If I had to select one area of Prague I love the most, it would have to be Prague – Royal Vineyards, Vinohrady in Czech, or “Královské Vinohrady”. As you might know from the recent article, Vinohrady was rated as one of the coolest areas in the world. Vinohrady has a unique and charming atmosphere and will always maintain its value because of its prestige, history, architecture, and limited areas for new development. In this article, I will cover the history of the villa district spreading from Bezručovy sady all the way down to the borders with Prague 3 and 10. You can look forward to a series of articles about the Vinohrady area, starting today with the history of the villa area and what happened before the first villas even began construction. The Early Years Vinohrady was originally a rural area with vineyards and orchards covering much of the land. The first permanent settlements in the area date back to the 12th century. By the 15th century, it was a thriving agricultural community thanks to an order of Charles the IV which stated that within a 3.5km area from Prague Castle, vineyards shall be planted and wine for the...
In this interview, we uncover the story of a Czech fintech startup revolutionizing healthcare access for foreigners. Frenkee is a Czech fintech startup built on years of experience in distributing financial products and developing services using modern technologies. It aids foreigners residing in the Czech Republic in securing health insurance online and in English. Currently, it operates in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with the aim of demonstrating that even negotiations involving financial products can be conducted fairly and with flair. Here you can find our interview with Frenkee’s founder, Jiří Hluchý. Q: Why and how was the Frenkee platform created? The development of Frenkee began in 2019, culminating in a live launch in early 2022. The origins date back to the chytrecestovko.cz app, which originally helped travellers select and arrange suitable travel insurance based on their planned activities and holiday destinations. With time, however, other opportunities in the digital financial world became apparent, leading to the creation of a comprehensive financial e-commerce ecosystem. Frenkee leverages its knowledge and queries to provide guidance and facilitate customers to find the optimal solution for their needs. Q: Are expats using Frenkee more interested in Insurance Loans or Investments? So far, foreigners are...
Bruce Springsteen is returning to Prague after 12 long years for his only concert in Central Europe, which will also be his biggest concert in the Czech Republic. The concert at Prague’s Letňany Airport will take place on 28 May 2024. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band delivered “The Greatest Show on Earth” (Billboard) across Europe this past summer, and they’ll make a triumphant return to the continent in 2024 with a just-announced 22-show stadium run. Kicking off on May 5 in Cardiff, Wales, Springsteen and The E Street Band will bring their “rapturous and cathartic” world tour to Northern Ireland, Ireland, England, France, Czech Republic, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, and Norway — before bookending in the UK with a date at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 25. Springsteen and The E Street Band’s 2023 European tour sold over 1.6 million tickets and earned widespread praise as some of the best shows of the band’s career. More info about tickets here
The 24th edition of the Mezipatra Queer Film Festival finds itself at Crossroads. This year’s theme alludes to everyday small decisions, as well as major life intersections that can unexpectedly alter our lives. The audience can explore 24 feature films and 45 short films. The festival’s grand opening will take place on November 2nd at 7:00 PM at the Lucerna cinema with the Italian love story of two seventeen-year-olds. Fireworks (Stranizza d’amuri), based on true events, immerses viewers in the story of a forbidden love between two young men in 1980s Italy, complicated by the strongly homophobic environment of a Sicilian town. The program also features the critically acclaimed French film Passages about a seemingly content married couple whose harmony is disrupted by Martin’s encounter with the charming Agathe. The film explores the complex dynamics of romantic relationships, honesty, and erotic tension, earning it a nomination for the Teddy Award at the Berlinale and the Audience Award at the Sunny Bunny Festival. “If I had to pick just one of the feature films, I would recommend the debut of Spanish director Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, ‘20,000 Species of Bees.’ It portrays three generations of women during one hot summer, each trying...
The following two weeks will develop at least two powerful Atlantic cyclones impacting Western Europe. A powerful storm Ciaran will bring violent winds, huge amounts of rain, and increasing flooding. The UK, Ireland, France, and Benelux will be in the hot spot this week and the next weekend. The unusual weather pattern established over the North Atlantic and Europe over the last few weeks will continue and worsen as we head into November. The historically warm North Atlantic ocean water temperatures will support violent extratropical storm development towards Europe. The first Atlantic storm Ciaran is coming up Thursday this week, with rapid cyclogenesis occurring before the major impact with violent, hurricane-force winds and heavy rain squalls blast into Ireland, the UK, the English Channel, northern France, and Benelux on Thursday. Storm Ciarán will also affect the Czech Republic with strong south-easterly winds, particularly in the eastern half of the country, later on Thursday and into the night on Friday. “The maximum wind gusts should be between 55 and 70 kilometres per hour, and around 90 kilometres per hour in higher and mountainous areas,” the CNMI said, adding that the forecast would be refined according to the situation.
The design proposal for three new airport buildings by MVRDV Netherlands-based architecture and urban design practice prepared in cooperation with NACO (Netherlands Airport Consultants) won the Prague Airport architectural competition. The design extends Terminal 1 with a new building for central security screening, business areas, and VIP lounges. A building comprising a hotel, conference centre, and parking facilities will be constructed in the public part of the airport. The new buildings will provide the airport with enhanced operational flexibility and additional options to easily accommodate any future expansion and redevelopment. According to Jiří Kraus, Vice-chairman of the Board of Directors, working with a globally active architecture studio represents Václav Havel Airport Prague a promise of building world-class architecture with emphasis on sustainability. “The competition attracted extraordinary interest among architects, including foreign ones. The object of the Terminal 1 centralised security screening point, together with the partially developed solution for the Terminal 2 expansion, will become the cornerstone of a large-scale mosaic of a strategically important project; the project of completing the terminal capacity building process.” MVRDV founding partner Winy Maas acknowledged that most airport experiences these days have become detached from any sense of place, or any sense of control...
On Monday, 30 October, Michal Vronský, the head of the Prague-3 urban area, published photos of the current state of the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station. It is closed to passengers from 14 January 2023 due to extensive reconstruction. “Opening the station to the public is a matter of the next few days,” Vronský said in a statement. DPP later said that the station will start serving passengers again on Thursday, 2 November. An elevator that will make the station barrier-free will go into service in May 2024. The station has not had an extensive renovation since it went into service on December 19, 1980, as part of an extension starting at Náměstí Míru and ending at Želivského. The overall cost of the entire renovation of the station was previously estimated at CZK 1.29 billion.
The Sound event will dominate yet another unique Prague spot this Friday. Cutting-edge underground electronic music will crowd the mysterious premises of the monastery of St. Gabriel in Smíchov. The headliners are German DJs Lúcia Lu and Supergloss. You can look forward to many kinds of electronic music on five stages, each of them with its own special light installations created by Multiverse Studios. The unique complex of Gabriel Loci is a place where the past meets the present. The extensive building built in the neo-Romanesque style will come alive with underground electronics combined with contemporary visual art on four stages. The tickets for 950 CZK are available on GoOut. More important and practical info can be found on Facebook event or Instagram.
Prague Integrated Transport has taken an unconventional approach to remind passengers about polite behavior in public transport. They have released six humorous videos featuring the renowned Czech actor, Jan Vondracek. One of the clips explains how high inflation has transformed cigarettes into a luxury product, making them unaffordable for most residents. Consequently, an “altruistic” smoker takes a final puff before boarding a tram and exhales the smoke inside the cabin, enabling other passengers to enjoy the tobacco flavor for free. Another video focuses on “chirping influencers” who speak loudly on the phone, eager to share their wisdom with everyone around them. The third video tackles the issue of “gatekeeper hindering”—a passenger who attempts to prevent others from entering or exiting the carriage. The fourth clip introduces viewers to the heartless phenomenon of… inertia. The fifth video serves as a reminder to parents to inform tram and bus drivers in advance if they plan to board with a pram. The sixth video humorously addresses another problem in Prague’s transport system—the transportation of dogs without muzzles.
On the pavement in front of the Old Town Hall, there are several rows of crosses made of white cobblestones in memory of this mass execution. But why are there 27 crosses? In November 1620, a great battle took place on the White Mountain. Almost 50,000 mercenaries took part in the battle, the number of fallen soldiers is unknown, it`s estimated between 2 and 5 thousand men. The battle lasted two hours and, despite its short duration, influenced Czech history for 300 years, including violent re-Catholicization. By February 20, 1621, a total of 61 persons were arrested and kept in prison in the White Tower at Prague Castle. Each of the imprisoned men had to answer 236 questions. Some confessed to high treason, some begged the emperor for mercy, and some laughed at the questions. Some of the detained men were tortured during interrogations. The trial with them lasted until March 29. However, it did not proceed fairly – the defense did not get to speak at all, and the court’s statement that the guilt was “generally known” was enough to prove guilt. 30 men were sentenced – 27 to death, and 3 to be expelled from the city. Of...
Prague remains committed to supporting Ukraine’s sovereignty, said President Petr Pavel during an Oct. 27 meeting with foreign ambassadors – a meeting to which the Russian ambassador was not invited. “If Ukraine falls, we all fall,” Pavel said, adding that “current conflicts” cannot be resolved by simply listening to both sides and drawing an imaginary line somewhere in the middle, amid gross violations of international law in Ukraine and Russia’s attacks on innocent people. He also called for listening to the opinions and problems of other people with empathy and respect, without prejudice or judgment. Meanwhile, the third Ukrainian Peace Formula meeting started in Malta on Oct. 28 at the level of foreign policy and national security advisors, with more than 65 countries participating. Previous meetings were held in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The goal is to hold a Global Peace Summit at the level of heads of state and government. In November 2022, at the G20 summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented a 10-point peace formula, including the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for Ukraine. German...
The first-ever flight of Czechoslovak air carrier ČSA took off on October 29, 1923. On board the first-ever flight of Czechoslovak State Airlines – which was from Prague to Bratislava – were pilot Karel Brabenec and the editor of the Brno-based daily Lidové noviny Václav König. In the early 1990’s, it was operating five daily flights between the two cities, before the country split in 1993. Facing, among other challenges, the development of high-speed railways, the air route was eventually closed in 2011 for two years but reopened in 2013, along with the opening of a direct route between Bratislava and Kosice. The early years of Czech Airlines were marked by significant growth, with the airline quickly expanding its routes and fleet. During World War II, Czech Airlines was nationalized and temporarily ceased operations, but resumed services after the war. In the post-war period, Czech Airlines continued to expand its route network, adding destinations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. The airline also modernized its fleet, introducing jet aircraft in the 1960s and 1970s. By the 1980s, Czech Airlines had become one of the largest airlines in Eastern Europe, serving over 50 destinations and carrying millions of passengers annually....
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