The Easter season in Czechia is once again bringing a wide range of traditional markets, castle festivals and folk events across the country. In the capital, the Easter atmosphere will return to Prague’s historic squares. Easter markets will open at Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square between 21 March and 12 April. Stalls will sell painted eggs, wooden rattles, ribbons and traditional Easter whips, while stage programmes will feature folk songs and dances reflecting Czech spring traditions. Easter markets are also planned in other Czech cities. In Plzeň, the Easter market at Republic Square will run from 25 March to 5 April. Visitors can browse stands offering painted eggs, handmade whips decorated with colourful ribbons, sausages, stuffing, cheeses and local mead. In Brno, the Easter Festival at Svobody Square will run from 27 March to 5 April. Around forty stands will sell wicker baskets, pottery, jewellery, Easter decorations and traditional painted eggs. The programme will also include performances by Moravian folklore groups, combining dance and live music. The southern Bohemian town of Český Krumlov will host its Easter market at Svornosti Square from 2 to 6 April. Local farmers and artisans will offer seasonal products, wooden crafts, fur sheep toys,...
Hollywood briefly turns its attention to the Czech Republic as Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio start filming their eighth project together near Kolín. Filming began at Ratboř Castle, where the crew reportedly occupied the football field opposite the historic building. The access road and the surrounding area were covered with artificial snow to create the winter atmosphere required for the story. Public attention intensified after photos appeared on the Instagram account of Francesca Scorsese, who accompanied her father during a visit to Strahov Monastery. The cast for the movie What Happens at Night will also include Jennifer Lawrence, along with Patricia Clarkson, Jared Harris and Mads Mikkelsen. The story of What Happens at Night is expected to follow an American couple attempting to adopt a child while repairing their strained relationship. If the film follows the source material, the setting will be an isolated, snow-covered European city. Prague is unlikely to appear as itself. Instead, its historical architecture will serve as a neutral, dreamlike backdrop for the narrative. Most of the interior scenes are expected to be constructed inside Barrandov Studios, where the production team plans to build a hotel environment that forms the main stage of the story. Exterior...
Hundreds of Czech citizens stranded in the Middle East may soon have a way back home, but the evacuation will not be free. The Czech government has arranged additional flights from the region, offering seats for 15,000 CZK as air travel across several countries remains disrupted. The situation developed after escalating tensions involving the United States, Israel and Iran forced several airports in the region to suspend operations. On Saturday, major hubs such as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Doha in Qatar halted flights, leaving thousands of travelers without clear options to return to Europe. Since the weekend, the Czech government’s crisis staff has been coordinating a response. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Foreign Minister Petr Macinka have been discussing ways to help Czech citizens leave affected countries. Several government aircraft have already transported citizens back to Prague. Since Tuesday evening, flights have arrived from Amman, Muscat, and from Israel via Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt, where a military CASA aircraft collected passengers before flying them to the Czech Republic. Officials say more flights are being prepared. A larger evacuation flight has been arranged through the private airline Smartwings. The aircraft carries 189 passengers and departed from Queen Alia...
High-speed trains will start serving the R9 route in December, connecting Prague with the Vysočina region and southern Moravia. The new service is part of a major modernization effort in Czech passenger rail transport. The upgrade is being prepared by private carrier RegioJet. Modern electric trains produced by Pesa are already undergoing tests at the Velim railway testing facility, where they must pass a series of mandatory technical checks before entering regular operation. The fleet will consist of 11 four-car trains and seven three-car trains, offering different capacities depending on demand. The R9 line will function as an important corridor linking the capital with regional centers. Trains will run hourly between Prague and Havlíčkův Brod. There, the route will split. One part of the train will continue toward Brno, while the other will head to Jihlava. The arrangement should reduce the need for transfers and make regional travel more direct. Accessibility was a central design requirement for the new rolling stock. All carriages will be low-floor, allowing easier boarding for passengers with limited mobility, cyclists, and parents travelling with strollers. Each train will include space for two wheelchair users. Dedicated areas will be available for ten bicycles and six strollers. Families...
European gas prices surged this week after liquefied natural gas production in Qatar was halted and shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz were disrupted. While several EU countries face potential supply pressure, Czechia is not directly exposed to the current outage. At the Dutch TTF hub, the benchmark for European gas trading, prices climbed sharply. On Tuesday morning, gas rose by 26 percent to more than €56 per megawatt-hour. By midday, April contracts exceeded €64 per MWh, marking a rise of roughly 45 percent since the start of the week. The escalation follows attacks on energy infrastructure in the Middle East. On Monday, the Qatari state energy company QatarEnergy suspended LNG production after drones struck its Ras Laffan industrial complex and a power facility. Iran also targeted oil installations in Saudi Arabia, forcing parts of a refinery operated by Saudi Aramco to halt operations. Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz — a key corridor for global energy exports from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — has been blocked since the weekend. The disruption immediately affected commodity markets. On Monday alone, European gas prices jumped by as much as 50 percent. Qatar supplies roughly 10 percent of Europe’s...
The Czech government is preparing to send repatriation flights to Egypt for Czech citizens currently in Israel, as regional airspace closures make direct evacuation impossible. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš announced the plan on the social network X on Sunday, saying Prague is ready to act immediately if conditions allow. Because Israeli airspace remains closed, evacuees would first need to travel overland by bus to Egypt, where Czech aircraft could collect them. The government will assess further steps at a meeting of the State Security Council scheduled for Monday morning. Air evacuation through other regional hubs is not an option. Airspace over the United Arab Emirates, Oman and several other Middle Eastern countries has also been shut, complicating efforts to move civilians out of the region. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka confirmed that aircraft are on standby should evacuation be required. He added that Prague is coordinating its approach with the Slovak government. The security situation deteriorated after Israel and the United States launched military strikes against Iran early Saturday. U.S. President Donald Trump said the operation aimed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran responded with missile attacks targeting Israel and several Arab states, including countries hosting U.S. military...
Too Good To Go has launched a new service in the Czech Republic aimed at rescuing unsold flowers and potted plants. The Danish platform Too Good To Go, known locally for offering discounted surplus meals from restaurants and bakeries, has begun rescuing unsold flowers and houseplants. The concept mirrors the company’s food model. At the end of the day, florists assemble “surprise packages” from bouquets and potted plants that would otherwise be discarded. Customers ordering through the app do not know what they will receive. The box may contain a simple bunch of daisies, several roses, or a small decorative plant. The fixed price is 99 CZK, roughly one third of the standard retail value. More than 70 Czech flower businesses have joined the scheme since its launch. Participants include nationwide retailer Květiny Novák as well as independent studios such as Florentine Flowers. Company representatives say the expansion reflects a broader environmental focus. While the app first gained attention for tackling food waste, the environmental costs of flower production are also high, involving intensive water use and agricultural land. Unsold bouquets often end up in bins despite remaining fresh enough for use. The platform entered the Czech market last year...
The Czech Republic is preparing the legal and technical framework for fully autonomous vehicles. For now, however, cars without drivers are not allowed on Czech roads. At the moment, only limited semi-autonomous driving is permitted, and only on selected highway sections. Since the beginning of this year, vehicles equipped with advanced systems have been allowed to operate in what is known as Level 3 automation. In these cases, the driver may temporarily hand over control, but must be ready to intervene immediately if conditions change. According to the Ministry of Transport, no fully self-driving cars are currently registered in the country. These semi-autonomous systems can function only on clearly defined stretches of highway, where traffic flows in separate lanes and pedestrians and cyclists are prohibited. The vehicle must also confirm that all onboard systems are operational. Weather conditions play a decisive role. Reduced visibility caused by fog, heavy rain or snowfall automatically disqualifies the use of automated mode. When the car detects that it has entered an approved section and that conditions meet the criteria, it alerts the driver that autonomous driving is available. If the situation changes — for example due to deteriorating weather or road conditions — the...
A state-controlled energy group has once again emerged as the most attractive employer for young people in the Czech Republic. According to the latest TOP Employers survey, students at both universities and high schools named ČEZ as their preferred place to work in 2025. The annual research, organized by the Association of Students and Graduates, gathered responses from more than 14,000 university students and over 9,000 high school students across the country. The survey was conducted between October 1 and December 12, 2025, making it one of the largest studies of its kind in the Czech Republic. ČEZ has dominated the overall ranking for several consecutive years. This year, it secured first place among both university and secondary school respondents. Company representatives point to long-term engagement with students as a key factor behind its continued success. Daniel Novák, director of the TOP Employers study, said the results reflect sustained outreach efforts. “We have observed over time that companies active at universities and high schools — and those that systematically work with young talent — tend to rank highly. Students respond to that presence,” he said. Automotive and Technology Firms Remain Strong Beyond the energy sector, automotive and engineering companies continue...
Exactly 78 years ago, on 25 February 1948, the Communists seized power in post-war Czechoslovakia. This marked the beginning of more than four decades of hard-line communist rule, brought to an end by the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Czechoslovak Communist leader Klement Gottwald, on that fateful day in 1948, announced in Prague’s Old Town Square that the president had accepted the resignations of several non-communist ministers. While the transition to a totalitarian system did not happen overnight, this event symbolized the beginning of one-party rule. The Communist Coup of 1948 After World War II, Czechoslovakia looked favorably on the Russians, who had liberated them. By 1946, Communists were well-represented in the Czechoslovak government. In 1947, however, Czechoslovakia wanted to obtain Marshall Aid from the USA, but it was not possible due to USSR intervention. This was only one of many issues that set off criticism of the Communist Party. Communists reacted ruthlessly. The democratic ministers were soon fed up with the Communists’ abuse of the police organ and security forces. They demanded that the Party cease its political attacks. But the Communists would not give in. The 12 non-Communist ministers resigned, predicting that democratic President Edvard Benes would be able...
Foreign nationals now make up nearly six percent of the workforce in the Czech healthcare system, underscoring how reliant the country has become on medical professionals from abroad. According to data from the National Register of Healthcare Professionals, around 251,000 people were employed in Czech healthcare at the start of 2026. Of those, almost six percent were foreign citizens. Slovaks form the largest group, while workers from outside the European Union — including Ukraine — account for roughly two percent of all healthcare jobs. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, thousands of Ukrainian medical professionals have arrived in the Czech Republic. By the end of 2025, about 2,100 specialists from Ukraine had entered the system, taking up both qualified and support roles. At present, nearly 1,100 Ukrainian doctors and more than 240 dentists are practicing in the country. Close to 1,500 nurses of Ukrainian origin are also working across hospitals and clinics. Since early 2022, nearly 500 doctors, over 600 nurses and midwives, and close to 1,000 aides and caregivers have relocated to the Czech Republic. Prague has attracted the largest share of these professionals. More than 500 Ukrainian healthcare workers are employed in the...
Excess weight is now more common than a healthy weight in the Czech Republic. Fresh data show that the average body mass index of people aged 16 and over has climbed to 26.4, above the medical threshold of 25 that defines the upper boundary of a healthy range. Three years ago, the figure stood at 26.2. In 2017, it was 25.2. The findings come from a nationwide survey of 8,500 households conducted last spring as part of the country’s annual monitoring of living conditions. Participants reported their height, weight, diet and level of physical activity. Researchers calculated BMI by dividing weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters. The data indicate that more than one in five adults is obese. The rate reaches 22 percent among men and 19 percent among women. Mild overweight is even more widespread. It affects nearly 45 percent of men and close to one third of women. As a result, only 32 percent of men and 47 percent of women fall within the healthy weight range. Yet the survey also points to a shift in exercise habits. Daily physical activity lasting at least ten minutes and causing heavier breathing and a faster heartbeat...
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