Eight people died and thirty were injured in a fire at a Czech home for people with disabilities on Sunday, according to local media. Czech Television reported that the fire occurred at the northwestern town of Vejprty that borders Germany. Prokop Volenik, the spokesman for the regional rescue service, said that the fire broke out at around 5 a.m. local time and one of the injured is in critical condition. Czech media said the fire which was now under control was reported at 0349 GMT. “The fire broke out in the boys’ section of a home for the mentally handicapped,” said Jitka Gavdunova, the mayor of Vejprty, a small town on the German border some 100 kilometers northwest of Prague. Originally, rescuers said the fire had occurred at a nearby home for the elderly. Rescuers from neighboring Germany came to help their Czech colleagues who were not able to use helicopters due to bad weather. Prime Minister Andrej Babis called the fire “a terrible tragedy”, saying on Twitter that police and firefighters were doing their utmost. Probably the fire started in one room and that most of those killed died from smoke inhalation.
There are four National Parks around the Czech Republic that are perfect for hiking regardless of the season.
The Šediváčkův Long is the longest and most famous dog sled race in the Czech Republic and one of the toughest races in Europe. The 2020 edition will take place from January 21 to January 25. It is a four-day stage race on the shoulders of the Orlické mountains, including one bivouac (sleeping out on the snow). Every year mushers from Belgium, Czech, Denmark, France, Holland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Switzerland take part in this race. The race is rated as the Czech championship in LONG-distance (long trail). In 2004 there took place the Europian championship in Long and Mid. In the beginning, it was a rather crazy idea of a group of Šumavan mushers, who fell in love with the captivating and rough landscape of the Eagle Mountains while training on a visit at a friend’s place. Only 17 dog teams stood at the start of the first race in February 1997 in the town of Deštná. Over the years Šediváčkův Long has grown into a prestigious race at an international level. Since 2002, Šediváčkův Long has been one of the series of four extreme dog races for the Iron Sled Dog Man and Ice Dog titles. The other three...
Former Prague imam Samer Shehadeh admitted on Tuesday that he had helped his brother and sister-in-law travel to Syria to join a terrorist organization, Jabhat Fatah as-Sham (Conquest of Syria). Along with his brother Omar and his sister-in-law Fátima Hudková, were all charged with supporting terrorism. For these offenses, they face up to 15 years in prison. Shehadeh said he does not consider it a criminal act because he does not recognize the Syrian government or perceive Jabhat Fatah as-Sham as terrorists. In November 2016, Shehadeh first helped his brother to travel to Syria and join the terrorist organization. Later, he arranged for Fátima Hudková to leave as well. “I raised funds to help people affected by the war in Syria – to buy food, and secondly I traveled to Istanbul with a sum of money I collected. Then, I contacted jihadists, and I wanted to join them,” Shehadeh said in court. Czech intelligence services began investigating the trio in 2016. He left his post as imam in 2014 and was eventually expelled by the Czech Muslim community, according to Radio Prague. Shehadeh is Czech-born with Palestinian roots. Having secured a degree from the Islamic University of Medina, he took a...
Throughout the year, several public holidays are specific to the Czech Republic so we thought it might be interesting to give you a detailed list of them! There are 13 bank holidays in the Czech Republic in 2020. Except for Good Friday and Easter Monday, the dates of the holidays are fixed. The “sliding holiday” concept is not applied, i.e. when a holiday falls on a Saturday/Sunday, the following Monday is a normal business day. In 2020, local citizens will enjoy longer holidays than the past year, except for Easter. Holidays follow the weekend five times, mainly from May to September. 1 January – New Year’s Day (Wednesday): Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. 10 April – Good Friday (Friday): Good Friday is a public holiday since 2016. 13 April – Easter (Monday) 1 May – May Day (Friday) 8 May – Liberation from Fascism (Friday): 1945, the end of the European part of World War II 5 July – Cyril and Methodius (Sunday): In 863, Church teachers St. Cyril (Constantine) and Metoděj (Methodius) came from the Balkans to Great Moravia to propagate Christian faith and literacy. 6 July – Burning at Stake of Jan Hus (Monday): The...
On this day, 35 years ago, the leader of the Velvet Revolution Václav Havel became president of Czechoslovakia. It is interesting that he was not elected for that position directly by the people but by the Federal Assembly (Czechoslovak parliament). Havel was appointed to that post as the leader of the Civic Forum – the opposition movement that started the Velvet Revolution. Havel became the first post-communist Czechoslovakian president; initially reluctant to take up the post, the playwright-turned-president guided his country to greater freedoms. President Havel’s first New Year address, broadcast on Czechoslovak Radio three days later, was one of the most famous of his career, and in many ways was a watershed in the country’s history. “It would very unwise,” he said, “to interpret the sad legacy of the last forty years as something foreign, left to us by our distant relatives. On the contrary, we should accept this inheritance as something that we allow to happen to ourselves. If we accept that, we understand that it is up to us all to do something about it. We cannot blame it all on our previous rulers – not just because that would not be true, but also because it could weaken...
Slovo 21 has issued a publication Czech Republic: Your New Home for international protection holders. The organization will also offer them integration seminars in eight languages all around the country. People who are forced to leave their home country and seek protection in another country need to prove great determination. They also face a lot of fear as they need to rebuild their whole life from scratch. They have to leave behind their families, houses, works, and all social contacts. Once they arrive in the Czech Republic, they start a new life journey. They need to arrange housing, start working to provide for basic livelihood, find a school for their children, learn Czech, and try to understand how things work in a new unknown environment. They establish completely new social ties with local people. This will allow them to gradually integrate and find a new home in the new country. At first, dealing with everyday situations may be very difficult and confusing for these people. It is therefore important to help them make the first steps so that the process of their integration into normal life is as smooth as possible. The three-year project was launched in Autumn 2018. Its aim is to...
A live Christmas carp caused havoc in the Czech Republic on Monday when it jumped from a plastic bag on the passenger seat of a car straight into the lap of the driver. The woman was transporting the traditional Christmas delicacy home on Monday ahead of the big day when the fish made a bid for freedom. Surprised, she crashed her car into a concrete column and she sustained serious injuries, according to DPA news agency. A helicopter had to transport her to the hospital, where she is being treated. “The woman lost control of the vehicle and went into the opposite direction, where she crashed into a concrete pole,” the spokeswoman added. Police in the village of Horni said the woman was 62 years old and was so “shocked” by the carp landing in her lap, according to Czech media reports. Fish became popular for Christmas Eve dinner during the 13th century, because Catholics considered fish as a fasting food, and Christmas Eve was the last day of the Advent fast. The history of eating fish on Christmas Eve is entirely due to the fact that Catholics couldn’t eat meat during the fast. Traditionally, dinner is served after sunset and consists of carp and...
The Czechs have many bizarre and unusual traditions: the Christmas carp in the bathtub, and whipping the women in their lives in exchange for shots of alcohol at Easter, just to name a few. On December 5th is possibly the Czech Republic’s most bizarre, and terrifying tradition: St Nicholas Day. There are a few legends about him, the most known is probably that one, which says how he saved there poor young sisters. Their father had no money, so the girls were about to become prostitutes to make their living. Nicholas heard of it, and at night, when no one could have seen him, threw three purses filled with gold coins into the house, so the sisters were saved. Nicholas inherited a lot of money from his rich parents and thus he gave many other anonymous gifts to the poorest people. Later it was found, that the benefactor was he, and after his death, rich people were anonymously gifting the poor ones in his honor. On the evening before his svátek (name day) on December 6, squares in villages, towns, and cities around the Czech Republic come alive for a pre-Christmas celebration that is almost as big a deal, at...
Exactly 30 years ago, on November 27th, 1989, the work in Czechoslovakia stopped for two hours. Between 12 pm and 2 pm, offices, businesses, and factories began a general strike throughout the country. Where they could not interrupt operations, they expressed at least manifestly solidarity by wearing the tricolor national colours on their clothes. The strike was attended by 75 percent of the citizens. “My name is Josef Judas, and I am from a youth team. I want to tell the whole country that Ostrava’s mining and steel are with the nation,” said on November 27th, 1989. That day, not only the miners in Ostrava protested. Afternoon the strikers filled squares all over the country. “Wenceslas Square, at ten past twelve. It’s hard to guess how many people congregated today. Even at this time, more crowds are flowing here, and the adjoining streets are filled. There is a human river from the statue of St. Wenceslas. Everyone came to support the basic demands of students and the Civic Forum,” said Jany Havligerové and Stanislava Bendy on November 27th, 1989, reporting for Czechoslovak Radios. There were 300 thousand protesters on Wenceslas Square. “I’ve been looking forward to what’s happening here all...
Over the past ten years, the mortality rate dropped by more than 13 percent in the Czech Republic. People are dying later in life and family life, better medical care, and an improving economy may all be all major factors behind the drop in mortality rate, the Czech Statistical Office announced. The most frequent cause of death of Czechs is cardiovascular disease and cancer, contributing to nearly three-fifths of deaths last year. Despite their role in many Czech deaths, cancer and heart disease deaths are dropping as well As for cardiovascular diseases, according to experts, it is difficult to prove the influence of preventive measures. Therefore, experts suppose that a healthier lifestyle for Czechs, as well as more effective treatment and monitoring of the diseases, are behind improving statistics. For women and men, the three most common causes of death – cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and strokes – are the same. However, the fourth most common cause of death differs between genders. In the case of men, accidents are the fourth most common cause of death but eighth for women. Conversely, women are more likely to die from Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias and diabetes. Czechs die at a higher age Between...
Domino’s Pizza is continuing its global growth momentum with the opening of its first store in the Czech Republic. Residents of Brno can now enjoy hot, made-to-order pizza in-store or delivered to their doorstep by Domino’s, through a partnership with master franchisee Daufood Czech Republic S.R.O. “I am so proud of the team that helped bring the global Domino’s brand to the Czech Republic,” said Jose Marti, chief executive officer of Daufood. “We look forward to sharing our delicious products, excellent customer service and prompt delivery with the citizens of Brno.” The first location is in the Vinohrady area of Brno (Lidická 629/39) and features the new pizza theater design, a refreshing and inviting interior, stylish seating, as well as a front-row seat to watch all the action of pizza-making. A second location will be opening in Brno’s city center, with additional locations planned for next year. “Establishing ourselves in the Czech Republic provides an excellent opportunity for our brand to continue its global momentum,” said Joe Jordan, Domino’s executive vice president of international. “With a terrific, proven master franchisee like Daufood, we are confident that Domino’s will be able to establish itself as the pizza delivery brand of choice in...
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