You may have noticed giant pits in areas of the city centre. One separated by a fence with peep-holes on the upper part of Wenceslas Square, the other which can be seen from the viewing platform at Masaryk Station. In these areas, the Penta Group are preparing the Central Business District project, designed by famous architect Zaha Hadid. This building project on the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street has evoked passion from architects and investors alike, often with contradictory opinions. Finally, the investor, company Flow East, prevailed and in about two years will have headquarters at the so-called “Flower House”, and on the ground level the first shops will open. Banks and Shared Offices The combination of office buildings and shops is the most common model in the city centre, whether it’s a new building or a reconstruction of older buildings. This is also true of the DRN project, which the domestic real estate company Sebre completed this year in the lot on the corner of Mikulandská and Národní. It is a blend of the modern new building and the restored Schökirch Palace. Not far from this area, on the corner of the streets 28 října and Perlová,...
Walk into a fairytale at Blatná Castle. Located in a small town in Southern Bohemia, the castle is next to an artificial lake with plenty of nature that accents the bright red roofs and white structure. The first written record of the castle is from 1235, when it was most likely a wooden fortress. It’s built in the middle of a marsh, so it gets its name “blata” from the old Czech word for marshy place. Over a century later in 1391, the castle belonged to the house of Lvové (lions) of Rožmitál and the marshes transformed into water trenches and the castle was rebuilt in stone. This U-shaped castle is described as “a swan sitting in a lake” because it is white and surrounded by a moat.The first floor of the tower is the Green Chamber because the prevalent color of the medieval paintings on that floor are green. A large tower in the east at the main entrance dominates the castle. The Romanesque Chapel is the oldest part of the castle dating back to the 13th century. It is in the western part of the courtyard and has two distinct arches to mark the spot. Various other parts...
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš’s younger son claims he was forcibly detained in Crimea by his father’s associates at the time of the investigation of the Stork’s Nest affair. Babiš Senior has been intermittently under investigation since 2015 wherein the prime minister was accused of concealing his ownership of the Čapí Hnízdo (Storks Nest) farm and attached convention centre in order to illegally obtain €2 million in EU subsidies meant for small businesses. Čapí Hnízdo was owned by Agrofert, a Prague-based conglomerate holding company owned by Andrej Babiš, which would have been ineligible for the small business subsidies. In 2007 ownership of the property was transferred to a small anonymous company which was able to apply for the subsidies, but it was later revealed that the shareholders in the new company were Babiš Junior and his sister Adriana; Babiš Senior’s partner – now his wife – Monika; and Monika’s brother Martin Herodes. A brief interview with Seznam reports that Babis’s son, who is also named Andrej, was coerced into traveling to Crimea on a vacation that turned into an “abduction.” He said he had spent some time in a psychiatric institution in the past. Babiš Jr. also revealed that he...
As seen in Klíčov, Kačerov, and also in the city centre, some buses and trams have been spotted sporting handsome moustaches in recent days. “According to traffic information, there are fifteen buses and fifteen trams” says the Ropid transport organiser on Facebook. Since November 1st, the public transport company has been involved in the “Movember” project. In Prague, as well as twelve other cities in the Czech Republic, buses and trams have been decorated with moustaches in support of the cause. “We want to promote Movember and help raise awareness for men’s health. The aim is to be seen by as many people as possible in the city streets,” the press department representative of the transport company stated, adding that this is another joint project under the patronage of the Association of Transport Companies of the Czech Republic. The gentlemanly means of transport are very popular with the people of Prague. According to social media, some people have not hesitated to venture to the complete other side of the city simply to see the moustached trams and buses. Some people wish that the metros were taking part as well. “It is a shame that the front metro cars are not...
On November 17, Czechs commemorate student demonstrations under the Nazi occupation in 1939 and against the Communist regime in 1989. The later one led to the so-called Velvet Revolution which culminated in the appointment of the country’s first non-communist government in more than four decades and the election of Vaclav Havel, a playwright turned dissident, to the post of president. Several concerts, exhibitions, parades, discussions, author´s readings as well as lectures will be held in Prague, as well as other towns or villages in the Czech Republic. Events on the day are scheduled at a memorial on Narodní třída, as well as Albertov and on Prague’s Wenceslas Square which saw the number of demonstrators in the days of the Velvet Revolution swell to almost one million. On Národní St, a street feast called Korzo Národní will take place. It is organized by the initiative Thanks, that we can (Díky, že můžem, z. s). Its programme features concerts, theatre performances, exhibitions, lectures and a presentation of non-profit organizations. A satiric carnival parade called Sametové posvícení will set for a journey through Prague at Republiky Square; participants will parade through Prague 1 and end at Wenceslas Square. The parade is organized by the Iniciativa Fór_um, z. s. In the National Theatre, there...
Some hotel and restaurant owners have decided to prohibit the entrance of children under a certain age. In doing so, however, they are risking receiving heavy fines for “discrimination”. One Prague restaurant that decided to restrict entrance to everyone under the age of 18 is currently facing this very problem. The Stodola House restaurant in the south of Prague has a large sign on the board next to the door stating that children under the age of 18 are prohibited from entering. Because of this decision, the owner might be taken to court. According to the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (CTI), prohibiting the entrance of children violates the law as it is considered “age discrimination”. “This is unacceptable discriminatory behaviour, not only against persons under the age of 18, but also against persons over eighteen years of age, such as parents…” it said in the statement that the owner of Stodola House, David Salomon, received after the Czech Trade Inspection. They had received a complaint about children being forbidden from coming in. “We have run this restaurant for 27 years, so we know exactly what our customers want and don’t want, and they certainly do not want kids running around.”...
The first electric bus network in Ostrava has received an all-electric fast-charging system. Ostrava is dedicated to reducing the amount of harmful emissions in Czech Republic, switching to all-electric buses with the goal to put diesel-powered buses out of operation. The introduction of electric buses to the existing infrastructure demands a network of charging stations, and Ekova Electric, a supplier of intelligent solutions for public transport, has chosen Heliox to be the fast-charging partner. The Heliox OC 450 kW charger utilizes a pantograph and ensures maximum availability as the charging takes just a couple of minutes. The provided automated coupler device (ACD) system is an inverted pantograph solution where an infrared signal initiates the charge session. As this is the first deployment of electric buses in Ostrava, additional charging cabinets and charge masts may be added in the future. This type of flexibility creates a future-proof solution that is fully-scalable and expandable. To this day, Heliox has charged more than 430 electric buses globally to optimize the reduction of harmful emissions and lessen the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. Author: red
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Saturday he had proposed restoring writer Milan Kundera’s Czech nationality, stripped from him by the country’s former communist regime nearly four decades ago. Kundera, whose novel “The Unbearable Lightness of Being” was turned into a 1987 film starring Daniel Day-Lewis, became a naturalized French citizen after emigrating when he was prevented from publishing in his native country. “He really deserves to have his citizenship again,” Babis told Czech CTK agency in Paris where he was attending a commemoration of the 1918 armistice to end WWI. Kundera, now 89, and his wife Vera, were stripped of their nationality in 1979 by the communist regime of then Soviet-era Czechoslovakia. They emigrated to France in 1975. The author’s “The Book of Laughter and Forgetting” published in 1979 explored how citizens lived under the regime. His own life had been under surveillance by the StB secret police. His first novel “The Joke” — his take on the one-party state — led to a ban on his publishing at home. Kundera, born in 1929 in Brno, maintained a complex relationship with his homeland even after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 ended one-party rule in Prague....
November 11 is known as the Saint Martin’s Day. What customs are observed by Czech people and what can you hear about St. Martin? It is a day in which people not only remember and honor St. Martin of Tours, but is also a day traditionally associated with the fall harvest. In the Czech Republic, it is time for the traditional Czech Goose Dinner. The holiday has its roots in the Eastern Byzantine Church, where the fast before Christmas, the quadragesima Sancti Martini, still measures up to 40 days. And begins the day after the feast of St. Martin. St. Martin’s festivities begin with the uncorking of fresh wine at 11:00 in the morning on November 11 in cellars and other wine merchants across the country. The traditional St. Martin’s dish is a roast goose with red cabbage and dumplings. This is, of course, accompanied by a glass of young wine. Older Bohemian recipes also include stuffing the goose with apples. Finally, Martinmas also heralds the arrival of winter, is seen in the Czech saying: “Martin přijíždí na bílém koni” “Martin is arriving on a white horse.” The arrival of Martin on a white horse will be the highpoint of many of celebrations...
The October share of unemployed people declined to a new all-time low of 2.8%. This should be this year’s low, but some space for a decline next year might be possible due to structural changes in the labour market Previous figures from the Czech Labour Office reported an unemployment rate of 3% for September and 3.1% for August. The lack of labour market capacities in terms of job vacancies remained substantial, but it increased just slightly from 316,000 to less than 317,000. The lack of employees motivates companies to look for an alternative solution, which is reflected in a higher offer of part-time jobs. According to the Czech Statistical Office, the number of employees working part-time has increased by 20,000 year-on-year in the second quarter of this year. They are usually pension-age workers around 65, or younger in the 25-29 age group. The lowest unemployment rate in October – 1.8 percent – was recorded in the Pardubice Region. The South Bohemian and Plzeň regions had jobless levels of 1.9 percent while in Prague it was 2.0 percent. At the other end of the scale, 4.4 percent of the workforce in the Moravian Silesian Region and 4.3 percent in the Ústí nad Labem...
In Prague city centre, a new ultra-realistic sex doll brothel has started operating, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic. It will be open every day and give clients the choice between two erotic companions. Prague is anticipating a sexual revolution. While here it is considered a novelty, elsewhere, even in other European countries, this trend is widespread. In Barcelona, Amsterdam, and even in neighbouring cities in Germany, for some clients, these ultra-realistic silicone dolls have become more attractive to them than real women. Can these sex dolls save your marriage? Naughty Harbor is to become a haven for lonely souls, shy partners, or a solution to suppressed fantasies. For some couples, this may be seen as an acceptable form of infidelity and a way to save a failing marriage. The brothel is located in the city centre at Nekázanka 10, Prague 1. It will be open every day from 10 am to 10 pm. Naughty Harbor has two erotic companions, or “virgins” as the company likes to call them, for clients to choose from. Each companion has its own name, and they have different heights, hair colours, and body proportions. The client can choose between petite red-head...
All trams on Prague’s public transport network will be equipped with card payment terminals within the next six months. The transportation company (DPP) signed a four-year contract with Bankovní informační technologie, who will fit the devices into each tram. DPP will pay the company a commission of 1.99 percent of the ticket price. Bankovní informační technologie is owned by Czech bank ČSOB. Cards can already be used on line 18 and line 22. The pilot project for the purchase of tickets through a single contactless payment was launched in April 2016, when they fitted contactless self-service devices on the first two trams on line 22. A few months later, the project was extended to include line 18 as well. Based on the positive evaluation of the pilot project, it was decided that the card payment service would be expanded to the entire tram network. The device works in such a way that once the passenger has boarded and put the card on the device, the machine will call up the same type of ticket the passenger had previously purchased. Last year, about 5000 passengers a month used this method. The DPP plan to put the contactless payment devices in the...
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