The Letna ice rink will be opening again soon, and this season there will be several new things to see and do! Prague is continuing its annual tradition of the Letna ice rink. The launch of this year’s skating season will take place on Thursday the 1st of December, and an afternoon ice-skating program is available for children. The ice-skating rink is on the Letenské plain, located near Milada Horáková Street opposite the Sparta football stadium. Outside of sporting activities, there will also be an interesting accompanying program. In addition to the main skating rink measuring 40×20 meters, the organizers will prepare a second, small skating rink (22×10 meters). Guests will also have access to paid skate rental, fast food tents with heated benches and a skating school where experienced instructors will teach beginners to feel confident on the ice. The ice rink will operate until February 28, 2023 (daily from 09:00 to 21:00). Main events on the rink: 1st December – Opening day 5th December – Čertovské skating rink (Mikuláš) 22nd December – Christmas on ice 5th January – Skating to New Year 14th February – Valentine’s skating The opening hours will be the same as last year, 9...
The overwhelming opinion is clear on internet discussions among Czech citizens: daylight savings time should be maintained, despite the European Commission’s wish to terminate the time changes. The government, led by Andrej Babiš, have the opposite view. Scientists are currently engaged in research of the biological rhythms linked to daylight savings time vs maintaining standard time. The Czech government discussed the change of time at the end of Wednesday’s session. Andrej Babiš himself believes that it would be best to keep standard time for the entire year. Other members of the government had the same view. His argument was that for example “children do not want to sleep in the summer when they see that it is still light after 21:00.” Similarly, scientists have been looking at the alternation of time, and according to their research they argue that standard time can improve the quality of sleep, is healthier for the human heart, and has a positive effect on body weight. This argument was presented at the press release of the Institute of Physiology at the Czech Academy of Sciences on Tuesday. But despite this, most ordinary Czech citizens would prefer to keep daylight savings time. The most likely reasons...
Franz Kafka is a man of mystery. He is a man of many written words, but most stories remained unfinished. Somehow this bizarre Jewish author from Prague still fascinates the world with all his literary, psychological and philosophical thoughts in his dark works. Are his words the result of complicated thinking and want to suggest something? Or are they merely parts of his depressions thrown on paper and immortal in this form? He died too young for us to know. Regardless, his works are debated and allow for deep thinking about human life and society as a whole. In order to decode the books, so to speak, we must understand Franz Kafka’s past. Early Life Born in the Old Town of Prague in 1883, Franz always called Prague home. He lived in many different parts of the world, but his heart belonged here. Growing up, he spoke and wrote in German because his parents Hermann Kafka, who was a jeweler, and Julia Kafka assimilated to the German environment. Franz (whose full name is František) was the oldest of six—two brothers and three sisters. Because they were Jewish, many of his family members ended up in Terezin and later Auschwitz during World War...
Bouzov Step into a movie set at Bouzov castle in the heart of Moravia. The castle that looks like it’s magically floating on a sea of green trees is sought-after by many filmmakers. The rooms have been restored and are open for the general public. The Gothic castle was built in the 13th and 14th centuries, and the Lords of Vildenberg, Haugviens of the Bishops and many masters lived here. However, the castle housed prisoners after the Thirty Years’ War and served as both an imperial fortress and political prison. Kokořín Built in 1320 by Prague bourgeois Hynek Berka from Dubé, Kokorin still stands tall in the town of Melnik. It is surrounded by towering green trees for breathtaking nature scenes. This castle is really off the beaten path and only recently was allowed to have reconstruction. During the Hussite wars, the castle was damaged badly and swapped between multiple owners. In 1544, it became quite desolate and Emperor Ferdinand put it on the “cursed castle” list after the Thirty Years’ War. This meant they were not maintained and became an occasional house for wandering artists, knights, and travelers. Trosky Castle While there are only ruins of Trosky Castle left,...
One of the most terrifying places in Europe is actually located here in Prague. Roughly translated as the “cemetery of fools”, the cemetery once belonged to the psychiatric hospital in Bohnice. The cemetery has not been functional for several decades, so it’s appearance and the energy that surrounds it is quite unnerving. The cemetery was founded at the beginning of the 20th of century and it was functional for less than sixty years. It was built specifically for the burial of pathologically ill patients of the psychiatric hospital. The mysterious place with its strange aura was used between 1909 and 1963. Since then, the cemetery has become completely derelict, making it now one of the creepiest places to visit in Europe. Originally, the cemetery was just for the children of patients, but after some time, adult patients were also buried here. Approximately 4300 patients were laid to rest in this cemetery. Among them are murderers, victims of suicide, and unfortunate children born to parents in the psychiatric hospital. The tombs are not so obvious at first glance, only little hills covered with ivy. There are only a few graves with tombstones. The ivy is everywhere, crawling up the sides of...
The lower house of the Czech Parliament began debating a bill that could give same-sex couples the right to marry. The bill was drafted by a group of lawmakers across the political spectrum. It is supported by the coalition center-left government of Prime Minister Andrej Babis. The amendment follows a country-wide debate led by the Jsme fér (We Are Fair) campaign, promoting the fair treatment of same-sex couples. 67% of Czechs support marriage equality while 97% of Czech gays and lesbians want the chance to get married. A number of European nations have legalized same-sex marriage, most recently Austria, but the Czech Republic could become the first post-Communist member of the European Union to do so. The Czech Republic has been allowing gay and lesbian couples to enter registered partnerships since 2006. Unlike neighboring Poland and Slovakia, the Czech Republic is one of Europe’s most secular societies and religious groups have a relatively weak voice. Author: red
“I don’t see anything… do you have a receipt for the ticket?” inspectors and transport controllers have been heard repeating this phrase on Prague’s public transportation in the past few weeks. The proof of payment is often the only confirmation of the fact that the traveller has a valid ticket recorded on their Lítačka card. This problem started at the beginning of September when Lítačka began selling public transportation tickets on their e-shop. “There are people who use their Litacka card, and neither the inspectors nor the validators can see the recorded coupon” Míša Strnadová, a spokeswoman for Prague Integrated Transport on Facebook voiced her annoyance, and her words were confirmed by many other Prague citizens. Some travellers with no proof of payment have even received a fine, despite having actually paid for the ticket online. “On the contrary, some people have taken advantage of this situation and have been riding without a valid ticket. The inspectors are now accustomed to the fact that vouchers are not showing up on their systems, so they can’t confirm if a ticket is expired or not.” One man admitted. “The conductor asked me whether or not the coupon was uploaded recently. It might...
Prague shopping centre Palladium will be joining the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia celebrations this week with a light projection show. The videomapping spectacle will be available to watch every evening from 18:30 to 21:30 from Friday the 2nd to Sunday the 4th of November. The light show will be projected on to the historic building of the former barracks and there will be ten-minute intervals between each show. The project, titled “The Modern Jewel” from the studio of artists’ Hyperbinary, will be presented in collaboration with SIGNAL production for the second year running at Palladium. Last year, the projection was presented as part of the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of the shopping centre, and this year, they decided to repeat the event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic. Studio Hyperbinary have already presented several audio-visual screenings on Prague’s historic buildings. In 2010, they illuminated the Old Town Astronomical Clock, and three years later, as part of the Signal Festival, they projected a light show on to the Church of St. Ludmila on Náměstí Míru. Another successful performance was that of the videomapping of the interior of the Dvořák Hall of Rudolfinum at the concert of the Czech...
While Prague is the most innovative region of the Czech Republic, the entire country falls behind other European countries in comparison, according to the European Commission’s ranking. Prague still dominates in investment in research and development for innovation, particularly in business and technological maturity. In 2016, Prague’s business realm invested 11.4 billion crowns, 89 percent of the European average. In fact, Prague’s current 9.7 billion CZK contributes to more than two-thirds of total government spending on research and development in the Czech Republic (which is more than half of the European average). For reference in the Czech Republic, the second highest public spending on research and development belongs to the Central Bohemian region, which is 2.3 billion crowns. Prague must bow down to other regions in the Czech Republic in some categories. Fifty-five percent of people in Central Bohemia use internet to communicate with public institutions and 52 percent in Bratislava, Slovakia, while Prague is less than half. Bratislava has a higher share of people using the Internet to communicate with public institutions and higher employment in advanced manufacturing industries, too. Despite the 13 incubators and innovation centers, 14 accelerations and 32 coworkers in Prague, the turnover of Prague...
On October 31 from 5 pm to 9 pm the Baroque Vrtbovská Garden will be festively lit for an illuminated view of Prague by night. The festive lighting of this garden takes place two times a year – in the spring and in the autumn. You will be surprised by the magic and beauty of this place. It offers an amazing view of the Prague Castle and part of the historical center. Entry to the terraced Italian garden is through Vrtba Palace from Karmelitská street. The garden cuts into the Petřín slope and stretches from the courtyard of the palace to the southwest. The creation of this magnificent palace garden is associated with the construction boom around 1720. The garden was designed by František Maxmilián Kaňka, who first renovated the palace for Jan Josef, Count of Vrtba and then created the garden. Admission fee: basic CZK65 children younger 15 years old CZK45 students and seniors CZK55 a family ticket CZK180 More info here
The American start-up Lime has established a partnership with marketing and PR agency FYI Prague. FYI Prague will provide local printing, manage relationships with journalists and participate in the implementation of communication strategies for the brand. The agency won the tender. “Any media outlet that wants to deal with the phenomenon of micro-mobility and its expansion into the Czech Republic can turn to us. Currently, we are working on creating a real-time link between Prague and the company’s headquarters in San Mateo, California” Says Jan Řezáč of FYI Prague. “As for media communications, we can also rely on the local representative of the company, operations manager Ondřej Široký.” For Lime, Prague was the first city of their expansion into the V4 countries. Prague is considered an important partner because the city has its own strong vision for the future of shared mobility. In the context of fine-tuning operating conditions, negotiations are currently taking place with individual city sectors and specific conditions of service are being negotiated. Author: Holly Webb
The winter flight schedule at Vaclav Havel Airport becomes effective. It will provide flights to 114 destinations in 42 countries. “Despite the dense network of existing direct flights from Prague, we will introduce several new and attractive destinations that will be included in the upcoming winter flight schedule. These are Amman in Jordan, Marrakesh in Morocco and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. New flights to these destinations prove that we have been successfully expanding our network with destinations outside of Europe, which is the path that we want to continue taking in the future,” says Vaclav Rehor, the Chairman of the Prague Airport Board. Sixty airlines will operate regular flights from Prague during the winter season and two of them, Air Arabia and Cyprus Airways, will appear on Prague’s winter schedule for the very first time. The busiest country with regard to the number of destinations, even in winter, is the UK, where 16 different destinations are offered, including all major international London airports, which are serviced by direct flights from Prague. The second busiest country is France (10 destinations), followed by Italy (9 destinations), Spain (9 destinations) and Russia (8 destinations). New destinations in the 2018-2019 winter season schedule include: Kutaisi (Wizzair),...
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