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...
Wave. Avalanche. Volcano. You might think there’s nothing remotely sexy about these words, but a new study is set to change that. The research from Charles University in Prague found that female orgasms fall into three categories: a wave, an avalanche and a volcano. A “wave” is as it sounds – a short burst of pelvic contractions and release of tension. A “volcano” is so called because these types of orgasms feel like more of an explosion, as the pelvic floor tension swiftly releases. An “avalanche” refers to higher pelvic floor contractions, which decrease during and after orgasm. The study asked 54 women to use a Bluetooth-connected vibrator, the Lioness. This particular vibrator has two sensors which detect the force of pelvic floor contractions, so that these patterns can then be analysed. The three types of orgasms relate to the different patterns of pelvic floor contractions at orgasm that these women experienced. The women who did the study were asked to masturbate at home using the device over a few days (sounds like our kind of science experiment, tbh). “Wave” orgasms were most common in those who took part in the study, with 26 women experiencing this type, while 17 had an...
Unemployment in the Czech Republic rose to 3.3 percent in July from 3.1 percent in June. At the end of the seventh calendar month, over 240,000 people were looking for a job. On average, there are 0.8 applicants per vacant position in the Czech Republic. The Labor Office of the Czech Republic published the data on Monday, according to which the July increase in unemployment is an expected seasonal fluctuation. At the end of July, there were 240,706 applicants for employment in the records of employment offices. It was 9,397 more than in June and about 31,500 less than last July. At the end of this year’s first holiday month, there were 313,250 vacancies offered by employment offices. This is 6,150 fewer than there were available in June. This comes after pre-summer hiring in hospitality and tourist-focused jobs naturally slowed once the season started. In a year-on-year comparison, the number of vacant positions fell by almost 45,000. According to the Labor Office, the increased unemployment in July is due to slowed hiring during company-wide summer holidays as well as the arrival of school graduates into the labor market. “The development in the coming months will depend on the course of the war conflict in...
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. Up to 1,200 Czech troops may be deployed at the NATO eastern flank in the next two years, under the plan of foreign army missions until 2024 approved by the Senate today. The Chamber of Deputies is yet to give the go-ahead to the missions. . The Czech Senate approved yesterday the bill to restrict the impact of selected plastic products on the environment, banning single-use plastic cutlery, plates and drinking straws in harmony with EU regulations. The bill was supported by 49 of the 69 senators present. Now, President Milos Zeman is to assess it and sign it into law. The President of the Senate Milos Vystrcil handed the Silver Medal to the outgoing Ukrainian ambassador to the Czech Republic Yevhen Perebyinis. Vystrcil said Perebyinis was a man who had rendered a tremendous work for Ukraine and, thereby, also for the Czech Republic. Czech diplomacy fully supports a possible establishment of a Belarusian office in Prague, which should be open to all democratically thinking Belarusians in Czechia. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya said...
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