Note legal paragraphs, sabres that curl, pay heed dear Havel, dear Havel, muse well! Note legal paragraphs, sabres that curl, pay heed dear Havel, dear Havel, muse well! This chorus from a song by Jaroslav Hutka used to get sung around Prague with an air of mystery. That was before the Velvet Revolution of 1989. At that time Václav Havel’s name was far less known than it is today. Back then, Václav Havel was ‘merely’ a persecuted Czech dissident, a co-writer of the Charter 77 protest in Czechoslovakia, an author of little-known plays, which were only ever performed abroad. It didn’t take long, and the life story of Václav Havel changed immensely. Today, Václav Havel is a world-renowned persona. Yet few of those arriving from abroad have any inkling about his life and family background. Havel’s family history is a rather interesting perspective on the 20th century, however. October 5th marks the 85th birthday of Václav Havel, the last president of Czechoslovakia (from 1989 to 1992) and the first president of the Czech Republic (from 1993 to 2003). Aside from that, Havel was a poet, playwright and filmmaker. His absurdist plays, which were critical of communism, led him to be blacklisted after the 1968 Soviet-led...
The Czech Republic is a very friendly and laid-back place to stay. Before the country joined the European Union in 2004 and it had its own currency, local prices were shockingly low. You could have a lunch for two at a restaurant serving local food and pay only $6 for the both of you. Times have changed and so have prices. Now those who live or visit the country must choose where to go, where to buy food, and generally which products to buy very carefully to make their money last longer. Where to live If you are a student, living in your university’s dormitory is a much cheaper choice. If your university’s accommodations are fully booked or you want to look into other dormitories, these will most likely be more expensive. Prices vary depending on the neighbour where the dormitory is situated and how far or close it is to Prague’s city centre. Whichever one you choose, it is unlikely to cost less than $4 per day. For those looking to rent an apartment in Prague, monthly rent is unlikely to be below $400 and even if an apartment can be found at a lower price it will probably...
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. The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, will hold talks with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, at his official Kramář Villa residence in Prague on Thursday, Czech government officials said on Tuesday. Twenty-five large companies based in the Czech Republic have launched Rethink, a new project seeking carbon neutrality and energy security, signing a joint declaration to present the project. The founders of the project include Czech Railways (CD), Czech Post (CP), the CEZ energy utility, the Ostrava Public Transport Company, IKEA, Komercni banka, Metrostav and Skoda Auto. The governing Czech coalition SPOLU, comprising the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) and TOP 09, will not nominate its own candidate for the January presidential election, in order to not split the vote, Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) told journalists today. The Czech government will extend current border controls with Slovakia due to “unprecedented” irregular immigration and wants the European Commission to devise a solution as the problem concerns multipe EU countries. River flows in three Czech regions have been below average every month...
Over the past several days, Czech social media users have been sharing humorous tweets, and tweaked maps showing that the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad is, in fact, historically Czech and that a referendum should be held to decide the date of the problematic 220-square-kilometer region. As reported by iDnes on Monday, Czech MEP Tomasz Zdechovsky shared a satirical joke on his Twitter about the distribution of the Russian Kaliningrad region between Poland and the Czech Republic. In particular, the politician reposted a tweet from an anonymous author from Poland. “The time has come to divide Kaliningrad so that our Czech brothers finally have access to the sea,” the original note says. In Russia, this joke has already been called a “revanchist statement.” Zdekhovsky replied that Russia should be prepared for the fact that if it tries to annex foreign territory on the basis of fake referendums, this could provoke discussions about whether it should leave Kaliningrad. “I believe that the debate is legitimate and that Russia should really consider its future international moves,” he stressed. “Je čas rozdělit Kaliningrad, aby naši čeští bratři měli konečně přístup k moři” A pak nemilujte Polaky 😄 https://t.co/hLhyBDZQJm — Tomáš Zdechovský (@TomasZdechovsky) September 29,...
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. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called on Czech citizens to leave Russia due to the deteriorating security situation in the country for citizens of EU and NATO member states. Gas consumption in the Czech Republic has fallen by 18 percent year-on-year so far in 2022, industry and trade minister Jozef Síkela told the Czech News Agency on Monday. Consumption is now at its lowest since 2016. From November, Czech Post will increase the price of sending letters, parcels, and postal orders. Standard letter delivery will cost two crowns more than CZK 21, while priority mail delivered the next day will cost CZK 28 rather than CZK 26. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend the informal EU summit which will start in Prague on Thursday, Turkish Ambassador to the Czech Republic Egemen Bagis confirmed. River flows in three Czech regions have been below average every month for the past year, meteorologists from the Brno branch of the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute have calculated.
Czechs have become the first citizens of a country to raise money through crowd-funding to buy a modernised Soviet-era T-72 tank that will soon be sent to the Ukrainian army to help it defend against Russia’s invasion, a Ukrainian government official said on Monday. The crowdfunding effort, run by the Ukrainian embassy in Prague, raised 33 million crowns as of Monday from 11,288 donors, the campaign website said. “The Czech Republic became the first country where ordinary people bought a tank,” Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Perebyinis said on Twitter. The tank, a T-72 AVENGER, has been modernised to improve its protective systems and to add modern night-vision and communications equipment. Fundraising is continuing to provide ammunition, the campaign said on its website www.zbraneproukrajinu.cz. Чехія стала першою країною, де звичайні люди купили для @DefenceU танк – модернізований T-72 AVANGER. Йому дали ім’я Томаш (на фото ліворуч). 33 млн. крон (понад 1,3 млн. дол.) через ініціативу “Подарунок для путіна” зібрали понад 11 тис. людей. Дякуємо!https://t.co/wyOJMt0EvH — Yevhen Perebyinis (@YPerebyinis) October 3, 2022 The Czech Republic, a NATO and European Union member, has been a strong backer of Ukraine. It has shipped surplus army stocks as well as privately sourced equipment funded by...
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. The Czech economy grew by 3.7 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to revised Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) data. The economy’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.5 percent in the previous quarter. An estimated half million senior citizens in Czechia are living on the verge of poverty, Czech Television reported on Sunday. There are over two million people of pension age in the country, with most living on old-age pensions alone and concerned about high inflation. Czechia’s Miloš Zeman and eight other presidents from Central and Eastern Europe have issued a joint declaration rejecting Russia’s annexation of territory in Ukraine and calling on NATO members to substantially increase military aid to Ukraine. The Czech government plans to tax the extraordinary profits of energy producers by 40 to 60 percent, the minister of transport, Martin Kupka. He added the specific amount would be decided at an upcoming meeting. Such a move could bring up to CZK 100 billion into the state coffers, he said. The Czech tennis player...
The Czech Republic boasted the lowest jobless rate in the bloc in August, at 2.4 percent, while Malta was in third place behind Poland, with 2.9 percent, according to the Eurostat agency. Meanwhile, Spain had the highest seasonally-adjusted jobless rate in the EU, at 12.4 percent, while Greek unemployment was the second-highest at 12.2 percent, the agency’s data showed. Eurostat reported that the EU average for August was 6 percent, stable compared with July. In total, 12.921 million unemployed people were registered in the bloc, which is 52 thousand less than in July. Unemployment in 19 countries of the eurozone in August did not change compared to July and amounted to 6.6%, which is the lowest figure in the entire history of its calculation, according to the data of the Statistical Office of the European Union. Analysts also predicted that the indicator would remain at the same level, according to Trading Economics. By comparison, unemployment was 7.5% in August 2021. The number of unemployed in the euro area last month amounted to 10.966 million people, having decreased by 30 thousand people over the month. Youth unemployment (population under 25) dropped to 13.9% from 14% in July. The number of unemployed in this age category decreased by 17 thousand compared to the previous month, to 2.136 million people.
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. Czechia will receive $106 million (approximately CZK 2.7 billion) from the United States for military modernisation, partial compensation for supplies to Ukraine and cyber protection. The financial aid, which is part of the second Supplemental Ukraine Package, was approved by the US Congress on Thursday. The purchase price of flats in Czechia has more than doubled over the past ten years, according to the data released by the Czech Statistics Office on Thursday. Compared to the second quarter of 2012, residential property prices rose 132.6 per cent. The price of fuel in Czechia continues to fall, reaching the lowest level since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to CCS data, a litre of the most popular Natural 95 has fallen by almost 80 halers to CZK 37.56 per litre within the past week. The average price of Diesel is CZK 43.01 per litre, which is the lowest figure in five weeks. Russian hockey players from the San Jose and Nashville teams can take part in the upcoming NHL games...
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. The Prague City Hall has closed the tent city for Ukrainian refugees in Troja due to the cold weather, the CTK news agency reported. The refugees have been moved to hostel facilities in Florenc and Smíchov districts. The Slovak prime minister, Eduard Heger, has criticized the Czech authorities for reinstating controls at the border with Slovakia due to a sharp increase in illegal migration. Mr. Heger said the decision had come without warning and needed to be discussed at EU level. The Czech minister of foreign affairs, Jan Lipavský, says that EU member states should discuss steps to liberalise visas for citizens of Kosovo this autumn. Mr. Lipavský is due to visit Kosovo this week. Over 87,800 refugees from Ukraine with temporary protection visas are currently working in the Czech Republic, most of them in the Central Bohemian Region, Czech Labour Office spokeswoman Katerina Berankova told CTK yesterday. One of the new commemorative stamps issued by the UK’s Royal Mail will feature a photo of Queen Elizabeth II taken at Prague...
The Czech government has imposed temporary controls on its borders with Slovakia to prevent irregular migrants from entering the country. An increasing number of irregular migrants are crossing the Czech border, most of whom are Syrians coming to the EU from Turkey. “What we are experiencing is an unprecedented situation in terms of illegal migration. Since the start of 2022, the police have seized a total of 11,000 illegal migrants on the territory of the Czech Republic,” Czech Interior Minister Vít Rakušan informed. Along with irregular migration comes organised crime like smuggling, which has also recently increased. To tackle the issue, the interior ministry wants to propose stricter punishment for those actively involved in smuggling. “We have exhausted all the standard options,” Rakušan said, explaining why the country decided to impose border controls with Slovakia, its closest ally. The Czech Republic is traditionally a transition country, with most migrants only passing its territory to reach neighbouring Germany. “This situation triggered nervousness even on the German side of the border,” Rakušan explained. The Czech police authorities will launch border controls for ten days from Thursday (29 September), in line with Schengen codex. During this period, further measures will be considered, including...
Large stores will be closed on September 28, which is a national holiday for St Wenceslas, also called Czech Statehood Day. The ban on stores being open took effect last year so shop workers could have a day off, like most other people. But some stores choose to defy the ban based on its vague wording. The only large supermarkets in Prague that will be legally open are Billa stores at Václav Havel Airport Prague and at the train station Praha hlavní nádraží. Fines for breaching the law can be levied in an amount up to 1 million crowns. The law closing most large stores on holidays will continue to be in effect on Christmas Eve on Decemeber 24 (in the afternoon), Christmas Day on December 25, and St Stephen’s Day on December 26. On September 28th Czechs celebrate St. Wenceslas Day September 28th is a public holiday in the Czech Republic. It is the feast day of St. Wenceslas, the patron saint of Bohemia, and commemorates his death in 935. Wenceslas was born in 907 and was the son of the Duke of Bohemia. His father died in 921 and Wenceslas ruled from 922, when he was 15 years...
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
