Just next to the Prague Zoo, in Troja district, you can find an exceptional Baroque chateau. Its distinctive red color is complemented by unique interior decorations and pleasant French gardens. Once you visit this chateau, you will be impressed either by the Baroque style frescos or by the temporary exhibitions prepared by the Prague City Gallery. Troja Chateau is actually a luxurious summer residence built by the Sternberk dynasty who planned to host celebrations, concerts, and feast here. That is why the villa is surrounded by a magnificent French garden and old vineyards to host a significant number of visitors. The dominant of Chateau is the impressive staircase leading from the Great Hall to the garden. The statues on the staircase symbolize the battle between the Titans and Olympic Gods, and for people, they symbolized the Troyan war. That is how the Chateau gained its name. The interior of the Chateau is exceptional. All over the castle, there are original frescos that decorate the Chateau better than any furniture. The main dominant is the Great Hall with frescos glorifying Habsburgs’ dynasty and their victory over Turks in 1683 (Chateau was built between 1679 and 1691, so it was quite...
Czech inflation jumped to a fresh three-decade high in June, hitting a rate of 17.2% year-on-year and posing a challenge to pledges of interest rate stability from a new central bank governor after sharp policy tightening over the past year. The rise in inflation, which is at its highest rate since 1993, was above the 17.0% expected in a Reuters poll. With price growth soaring since last year, the Czech National Bank (CNB) has lifted its key interest rate CZCBIR=ECI by 675 basis points, to 7.00%, since June 2021, trying to anchor inflation expectations. Other central European policymakers have also increased borrowing costs amid price pressures from both external issues such as supply chain problems and fast-rising energy prices in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and local factors like tight labour markets and increasing wages. But a change of guard on the bank’s seven-member board has led many analysts to predict an end to the policy tightening cycle. New governor Ales Michl, a board member since 2018 who has opposed rate hikes over the past year, pledged rate stability when he was appointed in May. “Inflation is not only moving away from the CNB’s target but also its...
July 22 will see demolition work begin at a former pig farm at Lety in South Bohemia that was the site of a concentration camp for Romanies during World War II. The cost of the demolition should not exceed CZK 110 million and is being financed by the Czech Culture Ministry. Visitors will be given one last opportunity to tour the grounds of the former industrial pig farm in the presence of activists. History: The industrial pig farm was built during the 1970s The industrial pig farm, which was in operation from the 1970s until the spring of 2018, is located on the site of what initially was a disciplinary labor camp and later an internment camp. As of August 1942, the facility at Lety u Písku (just like its counterpart in Hodonín u Kunštátu) became what was called a “Gypsy Camp” where, unlike the two previous types of facilities located there, entire families of Romani people were imprisoned in inhumane conditions – and it thereby became a concentration camp. What was called the “Gypsy Camp I – Lety” saw 1,309 persons pass through it, of whom at least 326 died there. Most of those who died at Lety were...
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. An 1890s merry-go-round at Prague’s Letná has been reopened after a 16-year renovation job. The carousel, which is administered by the nearby National Technical Museum, is one of the oldest of its kind in Europe. . Unemployment in Czechia fell by one-tenth of a percentage point to 3.1 percent, in June, according to official data published on Tuesday. Unemployment in June last year was at 3.7 percent. Czechs purchased 2.2 billion CZK worth of cryptocurrencies in the first half of this year, 37% less than in the same period last year. In June, the volume of trades was around CZK 300 million, but this is up by almost half year-on-year. A former pig farm in Lety, situated on the site of a former wartime Roma internment camp, will soon be pulled down to give way to a memorial to the Roma and Sinti Holocaust in Bohemia. The museum is in charge of building the memorial. The costs should not exceed 110 million crowns. PM Petr Fiala expressed himself in favour of the...
Deputies from the ANO movement and the Czech Ministry of Health want to amend legislation to prohibit the use of nicotine substitutes in pouches or candies which have been legally available to children for a long time. The products do not contain tobacco, and so under current legislation, they are not among the products that would be restricted as is the case with cigarettes, other tobacco products, or alcohol. Tighten up sales and advertising However, some experts warn that it is better to leave such a substitute unrestricted than for children to smoke cigarettes. According to a survey by the State Health Institute, most users of nicotine sachets last year were between the ages of 15 and 24. The bags contain a nicotine mixture and are thus an alternative to cigarettes. The amendment to the law is mainly about limiting sales to people under 18 years of age. “It is impossible for the sale of nicotine pouches to people under 18 to work here,” Marek Novák (ANO), who is presenting the amendment, told the Právo newspaper. “Nicotine is a highly addictive and health-damaging substance,” he added. According to Novák, Lyft nicotine sachets are attractive to children due to their packaging....
Their names are Poly, Flora, Blesk and Šemík, and they are just a few of the nineteen horses at Letná’s newly renovated carousel, which just yesterday started turning again for the first time in almost two decades. The day of the launch of the historical carousel was not chosen randomly. It was on July 11, 1894, that it was installed in Prague 7. The carousel itself is even older. In 1892, it had already been established in Vinohrady. The monument was bought in 2004 by the National Technical Museum because it is one of the oldest surviving floor carousels in Europe. At that time, however, the carousel was in a state of disrepair, despite having been declared a monument in 1991. “For the entire time that the carousel has been under the management of the museum, we have struggled with a lack of funds and many technical problems caused by the fact that it is a European unique model, which no companies knew how to restore,” said the General Director of the National Technical Museum, Karel Ksander. There were several tentative suppliers, but they all ended unsuccessfully thanks to the low asking price, which was originally set at five and a half million....
Germany and the Czech Republic on Monday signed a joint declaration, pledging to overcome Russian fossil fuel dependency and to accelerate the transition to low carbon energy as falling Russian gas imports threaten security of supply across Europe. Also on Monday, the biggest single pipeline carrying Russian gas to Germany began annual maintenance, with flows expected to stop for 10 days, but governments, markets and companies are worried the shutdown might be extended because of the war in Ukraine. “We are going to finalise the agreement on solidarity measures to safeguard the security of gas supply between our countries prior to the start of the upcoming winter season,” the declaration read. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck, on a visit to Prague, and Czech Industry Minister Jozef Sikela said it was necessary to prepare for various options, including that deliveries through the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline would not resume when scheduled maintenance is due to finish on July 21. “European solidarity is more important than ever in the current energy crisis. This also includes closer coordination between direct neighbours,” explained Habeck.” Already, Christian Kullmann, president of the chemical industry association VCI, has called for the securing of industrial gas supplies...
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. Prague has reopened its centre for Ukrainian refugees in Vysočany as of Monday morning, the Czech News Agency reports. The centre was closed in mid-June due to the overburdening of the capital’s resources, while the decision to reopen was taken only a couple of weeks later at the end of June. . Germany and the Czech Republic have signed a joint declaration, pledging to overcome Russian fossil fuel dependency and to accelerate the transition to low carbon energy as falling Russian gas imports threaten security of supply across Europe. Several Czech ministers said they were saddened by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s decision to recall his Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Yevhen Perebyinis, saying he should have kept his post for longer because of the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy recalled his ambassadors to Hungary, Norway, India and Germany. Warner Bros Discovery announced this week that it would halt all local original productions for HBO Max in several European countries, including the Czech Republic. The move is part of global restructuring and cost-cutting scheme a...
The mirror maze in Petřín has been standing for 130 years. One of the most visited places in Prague, it sees up to 400,000 visitors every year and, unlike other tourist places in Prague, it is mainly visited by Czechs. But while the site is known to millions of Czechs, its history remains obscure. Where did the mirror maze on Petřín even come from? Exhibition exhibit The mirror maze was originally built as a pavilion by the Club of Czech Tourists at the Prague Jubilee Exhibition in 1891. The maze was built by Prague master carpenter and builder Matěj Bílek according to designs from architect Antonín Wiehl. “The maze was located at the Prague Exhibition Center… near the corner of the Industrial Palace. After two years, it was moved to Petřín,” says Zuzana Strnadová, director of the Prague Museum. According to Strnadová, in the front rooms of the original pavilion there was also a circular panorama with twenty windows for 100 alternating stereoscopic slides of interesting Czech locations. “There was also an exhibition of the club’s tourism and publishing activities and an exhibition of tourist products from Czech companies.” Hall of laughter and diorama The building in which the maze is located...
An exhibition of decommissioned Russian military equipment will begin in Prague on Monday. The wrecks from the occupying army were brought to the city by the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior on Sunday. The exhibition will last until July 24, in Prague and a few other cities where destroyed technology will be exhibited. The machines will be on display on Letna. The exhibition will include, among others, the T-90 tank, the Šturm anti-tank system, the Buk anti-aircraft system and some of the more than 3,000 rockets and missiles fired by the Russian army at Ukrainian cities. The exhibition of Russian weapons destroyed in the battles against Ukraine was already on display in the center of Warsaw’s Castle Square. The theme of the exhibition is a reminder of the horrors of war, but also that Russian aggression can be defeated. The weapons on display fell into the hands of Ukrainian forces at the start of the war, which began with a Russian attack on February 24. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Ukraine wants to display destroyed Russian equipment in Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, Madrid and Lisbon. Later, however, other cities were to be added, such as Prague. Ukrainian authorities have...
From 12 to 16 July, the 19th year of the summer festival Třeboňská nocturna (the Třeboň Nocturnes) will fill the historical centre of the South Bohemian Renaissance town of Třeboň with music. The internationally recognized harpist Kateřina Englichová and oboist Vilém Veverka will open the festival with a program of compositions by Maurice Ravel, Alphonse Hasselmans, Ilja Hurník, Martin Hybler and Claude Debussy. In addition, Třeboňská nocturna will present the winners of the International Prague Spring Music Competition the Korean Arete String Quartet, the trio of the violinist Martina Bačová, French horn player Hana Šuková and pianist Karel Košárek, the chanson singer Chantal Poullain accompanied by the saxophonist Štěpán Markovič and the pianist Martin Krč, special project Ellaboration by Epoque Quartet and the singer Dasha. The festival will close with a tribute to Ema Destinnová by the Philharmonic of Hradec Králové together with the Slovak opera singer Eva Hornyáková under the direction of the conductor Miriam Němcová. The classical music, crossover, and chanson evenings will take place at several venues in Třeboň, from the chateau’s stable, through the J. K. Tyl Theatre and the Tunel music bar, to the court of the municipal authority. Tickets for Třeboňská nocturna are available...
“Comedy is universal,” asserts Brian Stewart, dressed down after two hours of portraying an exasperated academic and the ditsy wife and muse of a painter. Something of a polymath, with a lengthy career on and off the stage, Stewart, along with an enthusiastic and remarkably international ensemble cast, has spent the last 8 years committed to one project only: the Cimrman English Theatre. It’s difficult to overstate the importance of Jára Cimrman in Czech culture. Voted the greatest Czech of all time—despite being fictional—he represents something essential about what it means to be Czech. He’s a hero who, in Stewart’s words, “never quite made it.” He is said to be responsible, though uncredited, for several scientific achievements: yogurt, the Panama Canal, and the telephone, among others. Cimrman “captures the idea that Czechs have nobody of great prominence,” says Stewart. No other national hero has combined such determined nationalism with playful self-deprecation. As the poet Alexei Tsetkov noted upon his departure from Prague, “I have never heard of a nation mocking itself in such a charming way.” That’s not all, though: Cimrman was an important symbol of resistance under communism and provided a platform for Czechs to criticize the regime while...
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