prague Archives – Page 17 of 28

By Nico Fontana – Anglo American University

Anyone who is bored with the monotony of most popular electronic music will find solace in the Lunchmeat Festival, a diverse landscape of visual/sound artists and electronic musician/composers. Spanning almost a week of programming, the festival began on October 30^th at the Planetarium. However, the main program commences Thursday, Oct. 3^rd for three full evenings of experimental electronics, and all in celebration of the festival’s 10^th anniversary.

Deep beneath the National Gallery’s Trade Fair Palace, the Lunchmeat Festival is also appropriately held in the Studio of Heroes, a massive, cavernous industrial space with rusting and corroded metal pipes contrasting with its modern-designed seating like an amphitheatre, while the cinema-quality projections fully bring to life the entirety of the main concert hall.

One of the most anticipated avant-garde artists this year are Lotic, from the USA, but now based in Berlin performing “Endless Power” with music from their new album “Power” in collaboration with the visual artist Emmanuel Briad. Lotic’s album was made during a period of homelessness in Berlin, so it is a deeply personal and heartfelt portrayal of a period of volatility and instability with the issues of gender and racial discrimination as significant themes reflected in intimate or pained and sparse vocals and dark cacophonies of tribalistic drums and violins.

Another significant experimental artist in electronica is the duo Lakker, who will be performing their newest album “Epoca” on the closing evening. Lakker is formed by the techno and experimental artist Eomac with the composer Arad offering a particularly unique almagamation of styles and influences forming highly complex and danceable tribal rhythms with progressively complex melodies taking inspiration from folk and classical music. Their use of physical instrumentation also gives the music a certain scale and shining grandiosity.

Catarina Barbieri, an Italian composer, who makes astute and hyper-complex use of synthesizers and sequencers will perform “Time-Blind” alongside the multimedia artist Ruben Spini. Barbieri is one of the artists in the festival most loved and acclaimed by critics. The complexities of her melodies create a synthetic atmosphere, which mesmerize and capture the attention of listeners in an almost meditative way, and far from the sonically chaotic others.

Those who are less interested in experimental electronica will rejoice at some of the more conventional DJs on the program including LSDXOXO with his chaotic footwork and drum & bass set. This New York DJ/producer has gained mainstream notoriety following his Boiler Room performance. Another household name on the techno scene is the Swedish DJ and artist Varg, and the producer HDMIRROR from South Africa will bring his rave, dance and gabber influenced auditory assault. Other techno sets by artists including No Idols, Barely Legal, and Valoa will surely be a delight to the less musically masochistic listeners in the audience.

With such a multitude of artists from almost every continent of the world, the Lunchmeat Festival will once again showcase the potential that visual accompaniment to audio can have in terms of capturing attention, and immersing the audience in performances. Come with an open mind, and you will be rewarded generously by the experimentation that this festival has to offer.

For more information see the website

Czech Interior Minister Jan Hamacek discussed a possible launch of direct flights between Hanoi and Prague, police cooperation and exchange of information with his Vietnamese counterpart To Lam in Vietnam on Monday, the Czech interior ministry reported.

Hanoi agreed to open direct flights during Czech President Milos Zeman’s official visit to Vietnam in 2017.

Last April, Prague Airport representatives signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bamboo Airways to collaborate on the development of a direct flight and increased tourism between the Czech Republic and Vietnam.

“By signing the Memorandum with Bamboo Airways, we have confirmed the interest of both parties in opening a direct connection from the Czech Republic to Vietnam. Around 100,000 passengers a year already travel between the two countries, and with the new flight the potential could be even greater,” said Vaclav Rehor, Chairman of the Prague Airport’s Board of Directors.

The Czech Republic counts one of the biggest Vietnamese communities in Europe (the largest per capita), with over 100.000 Vietnamese people currently residing in the country.

Many first came to this country in the Communist era, when Vietnam sought to bolster its skilled workforce by sending thousands of students and guest workers to socialist Czechoslovakia for training and experience.

When the Iron Curtain disappeared, a large number of the Vietnamese here decided to stay rather than return to communist Vietnam.

Vietnam’s direct air links to Western Europe are limited to services operated by Vietnam Airlines, Air France, and Edelweiss. Vietnam Airlines serves Frankfurt, Paris Charles De Gaulle, and London Heathrow from both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Air France operates a Ho Chi Minh City-Paris Charles De Gaulle service, while Edelweiss’s Ho Chi Minh City-Zurich service is operated in during northern winter season.

Although restaurants pay a lot of money to take over public spaces, for many, the expansion of the business area with front gardens is an essential part of their business.

What bothers them the most is that they are not sure if they will get the necessary permission, even if they fit all the requirements. The 1st Deputy Mayor of Prague 1, Petr Hejma, will promote the change.

According to the Prague 1 Chamber of Commerce, the current position of self-government and state administration is not enough transparent and equal to all entrepreneurs. “There will be a sanction if someone does not follow the rules. However, if they adhere to them, they deserve respect and a stable business environment without surprises and difficult or unexplained decisions”, said the chairman of the Chamber, Vladimír Krištof.

The Deputy Mayor of Prague 1, Petr Hejma, also acknowledged this. “The front gardens must satisfy the aesthetic requirements of the historical centre; they must not disturb and restrict their surroundings or prevent passage and are obliged to follow the opening hours strictly. If they adhere to this along with other regulations, I do not see a significant reason why entrepreneurs who operate their front yards properly and without major problems should not have a license for the next season”, said Hejma.

According to the Chamber of Commerce, the behaviour of officials and politicians so far does not correspond to the enormous financial contribution of the restaurant front gardens to the municipal revenues. “They are a major source of income for both Prague 1 and the capital. In 2018 it was roughly 150 million crowns”, emphasised Vladimír Krištof, giving an example in which, an entrepreneur asks for permission for a similar front yard that was allowed a few hundred meters away, but without an explanation, he will not receive it.

The price for placing the front yard in a public space in Prague is high; for example, compared to Vienna, up to ten times. In Prague, you pay for the occupation of the city district between ten and sixty crowns per square meter per day.

Of course, it depends on the attractiveness of the position. You have to pay a similar amount to the Technical Road Administration in Prague.

Therefore, it is not a surprise if the amount paid per month for one front garden exceeds 100 thousand crowns. Prague is one of the most expensive cities in Europe regarding this aspect.

Moreover, according to Krištof, entrepreneurs are charged with a large amount regarding administration.

The Prague 1 Chamber of Commerce has, therefore, started a request that will allow entrepreneurs to apply for a renewal of their front garden electronically every year. “This application is ready, but its implementation in the authorities has been stalling for months”, Krištof criticised.

The Chamber also promotes for entrepreneurs the right to obtain up-to-date information on closures and other events that restrict their premises, the right to reduce the rent for a period of unconstrained restriction or the right to announce any non-renewal of the lease in advance to avoid unnecessary thwarting investment. According to its 1st Deputy Mayor Hejma, the Prague 1 Town Hall is prepared for such a meeting.

“We as self-government must require business people to fulfill their duties, but on the other hand, it is in the interest of our city district and its residents to support them and create quality service. Also, thanks to revenues from the occupation of public space, Prague 1 has enough resources to finance quality education, social services, grant policy, and other services”, declared Hejma.

The first two hundred gas lamps in Prague lit on September 15th, 1847. Their number gradually increased, reaching its peak at the beginning of World War II, when there were about 10,000.

After then there was a decline, and in 1985 the last lamp faded out. Seventeen years ago, Prague decided to return to the romantic gaslighting at the historic centre, and today there are about 700 gas lamps. On Charles Bridge, the gas lamps are lit every year during Advent.

In Prague, the first gas lanterns were inaugurated in the mid-19th century, replacing the oil lamps used before. You could find them in Na Příkopech or Václavském náměstí. In 1940, more than 9,000 gas lamps were illuminating Prague’s streets and squares. Interestingly, they remained in symbiosis with electric lights, which appeared in Prague at the end of the 19th century.

In the second half of the 20th century, lamps were converted from gas to electricity. For the next seventeen years, the magic of gas lamps disappeared from the historic centre.

Was in 2002 when it started their gradual restoration, which has cost over 170 million crowns. First, nine lanterns were installed in Michalské street, Old Town. Gradually, they appeared on the entire Královské cestě. Nowadays, there are seven hundred lamps in the centre.

In Prague, you won’t usually meet a Lampman lighting up the lamps with a long pole. An exception is the time of Advent when you can see this, for example, on the Charles Bridge, being one of the capital attractions regarding pre-Christmas.

Otherwise, they are switched on and off remotely by a signal from the central control room at the same time as the electric lamps.

Because of the glass cover, you can recognize the gas lamp from the electric one. The electric lights have frosted glass, the gas lamps clear glass.

Prague is not the only place where you can see the charm of gas lamps. You can also find them in other capitals such as London, Dublin and Strasbourg. By far the most significant number of gas lamps in operation is in the western part of Berlin, with nearly 40 thousand.

The historic London is also illuminated by gas lamps, especially the area in front of the Buckingham Palace, Clarence House, Green Park and the famous Hyde Park. They also appear in other British cities such as York and Horsham. Furthermore, gas lamps illuminate the historical centre of Zagreb, Croatia, Euro Disney, Strasbourg, France, Krakow and Poland.

As part of the Chocolate Festival, ChrisEvents organizes the very first of its kind in Central Europe and in the Czech Republic — an exhibition of chocolate sculptures.

ChrisEvents is the largest exhibition of chocolate sculptures ever, comprising more than 20 sculptures of chocolate animals that will delight the young and old at the Harfa Gallery in Prague.

Taking place from October 18 to 20, the festival will set aside a space of 300 m2 for the incredible exhibition. If the festival lasts 3 days, its sculpture exhibition will be extended until October 28.

The idea came from the director of the Belgian company Imagine Events, who thought of sculptures made from sand or ice and decided to try the same with chocolate.

Imagine began to prepare around 40 impressive sculptures. One of its first pieces was a statue of a gorilla, weighing almost 150 kg. The most admirable chocolate sculptures are poured out using a gypsum mold, the smaller ones are sculpted directly from a block of chocolate. However, they are not edible. The chocolate used in their manufacture is prepared from chocolate waste. And the statues travel, so they have to be repaired and remodeled from time to time. Colors used for mixing were white, milk, and dark chocolate. The statues must be properly preserved between temperatures of 17 and 23 degrees.

The animals will be exhibited in an engaging environment (a real small jungle, where sound will be incorporated for livelier effects). We will create a unique and extraordinary atmosphere for you.

The exhibition will be accompanied by information panels, in which visitors can learn more about individual animals, and children can be engaged in some activities.

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The Czech Republic has reached the 22nd position among the 178 countries included on Economic Freedom Index list.

The Index of Economic Freedom was introduced in 1995 by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

Specialists of The Heritage Foundation measure economic freedom based on 12 quantitative and qualitative factors, grouped into four broad categories, or pillars, of economic freedom:

Rule of Law (property rights, government integrity, judicial effectiveness);
Government Size (government spending, tax burden, fiscal health);
Regulatory Efficiency (business freedom, labor freedom, monetary freedom);
Open Markets (trade freedom, investment freedom, financial freedom).

The Czech Republic is the only Central European country placed in the second category of “mostly free” countries, scoring of 73.7, decreasing by 0.5 point compared to last year.

“Amid rising populism and political polarization, the government has been pulled slightly to the left (…) but is expected to continue pro-EU, pro-business, and fiscally prudent policies”, experts from the Heritage Foundation point out.

The report highlights the Czech Republic’s attractiveness, with a prosperous market economy, one of the highest GDP growth in the EU, the lowest unemployment level in Europe and rising standard of living.

Two Asian economies, Hong Kong and Singapore, are once again the most economically free territories in the world.

Immediately following the two far eastern economies, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Maurice, in Africa, have secured the top-ranking spots, respectively.

Meanwhile, Venezuela and Libya are at the bottom of the table, behind Sudan, Algeria, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Egypt, Congo, and Iraq.

After three years of success with the vegetarian and vegan restaurant Etnosvět in Prague’s Vinohrady, a new restaurant has opened in Karlín emphasising healthy food, a stylish environment, and friendly service.

Food connects us is the motto of Spojka Karlín. This new restaurant based in a modern office building, Praga Studios, offers international cuisine that seeks to create new flavours to satisfy vegans, vegetarians, and also meat lovers.

The main idea revolves around Flexitarianism, an increasingly popular plant-based diet that claims to improve your health with an eating regime that’s mostly vegetarian yet still allows an occasional organic meat dish.

Spojka Karlín aims to connect people with food by joining those who want to eat well and at the same time be able to enjoy a meal all in one table, without prejudice. The restaurant transmits its strong philosophy not only on the plate but also with their interior, decorated with dozens of plants that hang and stand.

The restaurant is open at 8 a.m from Monday to Friday and at 9 a.m Saturday and Sunday, offering a breakfast menu with specialities such as sorghum pancakes or porridge with coconut milk and almond butter. You can enjoy breakfast until 11:30 a.m., and at the weekend from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

You can also taste an excellent lunch menu between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. and the a la carte menu from 5 p.m. till 10:30 p.m., which adjusts according to the season.

If you have no preference or special diet, you’ll find on the menu a large variety of dishes such as cauliflower gnocchi with forest mushrooms, spinach, and parmesan or a delicious chicken curry with coconut cream, broccoli, purple potatoes, coriander, lemongrass, and lavash.

Health is essential for them, and at the same time, they want the food on the plate to make sense, not using any industrially processed food or refined sugar. The priority is to emphasise quality and overall access to fresh ingredients, always clean and when possible, locally sourced. Vegetables and herbs come from their garden, and meat is organic or from certified free-range suppliers. Fresh homemade pastries and desserts without sugar or gluten are also available.

Make friends with food, at Spojka Karvlín there is freedom of choice.

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spojka-karlin-dishes

spojka-karlin-falafel-burger

Prague Zoo celebrates the 88th anniversary of its opening today Saturday, September 28, which is a national holiday.

The zoo has a rich history and on Thursday viewers are able to get a sense of it through a number of exhibitions. Events included special shows for children and adults, music.

Prague Zoo was opened to the public in 1931, but its history reaches much further back in time. That is to the year 1881, when Count Sweerts-Sporck (hrabě Špork) initiated the establishment of a zoo in Prague. The process took place over the following decades and involved, among other things, the emergence of The Association for the Establishment of a Zoological and Acclimatization Garden.

The Indonesian Jungle, which is currently breeding Komodo Dragons, a relatively new Sea Lion exhibit, and Monkey Island are among the newer additions to the zoo.

A popular attraction of the zoo is a ride on the local chairlift which transports visitors from the lower area of the zoo to the upper section.

Prague Zoo currently covers 58 hectares with 50 hectares used for exhibits. It has over 4,700 animals from 681 species, including 144 species listed as threatened. The zoo has 12 pavilions and over 150 exhibits. It has been particularly active in the preservation of the Przewalski’s horses, which are slowly being returned to the wild.

Prague Zoo last year was named the fifth best zoo in the world by travel website TripAdvisor. The ranking is based on visitor reviews. The zoo took fourth place in 2015 and seventh place in 2014.

For more information, visit www.zoopraha.cz

Czech developers Trigema have proposed a post-apocalyptic vision of an enormous rusty shipwreck sculpture leaning upright against, and seemingly crashing into, a high-rise building.

“This is something we wanted to do as a memento which connects art and architecture,” said architects Black N’ Arch in collaboration with sculptor David Černý, about the climate change-inspired Top Tower proposal which, if realized, could become the tallest building in the Czech Republic. “It is actually a post-apocalyptic message about what is happening around.”

The Top Tower will offer views over the city from a public viewing point accessible via exterior lifts, according to a statement from Trigema.

It will primarily be used for rental housing, with offices and a cultural center on lower levels. There will also be a publicly accessible roof garden, and shops on the ground floor.

To some, the building evokes feelings of the inevitability of man’s eventual fall.

“We have been preparing the Top Tower project for more than two years and the final version was preceded by eight other alternative proposals,” said Marcel Soural, Chairman of the Board of Trigema.

If approved, construction could start in 2021 and take three years, according to Trigema.

The investor for the CZK2 billion project was first unveiled at an international urban conference last week.

Asked about whether City Hall has authorized the construction yet, Mr. Císař says that negotiations are currently in their initial phase, but the work could well start soon.

Some 6,000 pubs and restaurants across the Czech Republic take part in the seventh annual Czech Beer Days (Dny českého piva) from September 24 to September 30.

St. Wenceslas Day, the 28th of September, is a national holiday, celebrating Václav I’s legacy of helping unify Bohemia. But he is also considered the patron saint of beer.

Dozens of breweries and microbreweries are participating nationwide in the festival. Pubs, restaurants, and breweries will offer special menus and beers, and meetings with brewers and beer experts.

“We believe that Czech Beer Days will help encourage people to go out more often for their favorite beer. Czechs love Czech beer and Czech beer tradition. We know that favorite pubs, especially for smaller towns and villages, are the center of social and cultural life,” František Šámal, chairman of the ČSPS, said in a press release.

The Union of Breweries and Malt Houses established the Days of Czech Beer festival (Dny českého piva) in his honour seven years ago.

Budějovický Budvar this year is featuring the unfiltered ‘Budvar 33’, so named for its degree of bitterness, thanks to extra Czech hops Agnus.

For more about Czech Beer Days, visit their website or also on Facebook.

The NHL starts its season in Prague on Oct. 4, with the Philadelphia Flyers playing against the Chicago Blackhawks at Prague’s O2 Arena. Tickets were sold out on the Ticketportal network back in March.

“The 2019 NHL Global Series will mark the third straight year, and the eighth season overall, that the NHL has traveled to Europe to play regular-season games. These games reward the legions of loyal and passionate fans in Europe that enjoy live NHL games available via international broadcast partners and the NHL’s streaming service, NHL.TV,” said the NHL in a press release.

“The three games [this] fall will be the 26^th, 27^th, and 28^th NHL regular-season games played in Europe. The Oct. 4 game, between Chicago and Philadelphia, will mark the fifth NHL regular-season game played in the Czech Republic, at O2 Arena in Prague. The two games between Buffalo and Tampa Bay will mark the 12^th and 13^th NHL regular-season games played in Sweden, and the 11^th and 12^th games played at Ericsson Globe in Stockholm,” the NHL added.

O2 Arena is one of the most modern multi-purpose halls in Europe, with up to 18,000 seats and built for the Ice Hockey World Championships. The 2003 championship games that were supposed to be held were postponed to 2004, due to construction delays. The arena’s original name was Sazka Arena. O2 Arena is now the home of Prague local team, HC Sparta Prague.

Before the Blackhawks and Flyers play their season openers, they will play exhibition matches in Berlin and Lausanne at the end of September against European teams.

Heatherwick studio has unveiled designs for the regeneration of a 15,000 square meter site at the heart of Prague.

The project will involve restoring a historic 18th-century riding hall as well as a number of surrounding buildings, and the creation of new retail, office and public spaces.

The aim is to bring new life to the city, creating a unique new destination for shopping and work.

Three new buildings will be created to frame a public courtyard and the existing riding hall. Stepped green terraces and staircases will be included to allow people to walk up to the top of the buildings and look out upon the city.

“Savarin has a very special place in our hearts and we feel the huge responsibility that comes with this project,’ says Omar Koleilat, CEO of Crestyl, the project’s developer. ‘We value Heatherwick studio for approaching each project individually, considering the genius loci of the place and offering solutions that breathe life into it. that is also why we admire the studio’s sensitive way to revitalize projects such as coal drops yard and zeitz MOCAA.”

“The project is focused around a series of courtyards and passages that stitch together a site with a number of special heritage buildings. At its heart is the creation of a major new public space, surrounding a historic 18th-century riding hall. As well as restoring this hall and the other historic buildings, we will create three dynamic new buildings which will frame this courtyard and its riding hall. Stepped green terraces and staircases will enable people to walk up the buildings all the way to the rooftops, revealing unexpected new public spaces and views across the city”, said Thomas Heatherwick, founder of Heatherwick Studio.

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