Czech housing transactions dropped by 50% last year to a 10-year low, as soaring inflation, high-interest rates and the war in Ukraine scared buyers, data from the Czech Banking Association (CBA) and Dataligence showed on Wednesday. Dataligence CEO Milan Rocek said demand culminated in late 2021, with the market short of apartments on offer, but the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an abrupt change. “Higher energy prices, a sharp rise in inflation, that all changed people’s mood,” he said. “This was multiplied by the growth of mortgage interest rates. The real estate market practically froze in the second half because of that.” The number of new mortgages fell to a 20-year low last year while the volume was the lowest in a decade, the survey said. New mortgage volumes for the full year, excluding refinancing, dropped by 57%, CBA had reported earlier, as official interest rates soared to 7% last year from 0.25% the year before. The CBA has reported an 82% year-on-year drop in new mortgages in December alone. Despite the drop in volumes, prices gained as supply continued to be tight. Prices of older apartments reached a peak around mid-2022 but still showed...
The Regional Development Ministry is planning to release 1.6 billion crowns for the construction of new rental apartments, a move aiming to address the social housing shortage, the ctk news agency reported. The program will be open to municipalities, associations, charities and legal entities. Many Czech theatres, including the Prague National Theatre (ND), will join the support for Ukraine on Thursday, day before the first anniversary of the start Russian invasion of Ukraine, thus meeting the appeal of the Czech Professional theatre association (APD), ND spokesman Tomas Stanek told CTK today. Data provided by the Czech National Tourist Board reveals that a total of 19.5 million tourists visited the Czech Republic last year, thus marking an increase of 71 per cent compared to 2021. In spite of such an increase, the number of tourists is still 12 per cent less than before the pandemic. Czechia’s annual Muriel Awards for best comic book of the year went to a comic diary by the respected Czech comic author Lucie Lomová. The book, called Každý den je nový or Every Day Starts Anew, also won the prize of the Czech Academy of Comics. I discussed the book with the academy’s director Pavel...
February 22, Kunsthalle This week, the Kunsthalle exhibition space celebrates one year since its opening and will be hosting several events to commemorate this occasion. Ranging from tours and music to workshops and exhibitions, events will be held from February 22 to March 1. Admission will be free on Wednesday and CZK 260 on the following days. Their regular exhibitions are still operating during this time, and you can visit the space to see Marketa Magidova’s work, My Sweet Indelible Planet. Visitors can also look forward to a photo series documenting life in late 20th-century Bohemia – taking place later in March. February 23, The invisible exhibition The invisible exhibition brings a unique interactive exhibition concept. You will move into completely dark rooms, where you will also become blind for a while. The illuminated part of the exhibition contains a number of interesting games and tools from everyday life. The language of the tours is Czech by default, if you wish to have a tour in another language, please contact the organizers. Tickets from CZK 280. February 24, Lucerna Music Bar American post-punk band, Algiers, will be performing at Lucerna Music Bar on February 24. Along with new music, they...
Fresh from his visit to Ukraine, US President Joe Biden will rally NATO’s eastern allies in Poland on Wednesday (22 February), a group of countries in which most – but not all – are strong supporters of military aid to Ukraine. Biden used the trip to rally support for Ukraine as the war enters its second year, with no end in sight, and it came on the same day as a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin in which he accused the West of seeking Russia’s destruction and dangled the threat of nuclear war. Before returning to Washington on Wednesday, Biden will meet leaders of the Bucharest Nine, the countries on NATO’s eastern flank, to reaffirm support for their security. The ‘Bucharest Nine’ (B9) was founded on 4 November 2015 in Bucharest, at the initiative of the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis and the President of Poland Andrzej Duda during a bilateral meeting between them. It gathers the Presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. All joined the Western military alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War, and most, with the notable exceptions of Hungary and Bulgaria, are now among...
Leaders in Prague 5 are seeking to collaborate with neighboring municipalities and the town hall to address the drug problem in Smíchov. The town hall is advocating for equal distribution of drug addiction services across the metropolitan area, while simultaneously increasing patrols in problem areas and strengthening cooperation with police and officers. A new field worker has been hired, and officials are now searching for suitable locations for ambulances providing services to drug addicts. Mayor Jaroslav Pašmik and Deputy Mayor Monika Shaw Salajová held a press conference to discuss the issue. “Drugs are one of the major problems that we must address. Unfortunately, when individuals seek to buy drugs in Prague, they often go to Anděl. While we can solve the situation in the short term, we cannot do so in the long term. We must work together with the municipality and the mayors of neighboring districts to find a solution,” stated Pašmik. In addition to the Anděl intersection, the mayor identified Plzeňská, Husovy sady, and Skalka neighborhoods as problematic areas. The issue of drug addicts injecting drugs and leaving syringes on the ground is also a concern. One potential solution, according to the town hall, is the creation of...
Czech crowdfunding initiative Gift for Putin (Dárek pro Putina) started a campaign to collect money for a mobile rocket launcher and 365 rockets to help Ukraine prepare for the spring counteroffensive. The campaign has already collected CZK 2 million in donations just hours after its start. “You sent CZK 2 million in four hours from the start of the collection for Přemysl. No previous collection had such a massive start. Thank you very much. Every koruna helps kick those murderous scoundrels in the backside,” the fundraising organizers said on Twitter. The money is newly being collected by the Gift for Putin group, which will pass it to the Ukrainian embassy after the whole required sum is collected. In the past, a tank and an air defence system were bought within the Gift for Putin campaign launched by entrepreneur Dalibor Dedek last May and held under the aegis of the Defence Ministry. Za 4 hodiny od spuštění sbírky na Přemysla (raketomet RM-70) jste poslali 2 000 000 korun.😍 Žádná předchozí sbírka neměla takhle masivní začátek… 👏Moc děkujeme. 🫡 Každá koruna pomáhá, těm …… lůmpům vrahounskejm nakopat ….. pozadí. 🇨🇿❤️🇺🇦 https://t.co/RyCyPqJczC pic.twitter.com/HAqtj32hmB — Dárek pro Putina (@DarPutinovi) February 20, 2023 According to...
Czech people collected the first two million crowns for a Premysl rocket launcher in the record-short time of four hours yesterday, which is the quickest start of a Czech public campaign of raising money to buy weapons for the Ukrainian military, the Gift for Putin project’s co-author Martin Ondracek has told CTK. War in Europe is not impossible and there will not be enough time to react unless Czechia prepares for it in the long-term also during peacetime, the Chief of the Czech Army’s General Staff Karel Řehka said at a meeting of commanders at the Ministry of Defence on Tuesday, adding that membership in NATO is the best possible deterrent that lowers the possibility of such threats occurring in the first place. President-elect and former high-ranking army and NATO official Petr Pavel has been definitively acknowledged the winner of the presidential election as the Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) decided on all election complaints, the court announced in a press release today. The regional governor of Moravia-Silesia, Ivo Vondrák, has left the ANO party’s club in the Chamber of Deputies, the head of the grouping, Alena Schillerová, announced at a press conference on Tuesday. The vote was...
The French Alps – Introduction With several majestic mountains, verdant forests, and crystal-clear lakes, the French Alps are one of the best holiday locations in France for those who enjoy being in nature. Europe’s largest mountain chain has a surface area of 35,000 square kilometers, extending just about 1000 km. Being a part of the larger Alps mountain range, the French Alps span seven nations—Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, and France — stretching 700 miles or 1,200 kilometers from Nice to Vienna. The French Alps are popular among travelers for their breathtaking natural splendor and alpine lakes. The major alpine lakes in the region are Lac d’Annecy, Lake Geneva, and Lac du Bourget. These lakes are popular tourist destinations all year round due to their beauty and abundance of water sports opportunities. Image Resource: unsplash.com In the French Alps, some of the most popular resort towns are St. Gervais, Chamonix, Grenoble, Albertville, and Annecy. Mont Blanc, the Alps’ tallest mountain at 4808 meters, is also an attraction here. There are several airlines offering flights to the French Alps. You can find Air France Airlines offering flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Paris on leading travel websites,...
Vltava Day is a young tradition in Prague. This year at its ninth anniversary, the celebration is an occasion for tourists and locals alike to explore the Old Town from the river, as boat rides will be free. Sunday, March 19, local residents and tourists alike will have the chance to enjoy a free boat ride on the Vltava River in Prague. Boats leave from Dock Na Františku, Prague’s redeveloped waterfront along the Dvořák Embankment (Dvořákovo nábřeží). The official schedule of the rides features six different boat tours from six locations: Slapy – Dock Na Františku – platform no. 11, departure: 9, 10, 11 a.m. (duration of the cruise: 45 minutes) Classic River – Dock Na Františku – platform no. 17, departure: 10, 11 a.m.; 1, 2 p.m. (duration of the cruise: 45 minutes) Czech Boat – Dock Na Františku – platform no. 16, departure: 9.30, 10.30, 11.30 a.m., 12.30, 1.30 p.m. (duration of the cruise: 45 minutes) Saloon Speedship Nepomuk – Dock Four Seasons – Platnéřská 191/2, departure: 10, 11, a.m.12.00, 1, 2 p.m. (duration of the cruise: 45 minutes) Fidelio – Dock Výtoň – Platnéřská 191/4, departure: 10 a.m. (duration of the cruise: 120 minutes) – Dock Four Seasons...
From 23 to 25 February, the NGO People in Need will hold a series of events in Prague to commemorate one year of war and humanitarian aid in Ukraine and the Czech Republic. These events will include light installations on the Ministry of the Interior building on Letná, special screenings at the Světozor cinema, and an exhibition that maps the war month by month. “We wanted to bring the everyday life of people in the midst of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to life. We will give viewers a space to stop, reflect, and let the motifs and symbols associated with life in war resonate within them,” says People in Need’s media coordinator, Petr Štefan. On Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings, visitors to Letná plain will be able to watch two screenings. The first one, on the facade of the Ministry of the Interior, will offer a story based on the feelings and emotions of people in Ukraine living in the midst of the war and will capture the atmosphere of life in an occupied country. The second projection, which will take place among the trees, will present a time loop that will show the misery, destruction, and devastation that...
UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) was founded on November 16, 1945, as a result of the Second World War, which had just ended. The organization’s main goal was to strive to maintain international peace by fostering cooperation in the fields of education, science, and culture and by advocating respect for human rights. UNESCO is based in Paris and today has 195 member countries and 9 affiliated members. The Czech Republic became a member state on February 22, 1993. In July 2021, UNESCO decided on new sites to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Czech Spa Triangle and the Primeval Beech Forests of Jizerské hory became new successfully nominated Czech Republic sites. At present, there are 15 Czech sites in total on the list: Historic Centre of Český Krumlov Český Krumlov is a city in the South Bohemia region, situated on the banks of the Vltava river. Its historic centre was added to the UNESCO List in 1992. The city is most famous for its castle complex built in the 13th century which boasts Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque elements. Český Krumlov is a beautiful example of a Central European small town originating in the Middle...
Czech President-elect Petr Pavel has irritated the Ukrainian government by calling for realism in the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia and warning against pushing for a result that could see the collapse of Russia and lead to greater problems for the region. Pavel offered his thoughts on the war during the Munich Security Conference on Saturday. He said an attempt to liberate some parts of Ukraine from occupied Russian forces would inevitably lead to “unbearable loss of life” and Ukraine and its allies should “prepare for the worst.” “We need to be careful about pushing Ukraine to a certain result. Maybe at some point, Ukraine will change its vision,” the former NATO general added. Pavel, who will succeed outgoing Czech President Miloš Zeman on March 9, argued that a resounding Ukrainian victory that resulted in the collapse of the Russian Federation could be catastrophic for the region, and the West should avoid advocating for such a result. “It is possible that this will lead to the collapse of Russia,” Pavel said, referring to a Ukrainian victory that sees the country liberate and retain the entirety of its territory. “If Russia collapses, then we may have more problems, we have no...
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