If you are a fan of landscape architecture and nature in general, you should visit Průhonice Park. This architectonic gem is a member of the UNESCO world heritage. This park is worthwhile for a short trip outside of Prague.
Průhonice Park in the UNESCO List
You can find this masterpiece of European landscape architecture in the outskirt of Prague, in a small village called Průhonice. Its 250 hectares present a unique combination of native trees and plants together with introduced species, especially from the Mediterranean.
You can admire more than 1600 different species as well as a unique collection of more than 8,000 rhododendrons. This unique landscape area and the neo-Renaissance Chateau are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as a part of the Prague chapter (as well as the Vrtba Garden).
Story of Průhonice Park
The idea came from Count Arnost Emanuel Silva Tarouca, whose family origins trace back to Portugal. He fell in love with countess Nostic who owned the park. Since Arnost was a passionate politician and a dendrologist, he turned his passion to the Průhonice Park.
Thanks to his knowledge and passion for landscape architecture, you can enjoy the beauties of the park in every season of the year. Spring is unique with blooming rhododendrons, summer is fresh with all its greens, autumn is vibrating with its orange and red colors, and winter is charming, especially with the snow cover.
The only place that is not open to the public is the Chateau since it is the headquarters of the Institute of Botany of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
What to Do in the Pruhonice Park
The Průhonice Park offers pleasure both for experts in botany and for people who enjoy beautiful nature. The composition of the park offers numerous ponds, streams, meadows, and plants that form beautiful vistas.
You can have a walk around the park, rest on a meadow and enjoy the sunshine, read your book under the tree, or jogging in numerous paths with great views over the park. You can spend here two hours or a whole day. The park is open all year, and every season has its magic.
How to Get to the Pruhonice Park
By public transport, take a metro (red line) to station Opatov and take bus lines 363 or 385. By car, you drive highway D1 direction of Brno. Then, follow exit 6 Průhonice right in front of the Průhonice castle, where is the parking lot.
Czechia’s National Anti-Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil is preparing a law on the sale and purchasing of marihuana.
The state could gain billions in taxes thanks to a controlled cannabis market, Czech National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil told ČTK in an interview today.
A controlled cannabis market could bring an additional 15 billion crowns in taxes annually to the state budget.
Before the introduction of a regulated market, marihuana growers would need a licence and the law would clearly specify to who they could deliver their product to. Drug Coordinators of the Member States began discussing the regulation of the cannabis market in the EU in Prague today.
The strategy envisages legalizing the sale of marijuana under strict conditions, taxation of addictive substances depending on how harmful they are, the launch of a regulated cannabis market and increased government spending on addiction prevention and treatment.
The forthcoming rules should concern not only sales but also production. The new measures should establish the level of narcotic substances that legal marihuana products can contain. Some shop owners could also receive a license, Vobořil said.
“Marihuana won’t be in every newsstand. The amount of marihuana that people could purchase would be limited and buyers could be required to register with the state, he said,” added Vobořil.
Spending on prevention, now at around 300 million crowns, should rise to one billion crowns annually.
Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, and Germany are also planning a new regulation. Vobořil points out that Germany wants a legislative proposal by the end of the year.
“I would support Czech companies. There are around a hundred of them here who grow and produce extracts of marihuana. Czech companies should be able to export perhaps even before we have a regulated market in the Czech Republic… It will depend on whether we discuss it. It’s similar to medicinal cannabis. In Germany, it’s a market worth ten billion euros. Czech companies get zero out of it,” he added.
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A new tax on addictive substances along with a more effective tax collecting might bring Czechia up to 15 billion crowns a year based on a draft anti-addiction plan for the next three years, national anti-drug coordinator Jindrich Voboril said at a press conference today. This would secure one billion crowns instead of the current 300 million for addiction prevention and treatment.
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Coal should be more used in the energy crisis and spontaneous development ideology is also to blame for the spread of the recent devastating fire in the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, President Milos Zeman said during his visit to the region today. Zeman went on to back his old idea of making the Elbe (Labe) River navigable.
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Only a few individuals with links to risk persons abroad had signs of Islamist radicalisation and approval of terrorist attacks and sharing Jihadist propaganda were also rare in the Czech Republic last year, the BIS civilian counter-intelligence service says in its annual report for 2021 released today. The BIS did not not confirm any person returning from Jihadist fighting to the Czech Republic.
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Trinity Art Research is a new institution, founded by several art historians, conservationists and a lawyer specialising in the law relating to fine arts, and aimed to help art collectors, investors and gallery owners detect art fakes, Frantisek Vyskocil told CTK on behalf of the founders today. Trinity Art Research (TAR) wants to offer its services to the public as well.
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Mene Tekel, an annual festival against totalitarian regimes, kicks off in Prague on Monday. The theme of this year’s 16th edition is solidarity and responsibility. The week-long event offers exhibitions, film screenings, book signings, interactive programs, debates and a concert.
The Czech Republic and Germany are close to reaching an agreement on sharing gas in times of emergency, Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said on Monday, as the countries seek to bolster energy security amid dwindling supplies of Russian gas.
“I believe we have made significant progress in this issue, and that we will be able to close our mutual deal soon,” Sikela said in a joint news conference with German Economy Minister Robert Habeck in Prague.
Bilateral pacts are a part of European Union plans to cope with any gas supply shock, although deals have been slow to materialise.
Sikela said the two countries had defined conditions under which they would start sharing gas as well as what compensation the Czech Republic would pay Germany for use of the mechanism, without disclosing further details.
Germany had been a large destination and transit country for Russian gas supplies before Moscow began reducing exports to the European Union in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions from Brussels.
The Czech Republic was nearly entirely dependent on Russian supplies via German routes, but it has diversified supplies, like other EU countries.
The landlocked country continues to receive nearly all of its gas through the German transport system, now coming from west European LNG terminals and Norway.
Czech lawmakers approved the Magnitsky Act on Friday, allowing the Czech government to impose sanctions on foreign entities violating human rights, supporting terrorism, or committing cyber crimes.
The Czech government planned to adopt the Magnitsky Act by the end of next year, but the preparation of the draft was accelerated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“It will make the Czech Republic the first Central European country to have its instrument to sanction serious human rights violations,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said.
Among EU countries, France, the Netherlands, Latvia and Estonia have similar laws. The law sets out the conditions for the inclusion of entities on the national sanctions list and the procedure for preparing proposals for the inclusion of entities on the EU sanctions list at the Czech initiative.
According to the proposal, the inclusion on the sanctions list will be decided by the Government on the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For example, the state will be able to prevent sanctioned individuals from entering and staying in the country or freezing their assets.
Czech law was inspired by the US Magnitsky Act, named after a Ukrainian-born lawyer and tax advisor who died in Russian state custody in 2009 after he reported on corruption.
The law now needs to be approved by the Senate.
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Checks on the border between Czechia and Slovakia will probably continue even after the previously specified deadline of October 28, Interior Minister Vít Rakušan said on Czech TV on Sunday. Mr. Rakušan said that the government could choose to extend border checks for another month, i.e. until November 28
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Popular theatre and film actor Josef Somr died on Sunday at the age of 88. Over the course of his career, Somr portrayed more than 170 characters in films, with his most famous role probably being the train dispatcher Hubička in Jiří Menzel’s Oscar-winning 1966 film Closely Watched Trains.
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Over the past seven days, 3,574 Ukrainian refugees received temporary protection visas in Czechia, 719 less than the previous week. Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Czech state has granted a total of 446,811 temporary visas.
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Spirits distilled from fruits, such as the famous Czech product slivovice (sometimes anglicised as slivovitz), are expected to increase in price by 15 to 20 percent after the new year, the Czech News Agency reported on Sunday.
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About 350,500 Czechs, mainly university students, had taken part in international exchange stays and projects within the Erasmus+ program as of 2021, and their number is likely to increase in the coming years, said Michal Uhl, head of the Czech National Agency for International Education and Research (DZS) yesterday.
Prague’s gastronomic scene is once again a little more diverse thanks to the newly opened restaurant at The Mozart Prague Hotel.
Meals from the kitchen of chef Marek Koucký impress with the originality of flavours, aesthetics of served dishes and above all the quality of local and exotic ingredients – all in the very heart of Prague.
While cafés and bistros are springing up like mushrooms in Prague, nice restaurants offering tasty food are stagnating or even shutting down.
Especially in the city centre, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a place that meets the most demanding requirements for taste, originality and a pleasant environment without crowds passing by the table. Now you don’t have to look any further – everything you and your taste buds crave is offered by the Mozart Prague restaurant.
Its kitchen is led by experienced chef Marek Koucký, who has spent the past fifteen years gaining experience in London, Mexico City and luxury resorts in the Maldives. This, of course, has also influenced his original cooking style.
Jerusalem artichoke soup, roasted chestnuts, shimeji mushrooms, coffee foam
For the autumn season, Marek has created a new menu that will delight both lovers of classics (veal schnitzel with potatoes grenaille), seafood (octopus, pork belly, smoked potato) and light dishes (chicken breast, herb gnocchi), as well as vegetarians (pumpkin ravioli, mascarpone cream, broccoli).
In addition to the main dishes mentioned above, you can also enjoy a variety of appetizers and desserts that will satisfy both large and small appetites. For example, a tasty Jerusalem artichoke soup with roasted chestnuts is guaranteed to warm you up during the colder autumn
days.
Starters include beef tartar, smoked salmon with avocado mousse, or halloumi cheese fried in panko breadcrumbs. Desserts are dominated by chocolate mousse with yoghurt ice cream or pineapple carpaccio with lemon parfait.
Perhaps the best way to make the most of Mark Koucký’s cooking skills is at Sunday brunches. These will start to take place regularly at the hotel from 9 October (always from 12 to 4 p.m.) and guests will be able to enjoy four starters, four main courses and three desserts.
Prices start at 890 CZK / person (with soft drinks), brunch with free flow of wine prosecco and beer will cost 1150 CZK / person. Of course, there is also a special menu for children up to 4 years for 290 CZK / per person. For children from 5 to 11 years the price is 445 CZK / person.
Creating Sunday comfort for all members of the family is essential for the restaurant, which is why it offers guests the opportunity to use the children’s corner with a nanny during brunch and live music. Places can be booked by calling +420 771 275 111 or email: [email protected]
Chef Marek Koucký
Marek was born in the Czech Republic, where he graduated from a gastronomy school. His first trip abroad was to the UK, where he gained valuable experience in various positions at several 5-star hotels including the InterContinental London Park Lane, The May Fair Hotel and One Aldwych.
It was at these places that he cooked for world-famous stars, including 50 Cent, Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton, Melanie B, and Diego Maradona. It was the InterContinental Hotel that sent him on an internship to Mexico City, where he cooked under the guidance of celebrity chef Martha Ortiz at Dulce Patria (one of the 50 best restaurants in Latin America 2016).
Upon returning to London, he was involved in the opening of Ella Canta, a leading Mexican restaurant where Mark worked as one of the head chefs and which was ranked 3rd in the 2017 Best New Restaurants in London.
Marek spent the next part of his career in the Maldives, in the fine dining restaurant Fashala, which is part of the five-star Shangri-La Villingili Resort & Spa. It was here that he spent several years perfecting his own unique style based on modern and exotic techniques.
After more than 15 years of practice, he decided to return to the Czech Republic, where he reopened the renovated Hotel Carlo IV as Project Executive Chef. Today you can try his gastronomic skills in the restaurant of The Mozart Prague Hotel.
About The Mozart Prague Hotel
The Mozart Prague is ideally located overlooking the romantic Vltava River with spectacular sunsets. Many of the rooms and suites offer exceptional panoramic views of the magnificent Prague Castle and the historic Charles Bridge. From your room, you’ll be able to get photos of dramatic scenery to share with your Instagram followers.
Old Town Square, where you will find the legendary Astronomical Clock, is a stone’s throw away, within walking distance in a picturesque setting.
While walking around the hotel you will come across most of Prague’s famous sights. Open your mind and with every step you take on the historic pavement, enjoy magical moments that can transport you back in time. This hidden gem gives you the opportunity to enjoy Prague in the same way that our famous guests from history, such as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner, or the famous adventurer and writer Giacomo Casanova, enjoyed it just 230 years ago.
More information at www.themozart.com
Why aren’t we successful in conceiving a baby? An increasing number of couples are asking this question.
EUROPE IVF is a state-of-the-art reproductive clinic based in Prague that helps couples from all over the world make their dream of having a baby come true. Thanks to its long-term excellent results, it has become a world leader in the field of the infertility treatment.
The key is to ask for help – when things aren’t going well
The path to parenthood varies for each person – some women get pregnant immediately, while others try hard and nothing happens. But today we will talk about the latter case, which is certainly no longer a rarity these days, as the amount of infertile couples has been rising worldwide. There are actually may factors contributing to this development. There is no doubt that in some cases you will be able to conceive the baby you have been dreaming of without the help of an expert.
Comprehensive care
The Europe IVF clinic employs over 30 specialists with long-term experience in the field of the assisted reproduction. We provide comprehensive care for couples who come to us. Thanks to the work of experienced experts, state-of-the-art technology and technologically advanced approaches to assisted reproduction, we can to provide a detailed diagnosis of the causes of infertility and thus propose the optimal treatment. In addition, any couple treated by us can benefit from consulting in the fields of immunology, gynaecology and andrology. In the cooperation with the genetic laboratory, we also offer the option of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT).
Everyone has their own personal coordinator
Our clinic’s clients are cared for by a team of experienced coordinators, who assist couples from the very beginning. They speak a number of foreign languages, so most of our clients are able to communicate in their native languages. The waiting times at our clinic are short, and the initial consultation with the doctor can be conducted online. In 2022, we moved into brand new premises. These provide maximum comfort for both doctors and patients.
Hi-Tech IVF treatment
Our laboratory, which boasts the most modern equipment in Europe IVF, greatly contributes to our success; it includes an Embryoscope, which is an embryo incubator that creates an environment similar to the mother’s body. Unlike conventional monitoring in which embryos are handled, the Embryoscope comes with an integrated camera and a microscope, so the embryos do not need to be handled and are kept at rest at all times.
The smart KIDScore module can also assess the viability of each embryo, which significantly helps in deciding which embryo will ultimately be selected for the transfer by the embryologist.
IVF with egg donation in Prague
Unlike some other countries, unmarried couples in the Czech Republic can also be treated for infertility, and if their own gametes cannot be used for the fertilisation, clinics offer the option of donor programmes. These are donated eggs from young, healthy women who undergo a series of tests. Their eggs especially help older women, for whom the use of donated eggs greatly increases the chances of success. The donation programme is anonymous in the Czech Republic.
Social freezing and postponed parenthood
Thanks to the social freezing method, we are able to help women and men postpone their planned parenthood. This method consists in freezing eggs or sperm and storing them for later use. Sometimes this is not a question of someone’s will, couples may also opt for this due to health complications that interfere with their plans of having a baby. For example, before starting cancer treatment, preserving eggs and sperm in their current quality is very important.
A taxi driver in Prague charged foreign tourists 7,100 crowns for a 5.5-kilometre ride, Irena Seifertová, a spokesman for the police, told the Czech News Agency.
The customers hailed the taxi at Rytířská street in the centre to U Průhon Street in Prague 7.
“When they arrived at the location, the driver initially demanded CZK 2,000 for the ride, but then he asked for more money. The customers, in order to get out of the car, eventually paid him CZK 7,100. After that he was stopped by officers from the Taxi Team,” added Seifertová.
The ride should not have exceeded CZK 300.
According to the officers, the driver did not use the meter, but showed the total amount to the customers on his mobile phone.
In the end, he was given a bail of CZK 100,000, which he did not pay on the spot.
Therefore, the officers stopped his car, seized his vehicle, and documents. In administrative proceedings, he can face fines of tens of thousands and the revocation of his license for three years.
Officers on the spot could fine the driver up to CZK 10,000.
“However, given the amount of overcharging, this would be rather a mockery,” the spokeswoman added.
DPP has been building a new trolleybus line from Palmovka to Prosek and from Letňany to Čakovice since January 2022.
On October 15 and 16, DPP plans a weekend trial weekend operation with passengers on the Letňany – Čakovice section with a Škoda 30Tr trolleybus borrowed from Hradec Králové.
Full operation on the entire line from Palmovka to Miškovice is scheduled to begin after delivery and approval of fifteen new TNS 18 trolleybuses ordered from SOR and equipped by Cegelec.
DPP expects the first vehicle to arrive in December this year, and the remaining fourteen vehicles are scheduled to arrive next spring. After delivery, they will run in test operation, initially without passengers.
“We firmly believe that during the next year we will convert the trial operation to a live operation,” said Petr Witowski, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of DPP.
Construction in the section between Palmovka and Prosek should take less than a month. According to DPP, the total estimated cost should reach CZK 284 million.
Trolleybus line number 58 will run on the new line, replacing bus line 140.
Together with 15 kilometers of new overhead lines, the companies also built the necessary power supply and charging infrastructure.
The overhead line will cover about 50 percent of the route on which the hybrid trolleybuses will run once it is operational. These can be powered by batteries on part of the route.
According to Witowski, DPP is also working intensively on the conversion of line 119, which leads to Václav Havel Airport. “At the moment, we have 12 trolleybus lines approved and the 119 is what we are going to have in the near future. We would like to start construction in November,” he added.
The trolleybuses hit the streets of Prague in August 1936.
The first line ran from the Střešovice tram depot through Ořechovka and Hanspaulka to the Church of St. Matthias near Šarka. The last trolleybus line that went to Strahov stopped operating exactly 50 years ago, on 15 October 1972.
The first Apple Premium Partner store in Central Europe has opened in the largest shopping centre in the Czech Republic, Westfield Chodov.
The new iStyle branch is the first official Apple partner, which invested CZK 15 million in the redevelopment of the premises.
The queues for the opening of the store stretch all the way to the nearby metro station. The company plans to open more premium stores in existing branches in Palladium, Vaňkovka shopping center in Brno and Černý Most shopping centres. Renovations are planned for next year.
“The fact that we were the first in the CEE region to obtain the status of Apple Premium Partner and thus bring an Apple Flagship store to the Czech Republic is a great success for us,” said Vít Goluch, CEO of iStyle.
Until now, the company has had the official status of Apple Premium Reseller in the Czech Republic, which is the designation of authorized resellers of Apple products.
The showroom covers an area of more than 250 metres, customers are served by trained staff. The Apple Premium Partner store is also to host regular training sessions and open workshops for the public.
iStyle has been thriving in the domestic market for a long time, with the company reporting a turnover of more than CZK 2.7bn for 2021 despite a four-month pandemic shutdown.
An Apple Premium Partner Store which is operated by an authorised partner supposedly offers a more premium experience than the typical Apple reseller store.
Besides having a fresh new look and brighter displays, these stores are also staffed with trained Apple-certified advisors to assist customers.
This should provide a better experience for customers to explore Apple’s wide range of products and get personalised advice and assistance.
The Czech cities of Broumov and České Budějovice have been chosen as finalists for European Capital of Culture 2028. Brno, Liberec, and Chomutov had also been in the running but were not chosen.
The final winner will be chosen next year.
The Czech Republic will again host the European Capital of Culture in 2028 together with France. Prague (2000) and Pilsen (2015) have received the ECoC title in the Czech Republic in past years.
What is the European Capital of Culture?
The European Capital of Culture (ECoC) is a European Union project that was established in 1985 and has since become one of the most important cultural initiatives in Europe.
The project celebrates Europe’s common cultural roots, as well as cultural diversity in individual EU member states. It aims to bring European citizens closer together, create a stronger sense of European belonging and promote cultural life in cities.
The award is given by the Council of Ministers of Culture for a period of one year, but the city can continue to use its title after its expiration.
The ECoC title is an opportunity for the awarded city to social and economic development, urban renewal, strengthening tourism and creating new jobs. The positive impact of the project is often transferred to the entire region.