Homelessness organisations have warned that more Czech citizens are seeking refuge in homeless shelters as they face financial difficulties linked to the energy crisis. A census commissioned by Labour and Social Ministry found that at least 270,000 people live on the streets, in hostels, shelters or extremely overcrowded apartments. The Czech EU Council has withdrawn the proposal of visa liberalisation for Kosovo citizens due to current political tensions with Serbia over license plates, just hours before a deal was struck between Pristina and Belgrade. The fifth edition of the Czech Space Week festival began in Prague on Monday. The event, organised by the Ministry of Transport together with the CzechInvest agency and the Prague Planetarium and Observatory takes place over five days and will showcase innovations in the Czech space industry. Forum Karlín has cancelled upcoming concerts by two Russian artists, both of whom openly support Russia’s war in Ukraine, after criticism on social media at the decision to allow them to perform in the Czech Republic. Grigory Leps and Stas Mikhaylov were scheduled to perform at the music venue in Prague next spring. ANO party Chairman Andrej Babiš is now the favourite in the upcoming Czech presidential election according to a Data...
In addition to Christmas trams, a festively decorated garbage truck will delight pedestrians on the streets of Prague for the first time this season. The Mercedes-Benz-1830-GL Christmas truck, decorated with a garland and glowing snowflakes, will operate daily until January 3, 2022. It was assigned to operate an 80-kilometer route through Nové Město, Malá Strana and Hradčany. The evening shift starts at 19:00. Citizens will be able to see a Christmas garbage truck on the streets of Národní třída, Náměstí republiky, Jindřišská, Smetanovo nábřeží, Karmelitská, na Kampě, as well as on Čechův most. The crew consists of a driver and three garbage collectors. “We did not consider special Christmas uniforms. The crew will have standard work clothes,” says Radim Mana, a spokesman for Pražské služby.
Shortly after 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 27, the famed lamplighter of Prague lit up the gas lanterns on Charles Bridge Jan Žákovec, the lamplighter, left Křížovnické náměstí and crosses one side of the bridge and then returns on the other side of the bridge. The gas lighting in Prague lights up automatically, but during the Advent period several lanterns are always lit by a lantern lighter. The romantic gas light also illuminates the entire historic Royal Route, a busy tourist route from the Powder Gate to Hradčanské Square. Both Prague citizens and visitors can admire the almost-forgotten beauty and charm of gas lamps. You can meet the lamplighter every day at dusk (around 16:05 to 16:15) until 23 December. Žákovec is vice president of the Lamplighters’ Guild and head of the Gasworks Museum. At 205 cm, he is the tallest lamplighter in the world. The number of lamplighters can be counted on the fingers of one hand because today, the lamps light up automatically. “I know the lamplighters in Poland in Wroclaw, Brest in Belarus and in London … there are very few of us,” admits Žákovec with a smile. “In 2002 they turned on the first nine lamps...
The main theme of the 18th Filmasia entitled Making Waves – Navigators of Hong Kong Cinema is to celebrate the last 25 years of Hong Kong cinema. The selection of films is primarily intended to show the diversity and power of the new generation of filmmakers, but also more recent works of already established ones. The diverse nature of young Hong Kong is introduced in the New Talents section which will present four utterly different new features: Intimate drama Mama’s Affair by the talented Kearen Pang, New Year’s crazy comedy Chili Laugh Story by Coba Cheung, Jun Li’s socio-critical drama Drifting and queer coming-of-age film The First Girl I Loved. The Contemporary Films section will introduce new works of established filmmakers like Johnnie To, Yuen Woo-ping or Cheang Pou-soi, and, above all, Mabel Cheung. Two of her films will be screened: the documentary To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self features the stories of young women in contemporary Hong Kong, and with An Autumn’s Tale the organizers want to revisit one of her most influential films from the late 1980s dealing with migration. Here you can find the full program. Opening Film Chilli Laugh Story directed by Coba Cheng will open the FILMASIA. The screening will take place on December 1, at...
With the ongoing Ukraine war, tensions in Europe are on the rise. This is both due to an influx of war related-refugees to Central European cities, and discontent over the related rising cost of energy. As bombs fall on Ukraine, European nations are waking up to the sorry state of their own civil defence. Currently, in Kyiv, emergency workers are preparing 425 shelters for use during a nuclear war. In Prague, leftover Cold War-era bunkers are currently kept in a state of readiness to protect the population from nuclear war. Prague’s nuclear bunkers In 2019, it was estimated that there were 768 permanent shelters in Prague, with a total capacity for about 150,000 people. Municipal authorities are obliged by law to provide shelters, and Prague’s nuclear bunkers take on many forms. Blast and fallout shelters are built into hillsides, found in various tunnels, located in deep sections of the subway, and installed in reinforced basements of buildings. The Czech Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) admitted that “most” of the permanent pressure-resistant shelters are not in a condition for immediate use, and wouldn’t be prepared for such until a state of danger or war is officially declared. Currently, the FRS said, it would be possible to provide...
Even Holy Roman Emperors have hobbies. For the 14th Century ruler Charles IV, a spot of horseback hunting was the ideal way to pass the time between imperial duties. He was a bane to the scurrying wildlife in the Ore Mountains. However, he had an impeding ailment—an injured leg. One day, his travelling men discovered a warm pool of water mystically bubbling up from the ground. The emperor plunged his aching heft into this Godsent hot spring and felt an instant miraculous recovery. In the wake of his holy discovery, he granted city privileges to the small encampments surrounding these divine lands, and the healing springs were soon to form a brand-new mindful municipality. This new type of magical town was to be named after Charles IV, the King of Bohemia. The healed hero would ensure that this spiritual land retained its curative origin, and the first Spa Town in Europe was spawned. Homely and humble, architects set out to create a wholesome town. Resplendent with the grandeur of nature, pastoral-coloured fortresses bloomed throughout the all-giving hills. Soon, physicians heard about this new healing town and flocked there in their droves. They wrote of Carlsbad’s calm, peaceful, and hot springs. Perhaps the...
According to a survey conducted by ČSOB Index, 21 percent of companies and entrepreneurs in Czechia are planning to hire more employees in 2023. Meanwhile, 6 percent are looking to downsize, with the remaining 73 percent of respondents stating that they are not planning any changes. The American streaming platform Netflix is planning to film a documentary about Czech businessman Radovan Krejčíř, who is currently serving time in a South African prison, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday citing the site News 365. A basic legislation proposal for introducing a regulated cannabis market in Czechia should be finished by the end of March, the country’s National Drug Coordinator Jindřich Vobořil said on Friday after a meeting of experts. The Czech Interior Ministry announced yesterday that nine candidates had been approved to run for president. The registered candidates are former PM Andrej Babis (ANO), far-right MP Jaroslav Basta (SPD), senators Pavel Fischer and Marek Hilser, former Mendel University rector Danuse Nerudova, former General Petr Pavel, Denisa Rohanova, who heads an association defending debtors’ rights, trade union leader Josef Stredula, and former Charles University rector Tomas Zima. Senior opposition ANO leader and presidential candidate Andrej Babis will...
We like interesting adverts and most brands come up with the best ones during the period before Christmas. Samsung is no exception to this rule and they enticed us with a glimpse of Christmas in Prague. The spot, titled ‘Quick Share the Holidays’, promotes a feature to quickly transfer files including images, and movies to other nearby Samsung devices in a wireless manner. Even better, you can sync up to five Samsung devices at once to share content. You can also set the visibility of Quick Share to only your contacts, everyone, or even nobody. As Apple did years ago, Samsung chose Prague for this year’s Christmas spot, specifically Římská street in Vinohrady (the block between Anny Letenská and Italská). This was not the first time Samsung had filmed in Prague. This June, the Czech branch released a short film by director Matyáš Fára parodying horror movies, which was shot exclusively on the top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S 22 Ultra. Part of it was filmed, for example, in the surroundings of the Vítkov Hill memorial. Sharing is also the theme of this year’s Apple Christmas ad. Specifically, audio sharing via AirPods or Beats headphones. The American company, however, chose a more...
Next year, for the first time in history, a World Championship race will take place in the Czech Republic. The Central European Rally will start in Prague with the premiere of this new event scheduled for the 26th to 29th of October 2023. The twelfth edition of the series will be jointly organised by the national sporting authorities of Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria. The Autoclub of the Czech Republic (AČR) and the series promoter officially confirmed the event on their official website today. Jan Štovíček, President of the Autoklub of The Czech Republic and member of the FIA World Motorsport Council: “The FIA World Rally Championship in the Czech Republic is a dream of our fans of many generations. And together with our friends from our partner federations in Germany and Austria, we have succeeded in fulfilling it. “Rallying is one of the most popular disciplines of motorsport in our country, many Czech fans are passionate about the World Championship and now they can see it for the first time at home! Due to the deep tradition of the Czech automotive industry, we can also look at the World Rally Championship with pride in fulfilling the legacy of...
Czech pubs are turning to technology to reduce the cost of putting glasses of beer on the bar for thirsty locals. With Czechs among the biggest beer drinkers in the world, brewer Plzensky Prazdroj plans to install sensors which will collect data on beer flow, as well as tube and tap temperatures. This will be sent to a cloud database and analysed to make recommendations on improving a pub’s systems, said Jakub Zaoral who is leading the Asahi-owned brewery’s Smart Taproom project. Plzensky Prazdroj hopes that by making adjustments its pubs will save up to 30 per cent of the energy needed for cooling and tapping their beer, a goal made more pressing by rising energy costs. “We will ‘x-ray’ and observe 45 pubs using 1,200 sensors which gives us the exact numbers, how our tapping system consumes electric energy and we will relate this with the beer flow and its consumption in the pub,” said Zaoral. The system uses Internet of Drinks solutions by start-up firm Smart Technology, which uses ultrasound metering and provides information on the amount of beer tapped, sanitation intervals and the state of the cooling system. At Prague’s Katr pub, where the system is already...
Prague City Tourism has launched a live stream from Old Town Square, where tents are currently being assembled for the traditional Christmas market. The webcam will run until January 6, 2023, so everyone can take a peek at the market and get in the holiday spirit. The event is broadcast live from the Old Town Hall observation tower on YouTube. The Christmas Market at Staromak opens on Saturday, 26 November, and runs until 6 January (daily from 10:00 to 22:00, individual fast-food tents until 00:00). This year’s tree is a 25-meter tall and 58-year-old spruce that has made its way to the Czech capital from a small North Bohemian village of Kytlice. The tree is decorated with red Christmas balls and light stars of various sizes. There are 88,490 LED bulbs on the tree. The tree lights will be on daily from 16:00 to midnight. A light animation will take place daily at 16:30, 17:30, 18:30, 19:30, 20:30, and 21:30. During the animation, one of the melodies will play: Elizabethan Serenade sung by Karel Gott, or an orchestral version of All I want for Christmas Is You. The music will be played through loudspeakers installed under the tree. In total, there will be 79 stalls with various...
Ukraine is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe this winter after weeks of intense Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure. Up to ten million citizens live without electricity, while it has already begun to snow in several areas, with temperatures in some regions dropping to -10ºC. The European Parliament, together with Eurocities, a network of major European cities, has proposed to donate electricity generators to help Ukraine cope this winter. On the morning of Friday, 25 November, the Prague City Council approved the sending of a batch of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. It will contain medical supplies, heaters and electric generators. “We are sending an aid package to the victims of the genocide of the Ukrainian people carried out by Russia: 626 heaters (o400 for Kyiv and 226 for Mykolaiv), 18 generators (10 for Kyiv and 8 for Mykolaiv), and also medical supplies for 22 million crowns for the Public Health Centre of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine”, the mayor of Prague wrote on his social media. The risk of a total blackout is very high’ The chief of staff of the Ukrainian president’s office, Andriy Yermak, who participated in the press conference online, said that “the speed...
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