU partners to block Russia from the SWIFT international payments system, the country’s foreign minister said on Friday. The Prague government is reportedly underwhelmed by the European Union’s hitherto response to the invasion of Ukraine and is undertaking steps of its own.
Martina Kroa talks to Georgij, a Russian student at the Prague University of Economics, about how the invasion of Ukraine impacted his life, his relationship with family members back home – and even the likelihood of him returning to Russia one day.
Czech top officials have joined widespread international condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Czech government’s call for much tougher sanctions against Russia, was echoed by President Miloš Zeman who described Putin’s military operation as “a crime against peace” saying the Russian leader must be stopped.
As the eyes of the world rest on Ukraine, European governments are preparing for possible scenarios, and means of helping the country. The full-blown Russian invasion will require humanitarian aid on the ground and may result in an outpour of refugees to European states. The Czech government has said it is ready to take in thousands of Ukrainians should the need arise.
As Russian aggression in Ukraine mounts so does the amount of Russia-related fake news in the digital public space. Bob Kartous from the Czech Elves says the disinformation campaigns on this topic have quickly pushed out the main theme addressed by trolls in the past two years – the Covid pandemic. I spoke to him about the fake news out there and what can be done to counter it.
More than a thousand people gathered in the centre of Prague on Tuesday evening to express solidarity with Ukraine and its citizens as fears grow over the possibility of a Russian invasion of the country. The event, organised by Million Moments for Democracy, was also attended by many Ukrainian expats, who wanted to support their friends and family at home.
Czechs are known as one of the dog-friendliest nations in Europe, with around two million dogs living in a country of ten million. Apart from the globally popular dog breeds, such as Golden Retrievers, you can also spot breeds that originated in the Czech Republic. In the first part of our new mini-series presenting Czech dog breeds, we focus on the smallest of them – the Prague Ratter.
The Czech government has long been advocating tough sanctions against Russia over its aggression towards Ukraine and has extended support to the Kyiv government. But how well is Petr Fiala’s cabinet prepared for the potential impact of conflict on the Czech Republic itself? I discussed that question and more with Pavel Havlicek of Prague’s Association for International Affairs.
This February marks exactly 80 years since the Czechoslovak Army started to enlist women in its services. Today, there are two female generals serving in the Czech military. The first one to be promoted to the rank of general was Lenka Šmerdová nearly five years ago.
Images of the final plans for a Holocaust memorial at the Bubny train station show how a project dedicated to remembering the past can play a part in revitalizing a neighbourhood in the future.
President Putin’s decision to recognize the independence of the breakaway Ukrainian republics of Donetsk and Luhansk and station troops in Donbas under the guise of protecting Russian citizens there has raised hackles in the Czech Republic, bringing back memories of the Russian-led invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, also undertaken under the scenario of “brotherly assistance” from Russia.
In the recently published Memory Speaks, the linguist Julie Sedivy explores the deep connections between language, memory, identity and migration. As well as drawing on science, the book is also something of a memoir. Sedivy’s own family left Czechoslovakia when she was just two and when they settled in Canada she gradually lost most of her Czech. However, as a “heritage language learner” she has managed to reconnect with her mother tongue in recent years. She spoke to me remotely from her home in Calgary.
Prague’s art scene has got a notable new player with the opening of the privately-owned museum Kunsthalle Praha. The venue’s first major exhibition reflects the building’s history as an electricity transformer station.
In a Sunday interview with Czech Television, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said he still believes a peaceful solution can be found to the Russian build up on the Ukrainian border. However, he also said that the likelihood of a Russian invasion has increased and could happen at any moment. In the face of this threat the prime minister praised EU and NATO unity in confronting the situation.
This Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Antonín Dvořák’s piano works, performed by the outstanding Czech pianist Ivo Kahánek. The recordings you will hear are part of his new collection of four CDs entitled Dvořák: The Complete Piano Works, which includes both his larger cycles and occasional pieces, as well as several little-known works, recorded for the very first time.
The Czech Republic’s annual Muriel Award for the best comic book of the year was given to Štefánik, a graphic novel about one of the founders of Czechoslovakia. The novel, a joint endeavour by writer Michal Baláže, Gabriela Kyselová and illustrator Václav Šlajch also received the Czech Academy of Comics Award.
The inhabitants of Dobříš, close to Prague, are calling for a referendum to block developers from building largescale housing on the outskirts of the district. The situation is similar in many of the towns and villages in close proximity to Prague which find themselves massively expanding as Praguers move out of the city due to high prices and the search for better infrastructure.
The effects of the global coronavirus pandemic and the associated chip shortage resulted in a substantial fall in Czech automobile production in 2021 and freshly released data for January showed the worst year-on-year production fall in more than 10 years. According to Jan Bureš, the chief economist at Patria Finance, the next one to two years will likely see the Czech automobile sector fluctuate. What he sees as key for the future is whether local manufacturers manage to successfully react to new trends.
The great Czech film director Miloš Forman would have been 90 on February 18. After creating some of the best films of the Czechoslovak New Wave, Forman enjoyed a second career in Hollywood, winning two Oscars. We speak to some people who knew him.
The concept of Open House, founded by Victoria Thornton in London in 1992, was intended to help citizens start perceiving their surroundings in terms of design and architecture. Thanks to the festival’s success, it expanded to 50 cities all over the world. And one of the cities where it is particularly meaningful is Prague, a city packed with architectural gems, legends and historic sites. Open House Praha, is a non-governmental, non-profit organization which provides this service, bringing the city’s architectural gems to the attention of the broad public and giving them access to places that are not normally open to visitors. I spoke to Michal Šedivý, a guide at Open House Praha, about some of the walks around Prague that they are planning in the coming months.
With soaring inflation people are being advised to invest their money in various commodities. The Czech Mint in Jablonec nad Nisou has just given a select few the chance to invest a whopping 14 million crowns in the biggest gold coin ever minted on the Continent.
The Research Institute for Gene Pool Conservation at the Dvůr Králové Zoo is hoping to reinvigorate the small gene pool of zebras in zoos by collecting semen from animals in the wild. The project is currently being tested and, if successful, could help not just zookeepers around the world, but also store genetic material belonging to the most endangered species of steppe zebra.
Czech archaeologists have made another major discovery in Egypt. During excavations in Abusir, south of Cairo, they unearthed a cache of embalming materials, consisting of 370 large vessels and a number of smaller artefacts used in the mummification process. It is the largest find of its kind from Ancient Egypt discovered to date.
Perhaps the most famous Czech ice hockey player ever, Jaromír Jágr, is celebrating his 50th birthday this Tuesday. To mark the occasion, coin maker České dukáty and the State Printing Works of Securities (STC) are printing a total of 10,000 special banknotes featuring Jágr and paying tribute to the many international successes that the golden generation of Czech ice hockey achieved at the turn of the millennium.
The Czech government plans to cut the old-age pensions of senior communist-era secret police officers. While the idea is welcomed by some, calls have also been made to do more for the victims of the former regime, many of whom are on very low pensions.
Further confirmation that prices in the Czech Republic are rocketing came with the news on Monday that inflation reached 9.9 percent in January, following the sharpest month-on-month jump ever seen in the country. I discussed the inflation situation with Lukáš Kovanda, chief economist with Trinity Bank, who said there were multiple causes.
In view of the escalating threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs has withdrawn its diplomats’ families from the country. While the embassy in Kyiv continues to operate for the time being, the ministry has also called on other Czech citizens to leave the country if possible.
Ivo Kahánek is one of the most successful Czech pianists of his generation, performing with top domestic orchestras and regularly appearing at some of the world’s top classical venues. Last year the 42-year-old won acclaim for the mammoth Dvořák: Complete Piano Works. We recently discussed that unprecedented collection, piano students’ fear of ending up teachers and much, much more.
Banjo playing Ivan Mládek is likely to be the first image that comes into a Czech’s mind when talking about funny songs to play by the camp fire. Mládek has been writing, singing and performing songs for close to six decades now and is one of the few Czech musicians to also register big success abroad. His hit Jožin z bažin is known to millions of Poles, Germans, Italians and Russians.
On the occasion of World Radio Day, Radio Prague International is updating its signature jingle.
Prague is known as one of the culture capitals of Central Europe and Czechs have a long tradition of musical education. One of the people that prove this heritage is still alive and well is Ian Mikyska, an up-and-coming composer who is pushing the boundaries of contemporary classical music. I recently caught up with him to find out more about his ensemble’s most recent innovation.
A team of three artists from Liberec have painted a unique picture with which they hope to support the North Bohemian city’s efforts to be selected as the European City of Culture in 2028. The 3x2.2m art piece was the result of a non-stop 124 hour painting process during which the team received ideas from onlookers.
Martina Sáblíková has secured another medal for the Czech Republic at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. On Thursday, the Czech speed skating sensation won the bronze in the women’s 5,000 meter race. It is already the seventh Olympic medal for Sáblíková from four consecutive Winter Games.
From this Thursday, people in the Czech Republic no longer have to provide a vaccine certificate or a certificate of having recovered from Covid-19 in order to enter restaurants, hotels, mass events or various types of services. The measure was cancelled by the government following last week’s ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court.
This February marks one hundred years since the invention of polarography, a pioneering method analysing substances in solutions, developed by Czech chemist Jaroslav Heyrovský. More than thirty years after his discovery, he was awarded the Nobel Prize, becoming the first Czech to receive the honour.
Caritas Czech Republic, the biggest non-governmental provider of social and health services in the country, also has humanitarian aid projects in many countries of the world. With help from the Czech Development Agency, it built and equipped the first screening center in Zugdidi, Georgia. I spoke to Jan Blinka of Caritas CR about why they chose Georgia and how the center has been helping to raise awareness of screening and prevention in a country where cancer still carries a big stigma.
Artists have handed down the secrets of their work to younger generations for centuries. Sadly, this is not always the case and the unique artwork leaves the scene with its maker. Glass master Zdeněk Drobný, who single-handedly created unique pear-shaped vases in the Moser glass works for 10 years, is about to retire and he has no one to hand down his skills to.
Jiří Menzel’s classic film Larks on a String, about victims of communism forced to work in a huge scrapyard, was completed in 1969. However it was then put on a blacklist by the regime, where it remained until 1990 – when it won the Golden Bear at the Berlinale. This week the movie is going back to Berlin, in a newly restored version. I discussed it with Michal Bregant, head of the National Film Archive.
Ester Ledecká won the Czech Republic’s first gold medal at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games on Tuesday after dominating the Women's snowboard parallel giant slalom. It is the third Olympic gold medal overall for the 26-year-old, who also won in the same category and in the women’s Super-G event at the previous Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang.
Czech composer Tomáš Kympl has marked his third victory in the UK Songwriting Contest. In 2021 he won the Electronic and Dance Music category with his composition Wifi, which is part of his album Kernel Panic, released last June.
The number of Czech women who are alcoholics is growing. According to research conducted by the Addictology Clinic of the General University Hospital in Prague, Czech women drink on average six litres of pure alcohol a year. The ratio of female drinkers has also gone up when compared with men. While there were 10 men for every one female alcoholic during the 1980s, today this ratio is closer to 4:1.
Michal Krecul, today aged 98, was a Gulag survivor, decorated Czechoslovak WWII soldier and later political prisoner who left for the West in 1968. A new study by a Czech historian finds that he also went unpunished for his part in the killing of 10 Jewish civilians in hiding from the Nazis.
The Czech minister of foreign affairs has started a two-day visit to Ukraine intended to show support for the Kyiv government in the face of strong Russian pressure. Jan Lipavský and his Slovak and Austrian counterparts are also travelling to the Donbas region.
Music lovers asked to name the greatest Czech composers will likely answer - Dvořák, Smetana, Janáček, Suk, Martinů ,but the chances are, they may not think of Vítězslav Novák. A pupil of Dvořák's, he was one of the most distinguished composers of his time; a Post-Romantic and the first of the generation of Modernists profoundly inspired by Moravian folk music.
The Council of the Czech National Bank (CNB) chose to raise its base interest rate from 3.75 to 4.5 percent on Thursday, to its highest level in twenty years. The move follows several increases over recent months and, according to bankers, is a reaction to rising inflation.
A dispute between the Czech Republic and Poland over a mine on the Polish side of their border has been resolved, with the leaders of the two states signing a deal in Prague. However, locals in North Bohemia say they will lose out.
After analysing dozens of brass objects dating back to antiquity, a team of Czech archaeologists claims that it has proven the existence of extensive diplomatic and trade contact between the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes that lived in Bohemia during the centuries around the birth of Christ (100 BC to 200 AD). They say that the method could also help shed light on Ancient Rome’s economy. I spoke to one of the leaders of the project, Daniel Bursák from the Archeological Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, and began by asking him why the team chose to focus on brass.
A new project aims to create a new 9,801 kilogramme bell for Prague – to commemorate thousands of Czech church and tower bells stolen and melted down by the Nazis in summer 1942. The cost will be raised via a public collection.
Wolves are slowly returning to the Czech Republic after more than a century. What kind of environment are they returning to, do they have enough prey and adequate conditions for breeding? And are the country’s present day inhabitants ready to live in harmony with them? Those are questions I put to Jakub Čejka from the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection.
As more and more countries in Europe prepare to return to a normal life, pressure has been mounting on the Czech government to follow suit. Thousands have rallied in the streets of Prague in the past weeks, demanding an end to the restrictions, and a decision by the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday speeded up the government’s plans for a gradual return to normal.
The Ministry of Environment has announced plans to declare the Křivoklát region, south east of Prague, a national park. While conservationists welcome the proposal, the locals oppose it, fearing unwanted restrictions and an influx of tourists.
Julian Anderson, one of the most distinctive composers of his generation, has never been to the Czech Republic, yet he knows more about the country than the vast majority of Brits. Although he has never set eyes on Prague, he has fallen in love with the city and is currently composing a symphony about it. Called Prague Panoramas, it was inspired by Josef Sudek’s black and white photographs of the city, and is due to premier this spring in Prague’s Rudolfinum Music Hall.
Many Czechs will be glued to their screens in the coming weeks, with the Winter Olympics due to get underway in Beijing on Friday. Among the country’s medal hopefuls is Ester Ledecká, whose unprecedented success was the biggest story at the last games four years ago.
A controversial amendment to the Czech Republic’s Pandemic Law, which would broaden the government’s ability to enforce restrictions, is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. While the ruling coalition claims it is a necessary step that would avoid the need to call a state of emergency, opposition politicians and some members of the public have criticized what they see as an unnecessary extension of executive powers.
Rote learning, the backbone of the Czech education system for centuries, may finally be on its way out. The new minister of education, Petr Gazdík, is planning a radical school reform where the emphasis will not be on memorization, but the ability to find information, verify it and use it creatively.
Czech Republic’s doubles duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková won their fourth Grand Slam title on Sunday after a beating Kazakstan's Anna Danilina and Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in a three set final battle for the Australian Open title.
More than a hundred university students from Belarus have found refuge in the Czech Republic, after being forced to flee their country following persecution by President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. They have been supported not only by the universities that took them in, but also by the Ministry of Education and their new classmates.
No list of the best alternative pop music acts of the past year would be complete without the band Midi Lidi. The five-member electronic band simultaneously released two albums in 2021, proving that the coronavirus crisis did not prevent them from producing music. Their double album consists of twenty songs that radiate joy and warmth and invite the listeners to dance along.
New information has come to light regarding the October 2014 explosion at the Vrbětice munitions depot, which Czech intelligence traced last year to Russia’s military intelligence service GRU. Three confidential sources told Czech Radio and the weekly Respekt that Czech police are investigating one of the employees of the company that rented the space at the time of the explosion. He may have met with the head of the GRU unit and provided support for the two agents that are believed to have carried out the attack.
As part of celebrations of the 75th anniversary of its foundation, Prague’s FAMU has just launched a special new video streaming website. The service makes accessible often rarely seen works by graduates of the famous film school, including by some very well-known directors.
The last US ambassador to Prague shipped out just over a year ago, when Joe Biden was inaugurated president. However, his administration is yet to send a replacement, leading to reports that the Czech government is now pushing for Washington to send a new representative to Prague. I discussed the matter with journalist Daniel Anýž, an expert on Czech-US relations.
On the occasion of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, on January 27, the Czech Academy of Sciences has launched a new mobile application, created together with the Multicultural Centre Prague and the Terezín Initiative Institute. Called MemoGIS Prague, it enables users to study the history of the Holocaust through an interactive map.
One name resounds in the city of Brno more than any other this year –that of the Augustinian monk, mathematician and biologist Johann Gregor Mendel, born 200 years ago. The Moravian metropolis is paying tribute to the father of genetics with numerous events – among them a concert by internationally renowned artists, the reconstruction of Mendel’s greenhouse at St. Thomas’ Abbey where he conducted his genetic research on pea plants and an international Mendel Genetics Conference at the university that bears his name.
Despite increasing fears of a Russian attack, the Czech Republic is not for now withdrawing diplomats home from Ukraine. But the Czech foreign minister, Jan Lipavský, says the country continues to back tough sanctions as the most effective means of reining in Moscow.
This year marks 130 years since the appearance of the first skis in the Giant Mountains. Count Harrach, a local nobleman, had them brought from Austria in 1892 to be used by his foresters. Skiing quickly took off and started to spread all around the country, becoming a popular national pastime.
A group of Czech senators have publicly expressed their support for the visiting Tibetan filmmaker and former political prisoner Dhondup Wangchen’s appeal to boycott the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing. The Tibetan film director is currently touring Europe to highlight human rights issues in China in the context of the Olympics.
An international group of scientists, including an expert from the Palacký University in Olomouc, have made a unique discovery. While studying amber fossils in Hungary, they found a beetle dating back dozens of millions of years. The results of the study were published in the prestigious journal Scientific Reports.
The oldest member of the Czech Scout movement, Eduard Marek, died on Sunday at the age of 104. Marek was imprisoned by both the Nazi and Communist regimes and was active in the Czechoslovak resistance. In later life he also made a mark by becoming one of the oldest people to ever parachute out of an aircraft.
The children of foreign nationals who have opted to settle in the Czech Republic, have the benefits of a dual culture, traditions and multiple language skills. However integrating is not always as easy as it may seem and the challenges they face can be daunting.
Explorer, writer and broadcaster Benedict Allen is known for daring travels to such spots as the Amazon, Papua New Guinea and the Gobi desert. The British adventurer has documented his often solo journeys in a series of books as well as TV programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters. However, in recent years Allen has been in a rather different environment, Prague, a city he now calls home. When we spoke recently, he told me his earliest inspiration was his test pilot father.
Tomáš Kačo is a US-based piano virtuoso from the Czech Republic's Roma minority. On the LP My Home the one-time prodigy performs classical, jazz, folk and Romany music.
This week marks 150 years since the birth of Slovene architect Jože Plečnik who had a significant impact on Prague’s modern architecture. Associated with the Vienna Secession architectural style, Plečnik also influenced Czech Cubism. His projects in the Czech capital included the renovation of Prague Castle and the design of the iconic Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord in Prague’s Vinohrady.
Czech mother Eva Michaláková has lost a case at the European Court of Human Rights over lost parental rights to her two sons. The court in Strasbourg ruled that Norway’s social and judicial services did not breach international law or conventions when removing her two sons from her care and stripping Mrs Michaláková of her parental rights in 2011.
Czech archaeologists have made an unusual discovery while excavating an early medieval burial ground near Tetín castle in Central Bohemia. Among the human remains buried there was a skull which they believe may have belonged to a woman of African origin.
The average number of frost days in the Czech Republic, that is days when the minimum daily temperature falls below freezing point, has gradually been falling, according to newly-released data by the Czech Academy of Sciences. Experts warn that this could have a lasting impact on the ecosystem.
As Covid numbers continue to rise steeply, the Fiala government announced on Wednesday that it would invalidate the former government’s directive on mandatory vaccination for selected groups. The move confirms its resolve to pursue an anti-Covid strategy based on trust and goodwill.
After questions about their financing, government coalition member the Mayors and Independents have decided to return millions of crowns they received in donations. The party’s leader says no money is worth risking voters’ trust.
As anticipated, a surge in the Omicron variant of coronavirus has led to sharp rise in new infections. Some 28,469 new cases of Covid-19 were recorded on Tuesday – the highest figure in the Czech Republic since the pandemic began. And health authorities say the daily toll will likely reach 50,000 before the end of January.
The Bamberg Symphony, led by Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, has been awarded the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) prize for best symphonic music for its recording of Symphony No. 4 by Austrian composer Anton Bruckner. This year’s awards list also features performances of music written by some of the greatest Czech composers.
Czech folk singer Hana Horká has died after deliberately contracting Covid in order to avoid vaccination. In reaction to her death, her son has lashed out at Czech anti-vaxxers on social media, blaming them for her death.
It has been nearly three years since the opening of the Czech Consulate in Manchester. One of its main tasks has been to offer guidance and support to thousands of Czechs living in the north of England with their applications for settled status in the UK amid the Brexit transition. I recently caught up with the head of the consulate, Ivo Losman, and asked him how successful Czech officials had been in helping with this administrative process.
Every year, without fail, Miroslav Brož hangs a Czech-Roma flag on his balcony on the occasion of International Romani Day, a celebration of the ethnic group’s culture. He intends to do so again this year – despite having been fined for “violating a state symbol”.
Czech animation is celebrating another international success. The short film Suzie in the Garden (or Zuza v zahradách in Czech) by director Lucie Sunková has made it to the Generation Kplus Competition section at the upcoming 72nd Berlinale. The 13-minute film about the adventures of a girl in a gardening colony will first be screened in the German capital on February 10.
Zuzana Růžičková, who was born 95 years ago on January 14, 1927, was one of Europe's most acclaimed harpsichordists, who was best known for her performances of music written by the German baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach. Her journey towards becoming an acclaimed musician was almost snuffed out at a young age due to the Holocaust.
Prime Minister Petr Fiala’s government won a vote of confidence on Thursday evening. The result came as no surprise as his coalition enjoys a majority of 108 mandates in the 200-seat lower house. Preceding the vote, however, was a contentious debate lasting over 22 hours. The sparring highlighted sharp divisions over how to tackle the Covid pandemic and soaring inflation – while reducing the record-high budget deficit.
Czech scientists are planning to create a map of raw materials that can be found in space. The ambitious plan, recommended by the European Space Agency (ESA), is expected to result in the launch of two satellites in four years’ time.
Coal mining in the Czech Republic will end sooner than originally planned. The new five-party coalition government wants to phase out coal from its energy mix by 2033, five years sooner than the 2038 target recommended by the government’s Coal Commission. However, mining activity is expected to significantly increase in the near future in response to the high costs of natural gas.
Thursday sees the vernissage in Prague of Vision for the Future, an exhibition highlighting three of the country’s most important new architecture projects. Prague’s Savarin complex, a futuristic train station for Brno and a major concert hall for Ostrava have all been designed by foreign studios. I asked curator Adam Štěch, Why select these three particular projects?
Pavel Jasanský is a musician, music therapist and instrument maker who specializes in drums: West African djembe drums, frame drums and powwow drums that are custom made for his clients. He loves the spiritual aspects of these musical instruments and is familiar with the legends and sacred rituals associated with them.
The new Czech government, which takes up the rotating EU presidency in July, hopes to use the opportunity to develop deeper ties with countries outside of the Visegrád Four group. That loose alliance of post-communist central European states was formed 30 years ago, well before its members joined the EU or NATO.
Czechs are among the world’s major exporters of endangered and exotic animals and their share on the world market is growing, according to recent data released by the Ministry for the Envirnoment. The year 2020 saw 55,000 animal species registered within the CITES convention exported from the country, more than ever before. The number of intercepted illegal trades also grew.
The Czech Republic’s film fund has temporarily suspended incentives to attract foreign film productions to the country. While ongoing international film productions shouldn’t be threatened, some experts fear it could discourage other foreign productions interested in filming in the Czech Republic.
There are more than one million people with Czech roots living in the United States today. To reach this Czech ethnic minority, Czech American TV has been broadcasting regular educational programs, both on cable television and the Internet.
A new light installation, called ‘Visibility’, has been unveiled outside the Municipal Library in the centre of Prague. The lamp was created by Czech artist Jakub Nepraš in response to the growing amount of fake news stories circulating on the internet.
The Czech Republic’s many castles and chateaus, visited by millions of tourists every year, are going through hard times. The Covid restrictions together with the soaring price of electricity are proving an enormous financial burden.
On the backdrop of rapidly growing energy prices, businesses have registered growing interest in rooftop solar power systems among Czechs. With higher energy costs and a generous government grant programme, the return on investment into these systems currently ranges around eight years or less for most households.
Anti-vaccine protesters rallied in cities around the Czech Republic at the weekend, demonstrating against mandatory vaccinations for selected groups of the population, restrictions limiting the freedoms of unvaccinated persons and the regulation making respirators compulsory in enclosed spaces. The initiatives Iniciativa 21 and Chcípl pes, which organized the protests, said they plan to get more vocal in the days to come.
With Omicron becoming dominant in the Czech Republic, the government is shortening quarantine periods for those who are Covid-positive. It has also come out with a brand new concept aimed at ensuring critical infrastructure does not collapse: “working quarantine”.
František Xaver Brixi was a Czech classical composer and organist of the 18th century whose work is popular to this day.
This week marks exactly 80 years since the Soviet Union officially granted amnesty to Czechoslovak prisoners who were being held in Gulag labour camps. Thousands of young men escaped from occupied Czechoslovakia into the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II, only to be accused of false charges and sent to work in the notorious Soviet forced labour system. Those who survived went on to fight alongside the Red Army on the Eastern Front.
The Czech Society for Ornithology has named the European greenfinch Bird of the Year 2022. The small passerine bird, known for its bright yellow and green feathers and melodic chirping, is currently facing hard times with population numbers sharply declining.
Rostislav Čapek is an internationally renowned instrument maker, who specialises in crafting banjos and mandolins for bluegrass musicians. A great fan of the genre, he also helped produce a Grammy nominated bluegrass album and regularly organises bluegrass concerts for american musicians in the Czech Republic.
Hundreds of women coerced into or otherwise illegally subjected to sterilisation in decades past may now apply for compensation, in the form of a one-time payment of 300,000 crowns. The Czech state could pay out up to 120 million crowns to women – overwhelmingly of Romani ethnicity – who were sterilised without their informed consent between July 1966 and March 2012.
Facing a potential acute labour shortage, the Czech government has cut isolation requirements for people who test positive for Covid-19. From next Tuesday people will need to stay home for five days, instead of the current 14.
Sometimes the best souvenirs of a place are things that unexpectedly come your way and cost nothing. Brno’s astronomical clock provides tourists with the chance to take away something special.
Wednesday marks exactly 110 years since the opening of one of Prague’s best-known buildings, the Municipal House (Obecní dům). The famous Art Nouveau building was the site of the proclamation of the Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 and also witnessed one of the first meetings between dissidents and the outgoing communist leadership in November 1989.
A device developed by Czech researchers enabling musicians thousands of kilometres apart to play together virtually – with no perceptible delay – proved invaluable during the pandemic. So much so, in fact, that the unique device won a European Heritage ‘Europa Nostra’ Award, for helping bring together students and teachers of classical music, as well as entire ensembles. The idea to develop such a device actually came to Dr Sven Ubik of the Czech Technical University years ago, while attending a concert also broadcast on television.
Charter 77, the most significant protest petition in Czechoslovakia in the Communist period, was published 45 years ago, on January 6, 1977. The document called on the government to adhere to its international human rights commitments and was initially signed by a couple of hundred people. I spoke to one of them, Petr Pithart.
The current European Commission sustainable finance taxonomy proposal could bring about complications when it comes to transforming the Czech energy sector, according to ČEZ CEO Daniel Beneš. Together with the Association of Industry and Trade, he has called on the Czech state to suggest revisions to the document, especially when it comes to the sustainability deadlines on nuclear power.
At the end of the Second World War, American Joe Esquibel lost a silver bracelet when serving as a guard at a prisoner-of-war camp near the west Bohemian town of Mariánské Lázně. Now, more than 76 years later, he got it back thanks to a chance discovery by a local man.
With the Omicron wave due to hit the Czech Republic with full force within 10 days, the new administration is scrambling to take measures that would prevent an overload of hospitals and major fallouts in key sectors of the economy. While vaccination has become something of a mantra for both the old and new administrations, the new government is now on thin ice over a directive on mandatory vaccination for selected high-risk groups.
The majority of Czechs are optimistic about the upcoming year. Meanwhile, a third expect it will be worse that 2021, according to a newly released Median survey commissioned by Czech Radio. Respondents said rising inflation and the devaluation of their savings are their biggest concern going into 2022.
The Czech government is considering shortening isolation periods for people who test positive for Covid-19. Prime Minister Petr Fiala also says that the state will cover the cost of compulsory workplace tests due to start in two weeks’ time.
This edition of the Sunday Music Show highlights music by international performers due to hold concerts in the Czech Republic in the year 2022.
For three decades now Glen Emery has been one of the best-known foreigners in Prague. The charismatic Canadian was a pioneering bar and club operator in the city back in the “Wild East” days of the early 1990s and is still running pubs today. Unsurprisingly perhaps, Emery has accumulated lots of fantastic stories over the years, tales which he has collected in an as yet unpublished memoir. We touched on some of them in a wide-ranging chat, though I began by asking my guest about an unusual teenage experience.
Chateau Lobkowitz was once the seat of one of the most powerful noble families in Bohemia. Decades of communist rule have left it in a dilapidated state. But now, a young couple from Germany has moved in and plans to restore the chateau back to its former glory.
Czech musicians came up with a lot of new hits in 2021. Among the singers are both newcomers such as Robin Mood, or MikAel, as well as established stars including Lucie Bílá and Ondřej Hejma. We take a look at the biggest Czech songs of the past year in this New Year’s edition of our programme.
The faces of two 9th century Great Moravian nobles have been newly reconstructed in extraordinary detail. The project is the work of anthropologist Eva Vaníčková and sculptor Ondřej Bílek, who have been using scientific methods to create hyper-realistic facial reconstructions of historical figures for six years now. Their work was recently published in a new bi-lingual Czech-English book, which includes over a dozen faces that the duo has brought back from the past.
Although Covid numbers in the Czech Republic have been steadily dropping for over a month now, experts warn that the country faces a massive wave of Omicron infections in the coming weeks. In an effort to phase-out the spread of the epidemic, the government has ordered massive testing in companies and institutions of both vaccinated and unvaccinated employees.
During the Cold War, Prague was at the focus of interest of many intelligence agents. Thanks to the Freedom of Information Act, there are now thousands of formerly top-secret documents publicly available in the CIA’s electronic reading room that provide a veritable trove of fascinating historical information on what the Americans knew about Czechoslovakia.
The most-shared Facebook posts in the Czech Republic this year stemming from news sites, as you might well imagine, concerned the coronavirus pandemic. According to an analysis of nearly 500,000 reports, the top post, shared 41,000 times, was a bogus report by Aeronet.cz, a known spreader of pro-Russian propaganda and disinformation.
For the second time now, most Czechs will be seeing the New Year in quietly in the company of family and friends. New restrictions, in force over the next five days, have been imposed to prevent boisterous celebrations which could trigger an explosion of the more contagious Omicron variant in the New Year.
Scientists from Masaryk University in Brno regularly head off to Antarctica at year’s end to conduct long-term research on climate change. This time around, they also will study the influence of polar conditions on animals – and themselves .
Clown Doctors (Zdravotní klaun in Czech) recently marked 20 years of visiting Czech hospitals and nursing homes. Over that period the organisation says it has spent a total of nearly three million hours cheering up patients of all ages. I discussed the past and present of Clown Doctors with director Kateřina Slámová Kubešová.
President Miloš Zeman used his traditional Christmas address to call on the government sworn into office the week before to take bold steps to tackle three major challenges: the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the looming energy crisis, and a ballooning budget deficit.
A new LGBT+ community centre has just opened on Železná St. in central Prague. The centre, which is open year-round, is run by Prague Pride, organisers of the country’s biggest festival for sexual minorities. I discussed it with Pride’s director Tom Bílý, who also heads the new community centre.
Today’s Sunday Music Show pays tribute to the Czech blues, jazz and art-rock guitarist Luboš Andršt, who died last Sunday at the age of 73. Andršt started playing in the 1960s and produced over a dozen solo albums over his career. He collaborated with leading local musicians such as Michal Prokop, Martin Kratochvíl and Emil Viklický. Since the 1990s he mainly performed with his own ensemble, the Luboš Andršt Blues Band. He also performed with international stars such as Paul Jones, Dana Gillespie and B.B. King.
The Czech Christmas is inseparably associated with carp. This rather dull-tasting fish became the central part of the Christmas dinner in the 19th century. It gradually replaced various types of cereal and dried fruit as the most popular fasting meal on Christmas Eve. That said, Czech breeders producing carp and other freshwater fish today do more business abroad than at home.
Snails, once a traditional Christmas dish in this part of the world, are once again gaining popularity. Russian entrepreneur Roman Chusnutdin was one of the first people to cash in on the trend, setting up a small snail farm in Dolní Chabry on the outskirts of Prague.
Five years ago, Czech Radio launched a nation-wide charity called Ježíškova vnoučata (Santa’s grandchildren) that truly reflects the spirit of Christmas. It aims to bring a smile to the faces of abandoned, elderly people who have no family and friends to cheer them up.
While most people in the Czech Republic are looking forward to spending the festive season with their family and loved ones, some have to spend Christmas on their own, bound to a hospital bed. To make the difficult time easier for them, Prague’s Bulovka hospital has been providing the assistance of a chaplain.
Czech expats the world over are taking part in a Best Christmas Carol competition. Give them your vote!
The Czech Republic could in future play a role in NATO’s Rapid Response Force. That is if the country’s new defence minister has her way. Speaking at Czech Army HQ, Jana Černochová also called for increased military spending.
Over the past decade or so, Czechia has seen something of an upsurge in small breweries. There are now about 500 mini-breweries across the country, with over 30 being established last year. However, the new head of the national mini brewers association says the trend has already reached its peak.
Josef Maršálek is a master confectioner with star status. Rising to head pastry chef at the world-famous Harrod’s department store in London, he baked for royalty – serving the Queen of England and Emperor of Japan – and a host of celebrities, such as Sir Elton John. After a sabbatical of sorts at a patisserie in India, he returned to Prague a few years ago to host the Czech version of the wildly popular show the Great British Bake Off. I caught up with him ahead of the Christmas break in hopes of learning a few tricks of the trade when it comes to baking for the holidays. But I began by asking the pastry chef about his latest projects.
A children’s book inspired by the Czech fairy tale character of Vodník or Water Goblin has just been released in Scotland. Called Andyel and His Magic Daddy, the book also features illustrations by Czech teenager Sidonie Procházková.
The Czech Christmas wouldn’t be complete without a dinner of fried carp and potato salad, Jan Jakub Ryba’s Christmas Mass and traditional fairy tales screened every holiday season on Czech television. Perhaps the most popular of them is Tři oříšky pro Popelku, or Three Wishes for Cinderella, made by Václav Vorlíček in 1973. A re-make of the famous fairy tale has now been released in Norway.
Prague’s famous Loreto church has a surprise in store for visitors. Its 27-bell Baroque carillon is being re-programmed to play a Christmas melody from Christmas Day till February 2. It is only the second time in over a century that the melody has been changed.
The new Czech government hasn’t wasted time in laying out its priorities as regards the Covid crisis. A decree on compulsory vaccinations will be amended before it takes effect, while the health minister says he prefers appealing to the public to be careful over state directives.
The new Czech cabinet, led by Prime Minister Petr Fiala, has made it clear that it plans to effect change in many areas of government. However, one area in which the new administration will stay firmly on course is energy policy. The new prime minister said on Sunday that the proposed EU ban on new vehicles with internal combustion engines by 2035 is unacceptable and the Czech Republic would seek allies in Europe to change it.
The great Czech opera singer Dagmar Pecková has just released a new Christmas album with the Musica Bohemica ensemble led by Jaroslav Krček, as well as a rising star of the country’s opera scene Vincenc Ignác Novotný.
Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Václav Havel, the former political prisoner who in late 1989 became Czechoslovakia’s first post-Communist president and a symbol of human rights around the world. Among those who worked closely with him before and during the Velvet Revolution, was the journalist and teacher Jan Urban. Indeed, he suggested “forum” and Havel came up with “civic” when a name was sought for the loose opposition group that pushed through the transition to democracy. As is clear in this interview, Urban is also quite critical of Václav Havel’s performance as president, believing he could have achieved far more.
The Czech Republic’s new government was officially sworn in by President Miloš Zeman at Lány Chateau on Friday. Headed by Petr Fiala, the cabinet is made up of 17 ministers from the ruling Together and Pirates and Mayors coalition. It replaces the ANO-Social Democrat government of Andrej Babiš, which led the country for the past four years.
In the far east of the Czech Republic, just 22 kilometres away from the border with Slovakia, lies the small town of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm. Its biggest tourist attraction is the Wallachian Open Air Museum, which offers a unique look into the history of the region’s architecture as well as associated arts and crafts. The museum also organises traditional cultural festivals during the Christmas period.
This Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Václav Havel, the dissident playwright and first president of post-Communist Czechoslovakia. In honour of his memory, a series of events will take place in cities and towns around the country, but the late Czech president will also be remembered abroad.
The South Bohemian Theatre in České Budějovice has joined other big opera houses around the world in staging its first opera for toddlers. Called Baby Opera, it is accessible to anyone over the age of three months and promises the youngest spectators an immersive, once-in-a-lifetime experience for all the senses.
To date only a small number of cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Czech Republic. However, an independent group of experts known as MeSES believe Omicron is spreading by community transmission in the country – and may have already infected hundreds. I spoke to the group’s Jan Kulveit, an expert on mathematical modeling of pandemics.
České Budějovice is the largest and most populous city in Southern Bohemia. It lent its name to one of the most popular beer brands in the world: Budweiser. However, visitors will find that it offers much more than good beer.
With a growing number of Czech children being diagnosed with Covid-19, hospitals in the Czech Republic are dealing with an increasing number of cases of PIMS-TS, or paediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, a rare condition that can occur in children several weeks after Covid-19.
Rising prices are causing great concern in the Czech Republic at present. While inflation was at 3.4 percent in July, experts are saying it will reach at least 7 percent at the start of 2022. What is the reason for this? And how bad can things get? I spoke to Jan Bureš, chief economist at Patria Finance.
A new two-month exhibition opened up in Prague’s Klementinum this week, which focuses on Saint Ludmila, the grandmother and tutor of the country’s patron saint, who was martyred exactly 1,100 years ago. Visitors are able to explore her life and saintly cult through a variety of literary exhibits, including some of the country’s most important medieval manuscripts. The exhibition is also available online, where visitors are encouraged to try out conducting their own research.
For the majority of Czechs, Christmas wouldn’t be complete without the traditional Christmas dinner of fried carp and potato salad. Indeed, carp accounts for around 80 percent of the fresh water fish bred in the Czech Republic. However, most Czechs only eat carp once a year, on Christmas Eve, and the rest is sold abroad. Czech businessman Jan Čulík aims to change that and make Czechs eat carp not only at Christmas, but all year round.
President Miloš Zeman will appoint the new Czech government to office at Lány Chateau on Friday, despite his objections to the nominee for foreign minister. The development has been hailed as a significant victory for Prime Minister Petr Fiala, a university professor who has promised to change the political culture in the Czech Republic.
A heated debate between EU foreign ministers is expected at the European Council meeting this Monday regarding the possible diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympic Games in China. Several leading constitutional officials in the Czech Republic have indicated that they are in favour of following the Anglo-Saxon world in diplomatically boycotting the Games. However, within the European Parliament, Czech MEP’s are divided on the issue.
The Czech snowboard cross star Eva Samková suffered a major injury at the weekend, breaking both of her ankles during a competition in Austria. The question now is whether the popular sportswoman has any chance of making the Winter Olympics in Beijing in just two months’ time.
Zkoleduj se are Advent charity concerts held throughout the country. Three years ago the group which initiated them recorded a CD of the same name, featuring traditional Christmas carols with a difference.
Karel Gott, who died in 2019, was by some distance the biggest star in the history of Czech pop music, selling tens of millions of albums not just at home but in Germany, Austria and Russia. In a newly published book entitled Karel Gott: Czechoslovak Story, Pavel Klusák delves behind the public image – the myth – that he says the singer carefully cultivated over the decades. I discussed various aspects of Gott’s life and career with the respected music writer.
The village of Ostrov in Central Bohemia may not be exactly a tourist hotspot, but if you happen to find yourself in the area it’s definitely worth a visit. Just a few months ago, a new museum opened in the village, boasting the country’s biggest private collection of Czech and Moravian traditional folk costumes.
The newly opened Café Nezisk is quite possibly the smallest café in the whole of Prague with big ambitions – to raise awareness of (and money for) Czech non-profit organizations. It is part of local coffee house chain Mamacoffee, the oldest “fair trade” roaster in the whole of Central Europe.
Architect Osvald Polívka designed many of Prague’s finest late 19th century and early 20th century buildings, including the Municipal House, New Town Hall and Topič House. The intricate details found on these landmarks are the focus of the freshly published book The Hidden Beauty of Detail: The Prague Buildings of Osvald Polívka, written by architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš and with photographs by Pavel Hroch. I discussed the architect’s work with the former.