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...
Prague’s very own slice of Edinburgh is back! From Monday 26th September to Saturday 1st October, audiences can enjoy six days of international, multi award-winning, theatre in English, presented by 28 theatre companies from all over the world. Five unique and atmospheric venues in Malá Strana will be full of high-quality theatre (and more than a smattering of comedy), with tickets cheap enough that you can see more than one show per evening. Some Prague Fringe favourites returning this year include multi award-winning writer and performer Henry Naylor, straight from a sell-out, highly acclaimed run at Edinburgh Fringe, with his new show ‘Afghanistan is Not Funny‘, a true-story based on his research trip to war-torn Afghanistan in 2002. El Diablo of the Cards who returns with his mind-bending card trickery! Families can enjoy Jon & Ollie (two thirds of The Latebloomers who took the fringe by storm with their show Scotland! in 2018) with their brand-new show ‘Strictly Come Barking‘. And Fringe favourite Pip Utton is back after his sell-out run at our 2021 Autumn Fringe (Playing Maggie and Churchill)with two more one-man shows ‘Hitchcock‘ and ‘Bacon‘. There is also stand-up comedy from Spain, Finland and England, music from Scotland,...
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. Renáta Kellnerová, widow of the late billionaire Petr Kellner, who died in a plane crash in the U.S. last year, has topped the list of the richest Czechs and Slovaks for the second year in a row in a ranking compiled by Czech publication Euro Weekly that was released on Monday. Confidence in the Czech economy is at an all-time low, according to data published on Monday by the Czech Statistical Office. It continued to decline in September, falling by four points month-on-month to 90.1. Shopping malls across the country had record sales in the second quarter of this year, which were 17.3 percent higher than pre-2019. Year-to-date footfall through August was 11.8 percent lower than three years ago. In response to the energy crisis, the Czech Ministry of Health is proposing to reduce the minimum permissible temperatures in the working environment. The draft amendment to the Occupational Health Regulation will be discussed by the government on Monday. On Wednesday, 21 September, acclaimed Czech poet and publisher Zdena Zábranská died at the age of 82. Zábranská was the...
The City of Prague, in cooperation with Prague City Tourism launches a pilot project of refundable cups for events held on Prague’s embankments and at the Exhibition Grounds. The aim is to promote the use of sustainable dishware instead of disposable consumer plastics. The city has allocated CZK 2.4 million for the project. After the test phase, the system will operate on a fully commercial basis, without any city support. The City of Prague initiated the reusable cups project with the aim of strengthening the city’s ecology. Prague City Tourism was commissioned by the city to implement the test phase of the project and distribute the cups at events. This will run from September 2022 to February 2024. “At the moment, we have established cooperation with the Prague embankments and the Prague Exhibition Centre. We live in a time when we need to think sustainably, therefore we are launching a pilot operation and providing a sustainable and environmentally friendly version of refundable cups for selected Prague events,” says František Cipro, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague City Tourism. During the project, which will last 19 months, 50,000 refundable cups will be available. Throughout this trial period, event organisers can use the cups free of charge. After the roll-out phase, in early 2024, the city will evaluate the project...
When you say Prague, most people recall the iconic skyline of Prague Castle, the majestic seat of Czech kings with St. Vitus Cathedral where kings were both crowned and buried. You can visit the crypt with the remains of Czech kings and queens during the tour of the cathedral. Over the centuries, Prague became the residence of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire several times. You can learn about the history at the permanent exposition on the Gothic floor of the Old Royal Palace entitled The Story of Prague Castle where you can see authentic Gothic and Renaissance clothing and dishware used to serve food to kings and emperors. Kutná Hora: From Czech Tolar to American Dollar! Royal towns held an exceptional position among Czech towns as they were directly submitted to the ruler. One of the most famous royal towns is Kutná Hora with its silver mines that used to fill the royal treasury with silver and are one of the greatest tourist attractions today. There are many legends and mysteries about this town. Did you know that the name of the most famous currency in the world, the American dollar, comes from the silver tolar of Kutná...
Fifty percent of people have already reduced their spending. Moreover, nine out of ten Czechs expect to tighten their belts even more due to inflation. More than half of people are actively looking for discounts as their main cost-saving tool and are also cutting back on excessive current spending. That’s according to a Median survey of 1,022 respondents for Broker Consulting. A job or second job is being sought by 23 percent of respondents. The general price increase is felt by 94 percent of Czechs, more than a third of them very strongly, the authors of the survey said. Therefore, a third of people are also trying to significantly or partially reduce the cost of eating out in restaurants, while a quarter is cutting back on culture or travel. Every fourth respondent is already planning to cover increased energy costs during the heating season in this manner, and another 35% are still considering it. Three-quarters of respondents are concerned about the impact of inflation on domestic budgets. They use savings and current accounts most often for saving, and in one-third of cases, they put their savings into investment or mutual funds. Nearly three-quarters of Czechs with a reserve of more...
Former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’s opposition ANO party won most of the country’s major cities in municipal elections seen as a test for the ruling coalition’s handling of the energy crisis. The Czech Republic, similar to other European Union member countries, has been struggling with soaring inflation pushed up mainly by high energy prices. The opposition has been saying that the government of Prime Minister Petr Fiala has done too little too late to help the people. Czechs voted in more than 6,000 municipalities on Friday and Saturday, with the final results declared on Sunday morning due to a complicated system of vote distribution. The ANO party, in opposition since last autumn, won in 17 out of 27 large cities, but it came second in the two largest ones – the capital Prague and Brno, where parties of the current ruling coalition won. Of the 13 regional towns, ANO has won in eight, the ruling parties in five. The ANO party won in Hradec Králové, Jihlava, Karlovy Vary, Olomouc, Ostrava, Pardubice, Ústí nad Labem and Zlín. The most seats in the local assemblies – 38,099 out of the total 61,796 – go to various groups of independent candidates, which...
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. Local elections 2022: the ANO party, in opposition since last autumn, won in 17 out of 27 large cities, but it came second in the two largest ones – the capital Prague and Brno, where parties of the current ruling coalition won. President Miloš Zeman will personally attend the presidential summit of the Visegrad Four (V4) countries on October 11th in Bratislava. The heads of state of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungary will discuss the war in Ukraine or the energy crisis. Seven out of ten Czechs say they have experienced a decline in their standard of living in the past year, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Ipsos agency. Half of them say that the decline is significant. A further 23 percent of respondents expect their living standard to drop with the steep rise in energy prices in the autumn. In response to the energy crisis, the Czech Ministry of Health is proposing to reduce the minimum permissible temperatures in the working environment. The draft...
Clam-Gallas Palace in the Old Town of Prague ranks among the most prominent architectural monuments of Prague and the Czech Republic. One of the prime works of Prague Baroque architecture, it is a splendid example of historical housing and the lifestyle of the aristocrats. On Wednesday, 28 September, it will welcome guests for the first time after four years of reconstruction. The palace was a famous cultural center of Prague. It hosted musical concerts, including Mozart and Beethoven, theatre performances and painting exhibitions. Following World War II the palace housed the City of Prague Archive. The planned cost of the renovation project was around CZK 500,000 and it was due to be completed last year. The palace is situated on a large construction site comprised of a four-wing Baroque building around the central square courtyard. In the axis of Karlova Street, it is connected with the entrance tower-shaped avant-corps, the staircase tower near the north-eastern corner, and the eatern wing near the rear wings of houses that constitute the western front of Malé (Small) Square. The palace area further includes three smaller yards and a corner garden. The external and internal monumental look of the palace dates from the second...
In response to the energy crisis, the Ministry of Health is proposing to reduce the minimum permissible temperatures in the working environment. As iRozhlas reports, for drivers, workers on assembly lines, or cashiers, the temperature should drop from the current 18 to 16 degrees Celsius. It should drop from 20 to 18 degrees in changing rooms, from 22 to 19 degrees in washrooms, from 25 to 19 degrees in showers and from 18 to 15 degrees in toilets. The draft amendment to the Occupational Health Regulation will be discussed by the government on Monday. “The main reason is to revise the legal framework in relation to minimum temperature requirements in the workplace in view of the current situation. Natural gas supplies are being reduced and interrupted, when a further increase and persistence of the energy crisis is expected,” the ministry said in a memorandum. The current set temperatures date back to 2007. “It is a temperature that no one is allowed to low,” added Válek. According to him, the ministry consulted sanitation workers and compared the proposal with other countries. According to Válek, the recommended temperatures have not changed for a long time, so they do not reflect global warming.”...
Christmas markets (Vánoční trhy) are a key ingredient of the festive magic in the Czech Republic, and the Prague markets are the most impressive in the country. They light up the city, bringing locals and tourists together in a true ‘winter wonderland’ setting. The first Prague Christmas market will open on Náměstí Míru on November 20, organizers reported. The market will be open daily from 10:00 to 19:00 until Catholic Christmas Eve (December 24). The opening of all other Christmas fairs will take place gradually during November. The largest Christmas markets in Prague – Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square – will open on Saturday, November 26th. Due to the traditionally high tourist demand, they will work longer – until January 6 of the new year. You can find goods such as handmade soaps and lotions, jewelry, wooden toys, ceramic decorations, crystals, scarves and so on. The imposing neo-Gothic Church of St. Ludmila overlooks the wintery Christmas market, complete with a massive Christmas tree and Nativity scene. Food stands are offering grilled meat or sausages; please your sweet tooth with apple strudel, gingerbread, cookies, waffles, roasted almonds, cotton candy. If you want to opt for a hot drink, choose among...
The war in Ukraine threw a wrinkle into the National Hockey League’s planned return to Europe next month to play its first games outside North America since the start of the pandemic. The Czech Foreign Ministry told two NHL teams opening their seasons in Prague that any Russian players would not be welcome because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It may not amount to an outright ban and league officials downplayed the potential impact, but it added a layer of uncertainty to a Global Series the NHL is proud of. The Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks are set to play regular-season games Oct. 7 and 8 at Prague´s O2 Arena as part of the series that is intended to put the world’s top players on display, primarily in Europe. There are not many Russians on the two rosters: Nashville has forward Yakov Trenin and San Jose has Alexander Barabanov, along with Evgeny Svechnikov, who is in training camp on a tryout agreement. “We can confirm that the Czech Foreign Ministry has sent a letter to the NHL to point out that, at this moment, the Czech Republic or any other state in the (visa-free) Schengen zone should not issue...
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