Thousands of Czechs protested in Prague on Friday, demanding the centre-right government step down to allow an early election and calling for talks with Russia on gas supplies ahead of winter. The demonstration on a national holiday in Prague’s main square was the third organised by far-right political movements, fringe groups and the Communist party. Police estimated the crowd in the lower tens of thousands, less than the two previous rallies. The organising group “Czech Republic First!” opposes the European Union and NATO transatlantic alliance, and wants the nation of 10.7 million to be militarily neutral. Protesters waved Czech flags, chanted “Resign, Resign” and carried signs calling for an exit from NATO and the EU. “This is a new national revival and its goal is for the Czech Republic to be independent,” event organiser Ladislav Vrabel said. “When I see a full square, no one can stop this.” “Russia´s not our enemy, the government of warmongers is the enemy,” one speaker said. A smaller rally was held in the country’s second-largest city of Brno. The government has dismissed those demands. “We know who’s our friend and who´s bleeding for our freedom,” Interior Minister Vit Rakusan tweeted. “And we also know...
Representatives of Prague 1 and the Prague City Gallery unveiled the renovated Václav Havel bench on Maltézské náměstí in Lesser Town. “The tree, around which the bench table is placed, has become thicker, so we had to give it more space,” described the director of the Prague City Gallery Magdalena Juříková. According to her, the modifications were made with the consent of the copyright holders. The bench has not been on the square for about a year. The Václav Havel bench on Maltézské náměstí was the first one in the Czech Republic. It was placed there on 1 May 2014, on the tenth anniversary of the Czech Republic’s accession to the EU. Each of the benches, which can be found, for example, in Washington, Dublin, Barcelona, Tel Aviv, but also in Pilsen, České Budějovice, and Hradec Králové, are a memorial place dedicated to Václav Havel, Juříková said. It consists of two chairs connected by a round table with a tree growing through the center. The construction of the Václav Havel benches is a worldwide project initiated by Petr Gandalovič, former Czech ambassador to the USA, together with architect and designer Bořek Šípek. The intention of this project is to create...
Thousands rallied in the Czech capital Wednesday to honor two Slovak gay men shot dead this month outside a bar in Slovakia, and demanded better protection of LGBTQ people and their families. The gathering in Prague´s central Wenceslas Square was held the same day the funerals of Matús Horváth and Juraj Vankulic were conducted in Slovakia. Police said they boosted their presence at the Prague rally after they detained a man who was threating to use a gun against the LGBTQ people at the square. “We want to live without fear,” one of the banners on display read. “A terrorist intentionally killed LGBTQ people,” said Czeslaw Walek, one of the organizers. “Only by accident did he not kill more.” Walek said some 17,000 people so far have signed a petition calling on the Czech government and Parliament to approve legislation that would give LGBTQ people the same protection that ethnic, racial and other minorities enjoy. The petition also demands that the country allows same-sex marriages. The two Slovaks were killed two weeks ago in front of a bar, which is a popular spot for the local LGBTQ community in the Slovak capital of Bratislava. The 19-year-old suspect was found dead....
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. Czech lower house chairwoman Marketa Pekarova Adamova called at the parliamentary summit of the international Crimea Platform today for the establishment of an international tribunal for the crime of aggression towards Ukraine and said the perpetrators must be punished. Besides, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his aides must be prosecuted. No state of emergency national lockdown is planned this year because the situation is different than when a strong coronavirus epidemic wave started in Czechia one year ago, Health Minister Vlastimil Valek said at a press conference. Valek said newer vaccines and medicines are available and the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has different health impacts. The Greenpeace and Bund Sachsen environmental NGOs and the Czech civic association Uhelna have filed a complaint against the Czech-Polish intergovernmental agreement on the Turow coal mine with the European Commission. Greenpeace and the Frank Bold organisation said the agreement has not solved the negative impacts of the ongoing coal mining. The interest of the Czech public in visiting cultural events such as concerts, festivals, theatre and...
In 2021, the Czech Ministry of Health received 196 applications for gender reassignment. This is a record number in the history of the country. Of the 196 applications submitted, the vast majority (131) were from women who had decided to become men. Czech law has allowed for gender reassignment since 2012. Initially, there were fewer than 50 applications a year but last year the figure reached almost 200, Czech Television said. Experts attribute this growth to the influence of social media, improved sexual education and growing tolerance in society. The costs of the surgery itself and the examinations are covered by state health insurance. Patients themselves pay only for some hormones and cosmetic improvements, such as hair removal or breast implants. The operation, open for people aged 18 or more, “requires a positive opinion from a Ministry of Health expert committee and, if the patient does not have full legal capacity, the approval of a court.” Anyone embarking on gender reassignment treatment in Czechia must be single, divorced, widowed, or, if a civil partner, their partnership must have been dissolved. If an individual is married or in a registered partnership, the registry office informs them that, if they do not...
The scientific research department at Masaryk University has spoken out about rising energy costs and the impact it has on work while asking the government for assistance. Scientific institutions across Europe are struggling with high prices, with some turning to their governments for assistance, as the research might be a highly energy-intensive activity. “For example, in the case of our institute, CEITEC at Masaryk University, the operation of instruments and technologies needed for science accounts for about 90% of the energy consumption in a given year. The energy crisis is, therefore a phenomenon that significantly affects us as scientific institutions,” said Nantl, in the letter. According to Nantl, governments should provide more sustainable funding for research institutions as these bodies are crucial in tackling global challenges, such as pandemics. In the Czech Republic, funding for research infrastructures from the Ministry of Education and Youth for 2020 to 2022 amounts to €80 million, with a further €120 million from EU funds. As Signe Ratso, acting Director of the European Commission’s DG for Research and Innovation, said at the ICRI 2022 conference organised in the Czech Republic on 19-21 October, the impact of the energy crisis on research infrastructures is one of the topics...
The Illumination Park is an amazing winter attraction – a multimedia walk in a fairy-tale land created by light and sound. These types of attractions have been known in American botanical gardens for years. Now they are becoming more and more popular in Europe. Located near the Džbán swimming pool in Prague’s Šárecké údolí, you can visit a unique light attraction called Lumina Park. It is a 1.5-kilometer-long light trail full of illuminated and sound sculptures based on the motifs of Alice in Wonderland. Many light attractions await visitors, including a red bus, colorful balloons, bicycles, magic mushrooms, stars and birds, which are exciting scenery for unique shots. The trail consists of 18 stations, built of 20,000 light points and 20 km of electrical installations, for which 120 floodlights were used. “Lumina Park is built on energy-efficient LED technology and meets all energy standards. Its daily consumption is 45 kWh, which is comparable to about two pizza ovens. At the same time, it has an attraction that produces its own energy, said ” Karolína Steinerová from Baloo & Groot, the communications studio for Lumina Park. Standard ticket is CZK 220 on weekdays and CZK 250 on weekends. Lumina park also...
“Prague is built of stone and lime being the largest city considering trade, from the royal city came the Russians and Slavs with goods and from the Turkish countries the Muslims and Jews with their merchandise”. With these words written in the year 965, the traveler and Arab-Jewish merchant, Ibrahim Ibn Yaqub, offers us one of the first historical testimonies of the Jewish presence in Prague. However, this record does not answer an important question: for how long the People of Patriarchs have been living in this city? Our guide Berschowitz showed us in the Jewish cemetery in Žižkov, the tomb of the famous rabbi and philosopher Ezekiel Landau, who lived during 1713-1793, and we were told about the long and dramatic history of this community, one of the oldest in Europe. Going back in time and retracing the history of the Praguian Jews is a difficult task because the historical truth shortly blends with the oral tradition, inevitably crossing over the vague and uncertain territory of legends. According to one of the many various stories, the visionary queen Libuše prophesied the arrival of a foreign people in Bohemia as being a favorable event that would have brought good to...
Several Prague landmarks will celebrate the Oct. 28 holiday by offering free admission or having guided tours. Czech Senate The Senate offers a tour of its main building – the Valdstein Palace (Valdštejnské náměstí 17/4, Malá Strana) and the Kolovratský palác, (Nerudova 193/III, Malá Strana). Both sites will be open from 09:00 to 16:00. Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament (Poslanecká sněmovna) The Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament also opens its doors to visitors. During the hour-long guided tour, guests will be able to see the main meeting room, conference rooms of various committees and other areas. Tours will begin as groups are formed. Where: Malostranské náměstí č.19 When: 09:00 to 16:00 Lichtenštejnský palác Guests will be able to explore the rich interior of the Liechtenstein Palace on Kampa Island, now used for state events and accommodation of prominent political figures. Where: Lichtenštejnský palác, U Sovových mlýnů 506/4 , Prague 1 When: the guides will be waiting for guests from 09:00 till 17:00 (the last guided tour will start at 16:00). The tour will last about 40 minutes. Obecní dům This building is inextricably linked with the upcoming holiday. It was here that Czechoslovakia’s independence...
October 28 is Independent Czechoslovak State Day, and most large stores over 200 square meters will close due to the law passed in 2016. Pharmacies, gas stations, and stores in airports, hospitals and train stations are not included in the law. Stores under 200 square meters, such as local grocery stores, can also remain open. Violators of the law can face fines up to Kč 1 million, and some fines have been levied in the past. This year is the 104th anniversary of the establishment of the First Republic of Czechoslovakia in 1918. There are a few celebrations planned, such as a ceremony at the National Monument in Vítkov at 10 am. Independent Czechoslovak State Day marks when the newly created Czechoslovakia broke away from the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the closing days of World War I. Bohemia and Moravia had been ruled by Austrian while Slovakia was controlled from Hungary. Nationalist movements began in the middle of the 18th century. Despite some cultural and linguistic differences, Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia decided to join together. Secret talks to create the country took place with the support of the Allied forces in the US, Britain and France. The Czechoslovak Declaration of Independence was drafted in October...
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. Energy poverty is an issue that needs to be discussed at the European level and one cannot rely on national solutions only, the Czech Labour and Social Affairs Ministry and Industry and Trade Ministry representatives agreed at a conference on energy poverty. They said if EU member states proceeded separately, it would violate the single market. Czech conductor Libor Pesek, who was the music director and chief conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (RLPO) from 1987 to 1998, died on Sunday. Pesek received the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 1996, on the occasion of Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Czechia. The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, says he will attend an honours ceremony at Prague Castle on Friday’s October 28 national holiday despite the fact he does not like President Miloš Zeman’s selective approach to inviting guests. Over 5,000 people in Czechia have undergone gender reassignment, Czech Television reported on Monday. The number of Czech teenagers dealing with issues of sexual identity has increased in recent years due...
On 24th October 1942, Nazis executed 261 Czechoslovakian citizens in the Mauthausen concentration camp. Out of this number, 126 were men and 135 women. Whole families of parachutists, resistance fighters and their supporters died on that day. This was one of the most terrifying Nazi revenge similar to the assassinations in Lidice, Ležáky and Kobylisy, or tortures that went on in the Small Fortress Terezín, or in Petschkov Palace etc. “Everyone knows soldiers Gabčík and Kubiše, who killed Heydrich, but those who paid with their lives for helping them are almost unknown,” said Mikuláš Kroupa, who is the director of Post Bellum. The victims were mostly entire families, including children aged 14-17. They were taken to Mauthausen concentration camp from Terezín and murdered on October 24, 1942. In the room where they were sent for a supposed medical examination, they were made to stand with their backs to a wall marked with a height meter. They were then shot with a bullet to the back of the head through a hidden hole in the wall. The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich The assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942 eliminated one of the most powerful military officers in Nazi Germany and an important figure in the rise...
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