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Photo: © Barrandov Studio a.s. František Vláčil’s films Marketa Lazarová and The Valley of the Bees are considered masterpieces of Czech cinema. In 1998 he received a Crystal Globe award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival for...

The war in Ukraine has been raging for almost two years, and refugees continue to arrive in Czechia. Although the majority find employment, it is often in precarious conditions, and over 60 percent of economically active Ukrainian refugees are...

The Chamber of Deputies will mark the upcoming second anniversary of Russia’s wartime aggression against Ukraine with a series of activities. The leadership of the House of Representatives, led by its Speaker, will take part, for example...

Scientists at a university in Liberec are investigating the possible impact of microorganisms on the safety of an underground radioactive waste repository, which should be built in Czechia in several decades’ time. The main focus of their...

A Median poll published Tuesday reaffirms ANO’s long-term commanding lead among Czech voters. But the survey also suggests that the Czech Pirate Party, one of the smaller parties in the coalition, are now ahead of government leaders the Civic...

President Petr Pavel made international headlines at the Munich Security Conference when he said Czechia could secure about 800,000 artillery shells for Ukraine – if partner states provided the funding. How realistic is this plan? And what...

The South Bohemian town of Hořice has a long tradition of passion plays which are intertwined with the family histories of its Czech and German inhabitants. One such family helped save and preserve the first known score for the Šumava Passion...

The second part of our video series on Czech Music Greats looks at a lesser-known name in Czech classical music – Jan Václav Hugo Voříšek. Despite passing away at a young age, he left the world a stunning symphony. Had he lived longer and...

The East Bohemian city of Pardubice, which lies on the confluence of the Labe (Elbe) and Chrudimka Rivers, is mainly associated with its production of gingerbread and the famous Velká Pardubická steeplechase. The industrial city also boasts a...

Kamila Kopřivová is Czechia’s first ever female rabbi. She was ordained in September last year and has since served as a rabbi at the Westminster Synagogue at the Kent House in London. The building is also a home to Torah scrolls that were...

Chants echoed the Pittsburgh Penguins’ home arena on Sunday for the jersey retirement of the legendary Czech ice hockey player Jaromír Jágr. Jágr – who played 11 years with the Penguins – returned to the city he calls his second home to see his...

Record temperatures in many places in Czechia suggest that spring is just around the corner. In parks and gardens, crocuses, snowdrops and winter aconites are blooming. Source

A Thursday night screening at Prague’s Edison Filmhub of the film Utøya, about the mass shooting at a summer camp in Norway, provided an opportunity to discuss the aftermath of December’s shooting at Charles University. One topic was...

Ladislav Nagy is not just a scholar, translator and academic. He is also an experienced jockey and trainer, and even a member of the Presidium of the Czech National Jockey Club! In today’s episode, I have the pleasure of welcoming someone whose...

The roots of punk rock music in Czechoslovakia are said to stretch back 45 years, to a concert by the alternative band Extempore. The gig took place on February 23, 1979 at the Prague pub U Zábranských and featured some covers of songs by UK...

Czechia ended compulsory military service two decades ago. Now, however, the head of the country’s army, Karel Řehka, says it may be necessary to bring it back – otherwise the state could have insufficient military reserves in future. Military...

The Integrity of the Avant-Garde: Karel Teige and the Biography of an Ambition is the title of a book set for publication next month. Its author is US-born Peter Zusi, associate professor of Czech and Comparative Literature at the University of...

A quiet evening together, a walk in nature or the clouds, a visit to the blossoming castle greenhouses, the zoo, relaxation in the spa, or a candlelit dinner? Celebration of St. Valentine’s Day can take dozens of forms. The Czech and...

On 11 February 1929 a temperature of -42.2 was registered at Litvínovice in South Bohemia. It was the lowest temperature since records began in Bohemia and Moravia. The winter of 1929 was one of the coldest since records began in today’s...

Voting in the European Tree of the Year 2024 contest is currently underway. Czechia’s candidate is an unusually shaped pear tree standing in the middle of a field near the village of Mrákotín in East Bohemia. The Czech nominee for the European...

Milan Kocourek is a former colleague of mine, boasts an illustrious career as a BBC World Service producer and reporter. Later he worked also for the Czech National Public Radio. Milan and I discuss what it was like when he as a young student...

The post-Christmas months are when many Czech families hit the slopes for skiing holidays. However, recent weather patterns have thrown a wrench in those plans for a snow filled getaway. Temperatures in the country are currently well above the...

February 15 marks the centenary of the birth of the multi-talented Jiří Šlitr. With stage partner Jiri Suchý, Šlitr was a driving force in Prague’s ground-breaking Semafor theatre in the 1960s – but tragically died while still in his 40s. Jiří...

The Prague 10 district has just unveiled a new visual identity that works with various takes on the logo X, the Roman numeral for 10. This follows a similar move by Prague 3 some years ago, when it even started selling merchandise with a logo...

Victims of sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church in Czechia have written a petition calling for the resignation of the head of the church in the country, Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner. They say he knew about priests, and specifically...

On Thursday, February 15, 2024, at Prague Castle, the President of the Republic Petr Pavel received the credentials of the new ambassadors to the Czech Republic: HE Mr. Ilir Tepelena, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) will be involved in supporting the emerging sector of affordable housing in the Czech Republic. This year, he will prepare a market evaluation and recommend a suitable form of financing for housing...

As the population of foreigners in Czechia continues to grow, students whose native language is not Czech struggle to succeed in the education system, and are more prone to slipping through the cracks. META is an NGO based in Prague that...

It’s estimated that one-third of Czechs are vulnerable to disinformation and misinformation, says Veronika Víchová, an analyst at NGO the Centre for an Informed Society. But what’s the difference between the two, and what threat do they pose to...

According to a local chronicle, the village of Sulislav in the west of Czechia celebrated its first Masopust (Mardi Gras) in 1785. Locals have been following the colourful tradition virtually every year since then and this year’s edition saw a...

H.E.Mr. Hideo SUZUKI, the Ambassador of Japan to the Czech Republic held a ceremony for the appointment of Mr. Marek Hora as the Japanese Cuisine Ambassador in the Czech Republic. The ceremony took place at the Ambassador’s residence. This...

Sixty-five years ago Czech scientist Jaroslav Heyrovský won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his discovery and development of polarography, becoming the first Czech recipient of the prestigious award. The discovery, however, was made much...

World War II, Cold War borders and more recently Russia’s full invasion of Ukraine – the “Czech hedgehog” has been common to all of them. The anti-tank obstacle made of metal beams is, as the name suggests, a Czech invention and dates back to...

This week’s Sunday Music Show profiles chanson singer, guitarist and composer Lenka Filipová, who will turn 70 next week. To mark the occasion, the Supraphon label has released her first, and perhaps the most popular album from 1981, called...

Emil Holub, perhaps the best-known Czech explorer, was born in the Pardubice Region in 1847. His birthplace of Holice boasts the only museum in Czechia dedicated to Holub, who made vast contributions to public understanding of Africa in the...

Photo: National Theatre Brno This year marks 200 years since the birth of the great Czech composer Bedřich Smetana. To mark the anniversary, the National Theatre in Brno has prepared a new staging of his opera Dalibor. Its British director...

In August 2023, Canada appointed a new Ambassador to Czechia, Emily McLaughlin. Ambassador McLaughlin, whose career has spanned over 20 years in the Canadian Foreign Service, has previously held positions in New York, London and Hong Kong...

The great Czech novelist, playwright, journalist and travel writer Karel Čapek, is world famous for his R.U.R. or The War with the Newts, but even his biggest fans are not familiar with the sound of his voice. Thanks to a new app made in...

Column written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo.

The “zmijovka” hat is a common sight in Czechia in winter, particularly in the country. But it turns out it is also popular in parts of West Africa, where it is sometimes called a “Cabral hat” after anti-colonial leader Amílcar Cabral, who...

On Friday evening the Nicholas Winton biopic One Life gets its Czech premiere in Prague, where it is partly set. The film climaxes with Winton’s 1988 appearance on Esther Rantzen’s TV show That’s Life, when the discovery of how the Englishman...

Experts from the Czech Academy of Sciences have presented their first contribution to the LISA space mission. Approved by the European Space Agency (ESA) a few days ago, the Czech component will be crucial to the functioning of the giant...

February is here – and for some Czechs that means putting down their pint glasses and taking a break from alcohol consumption for the month. The ‘Dry February” campaign aims to shed light on the problematic reliance some have with alcohol, and...

Rapper Rohony has won fans around the country for music containing themes such as booze, football and Czech small-town life in general. Adam Rohony, to give him his full name, is from Stařeč (population 1,700) in the Vysočina Region and was...

Prague classical music buffs will soon get more regular opportunities to enjoy Sir Simon Rattle in action, after the world famous conductor on Wednesday signed as principal guest conductor with the Czech Philharmonic from next season. I spoke...

Richard Santus is a pilot and a vintage plane collector. He recently acquired a 1960 Czechoslovak-made Aero 145 aircraft and flew it all the way from Australia to his museum in Podhořany in east Bohemia. Due to all sorts of troubles, including...

Lying mostly in Bohemia with a small portion of its territory in Moravia, the Pardubice Region has a varied terrain ranging from mountains to river plains. Combining modernity and heritage, it features beautiful castles and chateaux, a long...

Czechia has announced that it will abstain in the vote on an EU migration and asylum pact expected to take place later this month. According to government officials, the new draft of the proposal would reduce the possibility of effectively...

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, ended her three-day working trip through the South Caucasus in Azerbaijan.

The Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Markéta Pekarová Adamová, visited Armenia at the head of a parliamentary delegation.

Little Martin, a two-year-old Czech boy with a rare hereditary disorder, is currently recovering in a hospital in France after undergoing a revolutionary new gene therapy. His treatment was paid for by public donations of more than CZK 150...

On the occasion of World Cancer Day, the Voice of Oncology Patients Association organized the second annual Chamber of Deputies against Cancer event in the Chamber of Deputies. Its purpose is once again to raise awareness of this disease and at...

Last year, almost 10 million foreign tourists (43.3% of the total) stayed in mass accommodation facilities in the Czech Republic. Another almost 12.5 million guests were Czech citizens (56.7%) who decided to spend their vacation in one of the...

Over a dozen children so far this year, primarily in the Karlovy Vary region, have ended up in hospital after consuming jelly sweets containing the psychoactive substance HHC. The Ministry of Health now wants to push for an outright ban. In...

This year, the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic will commemorate the 20th anniversary of our country's entry into the European Union. On that occasion, several thematic activities and related events will take place in...

On Saturday, February 10 at 2 p.m., we will announce the name of the female gorilla, who was born on January 2, in the Dja Reservation pavilion at the Prague Zoo. Her "godfather", together with the mayor, Mr. City of Prague Bohuslav Svoboda...

The Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Rural Development & food of the Hellenic Republic, the Embassy of Greece in Prague, and the Greek National Tourism Organization organized a workshop for professionals to promote tourism to Greece.

When Valerio Mendoza Guillén first arrived in Prague in 2009, he had no intention of staying away from his native Venezuela for long. Fourteen years later, the documentary filmmaker and teacher at FAMU has laid strong roots in the city and has...

Just days after Czechia’s centuries-old hand-made glass production was registered on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage, one of the oldest glass factories in the Czech Republic was forced to close its doors. Fortunately, a new buyer...

The first foal of the year at the National Stud in Kladruby nad Labem was born on February 4. Old Kladruber horses have been bred at this location in East Bohemia for over 400 years. Source: ČTK

Czech legislators are spreading disinformation on the floor of Parliament – including those from government parties. So says political scientist Miloš Gregor, who is currently also an advisor on this subject to Prime Minister Petr Fiala. I...

After spending time abroad in both Shanghai and Brussels, František Reismüller, CEO of CzechTourism, is back in Prague working to promote Czechia as an attractive destination for tourists coming from abroad, and also internally for natives of...

Forty percent of global carbon emissions come from the construction industry, and a new exhibition at Prague’s Centre for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning (CAMP), A Lot With Little, features 10 architectural projects from the Global North...

More than 250 athletes from 33 countries have gathered in the town of Nové Město na Moravě for the Biathlon World Championships, which officially got underway on Tuesday evening. The event, which runs until February 18, was ceremonially...

The summer palace Belveder, near Kutná Hora in central Bohemia, was once an architectural gem. Although it is now in ruins it has a powerful presence and many visitors say they feel a special energy within its ancient stone walls. Most people...

On February 2nd, the first European-bred nutcracker chick will be one year old. Šiška is already weighed over three kilograms and eats roughly two-thirds of her parents’ ration every day. Prague Zoo has prepared an extraordinary program...

Vysočina lies on the border between Bohemia and Moravia. An area of peaceful rolling hills and rural idyll, it has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other Czech region. Check out some of its landmarks in our photo gallery! See photos...

Nové Město na Moravě lies in the heart of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and is a prominent sports resort. In winter, it is a mecca of Czech biathlon and cross-country skiing; in summer it hosts mountain bike riding events. Next week the town...

A memorial plaque was unveiled in the French city of Marseille on Friday dedicated to former Czechoslovak diplomat Vladimír Vochoč, who helped to save hundreds of Jews from France during the Holocaust. Despite his service to the country, he was...

Tennis is hugely popular but it also leaves behind a substantial amount of rubbish in the form of used tennis balls that take hundreds of years to decompose. A Czech start-up is looking at ways to keep the fuzzy yellow balls out of landfills by...

According to the Gender Equality Index, the share of women among the members of the boards of directors of the largest listed companies and supervisory boards in the Czech Republic is only 21%. Compared to EU countries, the Czech Republic is...

The Czech government has confirmed its decision to rely on nuclear power as the main source of energy for the future. At a press briefing in Prague on Wednesday the cabinet announced plans to expand the Dukovany tender to four nuclear reactors...

Today at the Castle, President Petr Pavel met with two dozen young people from various fields to jointly plan the connection of the activities of the president and young people for the year 2024. The President listened to the group’s...

Palaeontologists have discovered that the jaw of a prehistoric animal, found a few years ago near the town of Valeč in the Karlovy Vary region, belongs to a hitherto unknown species of mammal. The unique find is the oldest evidence of a cat...

Following days of filibustering, the lower house on Thursday approved a government proposal to allow postal voting for Czechs living abroad. The governing coalition wants the bill, which faces two more readings in the lower house, approved in...

The final design for the new Vltava Philharmonic was recently revealed. Danish design studio Bjarke Ingels Group won the bid for its vision of the modern music hall in May 2022, and has now developed it into a detailed architectural study. The...

One Life is a British biographical drama film directed by James Hawes based on the true story of a British aid worker Nicholas Winton. He made efforts to save a group of Jewish children from Czechoslovakia just before the beginning of World War...

Today’s edition of Sunday Music Show is dedicated to Eva Olmerová, whom many consider to be the greatest Czech jazz singer of all time. Olmerová, who was born 90 years ago last Saturday, has been labelled by critics as “our own Bessie Smith”...

Czech scientists recently discovered what is believed to be the country’s oldest beech tree. Growing in a forest in Krušné Hory near the town of Horní Jiřetín, the tree witnessed the ascent of the Habsburg dynasty to the Czech throne, and is...

The Czech health sector is currently short of around 3,000 registered nurses. What makes things worse is that a third of the country’s nurses are now over the age of 60 and are due to retire within the next ten years. Hospital heads are ringing...

Czechia has just signed an agreement with the United States to buy two dozen F-35 advanced fighter jets. The procurement is seen as significantly boosting the Czechs’ military capabilities and integration with NATO and represents the largest...

The National Gallery Prague (NGP) presents the exhibition schedule for 2024. Visitors can look forward to seeing the work of Michelangelo and other masters here for the first time, in collaboration with the Musée du Louvre. An exhibition...

Welcome to the Faces of Czech Music, the podcast where we introduce you to the fresh musical talent the country has to offer. On our first episode, we speak with musician, composer, producer, and DJ, Ondřej Mikula – better known as Aid...

A Czech artist who goes by the name Chemis has recently unveiled a mural in Prague’s Smíchov neighbourhood. The artwork is in collaboration with Doctors Without Borders, and focusses on the civilians who are affected and injured by war, and...

Colourful masks, folk dances and pig-killing feasts attract crowds of people to the streets and signal the approach of Czechia’s masopust (Mardi Gras) celebrations, traditionally followed by a 40-day fasting period before Easter. Ash Wednesday...

In recent years Ed Ley has won fans on social media for his in-depth research into the streets of the Czech capital. Indeed the Englishman has already explored the stories of all the streets of Pragues 2 and 3 in daily postings on Twitter/X –...

One of the most eye-catching of a raft of proposals from the government’s economic council is to give Czech bosses more flexibility in hiring and firing, including redundancies without stated grounds. But how much would this radical idea...

St. Brigid’s Day celebrates Ireland’s only female patron saint on February 1 and most people will be familiar with the popular tradition of making crosses in St Brigid’s honour. From 2022 it’s an official holiday in Ireland. On this day the...

A memorial was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague in advance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day. On Thursday afternoon the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Prague held a memorial commemorating International Holocaust...

Exotic pearls, attractive destinations across continents, and the most eye-catching tourist attractions in the Czech Republic. This will be presented by domestic and foreign exhibitors at the international tourism and regional tourism fair...

The names of three Czechoslovak ice hockey players will be used to mark the streets in a new housing development in Prague by real estate company Penta. The players, who were Olympic medal winners in the 1940’s in Czechoslovakia, were jailed...

The Committee of Good Will – The Olga Havel Foundation (VDV) will award the thirtieth annual Olga Havel Award this year. The prestigious award goes to a person who, despite his or her health handicap, helps others. Candidates for this year can...

Václav’s story is one of transition and adaptation; from leading a team in a pharmaceutical corporation to embarking on an entrepreneurial path with his own consulting business. Apart from his professional achievements, Václav has been...

Czechia’s score in Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) has hardly improved at all over the last eight years. While its position in the 2023 ranking remains the same as the year before, it still scored well...

Ninety-five years ago, Václav Vojtěch, geography teacher, scientist and polar explorer, became the first Czech to reach Antarctica together with an American expedition. Václav Vojtěch was born in 1901 in the town of Skřivany, east of Prague...

Who doesn’t want to look younger? Now it’s much more easy and closer to you. Official Hydrafacial center was newly opened in Prague city center. The center serves as a training center for clinics and cosmetic that work with Hydrafacial...

Vysočina can proudly boast that it has more UNESCO World Heritage sites than any other Czech region. It is an area of peaceful rolling hills and rural idyll, so don’t come if you like big city life – its largest urban settlement is home to only...

Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, pilots have been unable to complete the required training necessary for their certification. In response to this, the Czech government has announced its support of a new...

The main communication topic of Czech tourism for the next two years is Active tourism. The key campaign of the CzechTourism agency Unexpected Wellbeing will show how to exercise, relax, and rest while traveling. It follows on from the original...