Posts

A taste of Jamaica in Prague

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...

WORLD OF COLORS NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY

A WORLD OF COLORS CELEBRATION Get 2023 off to a smashing start. Reserve at Hilton Prague now! Kick off 2023 in impressive style! Hilton Prague’s annual New Year’s Eve party is going to become your favorite memory. Three delightful choices of...

A Stitch in Time: Part 3 – Exile and Return

In the third episode of our series looking at the recent past through the eyes of the youngest generation, we hear a story of exile and return. Fourteen-year-old Eva Nováková chose the format of a short radio play to draw us into the world of...

Famous actress Rosamund Pike stars in Czech...

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...

Prague’s Christmas fleet hits the tracks

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.

Candle-lit vigil on Prague’s Národní třída...

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...

Rail bridge connecting Výtoň and Smíchov to...

The railway bridge connecting Prague’s Výtoň and Smíchov districts is due to get a new look – and not everyone is happy about it. The Vyšehrad Railway Bridge, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, has been in need of...

Why the traditional Czech Christmas dinner...

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. Carp is the most common fish breed in Czechia and over...

Three hatchlings of little-known turtle...

Three baby turtles of a rare species known as the enigmatic leaf turtle have hatched in Prague Zoo, the Czech News Agency reported on Wednesday. This species of turtle is little studied in the wild and is classified as a Near Threatened species...

Legendary Czech traveller’s villa opens to...

The former home of the legendary Czech traveller Miroslav Zikmund in the Moravian town of Zlín opened to the public this month. The iconic functionalist villa, built in the 1930s by the Baťa Company, has been turned into a museum dedicated to...

GZ Media: Czech firm is world leader in...

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...

The Egg and I: Why is 1945 US bestseller...

For several decades now, one of the most popular books among Czech readers has been The Egg and I by American writer Betty MacDonald. The 1945 memoir about life on a chicken farm in the Northwest has been largely forgotten in the United States...

60 years since iconic Tatra T3 tram began...

On November 21, 1962, the Tatra T3 tram was put into regular service in Prague. It was a very modern tram for its time and would become a successful export product. Today, T3’s can still be seen transporting people in country’s such as Ukraine...

“We need to use our bodies as a kind of...

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...

Recordings from trial with “chief symbol” of...

Archivists at Czech Radio have discovered 1,300 discs of recordings from the 1946 trial with Karl Hermann Frank, who was in charge of the Nazi security forces during the wartime occupation of Bohemia and Moravia. The discs are currently in the...

Sculpture of Putin sitting naked on golden...

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...

Czech scientists explore possibility of...

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...

Gay US ex-Christian pastor on losing...

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...

Prague’s Pařížská street ranks among...

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 wide tree-lined boulevard nestled between Prague’s Old Town Square, Jewish Quarter and...

Rare statue from medieval Bohemia acquired...

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...

Economist: “Middle income bracket” will be...

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...

Czech fighter pilot selected as one of ESA’s...

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...

A Stitch in Time: Part 2 – A New Circle of...

In this episode we continue our journey into the recent past through the eyes of the youngest generation, starting with a classic tale of European emigration in search of the American dream. It is followed the moving story of a Czech family...

Václav Brožík – painter of Czech history

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...

Old Town Bridge Tower to undergo extensive...

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...

Epitaph: a short story by Kateřina Tučková

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...

Work of Czechia’s famous twin artists on...

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...

St. Martin’s wine: what is it, why do...

November 11 is St. Martin’s Day, and in Czechia that often means eating roast goose paired with St. Martin’s wine. But what is special about this wine, and how do you know you’re getting the real thing? St. Martin’s Day...

A Stitch in Time: Part 1 – The Thing about...

We recently invited children and teenagers from across the Czech Republic to write a story about a member of their own family who had become an influence or inspiration to them. Many of the stories were beautifully and sensitively written...

Preciosa – Bohemia crystal glass products...

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...

Czech engineers develop pilotless aircraft...

‘Miya’ is an aeroplane with a difference – designed to carry up to four passengers, she can fly without a pilot. She is also intended primarily for getting around in cities – and can do so almost completely silently. How do you like to travel...

How to Choose The Best College Program

Every big chapter in your life comes with its own challenges, and choosing a college program is no different. Some might find this process easy, considering they’ve only ever had one passion in their life, while others could struggle with...

Peas will grow there once again: New “Mendel...

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...

Whose are the trains? Division of...

The division of Czechoslovakia into two separate states was a peaceful process without a single shot being fired. However, arguments over the division of assets that belonged to the former state dragged on for 7 years. The process began exactly...

Linguist: “I don’t like Czechia – but I...

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”...

Czech students occupy universities demanding...

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...

Andrea Vytlačilová: up-and-coming young...

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...

Importance of freedom and democracy...

This Thursday saw the 33rd anniversary of the onset of the Velvet Revolution. Commemorative events as well as demonstrations were held across the country. Czechs marked the 33rd anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution as well as...

Clay Sculptures: Terracotas by 15th⁠–⁠19th...

Clay Sculptures: Terracotas by 15th⁠–⁠19th Century Italian Masters in the Collection of the National Gallery Prague organised by the National Gallery Prague in collaboration with the University of Chemistry and Technology Prague and...

Czechia needs a strategy for how to promote...

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...

Will child sex crime offenders be placed on...

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. The rape of a child by a perpetrator who had committed the same crime previously...

Researchers uncover secret of gold ring...

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...

Prague-based Rezolv acquires rights to...

1,044 MW plant will be situated in western Romania and will be capable of providing clean power to more than 370,000 households Company keen to develop similar projects in the Czech Republic Rezolv developing a Centre of Excellence for...

Foma: A major player in the black and white...

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...

Oriental Institute celebrates 100th...

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...

Brutalist building sculptures by artist...

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...

Canadian-Czech community working to turn...

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...

Czech-Icelandic music and film project...

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...

Unbreakable and Sacrificed: Film festival...

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...

Experts fear energy crisis will make air...

With heating bills going through the roof, many Czechs are turning back to solid fuels, stocking up on coal, firewood and in the worst-case scenario, burning household waste, including plastics. Environmental experts are warning of the multiple...

Woman who helped bring Czechoslovak...

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...

Nigerian dancer picking up new dance moves...

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 Ankemi (professionally...

New centre promoting children’s reading...

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...

“Everybody now wants products with CBD” –...

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...

Unknown piece by Bohuslav Martinů discovered...

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...

Czech Art Nouveau Symbolist sculptor...

Frantisek Bílek’s villa in Hradčany is one of the most original houses in Prague. The villa has an unusual round floor plan, which is supposed to resemble the footprint of a scythe in a field of wheat. Wheat plants also served as...

Representatives from the global multi...

A High-level multi-stakeholder event on the Future of the Internet took place in Prague, Czech Republic, on 2 November 2022. The event included plenary sessions as well as workshops, where government representatives together with stakeholders...

Czech VR film exploring depression gets...

One of the highlights of this year’s Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival was the Czech premiere of Darkening (Tmání), a film by Ondřej Moravec that explores depression – via virtual reality. Headsets are used for Darkening, with...

Limited edition of Venus of Věstonice...

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...

Previously unseen photos from Terezín shed...

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...

Interest in sex change growing among young...

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. Tobiáš, now 22...

Prim watches: Czechoslovak classics now...

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...

Granddaughter of Nobel-prize winner on...

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...

NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day:...

Czech astrophotographer Petr Horálek from the University of Opava was selected for NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day for his photograph “Seven Years of Halley Dust”. The photograph is a composite of the biannual Orionid...

Sell-out Mucha exhibition extended to end of...

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...

Marta Kubišová: Great Czech singer turns 80

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. Marta Kubišová’s signature song Modlitba pro Martu, A Prayer for Marta, was very popular in the...

75 years ago: the first heart operation in...

Professor Jan Bedrna is one of the early pioneers of heart surgery in the former Czechoslovakia. At a hospital in Hradec Králové 75 years ago, he performed cardiac surgery for the first time in the country’s history. On 30 October 1947...

Expert on why Czechia’s electricity prices...

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...

Museum of Literature opens in Prague

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.

Ukrainians in Czechia doc opens 26th Ji...

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...

Oscar-winner Theodor Pištěk turns 90 while...

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...

October 24, 1942: family members of...

In retaliation for the assassination of Heydrich, 262 relatives and helpers of the paratroopers from groups Anthropoid, Silver A, Bivouac, Out Distance, Steel and Intransitive were court-martialled and sentenced to death by the Prague Gestapo...

Lilium and SAUDIA announce plan to bring...

Saudi Arabia’s national airline to be the first airline in the MENA region to invest in sustainable air mobility with plans to purchase 100 all-electric Lilium Jets and support certification across the region. SAUDIA, the national flag carrier...

Lidice children remembered in special art...

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...

Czech artist takes replica of Prague’s...

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. People walking past the Pantheon in...

Load test of Skalka cable car in Ještěd Ski...

The Skalka cable car in the Ještěd Ski Resort in Liberec undergoes a thorough safety test ahead of each season. And what better way to do that in Czechia than with beer? The process involves putting 200 fifty-litre beer kegs on the cable car to...

Josef Václav Mysliveček: Il divino Boemo

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...

Czech Holocaust story wins international...

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...

Czechia gearing up for hardest part of EU...

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...

“Autumn is one of our top seasons”: Czech...

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...

October 1972: Prague says goodbye to...

The last trolleybus route in Prague, from Orionka to Strahov Stadium, came to an end on 15 October 1972. The city’s first trolleybus service began in today’s Prague 6 on 29 August 1936. The mode of transport was better suited to climbing hills...

TESLA: From iconic radios to the Tamara radar

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...

UK journalist: Hrůša will have “two jobs” at...

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...

Czech scientist finds moles can shrink their...

The common European mole, immortalised as Zdeněk Miler’s beloved cartoon character in animated films, now has another Czech connection – a Czech scientist was part of the team that discovered the mole’s unusual evolutionary tactic for surviving...

Memorial to war veterans unveiled near Brno

A new memorial to war veterans was unveiled at War Veterans Alley at Rajhrad near Brno at the weekend. Pictured by the monument, which takes the form of a tree is Jakub Bruno Středa, veteran of a Czech mission to Afghanistan. Source

“This can happen to any of us”: Bratislava...

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...

Prague Jewish school celebrates its 25th...

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...

BIS intelligence head: the mass expulsion of...

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. It is not...

Anna Fodorova: “I had to fill in a...

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...

140 years since the premiere of Dvořák’s...

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 –...

Hello, Prague!

Last week the European astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti greeted the Czech capital on Twitter from the International Space Station, attaching a picture of the city from space. Prague was hosting the European Space Week at the time.

Václav Havel Human Rights Prize goes to...

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...

Mental health centers proving very effective...

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...