The Prague City Council wants to limit the speed of electric scooters on the sidewalks. “Speed is a safety factor for all forms of transport and e-scooters are no exception,” said Tomáš Portlík (ODS), who presented the new plan together with Deputy Mayor for Transport Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě). “One of the key proposals under consideration to improve e-scooter rider safety and the safety of other footpath users, is establishing a maximum speed limit for footpaths, with some ability for councils to adjust this to suit local circumstances.” The deputies stated that the limit of 20 kilometers per hour may be too high in the case of pedestrian zones and sidewalks, and that the city will suggest the possibility of reducing it with the help of traffic signs. As an aside, e-scooters are considered the same as bicycles in Prague and are forbidden from being ridden on sidewalks – which is where most people seem to ride them – so if you’re going to use one make sure you are riding on the street or you can face penalties. Other countries that have set rules, usually based on existing regulation of cycling, include Austria, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden....
On June 21, 1621, a huge crowd gathered in Old Town Square to view the executions of 27 noblemen involved in the Estates Uprising the previous year. Defenestration, White Mountain, and the Aftermath In a rebellion against the Habsburg monarchy and the threat of being forced to convert to Catholicism or leave their homeland, several Bohemian nobles first threw two governors and a secretary out of a window at Prague Castle in 1618, then battled the Imperial army at White Mountain in 1620. After the crushing military defeat, forty-seven nobles were put on trial. More than half of them were sentenced to death. June 21 The executions began at 5 a.m. Prague’s executioner, Jan Mydlář, stood ready, with four sharpened swords. Twenty-four of the nobles would be beheaded that day, and the other three would be hanged. A contemporary drawing of the scene shows two bodies dangling from a beam protruding from a window in the Old Town Hall, while another hangs from a gallows in the area where the statue grouping of Jan Hus stands today. Mydlář, a Protestant himself, sympathized with the nobles, but he was forced to do his job. He eschewed the traditional red executioner’s hood for a black...
This pearl of the 1980s, classified for everyone but the actors of the National Theater, who have been making good use of it after the exhausting performances, has been operating for thirty-six years. The sauna used to be inaccessible to the public, but no one knew about it anyway. Only now does has it opened to the so-called people from the street. It’s located on the roof of one of the New Stage buildings. Behind this new concept are three poeple – Stanislav Meyer, Lukáš Otevřel and Miroslav Sládek. Last year, the ND was looking for a new manager for the unprofitable sauna and they won in the tender. Although neither had any experience with a similar project, their love of relaxation united them. The goal was clear – to preserve the sauna. Understandably, everything was damaged and weathered after years of use. The architects from Edit! Architects took the responsibility for the renovation, which was finished in half a year and cost less than a million crowns. You’ll find here a new Finnish sauna, which can accommodate sixteen people and its ceiling is lined with wood in the shape of the Czech flag. There is a central room with...
The European Center for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC) has ranked the Czech Republic among the green countries with a low risk of infection. It will now be easier to travel to European countries governed by the EU traffic light. Beginning today, people traveling from the Czech Republic – no matter their nationality – will no longer need a negative test, vaccination certificate, or to spend time in quarantine for most popular tourist destinations, including Croatia. From Monday, the Czech Republic will add the United States, Taiwan, Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, and Northern Macedonia among its list of safe countries in terms of coronavirus infection risk. However, tourists will still have to produce a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination at hotels and other establishments. The Foreign Ministry launched a new travel website on Thursday listing the conditions for travel to selected holiday destinations. Coronavirus in the Czech Republic The Czech Republic comes 21st out of the 27 EU member states with its 36 confirmed COVID cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days, while Latvia (154 cases) and Denmark (153 cases) are currently the most inflicted, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported on...
The historic Prague tram models known as the T6A5 will be retired from circulation on Saturday, the city’s public transport authorities announced on Wednesday. With six remaining cars in circulation, the T6A5’s last journey will take place on Saturday on line number 4. “For fans of public transport, we have prepared a farewell to trams with several symbolic links. It is almost exactly 26 years since the takeover of the first two cars, which took place on June 24, 1995,” said DPP Technical Director Jan Šurovský. On Saturday, the T6A5 trams will run from 08:00 until 18:00. At 18:15, all six trams will leave Smíchovské nádraží on the way through the city center. They will travel pass Anděl, Újezd, Malostranská and from Chotkovy sady to Špejchar. Two T6A5 trams will be kept by the Prague Public Transit Company for use on historic lines, primarily as an attraction for tourists. The Tatra T6A5 was designed as a successor to Tatra T3 which has been operated in Europe for more than three decades at the time T6A5 was launched. They are commonly called “Irons” by the general public and operator employees because their design resembles the triangular surface of clothing irons when seen from...
Regardless of the problems that the measures related to the coronavirus crisis have brought to the retail segment – with shops in the Czech Republic closed for 234 days, the longest period in all of Europe – new brands keep coming to the local market. Nine of them have arrived or will arrive during the first half of the year, the most prominent one of them being Ireland’s Primark fashion chain whose shop opening was expected with a great deal of anticipation. This year’s first half has been the strongest in the past three years: six brands arrived in the country during the same period last year, and eight the year before. Some of the shops opening now are ones whose launch was postponed due to the pandemic: Primark, Cinemax, and Mr. Jeff were waiting for the situation to stabilize and allow the start of operations. “Retailers are well aware of the enduring potential of Prague’s centre, which has always been and will always be a sought-after tourist destination – and this major part of the local purchasing power will return as soon as it can. The local people’s purchasing power is growing too. The Czech Republic remains the perfect...
From Monday, the Czech Republic will add the United States, Taiwan, Albania, Hong Kong, Lebanon, and Northern Macedonia among its list of safe countries in terms of coronavirus infection risk. Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhánek (CSSD) confirmed at today’s press conference that these countries will be designated “green” on the so-called travel risk map. However, tourists will still have to produce a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination at hotels and other establishments. The aforementioned countries will thus join other states, such as Israel, Australia, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand. From Monday, people who will be vaccinated 14 days after the second dose with a substance approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will be able to return to the Czech Republic from the dark red countries and no longer go into quarantine. Dark red countries with a very high risk of infection include Great Britain. People will be able to take the PCR test right after their return, so far it has been mandatory to take it between the fifth and 14th day after their return. Coronavirus in the Czech Republic The National Health Institute (SZU) has confirmed 27 cases of the Indian coronavirus variant, 59...
Praguers will have the opportunity to ride on a unique historical carousel, brought from Florence and installed on Petřín Hill next to the famous observation tower. The carousel was rented from a private owner (an Italian family) by the Prague City Tourism Agency for Tourism Development. With its help, the authorities want to “revive” the Petřín area and make it a place of attraction. The first written mention of the carousel dates back to 1820, but it was built much earlier – most likely at the end of the 17th century. Only three similar carousels have survived to this day. “This is a unique thing. The most beautiful carousel in Europe. Our goal is to revitalize the area so that tourists can comfortably spend the whole day here. To that end, we have also agreed to cooperate with the nearby Strahov monastery and Planetarium,” said the agency’s representative Klara Mala. The carousel will open for guests on Friday, June 18th and it is designed for both adults and children. The cost of one trip will be 70 CZK. The lease is stipulated until the end of the summer, but if demand is high, the authorities will extend it until mid-September....
In mid-May, Prague’s Game World opened its new premises in Šestka shopping centre, located near the airport. Retrogaming enthusiasts can look forward to more than 500 regularly changed games on over 200 gaming devices, ranging from consoles and computers to arcade machines and mobile phones. The Gaming Museum is one of the few retrogaming arcades in the Czech Republic. It first opened for customers three years ago. Over 500 regularly changed games await visitors on more than 200 gaming devices, ranging from consoles and computers to arcade machines and mobile phones. Families, technical enthusiasts, retrogamers and collectors will all enjoy a visit to the Gaming Museum. The main attractions are newly added racing games for up to eight players and modern Japanese simulation games, such as Gundam POD, Metal Gear Arcade, or Half-Life 2: Survivor. Visitors will not miss out on popular motorcycle race simulators and shooters of all kinds, either. The museum also sells gift vouchers and, when fully open, rents out the premises for staff parties, Christmas parties, birthday parties and social gatherings. Šestka shopping centre is easily accessible by bus routes 191 and 119, which connect to the A underground line (Petřiny or Nádraží Veleslavín), or bus...
The Aegean Airlines air carrier has launched its Prague – Heraklion route. The airline will fly to the capital of the popular Greek island of Crete twice a week, every Thursday and Saturday. It is also planned to add a third frequency on the route with departures on Mondays. The new direct connection from Václav Havel Airport Prague was launched this morning with a ceremonial water salute by airport firefighters. The carrier plans to operate the route using Airbus A320 aircraft with over 170 seats. “We’re excited to start our new direct flights to and from Heraklion and Prague Airport for summer 2021 and by thus connecting the island of Crete, one of the most popular Greek destinations, with Prague,” said Mr. Ioannis Rasoglou, AEGEAN Airlines Network Planning Manager. “AEGEAN Airlines already for the last 10 years shares a long-lasting and satisfactory cooperation with Prague Airport as we connect Athens and Prague with daily flights all year round and we hope to expand our cooperation by adding further new Greek destinations in the years to come”, he adds. For more than 10 years, Aegean Airlines operates daily flights to Athens. This year passengers can fly to the Greek capital from...
The Czech National Anthem has its origin in the opera Fidlovačka, which was a patriotic opera written by Josef Kajetan Tyl (lyrics) and Frantisek Skroup (music), first performed on December 21, 1834, in the Prague Estates Theatre. At the time, Czechs were only an ethnic minority in the Austrian Empire where the German language dominated. The main goal of this play was to strengthen the national feeling and break the cultural oppression. A song called Kde domov můj, in English “Where Is My Home” was performed in the opera by a man portraying a blind violinist. This scene was very emotional and the song became widely sung. It is thus no surprise that it was recognized as the official National Anthem in 1918 when independent Czechoslovakia was born. And in January 1st, 1993, the song became the anthem of the Czech Republic. However, there was a long debate going on as to whether a more serious piece should be composed for similar purposes, for example by famous Czech composer Bedrich Smetana. If we had to describe the anthem with one word only, it would be the word peaceful. The Czech National Anthem is really more like a love song –...
The number of cyberattacks launched against the Czech Republic’s health sector saw a 267% year-on-year increase in 2020, the annual report of the country’s National Cyber and Information Agency (NÚKIB) reads. The agency warns that last year saw the development of a new, large-scale trend of ransomware attacks against health facilities. The most serious incident occurred in March of last year when the Faculty Hospital in the city of Brno in the South Moravia region was targeted by a ransomware attack that caused millions in damages and shut down three departments for several weeks. Other targets included the Faculty Hospital in Ostrava, the Regional Hospital in Karlovy Vary, or the Hospital in Benešov. NÚKIB has warned of an upcoming wave of attacks targeting the country’s public and private sectors by a group of cybercriminals aiming to extort payments in Bitcoin. In the last year, several cyber attacks have hit state organisations in the Czech Republic, including Prague airport. The Czech Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Jana Maláčová, told the Czech media that the ministry had also been targeted, without giving further details.
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