Posts

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...

The recent case of Twitter shows us that we should work to create alternative futures for the Internet because we need it to be resilient, trustworthy and sustainable. These alternative futures have one thing in common: they are based on...

We bring three very different tales of heroism during the 1930s and 1940s. The first is a classic story of wartime courage and adventure, as seventeen-year-old Rade Meech-Tatić recounts a dramatic episode in the life of his grandfather as a...

The Automatic Mills in Pardubice, one of the most famous buildings by the pioneering Czech architect and designer Josef Gočár, is currently undergoing a major transformation into a new multi-functional public space. The monumental structure...

Their paintings adorn the foyer of the National Theatre, the Municipal House and the Astronomical Clock. This Radio Prague International series presents artists who have achieved success on a global scale. They include the founder of Czech...

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...

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...

Czechs living outside their home country have until this coming Sunday, December 4, to register to vote in January’s presidential elections. Meanwhile the current government’s pledge to introduce postal voting has not become reality. Direct...

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. Jiří Stivín was born 23 November 1942 in Prague. He graduated from...

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...

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. Show trials of the so-called class enemy was a practice...

Young director Šimon Holý this week sees his film And Then There Was Love enter Czech cinemas. It is the second feature film by Holý, who in addition composes music for films and until recently was also a presenter on alternative station Radio...

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...

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...

Alfons Maria Mucha is still remembered today for his Art Nouveau paintings and graphics, such as his iconic theatrical poster of French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. His art adorns walls, ceilings and windows in grand buildings in the Czech...

Traditional marketing usually fails to move Generation Z’s members and it can be difficult to capture their attention. Businesses that can be considered the ones to attract the Gen Z audience — we can define them as those born between the...

One sign that Advent is upon us in Prague is the reappearance of the man who lights gas lamps at some of the city’s most romantic locations. The uniformed figure has just appeared on Charles Bridge for the first time this season. Around 4 pm on...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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...

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 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...

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, 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

Josef Mánes left a rich legacy to the Czech Republic - but also fell afoul of a mysterious curse.

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...

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...

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...

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...

‘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...

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...

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...

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...

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”...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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, 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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...

With your support, we have been able to reach record breaking numbers in October. Thank you!

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.

October 28th is Czechoslovak Independence Day, marking the establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

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.

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...