News

Bavarian Premier Markus Söder will visit Brno next week to attend the Sudeten German Congress despite an increasingly heated political debate in the Czech Republic over the event.

Söder announced the trip at a press conference in Munich following a meeting of the leadership of his Christian Social Union (CSU) party. According to the Sudeten German Association, Söder is scheduled to deliver a speech at the congress on Sunday, May 24.

From Brno, Söder will travel to Prague for talks with Czech President Petr Pavel, who invited him to Prague Castle.

The congress has sparked controversy in Czech politics. Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said that instead of reconciliation, the event would reopen old wounds. His governing coalition plans to push through a parliamentary motion calling for the congress not to be held in the Czech Republic.

The Sudeten German issue remains historically sensitive in the Czech Republic because of the post-war expulsion of ethnic Germans following World War Two.

Sports Minister Boris Šťastný said he wants to establish a working group to review legislation on stadium security following violence at the close of Saturday’s Prague derby between Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague.

Šťastný said the sports sector had voiced a number of demands since the incident, including broader use of CCTV footage, tighter controls on movement inside stadiums, and a review of the role of private security services at sports venues.

Speaking to reporters before Monday’s cabinet meeting, Šťastný said he is in contact over the matter with Chamber of Deputies Vice Speaker Patrik Nacher and Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar.

Police are investigating the assault on Sparta players on suspicion of disorderly conduct, an offence punishable by up to two years in prison.

A Prague court has sentenced former abbess Taťána Hanhur to six years in prison for embezzlement. According to the judge, Hanhur caused losses of at least 73 million crowns to the Orthodox Church.

Prosecutors said that in 2022 she transferred a monastery in Loděnice from church ownership back to the Czech Association of Manufacturers and Trading Companies for Commercial Cooperation with the Russian Federation, which had donated the property to the church in 2012. The transfer was allegedly carried out without the consent of the Prague Orthodox Eparchy.

Judge Iva Říhová said the defendant had no right to treat the church property as if it were her own.

The verdict is not yet binding, with both sides reserving the right to appeal.

Restorers have removed the first four statues from Prague’s Old Town Astronomical Clock for repairs, taking them to a workshop where they will undergo restoration work over the coming weeks.

The Scribe, the Angel, the Chronicler and the Astronomer are expected to remain in the workshop for one to two months before being returned to their place. Technicians will then remove another four figures from the upper level for similar repairs.

The restoration will not affect the operation of the medieval clock, as the work concerns only the exterior. Tourists and visitors will have access to the clock as usual.

The statues require regular maintenance because of exposure to weather conditions, especially sunlight.

The restoration work is due to be completed by the end of October.