Angela Merkel, Germany’s longest-serving chancellor, will visit Prague for a rare public appearance and her first-ever live interview in the Czech Republic.

She will speak with Czech journalist Tomáš Lindner about her memoir Freedom and reflect on the state of democracy in Germany and Europe.

For sixteen years, Merkel led Europe’s most powerful country through an extraordinary period marked by financial crashes, the refugee crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

Her newly released autobiography offers a behind-the-scenes look at how key decisions were made during her time in office — decisions that helped define modern Europe.

In the book, Merkel also examines her East German upbringing and how life under communism shaped her worldview. In the Respekt-hosted interview, she is expected to expand on these themes and provide new insights into the complex realities of political leadership.

The discussion will continue the narrative laid out in Freedom, now available in Czech thanks to Práh Publishing, which is also partnering on the event.

Since its release, the Czech edition of Merkel’s memoir has gone into its third printing, underlining the strong interest in her legacy. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the venue.

Event Information:

The interview will be conducted in German, with simultaneous translation into Czech. Each ticket includes a pair of headphones for live translation. For those fluent in German, there is also an option to attend without headphones when purchasing tickets.

Due to enhanced security measures, doors to the venue will open at 5:00 p.m. to ensure all attendees can be seated comfortably in time. Timely arrival is strongly recommended.

All ticketing and logistical details are managed via GoOut.

Would you like us to write about your business? Find out more

The Czech Ministry of Health recently tightened the conditions for entering the country. The measure is aimed at combating the new omicron coronavirus strain.

As of today, January 3, foreigners who do not have a residence permit in the Czech Republic are obliged to have a negative PCR test result before entering the Czech Republic. Only foreigners vaccinated with a booster dose have an exception.

“Only foreigners vaccinated with a booster dose have an exception if they are vaccinated in a country whose certificate the Czech Republic recognizes. Another exception is children under 12 years of age,” the Ministry of Health statement reads.

On the other hand, except for having to provide a pre-entry test, unvaccinated and unrecovered travellers from these six countries and the Azores must also undergo another test while in the Czech Republic. The test can be taken on or after the fifth day.

“Unvaccinated persons or persons who have not developed covid-19 must subsequently undergo an RT-PCR test between the 5th and 7th day after entering the territory of the Czech Republic and wear a respirator when leaving the residence or accommodation until the result of this test,” the Ministry explained.

Except for the testing requirements, everyone must fill in an Arrival Form regardless of the country they are travelling from.

However, authorities in the Czech Republic have stressed that exemptions are applied for children vaccinated under the age of 18 as well as for persons who have taken the booster dose.

It has been highlighted that the testing requirements don’t apply to citizens of Czechia as well as to foreigners who have a permanent residence permit, provided that they have been fully vaccinated or recovered. However, they are still required to fill in the Arrival Form.