Culture

“Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians & Other Regions of Europe”. This is the latest addition to the UNESCO natural world heritage locations list. One of the locations covered with this umbrella-term inscription lies in the Czech Republic. It is the “Jizerskohorské bučiny”, a beech forest located in northern Czechia. While Czech Republic is certainly not new to UNESCO’s list, the addition of this forest to the natural world heritage list marks the first mention of the Czech Republic in UNESCO’s natural section. The Czech Minister of the Environment Richard Brabec has proclaimed that this news makes the Czech Republic “A part of the heritage of all of mankind”. Furthermore, he shared that he believes that the additionContinue Reading

The fire department in Hradec Králové is mourning the sudden loss of a longtime colleague Jirka Vaniš. He was a professional firefighter for 21 years, so his passing will leave a hole in the department, that will be hard to fill. He was experienced, and willing to help anyone regardless of whether he was on duty or not. His big heart impacted his colleagues so much that they decided to organize a fundraising campaign for Jirka Vaniš’s family. Firemen often risk their lives for the lives or even just property of others. During the recent bad weather, hundreds of Czechs were fully dependent on local fire brigades, whether they needed saving from a tornado, a flood or a fallen tree.Continue Reading

Yesterday, the government has announced that covid-19 restrictions will get looser in the Czech Republic. Starting from August 1st, people will be even allowed to dance at parties or swim at full waterparks as long as they meet the necessary criteria. Culture and sports events will be allowed to host up to 7000 visitors outside and 3000 inside. Standing crowds will also have to socially distance less. That means that many venues will be allowed to run at their full capacity. Also, event organizers who plan to have more than 3000 visitors can opt to only let in visitors who are either vaccinated or had covid-19 within the last six months. In that case, no restrictions will apply to thatContinue Reading

This article is for our international Czech culture lovers, something a do in NYC. International Puppet Fringe Festival Returns, Featuring 40+ Puppet Troupes and Diverse ProgrammingExhibitions Debut at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Education Center and the Museum of the City of New York New York, NY — The inaugural Puppet Week NYC, highlighting New York’s rich and diverse puppetry communities, will take place during the second week of August 2021 with a full roster of events and activities. The International Puppet Fringe Festival, New York’s only international fringe festival dedicated to puppetry, returns August 11 with 40+ performances by some of the leading puppet makers and troupes from around the world. Organized by Teatro SEA, Grupo Morán (The Morán Group) and The Clemente Soto Velez CulturalContinue Reading

On Thursday afternoon, a senior citizen climbed a metal mast standing beside the train tracks at the Ústí and Labem railroad station. The 70 year old’s antics delayed all traffic through the railroad hub, as the police had to send in multiple negotiators to persuade the man, who went up the mast holding the Czech flag, to climb down. During the negotiation, the man requested to speak to local authorities. The whole situation lasted around 4 hours. During it, the perpetrator ensured his own safety with mountain climbing gear, threw down two wooden planks at the police and then passed down a bag full of documents printed on paper. When the man finally climbed down, he surprisingly managed to doContinue Reading

A new railway station in Brno has already been one of the city’s priorities for a long time. Now, the architectural plans for the building have been selected and their visualisations were shared. The company selected for the job is Benthem Crouwel Architects, a company with plenty of experience with such large projects. They have designed the railway station in Rotterdam and worked on the reconstruction of the railway station in Amsterdam. The company claims that the new building will bring a positive impulse for the growing city and become its welcoming gateway. The city’s mayor, Markéta Vaňková (ODS), has declared that this building will become a milestone in the future development of the city. “It is the first stepContinue Reading

On Tuesday, and explosion in Brdy led to a rescue helicopter being dispatched after two professional Czech soldiers were heavily wounded. These events reportedly unfolded during a pyrotechnic reconnaissance mission inside the Brdy military zone. This part of the country is permanently closed off to the public, and the soldiers were there to clean up the environment. It is likely that those who were wounded stumbled upon explosives left behind in the past, perhaps by the communist regime. However, we may only know for sure once the Czech Army decides to share more information with the public. For now we only know that the soldiers who were wounded are already being treated in nearby hospitals. One of them has apparentlyContinue Reading

In the Czech Republic, it is not uncommon for both villages and towns to have a local pond called ‘Rybník’ where a population of fish is usually cared for by local fishermen and where excess water from fields flows during heavy rains. However, the recent rains have been too much for the man-made water reservoir in Děčín, the dam of which seems on the brink of destruction by the water pressure mounting on its side, as even more water flows into the pond. Firemen from the north-western Czech town are already assisting. 8 vehicles have already been dispatched to the site of the potential disaster. Some estimates even suggest that if the dam were to break, the wave of floodingContinue Reading

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