Prague authorities have launched a public awareness campaign to promote the humane treatment of carp, a traditional symbol of Czech Christmas celebrations.

Running until December 23, the campaign highlights carp suffering when handled improperly, such as being kept in bathtubs, killed unprofessionally, or released into rivers.

“We want to emphasize that certain practices surrounding carp handling are extremely cruel and cause immense suffering for these animals,” said Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09) at a press conference.

“This issue has been discussed for many years, and some retailers have already taken steps to address it. The initiative does not aim to ban the sale of live carp in Prague’s streets but seeks to encourage professional and humane practices.”

Why Keeping Carp in Bathtubs is Harmful

Experts warn that keeping live carp in bathtubs causes severe stress and health issues for the fish. “The temperature difference in bathtubs, combined with chlorinated water, creates an environment that is toxic and distressing for carp,” explained Ondřej Slavík, a specialist in fish behavior from the Czech University of Life Sciences. “The fish often exhibit signs of extreme stress, such as poor respiration, necrosis, and erratic swimming.”

Slavík also pointed out that transporting carp in plastic bags poses additional risks, as the fish may suffocate during transit. You can find his study here.

The Myth of River Rescue

Releasing carp into rivers, often seen as a compassionate alternative, can also lead to the fish’s demise. “For carp, rivers are an unfamiliar and hostile environment. Unlike the calm ponds they are bred in, rivers have currents and lack sufficient shelter,” Slavík explained. “This makes them easy prey and significantly reduces their chances of survival.”

Campaign Visibility

To ensure maximum impact, the campaign will appear on digital screens throughout the city, including in public transportation hubs like the Národní třída metro station, medical facilities, and on street furniture. A website provides additional resources and educational materials.

Statistics from the State Veterinary Administration reveal the scale of the issue, with 3,000 carp sales points across the country, 200 of which are in Prague. Around 15% of buyers opt to take live fish home.

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National park Bohemian Switzerland is a great hiking destination. You might have already heard about Pravčická Gate or iconic viewpoints around Jetřichovice.

If you decide to explore more about this hiking paradise, you need quality accommodation. I tried several pensions in this area, but I can recommend only one – Krásná samota. It means “beautiful solitude,” and once you visit this place, you understand why.

Bohemian Switzerland is my favorite place where I like to take my foreign friends for hiking. Our main destination is usually a hiking trek to Pravčická gate, unique stone formation in Europe.

However, I always had an issue finding appropriate accommodation that would allow us to stay for several days and explore the area more. Don’t take me wrong, there are some hotels in Hřensko or pensions in typical Czech cottages, but there was always something that I would not completely recommend it. Until I found Krásná Samota, thanks to Amazing Places recommendation.

 

Two hundred years of history

Despite the fact, that pension is really a solitude outside of the civilization, we found it through villages and forests thanks to well-prepared signs. Once we arrived, we were welcomed by friendly dog Lajla and by Marcela with her little daughter Magdalenka. Michal just had a yoga lesson in the attic. Marcela showed us our double room, breakfast area with a fireplace, and a huge garden. It was about sunset time, and I could not help myself and start photographing, it was just magical.

Pension used to be a farmhouse founded in 1818. However, it deteriorated over time, especially during the communist period when private farming was prohibited. In 2013, Michal found this place and started with reconstruction. The whole building is made of natural materials such as wood, sandstone, and clay plasters.

During five years of reconstruction, Michal combined it with his regular job as a hairdresser. Today, he is not pursuing a professional career anymore, and rather enjoys life in the countryside. However, you can still take advantage of his professionalism and have a new haircut.

Krásná samota was finally open in 2018 when Michal and Marcela had a one-year-old girl Magdalenka. If you are wondering how they come up with this suitable name, the responsible one is the little one. Although she was not speaking at this time, she brought a book with this name at the moment when her parents were discussing the name. And here it is, the beautiful solitude.

Today, you can find accommodation in one double room or three apartments, each one with a private kitchen and bathroom. You can prepare food by yourself or have a vegetarian breakfast by the fireplace downstairs. The pension can accommodate up to 17 people.

What you can do and see at Krásná samota

The pension itself is a great place for relaxation. You can explore the garden with growing flowers and vegetables, range with sheep and goats, fireplace under the stars, grill place under the shelter or hammock under the trees. In the middle of the garden is a pond with various fishes. Close by; you can even find a beehive thanks to which Michal can provide you, with homemade honey.

During the winter, the garden is still charming, but you can take advantage of the fireplace and choice of local wines, have a yoga lesson with Michal, enjoy the sauna with wellness and massages or relax with your book, anywhere you like.

Therefore, Krásná samota is a great place to relax and active holiday for the whole year. I would highly recommend hiking to Pravčická brána (about 30-minute drive to Hřensko) and hiking to viewpoints around Jetřichovice (about 20 min drive). Pension is a great starting point for bikers and cross-country skiers. If you prefer just a relaxing walk, the nearby village Chřibská is full of charming timbered houses.

How to get to Krásná Samota

You can drive to Chřibská by highway direction to Dresden and then turn North to Česká Kamenice and village Chřibská. It is about 2 hours drive. In Chřibská, you can find several signs on the way that will take you through the forest to Beautiful Solitude…

Address: Horní Chřibská 84, Chřibská, 407 44

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January 16 marks exactly 55 years since Czech student Jan Palach’s self-immolation at the top of Wenceslas Square that would lead to his death in hospital three days later.

Memorial events were held in Prague on Tuesday marking the self-immolation of Jan Palach 55 years ago, on January 16, 1969. Senate speaker Miloš Vystrčil and other senators laid a wreath at a memorial at the top of Wenceslas Square, where Palach, who was 20, set himself on fire in protest at apathy in the face of the Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia.

About half-past one, Jan Palach doused himself in petrol and set himself on fire near the fountain at the National Museum in Wenceslas Square in Prague. After several minutes, those passing managed to extinguish the living torch.

The seriously burnt student was taken to the Faculty Hospital in Vinohrady, but the injuries were so serious that he had no hope of surviving.

He left a letter at the site explaining the motives of his terrible act: “As our nation is living in a desperate situation, and its reconciliation with fate has reached its utmost stage, we have decided that in this way we will express our protest and shake the conscience of the nation …ˮ He died three days later, on 19 January 1969.

Palach called himself “Torch no. 1” in his letter, giving the impression that he was a part of a larger group which in fact did not exist. But several others followed his example in Czechoslovakia and other eastern bloc countries.

“People must fight against the evil they feel equal to measure up to at that moment,” Palach said before he died in hospital on Jan. 19.

Palach’s death did not change the gradual, almost total resignation in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. For almost twenty years, the name Jan Palach could only be whispered in public.

His life story immediately got into “forbidden” songs or strongroom literary works. Only after a change in relations in the autumn of 1989 could historians, documentarists or artists officially and freely present it.

The entire construction was completed at the beginning of the 15th century.

The foundation stone was laid down by Charles IV on the 9^th July 1357 at 5:31 a.m., and the date and time have not been selected randomly.

When we write the numbers down as follows: 1 3 5 7 (year) 9 (day) 7 (month) 5 3 1 (time), we get an increasing and decreasing scale with number 9 at the top:

In addition to this sequence, time was also chosen with respect to the position of the planets – all of the known planets were above the Sunset, which was Lion’s ascendant sign, the Heraldic symbol of the Kingdom of Bohemia. According to the legend, bridge builders added the egg mortar.

Work on the bridge went ahead but Charles IV died long before its completion; in 1378 while the bridge was finished in 1402. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the first of many famous statues were added which came to define the appearance of the famous structure.

From 1883, there was a horse tram passing across the bridge, replaced in 1905 by electrical line. In order to preserve the artistic view of the bridge and not to ruin it with wires leading at the top, Frantisek Křižík came with a special line through the bridge deck.

Yet the heavy carriages vibrated the construction and thus were replaced by buses in 1908. Even the buses were not ideal, so the transport was again stopped the next year, to be renewed in 1932 using buses on tires.

Public transport operated here until World War II, cars stopped driving across the bridge in 1965.

Charles Bridge along with its rich history became one of the most visited, most beautiful, and most valued monuments in Prague.

“During World Cleanup Day last year, nearly 18 million volunteers from 157 countries around the world managed to collect 82,000 tons of waste,” said Miroslav Kubásek, National Coordinator of World Cleanup Day for the Czech Republic.

The aim of World Cleanup Day is not only to pick up waste, but to also raise awareness of the severity of the global climate crisis, drive behaviour change towards less consumption and induce companies, organizations, and governments to adopt more sustainable environmental policies.

World Cleanup Day is organized by Let’s Do It World – a global movement that supports and connects a new generation of community leaders, who are ready to act together to find lasting solutions for the waste problem in their countries.

Taking place on the third Saturday every September, National CleanUp Day was founded to rally volunteers to better our environment by collaborating with one another to improve their local communities.

Any individual, group or organization can start their own cleanup by simply going to the event’s site and signing up.

You can check out the cleanup map and join an event near you. If there is no event organized near you, in your city or neighborhood, take your own initiative and organize a public cleanup yourself.

Ukliďme Česko is a voluntary cleaning event that takes place all over the Czech Republic (and even in a few places outside of it). Its purpose is to clean up illegal black dumps and mess. The event is organized by NGO Ukliďme Česko z. s. in cooperation with other organizations.