The capital city has more inhabitants than the official census indicates. According to the analysis by the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR), there are about 300,000 more people instead of the official 1.3 million. The institute arrived at the number of residents based on anonymous data from mobile phone operators. During the day, hundreds of thousands more people will arrive for work, IPR director Ondřej Boháč told the Czech Press Agency. According to the Czech Statistical Office, however, the census methodology is different and its spokesman Jan Cieslar said the office is not familiar with the way the IPR reached its conclusions. “It turns out that there are about 1.6 million permanent residents of Prague, and if we include the residents of the Central Bohemian Region who commute to Prague daily for work, that is even 1.8 million people. However, only 1.3 million people have permanent residence here,” said IPR Director Ondřej Boháč. Boháč said the increase in population means greater financial demands on the city, which among other things, must provide public transportation, parking, apartments, doctors and daycare centers. “So even though infrastructure costs are logically rising, Prague is still losing out on tax revenue,” Boháč said. Available...
To start with, Volodymyr Zelensky was careful not to blame Russians for a war Vladimir Putin started. Appealing to them and speaking in his native Russian, he asked: ‘Do the Russians want war?’ He called on them to rise up to make Putin listen. But this did not happen. Zelensky appears to have decided that they do, in fact, want war. So he has now said that western countries should ban all Russian citizens from entering their countries on the grounds that ‘the population picked this government and they’re not fighting it’. His foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russians ‘must be deprived of the right to cross international borders until they learn to respect them’. His idea is gathering momentum with Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Czech Republic, who have already banned the issue of all kinds of visas to Russians. Other countries such as Belgium, Denmark, Malta, the Netherlands and Slovakia are refusing to give visas to most Russian citizens – with exceptions for family members, students and workers. Finland has called on the EU to adopt a common stance and stop granting Schengen visas immediately. Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavský is proposing an EU-wide travel ban on Russian passport...
Oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to Czechia resumed Friday after more than a week, the Czech pipeline operator Mero said. Czechia became the last central European country after Slovakia and Hungary to receive deliveries from the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline after a problem over payments for transit was resolved. Russian state pipeline operator Transneft said Tuesday it halted shipments through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Ukraine to Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The northern leg of the Druzhba pipeline, which runs through Belarus to Poland and Germany, was unaffected. Transneft cited complications due to European Union sanctions for its action on Aug. 4, saying its payment to the company´s Ukrainian counterpart was refused. On Wednesday, the payment was made by Slovak refiner Slovnaft after both Russia and Ukraine agreed to the solution. Slovnaft is owned by Hungary´s MOL energy group. But Slovnaft said the deal covered only shipments to Slovakia and Hungary and not to Czechia. Slovak Economy Minister Richard Sulik said the problem was caused by the refusal of an unnamed bank in Western Europe to transfer the money due to the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia for...
Czechs frequently come to Poland to save money on a range of goods, especially for Czechs who live closest to the Polish border. “Each visit is saving us money,” Czechs living near the border with Poland tell the Polish Press Agency (PAP). In the village of Istebna in southern Poland, a convenience store parking lot is often occupied by Czech cars, with drivers coming from towns located 17 kilometers away. One Polish reporter saw Czechs mostly had their shopping carts filled with dairy products, meat, cold cuts, and carbonated drinks. Two Czechs, Vaclav and Jana, said they have been crossing the border since spring when Polish authorities lowered the VAT for many products. “We were told that the bargains will end in July, but Poles extended the discounts. We can still shop here,” they said. They are not interested in going to larger towns and instead only visit Istebna, which is closer. On social media, Czechs are exchanging information about where to find the cheapest products such as building materials, windows, business suits, gravestones, and pet food. The border town of Cieszyn is a place where residents of Český Těšín, the Czech part of the town, cross the border even for their...
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into Czech billionaire and former Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, on suspicion of money laundering related to his purchase of villas in the south of France. France’s National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF), which is responsible for scrutinizing serious economic and financial crime, launched its proceedings in February 2022, according to Le Monde, after the businessman was mentioned in the Pandora papers — a massive leak of documents that exposed how the rich and powerful use offshore companies to hide their wealth. According to the documents, the former Czech leader failed to disclose a series of shell companies used to buy a multimillion-euro French property. Babiš denied he had done anything wrong or illegal and said that the revelations were targeting his reelection campaign, which later failed. French investigators are now focusing on how Babiš acquired his €14 million property in the billionaire haven of Mougins, which was purchased via a Monaco-based company owned by an offshore entity in the U.S. The entire setup was allegedly hidden from French authorities and could constitute money laundering and a tax evasion scheme, Le Monde reported. Karel Hanzelka, a spokesman for Babiš’s group Agrofert, said that “all our transactions took place in a perfectly...
Prague Public Transit Company (DPP) has published the results of an architectural competition for the design of the Depo Zličín metro station building for line B. It will be designed by the Czech studio Petr Stolín Architekt, and construction should start in 2026. Depo Zličín will extend line B from the original Zličín terminus and become the 62nd station of the Prague metro. According to the company, it will be above-ground and will be used primarily by drivers, passengers from suburban lines, and later also by residents of new apartment developments in the area. The construction of a parking garage is also planned. “For the first time in the nearly fifty-year history of the Prague metro, a solution for the station was sought in an international architectural competition. Next to the station, we will also build a new P+R parking garage for at least 600 cars. In the western part of Prague, an important interchange between automobile traffic and public transport will thus be created, which will relieve the center of unnecessary traffic. Thanks to this, passengers from the very edge of the city can get to the center by metro within about 30 minutes from parking,” said Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě), deputy...
The National Theatre in Prague, built almost entirely using money raised through public collections, was a world rarity. For some thirty years, people gathered funds “coin by coin”. The fire that destroyed much of it in 1881 was, therefore, all the more devastating. Because of insufficient funds for its construction, money was collected from all social classes. The foundation stone was placed in 1868, the historical date remembered as the beginning of this amazing edifice. Years passed and finally in 1881, the neo-Renaissance construction was opened for a first performance that took place in the honor of Crown Prince Rudolf. On 12th August 1881, when the last details were being retouched, a fire broke out and destroyed much of the new building, destroying the roof, stage and auditorium, including the decorations for the upcoming premiere of Smetana’s Libuše. The vestibule, foyer, loggia and a number of rooms, such as the archive, cloakroom and theatre office, were preserved. The event was considered a national catastrophe, but the Czechs didn’t stand aside. They started a new campaign for the reconstruction of the National Theatre. Rich and poor contributed and the result was the amazing one million florins gathered in 47 days. In...
The Jewish community in the Czech lands was never very numerous, but its cultural influence was enormous. Even today, we can walk through Jewish neighborhoods, bow our heads at Jewish cemeteries or explore one of about two hundred synagogues. More than 50 Jewish monuments around the country will open to the public free of charge on Sunday, August 14, as part of this year’s Day of Jewish Monuments. In Prague, the Jeruzalem Synagogue – built in the late 1860s in the Moorish – participates in the event. Visitors will be able to see synagogues, Jewish cemeteries and other buildings, some of which are normally not accessible. Among the biggest attractions this year are two newly reconstructed synagogues – the Great Synagogue in Pilsen and the synagogue in Čáslav. The Day of Jewish Monuments initiative is organized by Jewish community in Prague in collaboration with Matana, the administrative body for Jewish buildings and cemeteries; the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic; the Jewish community in Brno; and the Jewish community in Teplice. Some 200 synagogues and 370 Jewish cemeteries have been preserved to this day in the Czech Republic. Around 70 synagogues were destroyed in the country during the Second World War and another...
In 2002, a flood struck Prague – as well as much of Europe – with equally harmful consequences. The Charles Bridge weathered it well, thanks to far more modern flood-protection measures. The rest of Prague suffered some rather extreme damage. On the morning of August 12th, Prague flood warnings were announced. Television showed public buildings and hospitals along the river Vltava being sand-bagged and towns north of Melnik were already becoming islands as the historic flood plains became saturated. The area around Karlin was full of buses and vans evacuating to safer areas for all who wanted to go. Many news outlets were showing interviews with residents refusing to move saying that in all their lives they had never seen a flood that was being predicted. Workers were busy filling sandbags and placing them in strategic locations. Prague’s metro was closed, but they left it too late – the metro stations also flooded, and in some areas, the floodwaters came up to the level of the street entrances to the stations. Hospitals had ambulances on standby to transport patients, and the Prague Zoo moved many animals to higher ground. The Charles Bridge was closed, as were the other bridges. Then-President...
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. Tourists will be banned from the Bohemian Switzerland National Park, recently hit by a disastrous fire, until August 31, Economy Minister Anna Hubackova said, adding that the evacuated locals can start returning to their homes on Saturday. . The Czech Republic has granted temporary protection visas to 410,459 Ukrainian refugees since the war in Ukraine started in February, with 1,096 visas issued on Wednesday, some 40 fewer than a week ago, the Interior Ministry wrote on Twitter today. The Supreme Court has confirmed the 20-year prison sentence for Martin Kantor, for fighting in the ranks of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Adam Wenig, the spokesman for the Prague Municipal Court, told journalists today. As expected, the Czech Senate yesterday approved NATO accession for Finland and Sweden almost unanimously. Finland and Sweden applied for NATO membership in early July in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Czech Banking Association (ČBA) has improved its forecast for the growth of the Czech economy from May’s previous estimate of 1.8 percent to 2.4 percent....
Prague’s high-end accommodation options get a serious upgrade. With new and not-yet open properties, often in well-preserved historic buildings, these accommodations attract locals and visitors who love the city’s new arts, cultural and fashion scene. Hyatt opened its first property in the Czech Republic with the unveiling of the 5-star Andaz Hyatt Prague. The 176 luxurious rooms are housed in a 1916 building known as the Sugar Palace on the edge of Old Town. Andaz Prague is one of the first “luxury lifestyle” hotels in the city. Located on Senovážné Square, within the magnificently restored Sugar Palace, the building was originally built for the city’s Sugar Industry Insurance Association. The hotel’s stand-alone MEZ bar delivers an exhilarating atmosphere with its signature cocktails, infused with local ingredients, each inspired by the historic figures of Prague. The Julius Meinl family, legendary European entrepreneurs of retail and dining, expands their hospitality influence with the launch of a new long-term stay concept. Dubbed the Julius, the brand draws upon the family’s 160-year legacy of quality and service to embody a timeless standard of European hospitality through a modern lens. The Julius Prague, with 168 residences, was beautifully designed by Milan-based studio Matteo Thun & Partners, and opened to long- and...
A well-preserved kitchen thought to date to the early fifteenth century has been found near the historic town walls of Nový Jičín, which is located in the Moravian-Silesian region of the eastern Czech Republic. Based on this location, Pavel Stabrava of the Novojičín Museum suggests the site may have been the home of a burgher family, although wealthier members of the same class were likely to have lived around the town square. The kitchen was part of a house built of logs on a stone foundation, he added and was equipped with a brick oven and a hearth. Archaeologists also uncovered intact ceramic pots with their lids and a wooden cooking spoon. Burn marks suggest the house’s inhabitants may have been forced to leave, perhaps during an attack by the Hussites in 1427. “Since the house was located near the town walls, this would have been a less wealthy burgher family. The richest burghers would have lived in so-called ‘beer court’ houses around the town square.” Most likely founded in the 1300s by the Lords of Kravaře, Nový Jičín seems to have gradually evolved from an earlier settlement around the castle of Starý Jičín which protected the nearby Amber Road...
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