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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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

Just off Prague’s Náměstí Jiřího z Poděbrad is where you will find The Boršč. The Ukrainian soup restaurant was opened two years ago by the married couple Oleksandr Martynov and Nataliia Bas with a view to promoting their nation’s food and...

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...

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...

...and see what he had to say about the role of the President.

One of the key projects launched by the Czech Centres to mark the 2022 Czech EU Presidency was a series of international conferences entitled „The Václav Havel European Dialogues“.

From the earliest prehistory, through antiquity and the Middle Ages, and until the Modern Age and present day, the territory of Croatia has always been an intersection of various cultures and traditions. This is on top of often diverse...

Text: H.E. Mrs. Tanja Strniša, Slovenian Ambassador to the Czech Republic and her husband Mr. Anton Strniša; Photo: Archive World Bee Day and Slovenia Did you know that it was Slovenia who proposed that the 20th of May be celebrated as World...

The world already knows and appreciates Argentine wines. Malbec, a purple grape variety used to make red wine, is surging so much in the country that it has become a national variety of sort.

Long known as a pioneer in citizen-centric urban design and sustainability, Copenhagen will be the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture in 2023.

Special column written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo.

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...

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...

Hundreds of radio industry bigwigs from revered broadcast institutions like the BBC and Deutsche Welle, as well as independent podcasters and young audio content creators, convened in Prague this week to discuss the future of radio, audio and...

Czech government officials, the Czech Olympic Committee and the National Sports Agency have criticized the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation that individual athletes from Russia and Belarus be allowed to take part in...

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...

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...

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...

Radiodays Europe 2023, the largest pan-European conference for radio, podcasting and audio content production professionals is winding up in Prague. The three-day gathering of professionals from public and commercial radio and independent audio...

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 –...

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

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...

Sculptor David Černý is known to many visitors to Prague for his babies on Žižkov TV Tower and moving Kafka head in the downtown area. Now the colourful artist has a brand new museum – Musoleum – showcasing a cross-section of his works in a...

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 –...

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

Under the auspices of H.E. Mr. Hideo Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan a very special concert by Hector Quartet was performed at Galerie Jakubska – Hartigovský palac – Mala Strana. Established in April 2017 while attending Tokyo College of...

The Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine is wishing you Ramadan Kareem!

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

Monsters and weird creatures from ancient legends and old bestiaries often are not just pure figments of the imagination but tend to have their real prototypes. As it has recently transpired this is also true about the sea monster, referred to...

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...

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...

Photo: René Volfík, iROZHLAS.cz Following Petr Pavel’s inauguration as Czechia’s new head of state, the president’s office chief Jana Vohralíková, also assumed her post at Prague Castle. What changes is she planning? And will the castle become...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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...

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...

Colette Kaines Lang takes us along on her student budget weekend to Harrachov. Surprisingly, the second hand clothes shops of Prague play a vital role in her preparation to ski, bobsleigh and boogie. A few weeks ago my flatmate announced ‘let’s...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

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

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

New issue of Czech & Slovak Leaders Magazine coming soon!

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

Outgoing president Miloš Zeman ended his term in office at midnight on Wednesday, with the symbolic lowering of the presidential flag and the closing of Prague Castle’s Gate of the Giants. But that wasn’t enough for some Zeman critics – they...

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

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...

Composer Viktor Ullmann, who lived in Prague before being sent to the concentration camps by the Nazis, is enjoying something of a revival in Czechia. Composer Viktor Ullmann was born in Těšín but spent much of his young life in Vienna. In 1919...

Since the war in Ukraine began, Czechia has given asylum to nearly half a million Ukrainian refugees. Only Poland and Germany have welcomed more immigrants from the war-torn country, but relative to the population, Czechia has helped more...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Prague’s Kampa Island, located on the west bank of the Vltava River, is among the Lesser Quarter’s most idyllic and romantic spots. The verdant oasis is set apart from the historic district by the Devil’s Canal and dotted with historic mills...

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...

Photo: Matěj Procházka 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...

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? Some Czech First Ladies have been very active in the public sphere...

A new, never seen before product has hit the Czech market – a smart cradle. Developed by the Czech company Loonoy, the cradle is the result of more than five years of development and promises to make parenting a little easier for Czechs willing...

The Beskids or Beskid Mountains were named a protected landscape on March 5, 1973. They are the last living mountain range in Czechia, according to the area’s director. The brown bear, the common wolf, the Carpathian newt, the banded vulture...

First part of a series of regular columns written by Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague ZOO

Thirteen film reels found in the Austrian Film Museum and almost 5 hours of footage, mostly from 1934 to 1937. Unique shots from the early years of Prague Zoo and other places. Who filmed them and who was the woman, appearing in the films? The...

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...

Three quarters of Czechs see the war in Ukraine as a case of “unjustifiable Russian aggression”, according to a survey conducted by the Median agency for Czech Radio on the occasion of the one year anniversary of the outbreak of the conflict...

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. Ondřej Sekora, a...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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. This particular vocal style became all the rage in 1920’s Europe and...

The traditional spring fair Matějská pouť opened its gates to visitors in Prague’s Holešovice district at the weekend. The fair is the biggest in the country offering over 100 attractions. It will last until April 10. Source