By 2025, 100 new high-speed chargers for electric cars will be built in Prague. Pražská energetika and Škoda Auto are jointly working to build them, following a memorandum of cooperation signed on Monday.
In the Czech Republic, there are already more than 15,000 battery-powered or hybrid-electric cars, mainly concentrated in Prague.
There are already around 2,000 recharge points available throughout the Czech Republic. Both parties to the memorandum have nominated representatives to a working group that will identify the locations where the construction of charging stations will have the greatest effect.
By the end of 2025, approximately 200 charging points should each be built in the capital within a hundred HPC racks, each with an output of at least 150 kW.
There are expectations that there could be as many as half a million electric cars in the country by 2030.
The switch to electric vehicles will come with a larger government push to diversify its energy sources, and to move away from dependence on fossil fuels and towards renewable sources.
Crunch time
Major carmakers in Germany, South Korea and Japan — known as original equipment manufacturers or OEMs — are now making decisions about which production hubs to convert into solely EV-producing facilities.
The top contenders, analysts say, will be the ones that send the right signals.
Central Europe is facing stiff competition from other production hubs in Europe, including Spain, which has spent €14 billion on developing an EV “ecosystem” and promoting sales to consumers. That investment has paid off: the country is already building dozens of EV and hybrid models, and is attracting major new investments.
In Central Europe, Slovakia is leading the pack, with nine models in production or on the drawing board. But the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland are producing only a handful of models each.
A lack of government support for expanding the EV fleet in the region — where sales are only a fraction of those in leading European markets — could also put the countries at a disadvantage as carmakers mull where to build electric cars.
Capitals point out that the high price of EVs is a significant issue for consumers in the region. But the Czech Republic, for instance, offers no financial incentives to help out potential buyers.
A spokesperson for the Czech ministry of industry and trade said the government will allocate €1.3 billion to promote EVs and charging infrastructure — but that money is slated to be stretched over a decade.
The industry now hopes that — given estimates of a CZK 186 billion (€7.5 billion) boost to GDP and 40,000 new jobs — the government will step in to secure a key project: a €4.4 billion battery “gigafactory” that Volkswagen said it wants to place in the region.
A demonstration of the Romanian Folklore Costume will take place at Muzaion in Prague 5 – Banat, and Muscel, two of the most interesting ethnologic zones in Romania come in Prague.
The Romanian Association in the Czech Republic, supported by the Romanian Institute of Culture organize between June 30 and July 3 The Days of Universal Romanian Blouse – a demonstration of old Romanian folklore costumes.
The demonstration will take place at Muzaion – the Czech Ethnographic Museum where over 50 traditional costumes from Banat and Muscel zones are displayed.
The event aims to demonstrate the ethnic identity and the historical and artistic value inherited by Romanians, and at the same time, the simplicity, spiritual wealth, imagination, beliefs, and hopes of Romanians who trespassed the borders over time.
The event is organized in order to connect Romanian and Czech communities that are passionate about folklore garments.
A folklore collection, Marius Matei Ethnographic Collection, combines a selection of over 30 pieces of garments from the XIX century combined based on old pictures of Banat people who used to wear traditional folk costumes.
Every piece in this collection is masterfully embroidered using fine sewed technics, which predominates the floral and geometrical motives. The costumes are decorated with silk, gold, and silver threads, using bright colours.
From Muscel Romanian ethnologic zone, 6 of the most well-known crafters, that used to teach multiple generations of folk passionate, will make a demonstration of the most expensive and beautiful Romanian Festivity Costumes. These are considered the most beautiful folk costumes in Romania.
During this temporary demonstration, the Romanian Association will organize children and adult workshops sustained by well-known crafters that
will teach the audience not only the correct way to wear a folk costume but also how to easily sew one for themselves.
The Romanian costume inspired the most important fashionist at the international level. In 1981 Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a collection inspired by the well-known Matisse painting, La Blouse Roumaine. In the next year, designers like Jean-Paul Gaultier, Oscar Della Renta, Carolina Herrera and Prada launched a successful collection inspired by Romanian Blouses.
At the same time, on Saturday starting at 10 am the participants can join in a Romanian FoodFest, a demonstration of traditional Romanian cuisine.
The Sunset Cinema was born in Ukraine in 2018 and the last summer it counted five cinema locations in Odesa and Kyiv on beaches and rooftops.
This summer it was planned to open a new location in Kharkiv but the war changed everything.
Today the new Sunset Cinema will be opened in Prague.
“We show films in Czech and in their original language with subtitles. You can even choose your favorite type of seat: we offer soft puffs for the first three rows of comfortable pink loungers,” says one of the organizers.
The Sunset Cinema is not only about watching movies. It’s an opportunity to meet with friends and watch everyone’s favorite films again in a cool space and experience the warm emotion of the last viewing one more time.
People come here to watch the sunset, shoot cool stories to show to friends, and just relax.
The location has its own map with an interactive entrance, bright photo points, a chill zone with board games and its own snack bar.
The season officially kicks off today at 20:00 with the film 50 First Dates on the rooftop of Arkady Pankrac’s shopping mall.
50 First Dates is a 2004 American romantic comedy film directed by Peter Segal and starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. It follows the story of Henry, a womanizing marine veterinarian who falls for an art teacher named Lucy.
When he discovers she has amnesia and forgets him when she falls asleep, he resolves to win her over again each new day.
Tickets are available on the website sunsetcinema.cz for 210kc.
Sometimes it’s necessary to visit a bike service and there are lots of them in Prague. We highly recommend if you’re a keen cyclist to do so before and after the season.
In spring, bike services will make sure that all the components are in good shape, they will inspect the wear of tires, chain, brake pads and other parts to make sure that your bike is ready for the season and you won’t have any unexpected surprises when planning your weekend ride or some other bike related activities.
After the season, they will make sure that you have all your bearings greased, brakes bled, refilled sealant in the tires, and that the bike is in good shape to either continue riding into the winter or wait for the warmer days.
There are certain things you can do yourself to lengthen the lifespan of your components.
First and foremost, it’s necessary to keep the drivetrain in a good condition. Cleaning the chain, wiping it down after every ride, especially after a muddy one is a good start.
In Czech, there is a saying: “cleanliness is half of health” and a similar can be said about bikes. Keeping your bike clean will help ensure that you get most of it.
Here and there you will need to visit a bike shop anyway. In case of bike part failure, annual service, upgrade, or while purchasing a new bike it’s important to go to a place where they will be able to understand your needs.
We have a few tips for bike shops with English-speaking staff.
If you need to service your bicycle or get a vintage bike, you can try Pavé Cycles in Žižkov, it’s a small independent bike shop, servicing all kinds of bikes, with a great offer of restored vintage bikes, Pavé Cycles also organize regular bike rides and bikepacking tours.
Another small shop located in Letná is Koa, this shop focuses more on performance, you can get a bike fit by one of the best bike fitters in Prague, or you can take part in their training programs focusing on cycling, swimming and fitness in general.
If you’re in need of a new bike, Sterba Kola is a traditional shop run by cycling enthusiasts with great bike offerings.
About Me
I’m a lifelong cyclist who runs a small independent bike shop in Prague’s Žižkov. My riding abilities range from mountain biking all the way to BMX. I spent several years living in one of Europe’s cycling capitals, Copenhagen. Together with my friend I attempted to cycle from Europe to Japan and had to stop due to the pandemics.
Those two months on the bike gave me an understanding of bike-packing. If you’re new to cycling, looking for cycling partners, or need anything related to cycling, you can text me or stop by my shop Pavé Cycles for coffee or a public bike ride.
If your day doesn’t start until you’re up to speed on the latest headlines, then let us introduce you to our new morning fix.
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Ukraine, the end of energy dependence on Russia, the build-up of defense capabilities, trade deals, support for civic society and free media as well as transatlantic links are Czech EU priorities, Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky told journalists on Tuesday. In connection with Ukraine, Lipavsky mentioned support for its territorial integrity, humanitarian and post-war rehabilitation as well as support for its EU candidate status.
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The Prague Spring international music festival’s administrative board has appointed Pavel Trojan the festival’s new director effective August 1, when he will replace Roman Belor, who is leaving the post at his own request. Prague Spring has been a renowned festival of classical music with an almost 80-year history.
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The number of temporary protection visas the Czech Republic has issued to refugees from Ukraine since the start of its Russian invasion has reached 379,524, the Interior Ministry said on Twitter on Tuesday. On Monday, the visas were granted to 1,200 people, which was about 1,100 fewer than a week ago.
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The largest Czech construction business Metrostav, as well as its daughter company Metrostav Infrastructure, have been banned from taking part in public tenders and fulfilling public contracts for a period of three years after a ruling at the High Court in Prague on Tuesday.
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Australian actor Geoffrey Rush and American actor/producer Benicio del Toro will be attending this year’s Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) which is set to run from July 1-9, the president of the festival, Jiří Bartoška, announced on Tuesday.
International Yoga Day is celebrated around the world every year on the summer solstice on June 21.
Four hundred yoga fans gathered on Charles Bridge in Prague on Tuesday morning. They spread out their mats and all started training together to celebrate International Yoga Day.
The exercise began at five o’clock in the morning and lasted about an hour.
“The whole sequence was a symbol of the solstice. It was based on Greetings to the Sun exercises and their variations. Each trainer received a yoga book and a candle as a gift,” the event organizer Adéla Porubská told TN.cz.
The exercise was accompanied directly on the bridge by pianist Karel Havlíček. “The whole thing underlined Czech history. We were on Charles Bridge, we played Czech music on Czech piano,” added Porubská.
The International Day of Yoga has been celebrated annually on June 21 since 2015, following its inception in the United Nations General Assembly in 2014.
The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in his UN address in 2014, had suggested the date of June 21, as it is the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and shares a special significance in many parts of the world.
Practiced in India since the 5th century, Yoga has been beneficial in keeping the body and mind in sound health. A holistic approach, Yoga targets all the different systems of the body and mind.
It is said that the asanas make the body strong and flexible, as health improves; the mind too is renewed with confidence. The practice of Pranayama regulates the purification of the internal system and the organs, acting as a superior and able supplement to asanas. The energy that is generated in the body through these physical practices is then channeled into meditation or Dhyan for stability, peace and calm.
Would you like to have unforgettable memories of the holiday in the Czech mountains? Let’s try to sleep in a tiny house made of hay. Moreover, right from your bed, you have a view of the sky with stars through the transparent rooftop.
You might have romantic ideas about sleeping on hay in plain nature. In this upgraded version, you have a whole tiny house with a bed for two people. However, the most romantic aspect is the transparent rooftop under your bed, where you can watch the sky with stars.
If you are not allergic to the grass, you should definitely try it! In fact, this little house is made of straw rather than hay. Straw can keep the warm better, and it is almost waterproof. It makes the little house comfortable as much as possible. However, this kind of experience is a seasonal service from May to September, since the nights in the mountains are cold during the rest of the year.
Your experience is coming with a tasty breakfast made of local ingredients. You can have it served right into your bed, enjoy it as a picnic in the meadow, or have it right in the cottage nearby.
Bouda v Obřím Dole
The tiny house is not standing in the middle of nowhere, but nearby the traditional wooden cottage on the way to Sněžka, the highest peak of the Czech Republic. This cottage is called Bouda v Obřím Dole, and its restaurant is a popular destination for tourists heading to Sněžka.
This cottage provides you with facilities such as a restaurant, shower, and toilets for your stay. Next to the cottage is a giant chair with 5,6 meters in height, made without any nails and screws. You can climb it by ladder and enjoy the view over the valley.
Behind the idea of a tiny house made of straw are Klára and Vlaďka. Klára is running the services in the cottage for more than ten years. Together with her friend Vlaďka, who lives in Switzerland, they built the very first straw house five years ago. Since then, it is a very popular sleeping destination, so make sure you make a reservation in advance.
Besides the cottage, restaurant, and straw house, Klára also breeds sheep and keeps bees. You can buy fresh honey products in a restaurant, from honey to mead and cosmetics.
How to Get to Slamák
Everything is prepared for your arrival. It would help if you got to the nearest city Pec pod Sněžkou. Then, you can ask Klára for transport, or have 20 minutes relaxing walk by the valley to the cottage. It is also a great starting point for your hike to Sněžka, or you can even take a cable car.
From Monday to Thursday, from June 27 to September 8, 2022, Kinobus will screen 44 movies around 11 different locations in Prague.
The movie screenings will start between 20.30 and 21.30. Admission to individual performances is free and blankets will be available for rent.
KinoBus is a special vehicle that was created on the basis of a classic bus. However, the insides have undergone considerable changes. The result is a fully-fledged mobile cinema that transports an experience instead of people.
The audience will have the opportunity to watch contemporary Czech and foreign films. Among them are “The Wrath of Man”, “Suicide Squad”, “King Richard”, “Even Mice Go to Heaven”.
The mobile open-air cinema will offer visitors 220 seats. The 8 x 4 m inflatable projection screen was custom-made in England.
List of screening places:
- Čakovice: Náměstí Jiřího Berana
- Prosek: Park Přátelství
- Libuš: Skalská street – Jirčanská stop
- Koloděje: Park Skála, Lupenická street
- Štěrboholy: Ústřední street, Štěrboholy stop
- Bohnice: in front of the Krakow Center, Lodžská Street
- Letňany: Tvrdého street, Staré Letňany stop
- BB Centrum: U Michelské školy street, Brumlovka stop
- Chodov: Park u Chodovské tvrze, stop Chodovská tvrz
- Hůrka: Slunečné náměstí, in front of the Prague 13 City Hall
- Zličín: Park Na Prameništi, stop Halenkovská
A list of films, and other information can be found here
After more than six months of reconstruction, Bílek’s villa in Prague’s Hradčany will reopen to visitors on Tuesday.
The unusual building was built by the sculptor and graphic artist František Bílek (1872-1941) according to his own plans.
Today it serves as a monument to his work, and houses exhibitions related to his projects. During this last reconstruction, non-original elements created during the previous renovation were removed from the house.
Bílek’s villa has been managed by the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague since the 1960s. According to them, the creation of a new exhibition also serves to arrange the exhibits so that each space represents a specific theme of his work.
“These are monumental works in Prague and the beginning of his work, while we tried to install the second part of his work in Chýnov and accentuate historical issues,” said Martin Krummholz, Ph.D. Bílek’s works from his peak creative period are presented in the permanent exhibition.
According to Bílek, the Prague villa was supposed to express “Life as a field full of ripe ears of corn, providing nutrition for the brothers every day.”
Many ears of corn are tied in sheaves–forming a pillar. Some of the columns are unfinished because they do not carry anything. The overall design of the building can be interpreted as a scythe, harvesting grain.
From the very beginning, Bílek’s work was shaped by deep piety, and in addition to biblical themes, Bílek was also interested in the national history and ideas of Czech religious reformers. friendship with the painter Zdenka Braunerová, with the poets Julius Zeyer, Jakub Deml, and especially with Otokar Březina, whose poetry Bílek often accompanied art artistically informed his work.
The Villa reopens today, June 21st with both the new and permanent exhibitions open to visitors.
On June 21, 1991, the army of Soviet Union left Czechoslovakia after 23 years of “friendly help” which was actually a permanent occupation.
The invasion by Warsaw Pact forces came on August 21, 1968, after the Czechoslovak Communist Party promoted “the change from within”, a reform guided by the regime and ruling party itself.
When the Velvet Revolution swept the communists from power in late 1989, the first independent Czechoslovak government had several major issues to contend with—one of the most obvious being the 92 000 Soviet soldiers on Czechoslovak territory.
They were here, along with over 44 000 of their family members from the Soviet Union, and military equipment that included 1120 tanks, 2505 combat vehicles, 103 aircraft, 173 helicopters, and several thousands of tonnes of ammunition. And by June 27th, 1991, the last of them was traveling back to Ukraine’s capital city.
The last military transport left the country crossing the state border after a two-day drive from Milovice, Central Bohemia.
The withdrawal itself came after long negotiations with the Soviet leadership, specifically President Mikhail Gorbachev and Foreign Affairs Minister Yuri Shevarnadze.
From the Czechoslovak side, the negotiations were led by Slovak Alexander Dubček, former party leader and head of state, and Czech dissident and musician-turned-politician Michal Kocáb.
Only after the Velvet Revolution did it become clear that a total of 267 Czechoslovaks had died due to the Soviets’ presence between 1969 and 1990 (248 in car accidents, 12 murders, the rest for other reasons).
Taken together with the number of victims from the 1968 invasion itself, it corresponds to the formidable number of 402 dead.
Symbolically, the commander of the Soviet Central Group of Forces, General Eduard Vorobyov, was the last Soviet soldier to leave Czechoslovakia — on 27 June 1991.
Some 3,076 edifices — built without any permits or regard for Czechoslovak building regulations — remained in the abandoned military areas.
With the tacit consent of the Communist Czechoslovak authorities, and also without it, the Soviet armed forces expanded the occupied area over the course of twenty years from an original 4,500 hectares (11,120 acres) to 13,000 hectares (32,120 acres) of land. In the Libavá region alone, they caused some 126 million crowns of damage to forests over a 10-year period.
The contamination of the soil, mainly with petroleum products, became so extensive that a mere 9 percent of locations qualified as relatively clean after the departure of the troops.
Geoffrey Rush and Benicio Del Toro will receive special awards at the 2022 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, KVIFF organizers announced on Tuesday.
The two actors will both receive their awards during the closing ceremony on July 9 in the spa town of Karlovy Vary outside Prague in the Czech Republic.
Rush will receive the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, an award that in the past has gone to Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Jude Law and Judi Dench.
Three of Rush’s films – “The King’s Speech,” “Quills” and “Shine,” for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor – will be screened at the festival.
Rush began his career in theater with the Queensland Theater Company. An important turning point in his cinematic career came in 1996, when he excelled in the role of composer and pianist David Helfgott in Scott Hick’s “Shine,” which won him an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA.
Two years later, he was again nominated for an Oscar, this time for his role in the historical romance “Shakespeare in Love.” Despite his work in cinema, Rush never left stage acting behind. In 2009, he won a Tony Award for playing the lead in Ionesco’s “Exit the King.”
Del Toro will receive the President’s Award for making “a fundamental contribution to the development of film and cinema.” His films “Traffic” and “The Usual Suspects” will be screened in Karlovy Vary. Ethan Hawke received the President’s Award last year.
He has been one of Hollywood’s most frequently cast actors since the 1990s. An important film in his career was Bryan Singer’s “The Usual Suspects” (1995), for which he earned a Film Independent Spirit Award. The following year, he excelled in director Julian Schnabel’s “Basquiat,” which was also shown in Karlovy Vary and which brought him his second Film Independent Spirit Award.
Last week, the festival announced its official competition titles, with 24 films from 27 different countries screening in three separate sections.
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival began in 1946 and is the foremost film festival in Central and Eastern Europe. This year’s festival, which runs from July 1-9, is the 56th KVIFF and will present more than 160 feature films across 13 sections.
Here is the list of competition titles:
Crystal Globe Competition
“America,” Ofir Raul Graizer (Israel, Germany, Czech Republic)
“Chemi otakhi” (“A Room Of My Own”), Ioseb “Soso” Bliadze (Georgia, Germany)
“Edna provintsialna bolnitsa” (“A Provincial Hospital”), Ilian Metev, Ivan Chertov, Zlatina Teneva (Bulgaria, Germany)
“F—ing Bornholm,” Anna Kazejak (Poland)
“Hranice lásky” (“Borders of Love”), Tomasz Wiński (Czech Republic, Poland)
“Isihia 6-9” (“Silence 6-9”), Christos Passalis (Greece)
“The Ordinaries,” Sophie Linnenbaum (Germany)
“Slovo” (“The Word”), Beata Parkanová (Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland)
“Tabestan Ba Omid” (“Summer with Hope”), Sadaf Foroughi (Canada)
“Tenéis que venir a verla” (“You Have to Come and See It”), Jonás Trueba (Spain)
“Tooi tokoro” (“A Far Shore”), Masaaki Kudo (Japan)
“Vesper,” Kristina Buožytė, Bruno Samper (Lithuania, France, Belgium)
Proxima Competition
“A pak přišla láska…” (“And Then There Was Love…”), Šimon Holý (Czech Republic)
“Los Agitadores” (“Horseplay”), Marco Berger (Argentina)
“Au grand jour” (“In Broad Daylight”), Emmanuel Tardif (Canada)
“Balaye aseman zire ab” (“Like a Fish on the Moon”), Dornaz Hajiha (Iran)
“Głupcy” (“Fools”), Tomasz Wasilewski (Poland, Romania, Germany)
“Još jedno proleće” (“Another Spring”), Mladen Kovačević (Serbia, Qatar)
“La pietà” (“Piety”), Eduardo Casanova (Spain, Argentina)
“Ramona,” Andrea Bagney (Spain)
“Stric” (“The Uncle”), David Kapac, Andrija Mardešić (Croatia, Serbia)
“Tinnitus,”Gregorio Graziosi (Brazil)
“Zkouška umění” (“ART talent show”), Tomáš Bojar, Adéla Komrzý (Czech Republic)
“Zoo Lock Down,” Andreas Horvath (Austria)
Special Screenings
“BANGER.” Adam Sedlák (Czech Republic)
“June Zero,” Jake Paltrow (USA, Israel)
“The Killing of a Journalist,” Matt Sarnecki (Denmark, USA, Czech Republic)
“Mein Vater, der Fürst” (“My Father, The Prince”), Lukas Sturm, Lila Schwarzenberg (Austria, Czech Republic)
“PSH: Zpátky do dnů” (“PSH: Back to the Days”), Štěpán FOK Vodrážka (Czech Republic)
“Rubikon,” Magdalena Lauritsch (Austria)
“Velká premiéra” (“Big Opening”), Miroslav Krobot (Czech Republic)
“You Won’t Be Alone,” Goran Stolevski (Australia, United Kingdom, Serbia)
“L’ îlot” (“Like an Island”), Tizian Büchi (Switzerland)
When it comes to energy and the environment, the priorities of the Czech EU Presidency are clear: emphasis will be placed on energy security and breaking the EU’s dependence on Russian fossil fuels, an objective considered in Prague to be more pressing than the green transition.
“We basically have a repeat of the 1973 oil shock,” said Vaclav Bartuška, the Czech Ambassador-at-Large for energy security.
“If there is a gas cut out this winter, we will burn anything we can to keep our people warm and to make electricity,” he said.
Bartuška was speaking to Brussels-based journalists ahead of the start of the Czech EU Presidency, which begins on 1 July for a duration of six months.
The Czech Republic will take over the rotating EU Council leadership from France, whose six-month stint at the EU’s helm expires on 1 July.
During its presidency, Prague intends to push the implementation of the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan presented in May, which seeks to reduce Russian gas imports by two-thirds before the end of the year.
The plan also places the emphasis on energy savings and the acceleration of the transition to low-carbon and renewable energy sources in order to reduce the bloc’s reliance on Russian gas.
In its program, the Czech Presidency states that the focus will be “especially on thorough implementation of the main short-term objective, i.e. remove dependence on Russian fossil fuels”.
According to Bartuška, diversification of gas supply can be achieved if European buyers can sign long-term contracts, which need to be vetted by Brussels.
“We talked to possible suppliers of LNG and they all wanted long-term contracts – 20 or 15 years but most of them 20,” he said.
And although the European Commission has been reluctant about long-term contracts in the past, the EU executive is now open to it, Bartuška said.
“You would not hear that from the commissioner a year ago, or half a year ago, or four months ago. There’s a clear understanding on their side that the member states need to survive, the governments need to survive the winter,” he added.