Every European country has its own spin on the classic Christmas cookies, but in the Czech Republic, they’re a time-honored (and time-intensive) tradition. If you’ve ever been to a Czech home over the holidays, chances are you’ve been inundated with plate upon plate of fresh, homemade Czech Christmas cookies made from recipes dating back generations of grandmothers. But seasoned pros know you don’t just go diving in: delicious as each may be, not all Czech Christmas cookies are equal. 10. Vanilkové rohlíčky (Vanilla rolls) If you’ve ever come across a tray of Christmas cookies after it has been picked clean, chances are a bunch of these are still there. There’s a reason for that: while Vanilkové rohlíčky are easily the most common Czech Christmas cookies, they are also live up to their name: typically dry and somewhat bland (though good with a cup of coffee) they can pale next to some of their more interesting companions. 9. Máslové kokosky (Coconut Cookies) Traditional butter cookies usually made with a hearty helping of the namesake ingredient, these can move up higher on the list based on your fondness for coconut. Chocolate base not usually present. 8. Pracny Alongside Vanilkové rohlíčky, these seem...
A 2022 survey by the Swiss international education company EF Education First, which measures the English proficiency of people in 112 non-English speaking countries and regions, found that over the last year Czech had improved their English, most notably those in their forties. The Czech Republic ranked 23rd with 575 points. The survey gathered and analyzed data from free tests taken online by a total of 2.1 million people worldwide for EF’s English Proficiency Index. By region, 35% of test takers were from Europe, 24% from Asia, 20% from Central and South America, 20% from Africa, and 12% from the Middle East. The median age was 25. After a significant drop from 19th place last year to 27th, Czechs have returned to the level they have been at since the first survey. This shows that they have been stagnating in English for at least the last eleven years. The level of proficiency is still generally high, so Czechs can present themselves in English at work, understand TV programs, or read newspapers without particular difficulty. However, all neighboring countries rank significantly higher than the Czech Republic, with Austria ranking third. Slovakia ranks 15th, – just one step away from moving into...
Czech Boy and Girl Scouts collected the Bethlehem Light on the Austrian border on Sunday morning. They will now distribute the Peace Light across the country, placing it in churches and various institutions, from where people can light their own lamps. The Bethlehem Light is a Scouting tradition dating back over 30 years. As a symbol of peace and friendship, it is considered a modern symbol of Christmas time. “The message of hope that the flame brings, the light that transcends the darkness, is even more relevant this year than ever before,” said Zuzana Hrbková, a spokeswoman for the Bethlehem Light project. Scout couriers will travel with the flame around the Czech Republic by train. The organizers believe the delivery is possible, as the size of the courier groups will be reduced to a minimum and all volunteers will use protective equipment. The flame is traditionally taken to homes and retirement homes, but these deliveries will be limited this year and all deliveries will be made without contact. The Scouts have been bringing the Bethlehem light to the Czech Republic for 30 years. For their first time, they brought the light under the statue of St. Wenceslas in Prague during...
Czech Boy and Girl Scouts collected the Bethlehem Light on the Austrian border this past weekend. They will now distribute the Peace Light across the country, placing it in churches and various institutions, from where people can light their own lamps. The Bethlehem Light is a Scouting tradition dating back over 30 years. As a symbol of peace and friendship, it is considered a modern symbol of Christmas time. “The message of hope that the flame brings, the light that transcends the darkness, is even more relevant this year than ever before,” said Zuzana Hrbková, a spokeswoman for the Bethlehem Light project. Scout couriers will travel with the flame around the Czech Republic by train. The organizers believe the delivery is possible, as the size of the courier groups will be reduced to a minimum and all volunteers will use protective equipment. The flame is traditionally taken to homes and retirement homes, but these deliveries will be limited this year and all deliveries will be made without contact. The Scouts have been bringing the Bethlehem light to the Czech Republic for 30 years. For their first time, they brought the light under the statue of St. Wenceslas in Prague during...
To those who only know Wenceslas from the popular Christmas carol, he is a kind-hearted king helping the poor. To the people of the Czech Republic, he is their patron saint and a national hero. “Good King Wenceslas looked out / On the Feast of Stephen / When the snow lay round about / Deep and crisp and even.” So begins the Christmas carol, first published in 1853 by English hymnwriter John Mason Neale, with the assistance of music editor Thomas Helmore. With a tune from the 13th century – unearthed in the Finnish song book Piae Cantiones, a collection of medieval songs published in 1582 – it tells of a king, Wenceslas, and his page who braved the winter weather to come to the aid of a poor peasant on the Feast of Stephen (better known now as Boxing Day). Was Wenceslas a king? The first thing to say about the real Wenceslas is that he was not actually a king, but Duke of Bohemia. The Holy Roman Emperor Otto I bestowed the more prestigious title on him posthumously, as well as being made patron saint of the Czech nation. But if the legends are to be believed, it can be...
„I just wonder where our German comrades made their mistake“ is a famous line from undoubtedly one of the best Czech films of all time. Besides showing peculiar Czech Christmas traditions the movie comedy COSY DNES (1999) gives an account of growing up and growing old under the previous regime, of the golden sixties, and the betrayal that happened to the whole nation. This December (16.12.), you have a very rare opportunity to see this Czech Christmas classic with English subtitles on the big screen. All thanks to the screening project Some like it Czech and cinema Aero. As part of the “Some like it Czech” screening series, which aims to introduce Czech culture and history to expats living in Prague, you can attend a screening of the movie COSY DENS (1999, watch the trailer). This comedy-drama is directed by famous contemporary Czech director Jan Hřebejk and based on a book by Petr Šabach called “Hovno hoří”, which in translation literally means Shit burns. Yes, you read correctly. This movie follows two normal families who live in a two-storey villa in Prague. Their story unfolds over the course of a year, and we get to #czexperience their Christmas, their wedding,...
The treasures of Czech art, design, and architecture are now freely accessible to the public via the internet. The Google Arts & Culture platform has prepared a project called HeART of Czechia where people can view the works of the painter Alfons Mucha or the Tugendhat Villa in Brno. According to Michal Lukeš, Director General of the National Museum, digitization is the future for museums. The purpose of the project is to preserve Czech cultural wealth for future generations while at the same time making Czech culture more accessible to viewers around the world. The collection will therefore be presented in both Czech and English. For foreign tourists, it is an opportunity to get to know Czech culture before visiting the Czech Republic.“We are proud that, in cooperation with local institutions, we managed to bring the cultural heritage of the Czech Republic closer to people around the world,” said Google Arts & Culture Director Amit Sood. Nineteen institutions participated in the project including the National Museum in Prague, the Olomouc Art Museum and the Pilsen Philharmonic. The HeART of Czechia includes over 2,500 works and artefacts, and more than 20 panoramic views, including the panorama of the House of the Black Mother...
A unique piece by Ludwig van Beethoven is finally set to be returned to the heirs of its original owners. The manuscript ended up in the archives of the Moravian Museum in Brno to protect it from being stolen by the Nazis, as the Petscheks, once the richest family in pre-World War II Czechoslovakia, fled the country to escape the Holocaust. The museum kept the autograph of the 4th movement of the string quartet in B-flat Major, op. 130 — a highly valued late quartet by the German composer — in its collections for more than 80 years. Now, a local restitution law on the property stolen by the Nazis is making the return possible. For the first time, the Moravian Museum curators have put the score on display for five days before it is set to be handed over to the Petschek family. “The item itself has a fascinating collecting story,” says curator Simona Sindlarova. “The whole story reflects the history of Central Europe in the last 200 years.” High-stakes lie to Nazis works, saves the manuscript Details about how the family, whose wealth came mainly from the mining industry and business in the banking sector, acquired the piece after...
A light-hearted muse will take the reins at the State Opera. Ball im Savoy, an operetta revue by the Hungarian composer Paul Abraham, will return on December 31st in Prague. A glass of sparkling wine will be waiting for the audience upon arrival and the historic State Opera building will be festively decorated. Paul Abraham was the uncrowned “king of jazz opera”, whose stellar career was ended by the rise of Nazism in 1933. The production is a part of Musica non grata, an international music and cultural project of the Czech Republic and Germany, initiated and organized by the National Theatre in Prague and financially supported by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. “Ball im Savoy combines operetta, opera, dance and also pretty demanding acting almost as Oscar Wilde’s style acting” says the Slovak stage director, Martin Čičvák. “For me, this is a kind of feminist initiation, a story about a girl, who stands up for herself, her rights and grows from a girl into a woman,” he adds. A piece full of unexpected twists, brimming with energy and wit, Ball im Savoy was composed in Berlin in 1932 as the last in the series of Abraham’s...
Mikuláš, known around the world as St. Nicholas Day, is celebrated on the 5th of December and signifies the start of Christmas for Czech people. Going back to the 14th Century, the legend of Mikulas tells that children are to be rewarded for being good and sent to the devil for being bad. It is a charming tradition that brings together people young and old in a festive frenzy of costumes, delicious sweet treats, and festive performances. It is a time of gift-giving, celebration, community, and charity. Children are rewarded if they have been good but if not, they will go into the Devil’s sack! During this time, the streets will be filled with Christmas joy and incredible costumes. So where are the best places to catch the Christmas cheer? Mikuláš Rides Through Prague There will be a Saturday night steam train ride around Prague for all the children that cannot wait until Christmas day. The train will be adorned with decorations and will depart from Prague’s Smíchov railway station at 8:56 am, 12:56 pm, and at 4:56 pm. It will take a scenic route through the Prokop Valley to Hostivice and back to the station via Prague’s Semmering. Not...
UNESCO has decided to include in its representative list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity the Czech “timber rafting” tradition. The multinational application “Timber Rafting” was made by six countries – Austria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Poland, Spain and Germany. The craft, dating back to the 14th century, involves the transport of wood by waterways from areas rich in woodland to those in which it is scarcer. Timber rafting had a long tradition in the Czech lands, ranking among highly respected and recognised, but also dangerous professions. According to most sources, the first historical mention of timber rafting on the Vltava River dates back as far as medieval times. At the time, the biggest source of timber, needed for the construction of houses, was in South and Southwest Bohemia, and the fastest way to deliver the logs to different destinations was the river. Rafting on the Vltava ended after the Second World War when a cascade system of dams was built on the river. The timber rafting tradition received a very positive assessment from experts, who said it demonstrates the close connection of man with nature and the rational use of natural resources, which is fully in line with the European course towards sustainable development....
By Abigail Calandra – Anglo-American University Gregor Hildebrandt’s exhibition “A Blink of an Eye and the Years are Behind Us” is the first of a series of solo artist installations at Kunsthalle Prague and the most extensive collection of his work to date. The exhibition of more than 80 works is an archive of Hildebrandt’s personal memories, drawing inspiration from music, film, literature, and architecture to create minimalist and abstract impressionist works. Located in Mala Strana, Kunsthalle is a new art space that seeks to highlight Prague’s multicultural past. The German word “kunsthalle” is representative of laboratories of critical thinking and open dialogue about art and society. Kunsthalle Prague opened its doors in February 2022 with the exhibition “Kinetismus: 100 Years of Electricity in Art” to celebrate the building’s original function as the Zenger Electrical Substation in the 1930s. The Berlin-based artist’s work takes up two of three exhibition spaces, including his well-known works, some lesser-known pieces, and site-specific installations. Hildebrandt seeks to document his own life and art while also placing a special focus on the Berlin art and music scene. The exhibition will also serve as a venue for concerts and re-staged Berlin exhibitions, including a performance by...
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