At the expense of hotels, accommodation platforms in Prague are taking a growing share of the increasing business of tourists.
Christmas markets (Vánoční trhy) are a key ingredient of the festive magic in the Czech Republic, and the Prague markets are the most impressive in the country. They light up the city, bringing locals and tourists together in a true ‘winter wonderland’ setting. The Namesti Miru Christmas market officially opens today, November 20th and is the first Christmas market of the season. It features more handmade goods than the touristy products that the Old Town Square market sells. You can find goods such as handmade soaps and lotions, jewelry, wooden toys, ceramic decorations, crystals, scarves and so on. The imposing neo-Gothic Church of St. Ludmila overlooks the wintery Christmas market, complete with a massive Christmas tree and Nativity scene. Food stands are offering grilled meat or sausages; please your sweet tooth with apple strudel, gingerbread, cookies, waffles, roasted almonds, cotton candy. If you want to opt for a hot drink, choose among honey wine (Medovina); mulled wine (svařák); hot chocolate (horká čokoláda); or grog, a mixture of rum, water, lemon, and sugar. This year, this Prague Christmas market will open on November 20 and shut down on December 24 and will be open from 10:00 am until 7:00 pm each day.
Velvet Revolution 2019 is, historically, the largest celebration yet. In Prague, the program of the Freedom Festival was attended by 200,000 people. Concerts, discussions, and screenings were also held in 50 other cities throughout the country. One of Prague’s exceptional events this year was the Velvet Procession, in which 11,000 people followed the memories of witnesses. Albertov, Wenceslas Square and Národní třída were visited by the most people in the history of the Freedom Festival, organized by citizens’ initiatives in Prague and 50 other cities around the country for the sixth time this year. “Thanks to the participants it was a very dignified and sophisticated reminder of this important historical event,” says Jakub Vedral, one of the parade organizers. The official part of the parade program ended at the Vltava River, where thousands of visitors continued to the all-day Korzo Národní program on Národní třída, and in the evening attended the Concert for the Future on Wenceslas Square. A total of 200,770 people passed through all Prague events. The data was provided by the mobile operator O2. “We measure anonymous data on the number of registered SIM cards on mobile transmitters in the given location – in this case, Albertov,...
Today, a press release by the 2019 Driving Cities Index released newfound data on an investigation into the best and worst cities for driving around the world. The study not only identifies which cities are “best” and “worst” to drive in, but it also points out the various factors that affect our morning commute, our road trip plans, and our reliance on cars in general. Because a number of elements affect the driver experience—like infrastructure, congestion, air pollution, and others—a study like this one can help show how cities are successfully, or unsuccessfully, utilizing infrastructure and legislation to improve driving conditions. With regard to accidents, taking into account the size of their populations, Manchester, England and Stockholm, have the lowest fatality rates. At the other end of the scale, Lagos, Orlando, Florida and Kolkata, India are among the most dangerous cities for drivers. The study found that Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia had the worst problem with road rage, with a score of 99.12. It also had a death rate of 16.5 per 100,000 inhabitants. Moscow came second, with a road rage score of 98.46. Osaka in Japan was found to have the calmest drivers with a road rage score of just...
The wall on Kampa, by the Vltava River, has been redesigned by the internationally renowned artist and illustrator Petr Sís, whose works adorn public space in New York, Lisbon, Cape Town or at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. The “Velvet Bridge” commemorates the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution and visually discusses the history of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1989. The work will be completed next spring. The most recent artistic achievement of Sís is this replica of the Charles Bridge. The author will place 12 paintings in the arches of the bridge, which symbolically describe the history of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1989. On the Kampa wall, two paintings in a cartoon design by Petr Sis have been introduced, one representing Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and the other representing Václav Havel. The finished work will be installed next spring after the necessary reconstruction of the wall. The work was initiated by a philanthropist of Irish origin, Bill Shipsey, founder of the Art for Amnesty initiative. Shipsey is engaging prominent artists around the world in promoting issues related to human rights and the development of democracy. He has collaborated on projects around the world with personalities such as Nelson Mandela, Joan Baez,...
The Iron Curtain was more than just a figure of speech: Communist regimes set up thousands of miles of heavily-guarded, electrified barbed wire fencing to completely isolate Eastern Europe from the West. That still didn’t stop many from desperately attempting to flee the totalitarian East. Some succeeded, but many lost their lives. Among the latter, in what was then Czechoslovakia, was a priest in the brutally-persecuted Catholic Church named Josef Skop. Hoping to reach East Germany before the Berlin Wall sealed off its connection with the West, he decided to cross the River Elbe undetected by walking underwater in a home-made diving suit complete with rubber boots. He used a rubber garden hose as a breathing tube – a fatal mistake as it proved too long and too narrow to ensure a sufficient air supply. Nearly 300 people are known to have died, many killed by border guards with orders to shoot on sight, while attempting to escape from Czechoslovakia to the West. Skop’s diving suit is on display in “Technology in Dictatorships,” a new exhibition at the National Technical Museum in Prague. The display marks the 30th anniversary of the 1989 anti-communist Velvet Revolution by looking back at the...
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, Prague’s Petřín Tower – which was modeled after, and strongly resembles, the Eiffel Tower – will lit up in blue, white, and red. November 17th is a very important day for Czechs for two reasons. 1939 The original event that 17 November commemorated was the resistance of student demonstrators in 1939 to the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. Initially, a student named Jan Opletal was shot in a protest and died on 11 November. His funeral, attended by thousands of students, turned into another anti-Nazi demonstration. One witness to those events said that the Gestapo and German soldiers had swept into student dorms in Prague, Brno, and Příbram, and dragged students off to Ruzyně prison. Nine student leaders were murdered by the Nazis and more than 1,000 sent to concentration camps. As a result of these tragedies, in 1941, the 17th of November was marked as International Students’ Day. 1989 Fifty years after such oppression, in 1989, Czech students organized a demonstration to commemorate the student martyr Jan Opletal and the International Students Day. It started off as an officially-sanctioned march but turned quickly into demonstration demanding the resignation of the country’s...
A study done by Cushman and Wakefield, and advisory firm, shows that Prague’s Na Prikope street is the world’s 18th most expensive in terms of real estate rents. Rent on the mainly pedestrian road, known as the tourist shopping main street, can reach 2820 euro per square meter. Table: Country chart by the most expensive retail streets Rank 2019 Rank 2018 Location City Market Rent Q2 2019 €/sq m/year 1 1 Causeway Bay (main street shops) Hong Kong Hong Kong, China 25,965 2 2 Upper 5th Avenue (49th – 60th Sts) New York USA 21,295 3 3 New Bond Street London United Kingdom 16,222 4 4 Avenue des Champs Elysees Paris France 13,992 5 5 Via Montenapoleone Milan Italy 13,700 6 6 Ginza Tokyo Japan 11,838 7 7 Pitt Street Mall Sydney Australia 10,185 8 9 Bahnhofstrasse Zurich Switzerland 8,195 9 8 Myeongdong Seoul South Korea 8,163 10 10 Kohlmarkt Vienna Austria 4,860 11 11 Wangfujing Beijing Mainland China 4,453 12 12 Kaufinger/Neuhauser Munich Germany 4,440 13 13 Grafton Street Dublin Ireland 3,794 14 15 Ermou Athens Greece 3,420 14 14 Portal de L’Angel Barcelona Spain 3,420 16 17 Orchard Road Singapore Singapore 2,957 17 16 Kalverstraat Amsterdam Netherlands 2,850...
If it closes, hundreds of prostitutes are likely to move to the centre. Prague’s most extensive erotic club survival is still unsure. Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek has been trying to move the Showpark from Holešovice Market Hall for a long time, and negotiations with the city covering actions have been on deadlock due to a lawsuit. The future of the Holešovice Showpark is expected to be finally decided by a lawsuit that Prague has been running for several years against Delta Center (current tenant of the market), which also includes Hall 18 with the Showpark. It still has a long-term lease, but Prague considers it invalid. The dispute is now pending before the Court of Appeal on 19 November 2019. Every year, 160000 customers “pass-through” it in continuous services from 600 women. The Showpark was established in the mid-1990s, after an agreement to withdrew prostitutes from the streets of the metropolis. Now hundreds of “performers”, as they call themselves, are in a situation where they might figuratively find themselves on the streets. “This is not a normal movement. The establishment of spare areas for operating with basic safety and security requirements imply two years of work in the Showpark. Less...
Kinský Gardens are an area of 22 hectares located in Prague 5, on the southeastern slope of Petřin Hill and separated from the other Petřin gardens by the Hunger Wall, built by Charles IV. The best idea is to use the entrance gate on the top of Petřín Hill, between the Rose Garden and the Strahov Dormitory. In the garden, you will find a wooden church and the Kinský Summer Palace with a National Museum ethnographic exhibition. Woods originally occupied the area and then were replaced by vineyards. Prince Rudolf Kinský bought several vineyards on the hillside of Petřín intending to build an extensive garden and a summer residence. The Kinský Folly, located between Lesser Town and Smíchov, is now called the Kinský Summerhouse. Was built between 1827–1831 by the architect Heinrich Koch and since 1901, this unique summerhouse is an ethnographical museum. In 1922, the museum became part of the National Museum. It documents the traditional folk culture of the Czech lands, Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, presenting everyday rural life in the 19th and 20th centuries. The ethnographic exhibition is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm for only 70 CZK. After visiting the museum,...
This weekend Czechs celebrate 30 years from the Velvet Revolution and so it is packed with various events, festivals, video mapping and celebrations. Find below summarized overview of what’s on in Prague November 11 – November 17 Week of science and technology in Prague Where: various places November 15 The Velvet party at Manifesto market Great food and DJ. When: 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. Where: Manifesto market Florenc November 16 St. Martin’s at Letná Goose and young wine tasting When: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m Where: National agriculture museum November 16 Civil shelter Folimanka – public tour When: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Where: Pod Karlovem, Prague 2 November 16 Vinárna Bokovka – a celebration of 4th birthday Wine tasting, live music, pop-up restaurant. When: starting at 4 p.m. till midnight Where: Dlouhá 37, Prague 1 November 16 The Theatre night in Prague You can experience backstage tours, performances, workshops and meet-and-greet with actors. Some theatres have a program without language barriers, so you can enjoy the Theatre Night even if you do not speak Czech. The entry is mainly free of charge or for a reduced price. Where: various places November 16 Czech Academy of Sciences When: starting at...
The Tour de France has started five times abroad over the past eight years. Soon, the beginning of the most famous cycling race could take place in Prague. “Prague is a beautiful city, one of the most beautiful capitals. If it stands, we will judge it with the greatest possible attention,” said the general director of the legendary race, Christian Prudhomme. The lead course designer, Thierry Gouvenou, confirmed that Prague could enter the game of organizing the Tour. “I know that the City of Prague has already established contacts with our organizing agency ASO,” informed Gouvenou at the end of July. Negotiations are in progress. “We are acting in cooperation with the Czech Cycling Association, with Škoda Auto and with the organizing agency,” said Prague City Councilor for Education, Sport, Science and Business Support, Vít Šimral. The costs of the Tour organization or the start of the three-week race is millions of crowns. This year the Tour started in Brussels, next year it will start in Nice, and in 2021 the so-called Grand Départ will be host in Copenhagen. “We’ve been doing everything we can to get the Tour to start here. Negotiations are in progress, but I can’t conclude...
Don’t have an account? Register
[swpm_registration_form level=”6″]
Already have an account? Log In
How Would You Like to Promote Your Business? PR ArticleDisplay bannersVideo productionNewsletter adsJob ListingsInfluencer Marketing
Your Email
We will come back to you within 24 hours with our proporsal
