Daily news summary

President Zeman to visit Germany in September

Czech President Miloš Zeman is due to pay a three-day official visit to Germany from September 19 to 21, the Czech News Agency reported on Saturday. The head of state will be meeting with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier, chancellor Angela Merkel and Brandenburg state governor Dietmar Woidke.

The talks are expected to focus on cross-border cooperation, EU reform ad budget, relations with Russia and migration. It will be President Zeman’s first visit to Germany since his reelection for a second term in office.

Czech and Slovak cabinets to hold joint session in Košice

The Czech and Slovak governments are to hold a joint working session in Košice on on September 17. The main focus of the talks will be the joint celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. Migration and regional cooperation among V4 countries are also expected to be high on the agenda.

The joint session will open with a ceremony in the Historical Town Hall of Košice. The joint meeting will be followed by bilateral negotiations between Czech and Slovak Prime Ministers, Andrej Babiš and Robert Fico, and the respective department heads.

European Heritage Days to open over 800 sites

More than 800 heritage sights in the Czech Republic will open to the public free of charge within the European Heritage Days, starting on Saturday.

Over the course of nine days, people will get the chance to see hundreds of official heritage sites, but also many private and public buildings, such as town halls, church institutions, schools and residential houses, which are normally not accessible to the public.

The Czech Republic joined the European Heritage Days, held at the initiative of the Council of Europe, in 1991. Over 200 municipalities joined the event this year, and some 300 events, including lectures, exhibitions and guided tours, are scheduled to take place.

Largest ever performance of Bartered Bride staged in Pilsen

Thousands of people attended an open-air performance of The Bartered Bride in the West Bohemian town of Pilsen on Friday evening. The largest ever performance of Bedřich Smetana’s popular opera was staged on the town’s central square as part of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The performance ended with the sound of bells from the Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, which is located on the square.

Czech pilot completes round-the-world flight

Czech pilot Roman Kramařík, who celebrated the centenary of the birth of Czechoslovakia by flying around the world in a small Cessna place, landed in Prague’s Letňany Airport on Saturday.

The one-time aerobatic pilot flew over the Persian Gulf, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, the Pacific Ocean, the US, the Azores and then Britain before returning to the Czech Republic. The journey took him 46 days across three oceans and three continents.

Temperatures set to reach 30 degrees next week

Temperatures over the next month should stay above-average for the time of year, according to a regular four-week forecast issued by the Czech Hydro-Meteorological Institute. The coming week should see temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius. Towards the end of the month, daytime temperatures should gradually drop to around 17 degrees Celsius. Precipitation over the next four-week period should not exceed the long-term average.

Weather

Sunday is expected to be mostly sunny with daytime highs ranging between 21 and 25 degrees Celsius.