prague Archives – Page 14 of 28

Thom Yorke has added a slate of tour dates around North America and Europe. He’ll be joined by Nigel Godrich and Tarik Barri for the Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes shows, playing music from across Yorke’s solo catalog. Find the dates below.

Yorke recently released the solo album ANIMA. He also contributed a new song called “Daily Battles” to the soundtrack for Motherless Brooklyn, a film directed by and starring Edward Norton.

Anima is also Yorke’s first number-one album on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums chart. “Associations moving across minimalism and ambient, the electronics of the nineties and early noughties, ‘intelligent dance music’, a hint of trip-hop up to the current club rumbling,” writes Patrik Garaj in the Denník N’s review and continues: “Anima works like a pyramid. You ascend gradually, reach the top and you finish in the created mood. Soon you will most likely realize that you want to remain on top for longer. That is where you find Dawn Chorus, one of the best achievements of York’s whole career. For real.”

The song is also part of the great 15-minute film Anima by Oscar-winning director Paul Thomas Anderson, set in Prague (and the French village of Les Baux-de-Provence), starring Thom’s partner Dajan Roncione.

The trio previously toured together in 2015 following the self-titled release of Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes’ debut album and recently embarked on a lengthy North American fall tour. The upcoming run of shows will encompass “work from across Thom’s solo material.”

2020 (Europe Tour)
06-19 Glasgow, Scotland – SEC Hall 3
06-20 Manchester, England – o2 Victoria Warehouse
06-23 London, England – Eventim Apollo
06-24 London, England – Eventim Apollo
07-01 Gdynia, Poland – Open’er Festival
07-01-04 Roskilde, Denmark – Roskilde Festival
07-06 Amsterdam, Netherlands – AFAS Live
07-09 Milan, Italy – Ippodromo del Galoppo di San Siro
07-11 Trenčín, Slovakia – Pohoda Festival
07-12 Prague, Czech Republic – Forum Karlin
07-13 Berlin, Germany – Max-Schmeling-Halle

Tickets here

Prague citizens will not lose their traditional way of celebrating the arrival of the new year!

The spectacular fireworks show will light up the sky above the Czech capital on January 1st. Further details will be available in early December. The organizers of last year’s fireworks decided together with the association Ohňostroj pro Prahu that they wanted to preserve this tradition for several decades, and at the same time, there will be a campaign ‘I WILL NOT SHOOT’ to prevent uncontrolled amateur firing of pyrotechnics.

“Fireworks have been, are and will be,” says Martin Peter, designer, and choreographer of the last five years fireworks in Prague.” Already during the time of Rudolf II, we were a real European cradle of fireworks, and Prague fireworks have been connecting people for many decades across history,” adds Peter.

According to his words, he does not want to let the popular cultural entertainment disappear only from the whims of the current leadership of Prague, which identifies with the unilateral views of environmental activists. “I get hundreds of questions about this year’s fireworks, and it was the support of our fans and citizens of Prague and the Czech Republic that made me try to save New Year’s fireworks,” says Peter.

Historically, fireworks have been fired from Letna Park, Vitkov, Petrin or the Vltava River, attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and tourists. The Prague Fireworks and their organization were financed in previous years in cooperation with the Prague City Hall. For the first time, however, everything will be different, according to the director of the Fireworks association in Prague, Jan Šaršoun.

Photo: Veronika Pilařová

“As a fan of New Year’s fireworks, I founded a movement to preserve our cultural traditions, and by this action, I would like to give every citizen the feeling that Prague belongs to the people themselves,” explains Šaršoun. “I believe that people are interested in fireworks, so we leave the financing to their will. Every citizen of Prague, Czech citizen or organization can contribute to our transparent account with any amount and help save a part of our country’s culture.”

This gesture will show if citizens are interested in New Year’s fireworks. “We welcome any support from the public, and we want to thank you in advance for it,” says Šaršoun. “We would like to call on Prague citizens and residents of the Czech Republic to reduce the uncontrolled and dangerous form of firing pyrotechnics in the streets, in the spirit of the campaign I WILL NOT SHOOT, which we are also organizing in the framework of this event.”

“Public support and a commitment to tradition is our driving force. When preparing this year’s event, we proceeded according to legislative options and the only thing that can stop us is the bad weather,” observes Peter with a smile.

The exact location, size of the fireworks, details and its theme will be revealed at the beginning of December. Each citizen has the opportunity to comment and contribute through the website ohnostrojproprahu.cz, where it will be published current information on the upcoming event.

A hundred-year-old weather column, on the corner of Buzulucká Street and Vítězné náměstí in Dejvice, has been restored. It is one of the few surviving columns in Prague.

There were over fifty of them all over the Czech Republic. Another one is located on the pavement next to the Masaryk Railway Station.

One has also been in the Hadovka Dejvice park for several years, and after an agreement with the authorities it was installed there a few years ago by architect Jan Trejbal. Before that, he bought it for 1200 CZK, where the technical monument originally stood.

Meteorological columns have been produced since the second half of the 19th century, and at the beginning of the 20th century the setting in villages, larger villages, and towns became the fashion. The columns were used for weather forecasting plus showing time.

After World War II, the advent of more modern technologies halted the development of these weather stations. Eventually, most of them gradually deteriorated and in many places had them removed completely.

A 1914 technical monument remains on the outskirts of Kulaťák, but in a dysfunctional state. Some time ago, the Czech National Trust (CNT)—a non-profit organization—decided to save this meteorological column in Dejvice.

The reconstruction project was sponsored by Penta Real Estate and the Prague 6 City District. The artificial stone was cleaned and repaired. The locksmiths created new metal parts and the column was fitted with replicas of metrological instruments. On the corner of Buzulucka and Vítězné náměstí, people can learn temperature, humidity or air pressure.

“In the next phase, it will be fitted with an electronic display, which will provide additional supplementary data on both the columns and current air measurements from the Meteorological Institute, such as air pollution. It will complement the data provided by analogue devices,” said Jakub Stárek (ODS), Deputy Mayor of Prague 6.

The renewed post welcomes the revitalization of the area as a suitable revival. One may also find it interesting to compare traditional and modern technologies in the field of meteorology. The city district will take over the post in agreement with the CNT. The district had already painted it with antigraffiti paint from their resources.

“We considered installing touch screens with some practical applications on it, such as in the Town Hall building, but we abandoned the intention. [However], the place is not so busy,” added the deputy mayor.

Photo: Jan Puci

Not only for schoolchildren is September a symbol of new beginnings. This time we will introduce businesses that opened their doors in September, so there is something to look forward to. Whether you are a fan of good beer, quality burgers, or steaks, one thing is sure: in this edition of newly opened businesses, you will find yours.

Červený Jelen

Long-awaited newcomer to Prague, especially for fans of good beer, unique space, and great food. What can you experience? Everything in Červený Jelen is subordinate to take good care of an exclusive Pilsner beer, which is unpasteurized in the tank. It is brought by a special tank directly from the brewery and is the freshest possible beer to taste. The beer stretches to the bar in the shortest way possible, and with the perfect temperature ensured.

Červený Jelen is also unique in its space, which used to be a Baroque palace with a beautiful garden. It symbolizes the return of a calm life to the centre of Prague. Therefore, you will find an interior from the architect team of Stanislava Fialy with many cubist details that follow the work of architect Josefa Gočára.

Address: Hybernská 5, Prague

Dish 2

There are probably a few of you who do not know the renowned Prague burger Dish. The good news is that the company opened a second one in September. What will the new business offer, and where can you find it? The new establishment is located only a short distance far away from the first Dish, in Belgická Street. The restaurant offers an extended non-vegetarian menu, more seating and of course their famous burgers. Open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Sunday.

Address: Belgická 26, Prague

Meat Vandals

We will continue with meat and new places of well-known businesses. Not long ago, the Meat Vandals concept settled directly below the Kotva department store. They decided to expand and open a bistro in Myslikova Street. Still, you can look forward to their excellent pulled pork, jerky beef, and famous pastrami.

Address: Myslíkova 29, Prague

Sunday was the warmest October 13th ever recorded at Prague’s Klementinum, the oldest Czech monitoring station. The temperature reached 23.3 degrees Celsius, a tenth of a degree more than 1791.

Seventeen monitoring stations in the Czech Republic exceeded 25 degrees Celsius.

Four other stations (Klatovy, České Budějovice-Rožnov, Tábor-Měšice, and Milešovka), set a new record in the last 100 years.

The hottest temperature was recorded in Neumětely (Central Bohemia) and Husinec (South Bohemia), with 26.4 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures may rise above 20 degrees at the beginning of next week, then cool down slightly.

The summer weather was typical of the western half of the country on Sunday as well as on Saturday, while in the highlands, Moravia and Silesia regions, they had a rather cold weekend due to fog and low clouds.

June 30th was the warmest day ever recorded at Prague’s Klementinum. The temperature reached 37.9 degrees Celsius, the highest since measurements began in 1775.

The Czech branch of Extinction Rebellion held a peaceful demonstration with a traffic blockade, intending to call attention to the climate crisis. The blockade lasted 40 minutes.

Dozens of campaigners demanded climate change policy reform from the Czech government. Around 100 protesters laid down on the pedestrian crossing by the National Museum.

“There is a climate and ecological crisis,” national coordinator of Extinction Rebellion in the Czech Republic Kate Wiseman says. “And governments of the world, which have the power to legislate and stop the worst impacts of this crisis, are not doing enough.”

The impact of global warming on the Czech Republic has been manifested by six consecutive years of drought and deforestation at an alarming rate.

“30 percent of Czech forests are gone,” Wiseman says. “I know people can say ‘bark beetles are destroying the forests’, but climate change makes the bark beetle problem much worse in two ways: firstly, bark beetles reproduce more frequently because it is not cold enough in winter anymore; secondly, trees cannot fight bark beetles because of drought: they do not get enough water from the soil.”

Describing itself as an international “non-violent civil disobedience activist movement”, Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) has three demands:

- Tell the truth: The movement wants the Czech government, media and schools to inform the public about the seriousness of the extreme weather caused by heating. The biggest thing XR wants under this demand is the Czech Republic to declare the climate and ecological emergency. “After the April protest in London, the United Kingdom declared the climate emergency,” Wiseman says. “We are a bit behind here in the Czech Republic with regards to “Tell the truth” demand. The Czech Republic along with Poland, Hungary, and Estonia refused to adapt the EU climate neutrality target at the summit in Brussels on June 20, 2019, as the Guardian
- Act now: XR demands the Czech Republic to become carbon neutral by 2025. “It is challenging but possible,” Wiseman states. “We are going to have a different life, but it is a lot better than what is coming if we do absolutely nothing.”
- Beyond politics: The movement believes the democracy is broken on a matter of climate and ecological crisis. XR suggests creating a Citizens’ Assembly on climate and ecological justice. It is a form of more direct democracy, under which Czech citizens will decide how to go carbon neutral by 2025. “As a movement, we do not propose solutions,” Wiseman explains. “Our job is to allow people to choose solutions through a democratic process that has delivered progressive results on difficult political problems like the Irish abortion referendum.”

Extinction Rebellion activists are subject to criticism and harassment in many countries, including the Czech Republic. Jiří Ovčáček, a spokesman for President Miloš Zeman, compared the extinction symbol, a stylized hourglass within a circle, to the Nazi swastika, as Wiseman says. Former Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Mirek Topolánek tweeted: “I request that the Extinction Rebellion be included in the list of potential terrorist organizations.”

Žádám, aby Extincion Rebellion byla zařazena na seznam potenciálně teroristických organizací. Co udělají poté, až šíření poplašných zpráv, nezákonné blokády a nátlakové akce nezaberou. Budou se radikalizovat jako Antifa? Nebo jako Rote Armee Fraction?https://t.co/OGpnPbZnIH

— Mirek Topolánek (@MirekTopolanek) October 5, 2019

“Even though we are much smaller than in the UK and have not had a direct response from Babiš or Zeman, we are still getting the same kind of response from the people who represent the system that needs to be changed,” Wiseman says.

Prague joined the second period of the International Climate Rebellion, started on October 7 in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and 60 other cities (where Extinction Rebellion is present) across the world. Formed in April 2018 in the United Kingdom, Extinction Rebellion has expanded to now include 340 groups in 72 countries.

Hundreds of protesters around the world have been arrested during the climate strike. The Guardian reports that almost 1,300 arrests of Extinction Rebellion have been made since Monday in the UK. The Prague police removed protesters from the road individually and checked their IDs, but the mood remained peaceful. About 20 rebels, who were involved in road blocking on Friday, have been taken to a police station for a repeated minor offense.

By the demonstration with a traffic block, the movement also wants to inspire Czechs who are worried about the climate crisis but feel that they cannot do anything about it. “We hope to do something loud enough to reach those Czechs and give them courage and confidence to create change on this matter,” Wiseman says.

Eyewitnesses of the demonstration share differing opinions on the activists.

“I feel sorry for policemen who have to deal with those clowns,” says a tourist from Russia Vladislav. “By blocking the road, you are just wasting everybody’s time.”

“I think blocking oxygen is more important,” interrupts Lucinka, a student from Prague. “Not to be shady, but we are going to die if we do not do something.”