The 8th Open House Prague, a festival that celebrates Prague’s architecture, is taking place on May 16–22, 2022.
On the weekdays, there is a number of accompanying events – concerts, lectures, discussions, exhibitions, and guided
walks. On the weekend of May 21–22, 101 buildings and spaces that are not usually accessible are open for free.
Visitors are welcome in the information center of the festival, located on Železná 492/18, Prague 1, where they can purchase the festival guide and merchandise.
The opening hours are Monday–Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday–Sunday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The full program is available here
The program features 101 buildings, including 26 new participants, 57 cultural monuments, and an eventful accompanying program, which celebrates several anniversaries of significant architects, such as Jože Plečnik.
In the neighborhood of Vinohrady sits one of his most outstanding pieces of work, the Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord, featuring Egyptian and early Christian architectural elements.
English Tours
Because Open House Prague also attracts visitors from foreign countries and long-term residents of Prague, the organizers have arranged a number of guided tours in English in selected buildings.
These include the City Mayor’s Residency, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, the Church of St. Anne – Prague Crossroads, DISK Theater, Na Zábradlí Theater, the Ericsson Palace, the Štenc House.
The availability of English tours is indicated in the description of each building on the festival’s website, and the tours take place continually during opening hours. As part of the accompanying program on the weekend, there are two special English tours in the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry on Saturday, May 21 (at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.). All the open buildings can be found here.
Open Buildings
Many buildings are participating for the first time ever, such as the Sokol Gymnasium in Libeň and the nearby Church of St. Adalbert, one of the few churches in the Czech lands built in the style of Art Nouveau.
Other first-time participants include EA Hotel Juliš on Wenceslas Square, the Clubhouse of the Autoclub of the Czech Republic, and the Adria Palace designed by Pavel Janák, an architect whose 140th anniversary of birth we are celebrating this year as well.
The organizers are also opening the Cubist apartment building Diamant and the former Gráf Hotel, now I. P. Pavlova 5, where visitors can climb up to the roof and see Prague from above.
For the first time ever, numerous buildings are also opening in the districts of Zbraslav and Komořany, such as the former washhouse, Church of the Hus Congregation, bell foundry, or the premises of the Czech Hydrometeorological
Institute.
Organization of the Festival
Admission to all the open buildings is free and no prior registration is required, with one exception (Thun Palace). The tours are arranged in collaboration with the owners, managers, and employees of the institutions and companies which are located in the open buildings, along with the help of hundreds of volunteers. Anyone can join our volunteer
program and experience the festival from a different perspective!
The application form is available here.
Information on the program is also available on our Facebook event Open House Praha 2022.
The Eurovision 2022 grand final is almost upon us, promising to be packed full of the usual weird and wacky acts we’re used to seeing at the song contest.
The Czech Republic’s act We Are Domi promises a spectacle at Saturday night’s grand final in Turin, going up against favourites-to-win Ukraine‘s Kalush Orchestra.
They have been chosen to go first on stage, no doubt increasing the pressure on the group to impress. But who are the duo and what song will they perform at the grand final? Here is everything you need to know.
Who are We Are Domi?
While representing the Czech Republic, two of the trio are Norweigan and the band was formed in the UK for a project while studying at the Leeds College of Music in 2016, before getting together officially and producing singles in 2018.
Before performing in Thursday’s semi-final, guitarist Casper Hatlestad urged the ‘lads and lasses’ of Leeds to vote for them.
They told the BBC: ‘Leeds is our second home. We lived there for five years and we’ve been on the underground music scene for so many years and we were really, really inspired by it.’
The band’s vocals are led by Dominika Hašková, while Casper Hatlestad plays guitar and Benjamin Rekstad is on the keyboard. Despite being round for only a short time, the band has several former members – mostly drummers.
They are yet to release an album, but it will no doubt be in high demand on the back of their Eurovision final performance on Saturday.
What is We Are Domi’s Eurovision 2022 song?
The band is set to perform its ‘Lights Off’ hit single, which peaked at fifth place in the Czech Top 50 charts and 17th in the Top 100.
The song focuses on the moments after a break up and the effort that’s required to move on from a past relationship. Lead singer Dominika opens the track by singing about how she “lost her soul” and “forgot her way”.
For Eurovision, the stage is dark with flashes of white lights in time to the beat of the music. On the enormous background screens, an ancient statue is featured covered in black paint.
Watch their semi-final performance from Thursday below.
Together with the laser technology research centre ELI Beamlines, Signal Festival will celebrate the International Day of Light this weekend.
The event will take place on the Charles Bridge, where a symbolic monumental installation will intersect both ends with a laser beam.
“Charles Bridge is where we lit up one of our first installations in 2013. This is our way of saying thank you to science in particular, which is constantly improving life on our planet. The beam will be lit on Saturday from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m.,” says one of the organizers.
“And don’t forget that the 10th anniversary year of the Signal Festival will take place from 13th to 16th October in the streets of Prague.”
The International Day of Light is celebrated on May 16, when the first laser beam was fired by American physicist and engineer Theodore Maiman.
About ELI Beamlines and International Day of Light
With ELI Beamlines we will celebrate the International Day of Light together for the second time. Laser beams will mark 62 years since the world’s first laser was launched. And it is ELI Beamlines that operates some of the most intense laser systems in the world.
During the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the Czech Republic would like to hold a summit with the participation of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenský, Minister of European Affairs Mikuláš Bek (STAN) said in an interview with ČTK.
According to Mr. Bek, the European summit should be devoted to a key topic, such as energy security, adding that “the government might drop the original plan to stage several events outside Prague, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and economic problems.”
The six-month presidency begins in less than two months, and its agenda is likely to be dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related economic, energy and migration issues.
“We would like the Ukrainian president to be a guest at the summit,” Bek said. The meeting could take place at the beginning of October at Prague Castle.
According to Bek, one of Zelenský’s advisers will arrive in Prague in the coming weeks. He would also like the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyn, to attend the informal General Affairs Council in July.
Czech Republic to replace Russia on rights body
The U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Tuesday for the Czech Republic to replace Russia on the world organization’s leading human rights body following its suspension over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The Czech Republic was the only candidate for the seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. Seats on the Geneva-based council are divided among regional groups and a replacement for Russia had to come from an East European country.
In Tuesday’s secret ballot vote, 180 of the General Assembly’s 193 members deposited ballots. The result was 157 countries in favor of the Czech Republic and 23 abstentions.
Are you tired of spring fatigue, or are you charged by the fact that it’s finally warming up outside? Either way, come and improve your mood with any of these newly opened restaurants.
Address: Wenceslas Square 23
Lovers of sushi, lounge and “fancy sitting” in the city center, this is the place exactly for you. A restaurant that will entertain you has opened in Prague’s Wenceslas Square. Come here if you are going evening dancing in the adjacent Duplex, or if you want to spend the evening in a place where you will not be ashamed to try everything on the menu.
Enjoy variations of sushi sets here and let yourself be surprised by the combinations carefully compiled by the local sushi master. Cheers with a glass of good wine and finish with a “sweet sushi” made of fruit rolled in chocolate. The smiling, helpful and caring staff will take care of your needs throughout the evening.
Address: Theinova 2, Prague-Čakovice
If you are looking for a relaxed restaurant outside the center of Prague, do not hesitate to go to Prague’s Čakovice, where they prepare the best load of goodies from around the world. Come to them for grilled chicken wings with a baguette or roast beef with french fries and a homemade spicy dip.
If you are more hungry, then do not hesitate and choose an appetizer in the form of grilled Brie cheese with honey and Armenian walnut or Greek Tiropitakia bags filled with Feta cheese. For dessert, enjoy a vanilla cake with Italian Amaretti and Cantuccini biscuits. You can also order the dishes of their daily menu, that is new every day, online and have them delivered home.
Address: Betlémské náměstí 1
In the center of Prague, here you must stop for a cup of coffee. Sip a capuccino, americano, or Colombian espresso in a pleasant, homely atmosphere. Refresh yourself with soda, apple cider or lemonade. You will also like prosecco Rosé Mille Bolle or Spago Colli.
Enjoy macaroons, brownies or cakes in the afternoon over coffee. In the evening, you can enjoy Colombian empanadas, tamalitos, or the now popular churros.
Address: Roztylská 19, (OC Westfield Chodov)
The opening of this restaurant will especially please sports lovers and their less-enthusiastic partners. While your dear significant other is playing games, how about a coffee at a local bar? Alternatively, you can spend time together and watch a sports match at dinner. And what food and drinks do they offer you here?
They can make you both an alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer, and they can prepare burgers, a sandwich with turkey, or pastries. We recommend tasting homemade fries as a side dish.
Address: Rumunská 26
Gemüse Corner Kebab has opened its second location on the corner of Londýnská and Rumuská. And if you haven’t had the honor of introducing this Berlin-inspired piece to your taste buds, you should definitely fix it.
They will serve you a famous experience with honest, home-prepared meat in bread sandwiches, cakes, or in a box with rice and decorate it with a good portion of vegetables. Vegetarians can have a meatless version with falafel or halloumi cheese will also enjoy themselves.
Address: Krkonošská 14
La Forme Bakery has opened a new place in the Krkonoše Mountains, perfect for sitting over a croissant, danish pastries, chocolate and good coffee. But the cafe will enchant you mainly with its peaceful atmosphere.
If you are looking for a tip on where to fully enjoy Saturday’s brunch and let your face caress the spring sun, definitely take to this place.
By Ayan Abbasli, Suzanne Bessisso, Ines Plunger, Dominika Szapuova and Daniel Holko
Prague businesses are optimistic for a return to a normal summer season with early signs tourists have started to return to one of the most visited destinations in Europe after two years of pandemic-limited travel.
With most COVID restrictions lifted across Europe, the city’s hotels are filling up, visitors are crowding the Charles Bridge, lining up to enter the Prague Castle overlooking the Vltava river and sampling the country’s world-famous Pilsner beer.
At Bakeshop, located in the heart of the Old Town, owner Martin Hofman said tour guides are bringing an increasing number of foreign tourists looking to refuel at his upscale American-style deli, also popular with students and workers in the film industry.
He and others remain cautiously optimistic about the summer but worry that fast-rising inflation, the war in Ukraine and a post-pandemic hangover could throttle summer travel.
“May, so far, seems to be really strong,” Hofman said. “It seems that more young and wealthy people are travelling.”
Tourism is a key growth engine for the Central European Country of 10.7 million, accounting for about 8% of the Czech economy with Prague as the nation’s top destination.
Revenue from visitors is especially important in the Czech capital, which ranks as the fourth most visited city in Europe behind London, Paris, and Rome.
Foreign visits started picking up during the Easter Holiday, with more overseas travelers – especially from the United States — asking for information at city tourism offices, Klara Mala, a spokeswoman for Prague City Tourism said.
“The upcoming season is extremely important for local businesses to get back on their feet,” Mala said. “Many businesses disappeared and the rest survived with difficulty.”
At the Globe Bookstore, owner Michael Sito sees an increasing number of foreign visitors returning with many asking for recommendations and sipping coffee while browsing their guidebooks. The café started offering brunch during the weekdays to attract the growing number of mostly European travelers.
“May is a good start but we expect the summer to be stronger,” Sito said while sitting at the café that also boasts one of the largest selection of English books in Prague. “We have seen growth from last year because fear of Covid has passed.”
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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A large amount of ammunition from WW2, including 92 bazookas and more than 2,000 hand grenades, was found during excavation works near Unanov, a small village in Znojmo.
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A rare form of diphtheria has occurred in a woman in the Vysocina Region, who may have got infected from a domestic animal in her family. This disease was registered in Czechia last time in 1995 and is part of the obligatory vaccination scheme. Vaccination against diphtheria has been obligatory in the country since 1946.
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The National Bank Board has decided to launch interventions on foreign exchange markets due to the significant depreciation of the crown in recent days. The move is to offset a longer-term depreciation of the crown at a time of high inflation.
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Fuel prices in the Czechia have risen significantly for the third week in a row. The best-selling petrol Natural 95 has risen to an average CZK 44.25. Diesel is currently selling for CZK 46.44 per litre.
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In the first quarter of 2022, 2.8 million guests were accommodated in accommodation facilities in the Czech Republic. Of these, nearly one third came from abroad, while the number of domestic tourists was 1.9 million.
The upper house of the Czech parliament passed a resolution Wednesday urging the government to recognize suspected war crimes in Ukraine as genocide.
“We criticize the crimes that Russian troops are committing in this operation, which are war crimes,” Senator Pavel Fisher told lawmakers in the Czech Senate, adding that “because they are based on ethnicity, language, affiliation, place of residence, [they] basically bear the hallmarks of genocide.”
The motion, which passed by 55 votes to 1, follows similar moves by Lithuanian lawmakers Tuesday — they also recognized Russia as a “terrorist state” — and Estonia in late April. Outside Europe, only Canada’s parliament has labeled Moscow’s actions as genocide.
The move comes as Ukraine prepares to launch its first war crimes trial, with three Russian prisoners of war accused of raping and murdering civilians set to face a court hearing.
Kyiv’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said more than 10,700 crimes by Russians have been registered since the war began in late February.
Responding to the resolution, Ukraine’s ambassador to the Czech Republic lauded the senators. “The Czech Senate has just recognized … the genocide of the Ukrainian people,” Yevhen Perebyinis wrote on Facebook. “Thank you!”
Genocide is defined by the U.N. as a “proven intent on the part of perpetrators to physically destroy a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” under the Genocide Convention, a treaty signed by over 150 countries largely in response to the Second World War.
Many countries, including the U.S., have so far been reluctant to label Russian actions in Ukraine as genocide because the treaty also encourages concrete action (saying they “shall be punished”) against those carrying out genocide that could risk further escalation of the conflict.
The resolution also calls for the Czech government to “accelerate” military support to Kyiv, to support Ukraine in gaining EU candidate status, and to back the country’s complaints against Russia before the International Court of Justice.
The National Museum sent a consignment of materials to help the country protect its art.
Yesterday morning, two trucks filled with packaging, bubble wrap, polyethylene foams and other materials left the National Museum in Prague and set off to Ukraine.
According to the museum, this consignment of materials was commissioned by the Czech Ministry of Culture to help Ukraine preserve its endangered cultural heritage, monuments, and artworks.
In addition to sending the aforementioned materials, the National Museum has also sent other safety equipment such as fire extinguishers, power banks, sandbags, fuel generators, and oriented strand boards (OSB boards) designed to block windows.
These materials and equipment have not been chosen at random but selected based on the needs and requests of Ukraine, the museum explained.
“We responded to a specific request from the Ukrainian side, and today, thanks to the work of the National Museum, two trucks full of necessary things can leave. I believe that in this way they will help to minimise the damage. Further assistance may follow as the Ukrainian side clarifies its needs,” explained Michal Lukeš, General Director of the National Museum.
Lukeš further revealed that this is not the first time that the National Museum has lent a hand to a country in need. That is, he disclosed that the museum had previously helped save cultural heritage threatened by war in Afghanistan and Syria.
Therefore, it now has the knowledge and experience it needs to assist its Ukrainian colleagues. Moreover, it also has a depository for storing cultural monuments and the restoration capacity needed for post-war reconstruction.
According to a press release, the Ministry of Culture used CZK 2 million from its budget for the consignment of the materials.
The long-gestating The Crow reboot is one step closer to taking flight.
A new take on The Crow is finally coming to life, with Bill Skarsgård (IT) leading the cast as Eric Draven and singer/actor FKA Twigs co-starring.
Rupert Sanders (Snow White and the Huntsman, Ghost in the Shell) is directing the “modern reimagining” of James O’Barr’s comic, with Zach Baylin (King Richard) writing.
In a fresh article over at Deadline, they report that FilmNation Entertainment is handling the project at the Cannes Market and that filming is now lined up to take place this coming summer in Prague and Germany (various locations).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film is currently “well into pre-production” in Prague, with the shoot scheduled to begin in June.
Prague locations to be utilized for The Crow are not yet known, and the Czech capital may or may not play itself. Previous adaptations have been set in Detroit, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and other North American locales.
The 1994 version was well-received but left an unfortunate legacy as the final film of star Brandon Lee, son of Bruce Lee, was shot and killed during an on-set accident.
Over the past decade, directors such as Stephen Norrington, F. Javier Gutiérrez, and Corin Hardy have been attached to The Crow reboot, along with actors including Luke Evans and Jason Momoa.
Such situations do not happen often. On Thursday, a woman named Katarzyna from the Polish city of Gdańsk received a postcard from Prague.
There was nothing unusual about it, except for the fact that the card was not addressed to her and had circulated around the world for … 43 years! Now the woman is asking for help in finding the relatives of the late addressee.
Katarzyna shared the story on Friday in a Facebook group called “Nec Temere Nec Timide“.
The stamp bears the date May 15, 79. The addressee was Mrs. Ligia Kuśmierek from Gdańsk.
“The postcard is addressed to the first owner of my house, who is no longer alive. I know that the addressee’s husband was an assistant professor at the Gdańsk University of Technology,” Katarzyna wrote in the post on Facebook.
The woman shared photos of an unusual postcard on a social network, wanting to explain this mysterious situation. On the piece of paper yellowed from old age, you can still read the following message:
“A wonderful, wonderful city, more beautiful than the wildest imaginations. The eyes want to look, although the legs are already rooted in the ground.”
The broadcaster, Ms. Joanna, also shared her culinary experiences in the capital of today’s Czech Republic. “We sit in a bar, drink Pilsner and eat fries with ketchup (there is none in Poland)” – she wrote. She also added a mysterious note about… a hedgehog. “I think about the hedgehog a lot,” she concluded.
The card seems to be in exceptionally good condition for its “age”. We hope that the relatives of Mrs. Ligia Kuśmierek will find each other!
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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The Czech Senate called on the cabinet in a resolution today to continue with the quick supplies of further military materiel to Ukraine faced by Russian aggression and recommended to send in heavy weapons from the equipment of the pre-1989 Czechoslovak army.
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A meeting in Prague yestreday commemorated the people who were murdered or dragged away to the gulags forced labour camps by the SMERSH Soviet counter-intelligence from the then Czechoslovakia, where they fled from the Bolsheviks, after WWII.
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Czech President Milos Zeman has given his approval for 103 Czech nationals willing to join the Ukrainian armed forces, but the president’s decision needs to be countersigned by PM Petr Fiala.
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The Czech minister of the interior, Vít Rakušan, says that a new temporary shelter will be built in response to the situation surrounding Ukrainian refugees at Prague’s Main Railway Station.
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Hotels, pensions and camps across the Czech Republic housed a total of 2.81 million tourists in the first quarter of 2022. This is a tenfold increase when compared to the same period last year, which was marked by pandemic related lockdowns. Around 886,000 tourists visited from abroad.