Prague Blog

Entropa: an installation by David Černý at the European Council building, is yet about to be set in motion, but it’s filling headlines already. Černý based his work on stereotypes about European states. Romania is “defined” by Dracula, France seems to be on strike and so on. The CR’s frame is a...  

In the basement there is an installation consisting of three projecting units and three large screens. The project is called Solitude and was created by Katerina Neiburga. What you see are stills, combined so that they resemble shots, showing you an untidy apartment. The series of photographs move, mostly...  

The Zizkov Television Tower has, in many ways, become a symbol of the whole quarter. Not that it would fit in with its architecture, it does fit in with its essence: it’s very high (216 meters) and plain, somewhat arrogant and reckless. And it’s also humorous, since David Černý placed those bizarre...  

The Czech Constitutional Court has just decided that the Treaty of Lisbon does not collide with the Czech constitution. That means it can be ratified either by parliament, or by referendum. The latter option is not very likely at this moment, since all the major political actors, except the Communists, are...  

The memorial day is a symbol of two events: Nazi violence and repression against students in 1939 and the Velvet Revolution, the second usually getting more attention than the first. November 17, 1989, saw a crucial demonstration. A large group of students was cruelly beaten by security forces, an act which...  

Cervantes Institute is an cultural institution, which was created in 1991 by Spanish government, to promote Spanish language and Hispanic culture around the word. It has its branches around the word. The Czech one was created in Prague in 2005, and officially opened in September 2005 by Spanish prince and...  

Two men stood at the beginning of Skoda Auto: Václav Laurin and Václav Klement. In 1899 the founded a company specialized in manufacture of bicycles. Soon the range of products widened. After a successful introduction of early motorbike in the region, Laurin a Klement Co. went on to produce the first model...  

Stromovka is a 740 years old park, originally a hunting game-park for Czech monarchs. It’s a large area with various plants (trees mainly), several buildings and ponds. The latter were, and still are, watered by the famous Rudolph’s tunnel. The park has been opened for the public since1804 and during the...  

Two major fires scared and excited the Prague public during the recent days. Luckily, none of them claimed any casualties. The first claimed a major historical building and the second may have an unwelcome impact on the attitude off the majority towards the Vietnamese minority in Czech Republic. On 16th of...  

There is an interesting exhibition you can visit in City Gallery Prague, which is situated in the 4th floor of the main building of the Prague Municipal Library, Marianske Square nr. 1, not far from the Old town Square. The exhibition is called Bytosti odnikud, in English Beings from nowhere, with a subtitle...  

There is a lot of talk about Milan Kundera these days. Not that his books would suddenly become so very popular. He´s in the news, supposedly disclosed as a snitch. In 1950 he assisted the Secret police in arresting Miroslav Dvořáček, a returned émigré, a CIC operative at the time. The man Kundera...  

On Thursday 16th of October, a catastrophe happened in Prague. There was a big fire in a precious historical building of Industrial Palace (Prumyslovy palac) in Vystaviste area in Prague 7. The fire completely destroyed the left (west) wing of the palace. The fire was the most probably caused by an explosion...  

„An orange Tsunami” has swept through the Czech lands, the centre- left/”socialist” Social Democrats (CSSD) scoring a sweeping victory over the governing Civic Democrats (ODS). Voters were selecting their regional administration and a third of the Senate. Both grounds were traditionally favourable to...  

The Munich Agreement was signed early morning on the 30th of September by France, Britain, Italy and Germany. Hitler gained exactly what he wanted. The Czechoslovak government was informed about the results of the meeting and was strongly recommended to fulfill the agreement. As it was clear that the...  

On the 30th of September, the Czech Republic commemorates a very sad event in the Czech history and that is the signing of Munich Agreement in 1938. Seventy years have passed already since this dreadful moment. It may seem as a century already but people in the Czech Republic will probably never forget this...  

The CR is going to take over the EU presidency for the first six months of next year. The preparations are under way, of course. It costs some money: a 3 billion crowns estimate. There are reasons for optimism: we will have a chance to show off a bit, to make our name heard in the world, and maybe John...  

If you are really interested in design, you definitely should not miss out Designblok, the most important event dedicated to contemporary design, which takes place in the Czech Republic’s capital Prague. This year already for the 10th time, and this time under the subtitle “Celebration“. Desingblock...  

Berlin, a capital of Germany, is a city, which is definitely worth of visit. And it is not that far from Prague, so if you are staying here for some longer time, and already know the Czech capitol quite well, you may consider taking a trip to Berlin. There is quite good transport system between those two...  

Czech politicians have been quite tense during the recent month. There were many reasons, one of them being traffic. The Green Party pushed for a restriction of truck traffic during the weekend and, more importantly, on Fridays. The result is that throughout the whole year, Friday 15- 18 hours local time,...  

On the 21st of August 1968, Czechoslovakia was invaded by the troops of Warsaw-Pact. It was a shock for the whole world. No one could believe that Czechoslovakia, which was an ally of the USSR, was actually attacked by the Soviets. Doesn’t it sound strange even nowadays? Czechoslovak “friends” and...  

Have you ever been to the Prague Municipal Library at Marianske Square? If you have not been there yet, you should consider visiting this place. Marianske Square is located in the city centre, very close to the Old Town Square and Staromestska metro station, so you could visit the library on your way to the...  

Have you already visited the Austrian capital? It is a place which is definitelly worth of visit. And it should be noticed that there used to be extremly strong connections betveen Vienna and Czech country. As Bohemia and Morivia vere both parts of Austro-hungarian empire with its capital in Vienna. There...  

The institution of the Czech National Library needs a new building. Now the library is placed in the old historical building of Klementinum, but this space is not suitable anymore. There is not enough room for all the books. To solve this problem, they held a competition, searching for the best design of the...  

What do you think? How high are chances of Czech sportsmen and sportswomen at this year controversial Olympic Games in chinesse Peging? Well, they already got two gold medals. First one won Katerina Emmos, the shoterl. And shortly after her, another Czech – David Kostelecky won gold medal at shotting. It...  

There’s quite an intriguing net project going on; it consists of panoramatic photographs of the city, taken from 100 Prague spires, especially church towers, using special widescreen lenses and computer editing to manage a 180 degree scope. The city chose the Panoramas company, which does similar deals...  

Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. As you know, until 1993 there were no Czech or Slovak Republics, but one country – Czechoslovakia, with Prague being its capital and Bratislava the second biggest city. After the separation, it became the capital of new country. Maybe, you will have a chance to visit...  

Stromovka is a wonderful park not far from the city centre. It offers a piece of nature in a beautiful, but sometimes too crowded and busy city of Prague. A place where both Prague inhabitants and visitors can relax for a while, enjoying nature. This could be appreciated especially in those hot summer...  

The Czech political scene has been quite dirty since the 1989 revolution. Not to an extent extraordinary in today’s Europe, but definitely dirtier than what Havel and his fellow political idealists (meant in the positive sense) had hoped for. And, for the past several years, it’s still less clear which...  

It seems that phone booths are pretty much dead in the 21st century. Sad? Maybe, but that is called progress, my friend. Just think about it – when was the last time you used a phone booth? I can’t even remember. Can you? And I am one of those whose memory works well. Nowadays, everyone has a cell phone...  

Thanks to a festival Rudy Linka organized in the main squares of several Czech cities, both residents and tourists were given a chance to see John Scofield at a rare free gig. Scofield is one of the few names of modern jazz known to the wider public. Playig with bassist Matt Penman and Bill Stewart on the...