• 12/09/2023

    Following on from Karel Schwarzenberg’s official state funeral, a more informal farewell to the late politician began on Saturday afternoon in the Lucerna Palace on Wenceslas Square. Called "Karel Lives On", the event includes concerts, speeches, a photography exhibition and film screenings. With performances by Dan Bárta, Tornado Lue, and James Harries among many others, the tribute to the popular statesman is expected to go on until late in the evening.

    The event is being live-streamed on YouTube and social media networks due to the huge amount of interest it received.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/09/2023

    Sunday should see above-zero temperatures throughout the day and night for the first time in two weeks, with an average high of 5 degrees Celsius and an average low of 2 degrees Celsius. There is a chance of precipitation throughout the day, especially in the morning. In the Vysočina region and south, south-eastern and central Moravia, the rain may freeze over, causing icy conditions on the roads.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/09/2023

    The official funeral mass for Karel Schwarzenberg, a member of the Czech nobility and one of the country’s most prominent post-1989 politicians, took place with state honours in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle on Saturday afternoon. The roughly two-hour Catholic ceremony, which began at noon, was officiated by Prague Archbishop Jan Graubner, while President Petr Pavel gave a short eulogy. The invite-only event was attended by hundreds of guests from the worlds of politics, culture, and the nobility, including Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová, Prince Albert of Monaco, and British ambassador to the Czech Republic, Matt Field.

    Karel Schwarzenberg passed away on November 12 in Vienna at the age of 85. He would have been 86 on Sunday.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/09/2023

    The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has warned that there is a risk of black ice forming on roads and pedestrian walkways on Saturday evening and overnight, with southern and southwestern Bohemia most at risk. Elderly or less mobile people are advised to avoid going outside if possible and motorists have been told to drive with extreme caution and to expect increased travel times.

    Snow is expected to come in from the west of the country, with the snowfall turning into rain in some places, which may freeze and form black ice on surfaces and power lines. During the night, the precipitation will move further east, so towards morning, eastern Bohemia and southwestern Moravia will be more at risk.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/09/2023

    People perceive the gap between Czechia's richest and poorest as being smaller than it actually is, two studies on the perception of wealth and income inequality conducted by the Research Institute of Labour and Social Affairs suggest. Respondents estimated that the richest fifth of the population owned less than half of the total property in the country and the poorest fifth owned about five percent, while in reality, the richest segment of society owns four-fifths of the property and the poorest only 0.2 percent.

    The survey respondents were also asked how wealth should be distributed amongst the population in an ideal world, with the results indicating that people thought the richest fifth of society should get a third of the total property and the poorest fifth more than a tenth, with the remaining almost three-fifths going to the middle classes.

    The authors said the results showed that people significantly underestimate wealth inequality.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/09/2023

    A hearse bearing the family coat-of-arms transported Karel Schwarzenberg's coffin from the Church of Our Lady Beneath the Chain in Prague's Malá Strana district to Prague Castle on Saturday morning, accompanied by a police procession. After arriving at its destination, the coffin, draped in the blue-and-white flag of the House of Schwarzenberg, was carried by soldiers into St. Vitus Cathedral for the former statesman's funeral mass.

    Over the course of three days, over 11,000 people came to pay their respects to the late Karel Schwarzenberg as his body lay in state in the Malá Strana church.

    Karel Schwarzenberg was a member of the Czech nobility and one of the country’s most prominent post-1989 politicians. He passed away on November 12 in Vienna at the age of 85.

    Author: Anna Fodor
  • 12/08/2023

    Saturday should be partly cloudy to overcast with snow, mainly in the eastern parts of the country, and day temperatures between -2 and 2 degrees Celsius. Meteorologists have issued a warning to pedestrians and drivers about icy conditions on Friday and Saturday.

  • 12/08/2023

    A survey by the CzechTourism agency indicates that 52 percent of Czechs will not take a winter holiday this year, with 36 percent of respondents citing financial reasons. According to the head of CzechTourism František Reismüller this points to a new trend, with people only taking one proper holiday a year. On the other hand, 43 percent of respondents said they were planning to take a second holiday in the winter.

  • 12/08/2023

    More ski resorts are due to open their doors to visitors this weekend, among them the popular resorts Rokytnice nad Jizerou and Pec pod Sněžkou in the Krkonoše mountains, Klínovec in the Krušné hory mountains or Červehohorské sedlo in the Jeseníky mountains. Lifts are being set in operation and cross-country trails are ready for skiers. The conditions for skiing are said to be ideal with 30 to 80 centimeters of natural and technical snow on the slopes. Many resorts say they are fully booked for Christmas and New Year's Eve.

  • 12/08/2023

    Germany has announced that it will extend controls at its borders with Czechia, Poland and Switzerland for at least another two months after December 15 when they were due to end. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the controls were proving successful both in curbing the number of illegal entries into the country and detaining people smugglers. Since Germany introduced the checks on October 16, federal police have reportedly detained around 120 smugglers on its borders with the said countries and detected 9,200 illegal crossings.

Pages