Magazine
A small Czech village has got its own little Stonehenge. The best of both: a Czech brewery produces grape beer. The Ajeto glassworks in Lindava has been asked to help produce what looks set to become the biggest carillon in the world. And, Catherine Zeta Jones comes to Prague for a shampoo ad. Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
The south Bohemian village of Holašovice, which merits a place on the UNESCO list of cultural heritage sites, is said to be the best preserved example of late 19th century south Bohemian architecture – so called peasant baroque. Somehow the construction boom bypassed this sleepy village and it has preserved its medieval village layout. With its authentic 18th and 19th century houses and 140 inhabitants it made the perfect setting for a film version of Bedřich Smetana’s opera The Bartered Bride. Every year, at the end of July, the inhabitants hold so-called “peasant celebrations”, a typical 19th century Czech fair at which traditional arts and crafts are demonstrated – and the wares sold. Now, Holašovice boasts one more tourist attraction – a little Stonehenge. Made by stonecutter Václav Jílek over a period of three years, the assembly of megalithic stones on an open field just outside the village is pretty impressive. The circle of close to thirty stones, weighing 8-10 tons apiece, were collected all over south Bohemia and erected by a two and a half thousand year old technique. Although they’ve been dubbed the south Bohemian Stonehenge Václav Jílek says that in reality they are far more like the Rollright Stones – another magnificent stone circle on the British Isles – although less well known abroad. The Rollright stones boast 70 megaliths and although Jílek says he has no ambition to rival that number the Holašovice circle is not yet complete. Complete or not, news of it has spread, ESPs say there are strong currents of energy within the circle and close to 100 people a day come to admire it.
The Ajeto glassworks, headed by the renowned Czech designer and architect Bořek Šípek, was not chosen by chance – it has an excellent international reputation and 85 percent of its products are exported, mainly going to customers in Italy, Germany and the Benelux states. Increasingly it is also making glass products for Asia with commissions pouring in after Bořek Šípek opened a museum of modern glassworks in Shanghai. Ajeto crystal glass works grace the royal palace in Norway, the royal palace in Amsterdam and the newly opened opera building in Belgrade which recently commissioned a huge crystal chandelier.
Some breweries pride themselves on making the exact same brew for centuries, others like to experiment. A small brewery in Ostrava has just produced the first beer made of grape juice. The beer was made from Blue Portugal grapes on occasion of St. Martin’s Day – a day traditionally associated with young wine. The malt flavour is still there as a base, but the wine flavour is dominant, according to brewer Václav Baron, who has several successful fruit brews to his name. The grape beer is served as an aperitif in champagne glasses with a dash of grenadine or as a beer cocktail with a spoonful of honey. While traditional beer lovers might shudder at this sacrilege, there are many willing to sample a new taste and the Ostrava brewery says that its occasional specialties sell like hot cakes. Its St. Wenceslas brew – all 750 litres of it – was sold out in just twelve hours and the brewery had to buy a second vat for its specialty beers. Now it is working on a 14 degree Christmas brew in which honey, vanilla, clove and star anise will be the dominant ingredients.
The skiing season is just around the corner and for those in-the-know – Rax skiis is what you need for an adrenalin-packed ride on the slopes this year. Tailored for difficult terrain, these revolutionary new alpine skis emerged in Austria in 2006, and were first presented in the Czech Republic at Brno’s Sport Life fair last week. Three Czech firms are currently producing them and the first 1,000 Rax skiis should hit the market in the coming days. Given their limited number and affordable price – 5,000 crowns – Czech skiers will be scrambling to get a pair.
Catherine Zeta Jones caused a stir in Prague this week where she made a brief appearance to film a shampoo add on the steps of the Rudolfinum concert hall. Despite the secrecy surrounding the visit and the dozen or so bodyguards surrounding Zeta Jones a crowd of fans assembled to get a glimpse of the film star. One photographer had to be forcibly taken down from a lamp post which he climbed in order to get a better view. Despite their efforts to get up close, no one got anywhere near the star and all they were able to show their viewers and readers were photos and a few seconds of the stunning brunette dressed in black walking up a red carpet. The next VIP visit that the press is gearing up for is on December 20th when Woody Allen is expected to pay his first ever visit to Prague.
