Compact archive September 2006

Ladronka, together with four other buildings was awarded as the Building of the Year 2006. The former squat was reconstructed and became a popular area for spending free time.

The origin of this baroque building goes to the 17th century. Its reconstruction cost 75 millions CZK and was made by architectural atelier Safr a Hajek.

Nowadays, the Ladronka visitors can relax in a restaurant and enjoy the view over Prague, borrow roller-skates or play bowling.

The other awarded buildings are: reconstruction of the municipal office in Semily, the multipurpose hall and finished Town stadium area in Liberec, the residence of Neomed company in Prague and reconstruction of the Reduta theater in Brno.

In previous years, the winners of the award include for example Sazka Arena in Prague or Prague tram route Hlubocepy – Barrandov.

Another given award was for example The award of State fund for housing development, which was acquired by the set of eight apartment blocks Galerie nad Vltavou (Gallery upon Vltava) in Prague.

That Prague is very popular by tourists is well known. But is it also attractive for business? According to the survey European Cities Monitor (ECM), made by estate agency Cushman & Wakefield in London, Prague is in the 13th place out of 33 European cities in its suitability for entrepreneurial activities.

The city No. 1 for business activities is London before Paris or Frankfurt. However Prague, Madrid and Barcelona were evaluated as cities that did the most to increase their positions. Prague has also another advantage – a lot of companies want to create their affiliates in new EU member states.

Survey ECM is based on answers of 507 managers of top European companies. Good communication, the level of costs and the quality of life in cities were some of the criteria considered by the managers.

A new archway was opened in the new building of Prague town-council in Jungmannova street.

The archway connects two gates from Jungmannova and Charvatova streets. Visitors can find there two information centres, a copy centre, an information office of the Prague Public Transit Co., an office of the Technical administration of communications, a registry, signatures verification and guichets of the individual departments.

This should improve the accessibilty of the town-council. So far, the various departments were in more then thirty buildings around the town. That´s why they moved to one building, so people can find all departments at one place. There should be also the metropolitan police office soon.

You can find the list of all departments, the office hours and more information on www.praha-mesto.cz.

Plans to build new skyscrapers in Pankrac, one of the parts in Prague, have brought many positive and negative responses for seven years, when it appeared for the first time. Now, when the realization of this project is really close, this opinion diversity is even more visible.

Opponents of this project claim that Prague is known for its beautiful historical skyline and new skyscrapers would destroy the amazing view. They also fear that Prague would lose its position on prestigious UNESCO list, which would harm its reputation in the world. They also criticise the city council for the fact that they did not inform UNESCO about their plans.

On the other hand, this project has lots of supporters. They say that Prague lacks something from the most modern architecture and that Prague centre joined UNESCO with its already existing skyscrapers in Pankrac.

UNESCO have not given official statement yet, it will consider next procedure after receiving all documents from the city and freelance expertise.

Horseracing takes place in Velka Chuchle for 100 years already. There was a celebration of this anniversary at the stadium yesterday.

Contemporary materials show how imposing was the first meeting in Velka Chuchle 100 years ago: on 28th of September 1906 there were thousands of visitors.

After 1989 there was a less successful period, but in recent years the stadium prospers again and aspires to be one of the top European race-grounds.

Last year there were 21 racing days in Velka Chuchle and 171 races altogether. The prize for the winner was 18 693 300 CZK, which is more than any other Czech race-ground can offer. From the beginning of April till the end of October (with the break during the summer) there were about 50 – 60 thousands of visitors and the attendance gets better every year.

Eskapady 2006 is a project whose aim is to represent high-quality Czech and Czechoslovakia films to general public. Each film is either with English subtitles or interpreted into English and therefore is available for everybody who does not master Czech language.

The film show starts today at 18.00 by a silent film called Stavitel chrámu accompanied by life music. This project lasts 10 days and visitors can see well known films such as Lasky jedne plavovlasky (M. Forman, 1965), Skrivanci na niti (J. Menzel, 1969) or Obecna skola (J. Sverak, 1991). Eskapady 2006 presents also a comedy called Happy End by O. Lipsky. The magic of this film is its narration backwards; from the end to the begging of the story.

Films are shown in the afternoons and evenings in Atlas cinema in Prague (Sokolovska 1) in the small hall (Maly sal); for more information about the program click here.

The charismatic cult singer Nick Cave is going to perform in the Prague Congress Centre on Saturday the 30th of September, as we announced earlier. The tickets to the gig are already gone.

Cave started in the early 80´s with his first band, the goth pioneers The Birthday Party. After they split, Nick Cave, fascinated by the inspirational atmosphere of that time west Berlin, far from the artistic snobbery of London, moved to Berlin and assembled there a new band, the Bad Seeds: featuring Blixa Bargeld, guitarist from the industrial Einstürzende Neubauten, the ex-Magazine bassist Barry Adamson and former Birthday Party guitarist Mick Harvey on drums. Their post-punk music was influenced by blues, gospel and rock and their lyrics explored themes like death, love and religion.

Nick Cave also appeared in Wim Wender´s movie Wings of Desire (1987) and later in the Australian movie Ghosts…of the Civil Dead (1989). He published a novel And the Ass Saw the Angel, and also a collection of lyrics, plays and prose King Ink. His most successful album in recent years was Murder Ballads (1996), where he sings a duet with Kylie Minogue in the hit Where the Wild Roses Grow, and with PJ Harvey in Henry Lee. Recently, he wrote a screenplay to the movie The Proposition, as well as the soundtrack.

His Prague show is a part of his Solo Tour. The gig starts at 8 pm.

Those of you who want to see the best photographs showing crucial events of the last year should not miss World Press Photo 2006 in Prague’s Karolinum (street Ovocny trh 3) open until 1st October. Prague is one of more than 90 places where you can see the best photos from the whole world divided into 10 categories.

World Press Photo was founded in 1955 in Amsterdam when it’s seated till nowadays. This year 83 044 photos from 4448 professional photographers representing 122 countries was evaluated. The jury awarded 63 authors from 25 countries in the world. Also Czech photographer Michal Novotny was successful; won 3rd place in the category Daily life for his pictures showing a braille school in Liberia.

The total winner of this year was Canadian photographer Finbarr O´Reilly working for Reuters agency with his photo showing an African woman kissing her baby’s hand. Traditional Prague’s Prize (Cena Prahy) was given to Edmond Terakopian living in London for his photos made shortly after terrorist attacks in London Tube.

Spa vendabe takes place for the second time in O2 Zlute lazne in Prague 4 – Podoli. You can find there thousands of litres of Moravian wines from areas Spielberg and Rakvice.

You can taste or buy there quality wine species, late collection wines, berry selection, stum and others.

This year you can also enjoy a hog-killing feast with hash-and-crumbs sausages, collared pork, lard, blood sausages, soup and other delicacies. Czech handmade art will be presented by its producers. It will be possible to buy various kinds of beads, gingerbread or cheese. Visitors who like traditional Czech cuisine can taste some of the old Czech meals.

Every day there is a special accompanying program. The vendabe will continue till Saturday the 30th of September. You can go to Zlute lazne by trams 3 or 16 from Karlovo namesti (tube station), the station name is “Dvorce”.

Czech people travel with the metro and trams the most from all European Union countries. Average Czech person travelled in 2003 with metro or tram 839,6 kilometers, while average distance in the whole EU is 159,2 kilometers. Austrian people are on the second place with 347 kilometers. Data are published by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat).

The only metro system in Czech Republic is in Prague, trams only in big cities. On the other hand, Czech people don’t travel much by train, even though the Czech railway network is one of the densest in Europe.

The most common mean of transport in CR is a car. Czech people with their 6723 kilometers/year are on 16th place in EU. An average European drives 9795 kilometers/year.

Salaries in the Czech republic have been continually rising very fast, but the average salary is still much less than the average in the western Europe.

The salaries growth in the Czech republic from 2002 to 2005 was 17 percent, due to inflation the real growth was about 13 percent. That is much higher number than in countries such as Germany or France, where the salaries almost stagnate. Despite that, the average Czech salary makes still only 21 percent of the German one, compared to 18 percent in 2002. That´s why it´s almost impossible to say, when, if ever, the Czech salaries will reach the level of those in the west.

In 2002, the average Czech salary per year was 7 212 euro, while the average of the whole European Union is 28 024 euro.

But compared to the communist era at the end of the eighties, the salary growth is significant: when we convert it according to prices in 2005, people earned in average one third less than nowadays.

Christina Aquilera, a popular singer-song writer who sold more than 25 millions of records and was awarded 3x Grammy and once Grammy Latin plans a concert in Prague.

The concert in Prague will be a part of her world tour called Back to Basics Tour 2006. Christina will introduce there her new album Back to Basics that was released in August this year. More about her album you can read here).

Christina’s performance in Prague is planned on 17th December 2006 at 20.00 in SAZKA ARENA. Tickets are sold by SAZKA TICKET, the tickets cost 1590 CZK, 1290 CZK and 1090 CZK for sitting; 1390 CZK for standing near the stage and 990 CZK for standing.

Moimir Papalescu and the Nihilists will introduce their new album in Palac Akropolis club tonight. This Czech band is one of the most interesting alternative music groups on the current Prague scene.

The band started in 2003 and their mix of experimental electronics, 80´s new wave, rock´n´roll and disco glitter sounded very fresh on the stagnating Czech musical scene. For their debut album Analogue Voodoo (2004) they received the Andel award (by the Popular music Academy) for the best album in its genre.

Members of the band are: Moimir Papalescu (analogue and digital machines), La Petite Sonja (vocals), Hank Jesus Manchini (guitar/vocals), Peter Van Krbetz (saxophone), Wratislaw Placheta (drums).

Today´s gig will be a release party for their new album Lewis Neptune. Supporting will be Mash Gordon and The Fakes. The show starts at 7 pm, in Palac Akropolis club, Kubelikova 27, Prague 3. Entrance fee: 200 CZK.

The Civic democratic government leaded by Mirek Topolanek will ask the Chamber of Deputies for a vote of confidence on Tuesday 3rd October. It will be based on the statement of policy that has been already approved.

The document is based on the programme agreement of the Civic democrats with the Christian Democratic Party and the Greens. The Prime Minister Topolanek wants to meet members of other political parties except Communists to state his policy.

The new minority government wants to rule until June 2007 when early elections should be held. Now it cannot be sure whether it gets the support that is needed.

On 28th September people in the Czech Republic commemorates st. Wenceslav, a saint and the patron of Czech lands. Prague 4 celebrates this special day by a beanfeast in the park Na Jezerce.

This celebration which already starts today with a march along streets in Prague 4 is going to take a few days. The main programme starts tomorrow at 10.00 in the park Na Jezerce.

The park is going to be in the spirit of medieval times with swordsmen, period musicians, markets, a tavern and shows of historical handicrafts. The feast promises a full programme for children and adults for the whole day. Visitors who like music can listen to several concerts of famous musicians: Jaroslav Hutka, Radim Hladik, Vera Martinova and Pavel Dobes.

Celebration continues on Friday at 16.00 in St. Wenceslas church with Antonin Dvorak’s Luzanska D-dur and on 3rd October at 17.00 with a concert of Marta Kubisova in Nusle town hall.

Entrance for all activities is free. To get to this feast, you can take metro red line C to station Pankrac and here continue by bus no. 188 to the bus stop Jezerka. Or from metro station Muzeum (red line C or green line A) tram no. 11. Parking is possible in the street Druzstevni ochoz.

The Prague council plans to increase number of police officers in the streets of the city to improve citizens´safety and to suppress criminality. Within two years there should be 2700 police officers, which is 1000 more than now.

Approving this decision is up to the council which will be elected in the forthcoming municipal elections in October. There are also plans to improve the camera system in the city with some more security cameras in operation, and to use a program which can independently uncover a possible crime.

In recent years, the number of crimes committed in the city decreased. In 2002 it was about 102.870, last year about 95.730. But according to the municipal authorities, the clarifying of the crimes is less successful as well. Four years ago, the police solved every fourth case, last year it was every fifth one.

Prague zoo in Troja is the most visited zoo in the Czech Republic. Every year it attracts more than one million of visitors. On 28th September it commemorates 75 years from its foundation.

First visitors could go through the gates of Prague zoo on 28th September 1931 where they could see wolves, a lioness, ..... and parrots. The zoo has enlarged since that time significantly, the latest addition is the African house or the pavilion Indonesian jungle.

To celebrate this special occasion the zoo is going to come back to the atmosphere of 1930s. In Troja you can hear swing, see people in period costumes or synchronized swimmers in the sea lions’ pool, wearing striped leotards.

The programme starts at 11.00 and offers a lot of things to see, e.g. the performance The story of lioness Sarka (Pribeh lvice Sarky) – one of the first animals in this zoo, a vernissage of pictures near the elephant pavilion or ‘christening’ of a young tapir.

The extension of Prague tube continues. The state budget for year 2007 approved by the government yesterday, contains 300 millions crowns for building new underground stations on the C line (red).

The line currently terminates at Ladvi, the new part will go through Strizkov, Prosek and Letnany. Building is about half-finished at the moment and should be ready for transporting customers in 2008.

There are also plans for prolonging the A line (green) from Dejvicka station to Ruzyne airport with 8 new stations. Also a new D line should be built in following years, and its route should go from Hlavni nadrazi (Main railway station) to Pisnice through 10 stations.

The latest built tube station opened in May 2006 is Depo Hostivar on the A line, which goes from the former terminal station Skalka.

Karlstejn Castle is one of the most visited castles in the Czech republic, situated very near Prague. Now it has received a prestigious award Europa Nostra from European Union.

Europa Nostra is the most significat prize that can be given by the international jury for a great care of historical monuments. Karlstejn deserved this prize for its restoration of the gothic paitings representing saints by Mistr Theodorik. Paintings are located in the chapel of holly cross (Kaple svateho krize), the most sacred place of the castle.

Restoration was very difficult and took almost 20 years. The paitings are now protected by a special air-conditioning that should preserve them for another thousand years or even more.

A new exhibition called Udolim stinu (Through the Valley of Shadows) shows burial practices in the period from prehistoric ages till early medieval times in Prague. Visitors can see open graves and get to know burials practised thousands years back to the past.

However, his exhibition offers more. People’s lives in that time are presented on large-screen displays. Also objects found in tombs on the territory of Prague are presented there. All is based on archaeololgical discovery.

Exhibition is open from 27th September 2006 till 25th May 2007 in Muzeum of Capital City Prague (Muzeum hlavniho mesta Prahy), in halls no. 3 and 4. This museum is situated on street Na Porici 52, metro red line C Florenc, and is open Tuesday till Sunday from 9.00 till 18.00 (and every first Thursday in month till 20.00).

There is a possibility to use Internet connection for free in Prague 8, thanks to the town hall project.

Most of the quarters in the area are already covered by the wireless signal of the Wi-Fi technology. People interested in the possibility only need to posses a facility able to receive this signal and to connect to the town hall server “praha8.net”. Covering with the signal started in Karlin and Liben, and at the moment continues in Kobylisy and Bohnice.

The connection speed will be 64 kbps, so it will be suitable just for e-mail correspondence and connecting to usual websites, certainly not for downloading movies or playing computer games. That´s why it´s not intended as a competitor to other Internet providers.

Testing operation is planned till the end of the year, the project will fully start at the beginning of the next year.

Due to the Samsung running festival on Saturday 30th September, there will be some restrictions of public transport in the Prague center.

No trams will go through stations Narodni divadlo (National Theater) – Staromestska – Cechuv most and through Staromestska – Malostranska approximately from 3:45 till 5:15 pm. Tram number 17 will be diverted to Karlovo namesti, then Narodni trida, Ujezd and Malostranske namesti. Tram number 18 will go through Ujezd and Malostranske namesti as well.

At the same time, there will be no service of the bus number 133 between stations Florenc and Staromestska. The bus in the direction from Malesice will be terminated in Florenc.

The running festival is a charitable event for the benefit of SOS detske vesnicky (organization helping children). The finish of the run will be at the Old Town Square and organizers of the event expect more than 1000 participating runners, some well known personalities included.

From 28th September till 1st October you have an extra opportunity to visit Troja chateau, zoo and botanic garden in one tour at night.

You can walk in this part of Prague through illumined gardens of Troja chateau, its main hall, then continue to the zoo to watch animals of Indonesian jungle at night and finally walk into the botanic gardens to see romantically illumined Japanese garden.

Tickets cost 180,- CZK, the stroll starts at 20:30 and 21.00. For booking and more information call 296 112 230 (233) or write to pr@zoopraha.cz.

The first aqua park in Prague will be opened at the end of November in Barrandov. Until now, the only possibilities for outdoor swimming in Prague were some swimming baths and a swimming pool on Vltava.

The new two-storeyed object will be a part of a sport centre and will offer a pool 25 metres long and 1.2 to 1.6 metres deep with four lanes. Furthermore, there will be also a paddling pool for children, a whirlpool bath, two roller coasters and a sauna. There will be a chance to relax on a terrace, sunbath on a grass plot or have a meal in a restaurant. Another aqua park will be finished in December 2007 in Cestlice, and also in Jizni Mesto within three years.

Visitors can see over the new Barrandov aqua park on Friday 13th of October, between 3 pm and 4:30 pm.

Soon city Prague is going to start a new web gateway www.praha.eu which will help citizens, entrepreneurs and tourists make the contact with municipal authorities easier.

This new gateway will bring information about what is going on in the city or how the bureaus and institutions work. Interactive links will connect this portal with other servers, such as the city library, or public transports.

The biggest advantage of this portal will be interactive forms to communicate easily with municipal authorities without personal attendance in bureaus. An electronic signature will be needed to fill in these forms completely. Next year the authorities are going to issue universal cards of Prague people (Univerzalni karta Prazana – UKP) which can also work as an open signature. This portal will consist of more than a hundred of forms relating to work, housing, study, health care etc. By receiving SMS or email the users will be able to see if their form has been accepted.

The section Moje Praha (My Prague) in this portal will enable registered users create their own section where they can see information they often need to know, such as up-to-date weather forecast, exchange rates, or pictures from city webcams.

Traditional st. Wenceslas fair (Svatovaclavska pout) started last Saturday in the exhibition area (Vystaviste) in Holesovice Prague. This fair is open every weekday (except Monday) from 14.00 till 21.00, at weekends and holidays from 10.00 till 22.00 until 5th November.

This fair which is similar to Matejska pout in spring offers attractions not only for children under 10 years old but also lots of attractions for adults. In the area you can also find kiosks with various product assortment.

On Monday 2nd October from 12.00 till 16.00 there is a special programme for handicapped people. All attractions and adjoining programme are that day for handicapped people without charge.

In the same exhibition area you can also see a unique permanent exhibition of sea aquaria and sea animals and plants called Morsky svet (Sea World), or circus Praga inspired by Czech fairy tales.

On Friday 22nd, the Czech republic joined the European Mobility Week programme with the “Day without cars”. The purpose of the event was to prefer public transport or bicycles instead of cars, and so to call attention to the negative aspects of the increasing automobilism. Also it was to show, that there are alternative ways to travel fast in a city.

During the day, people in 22 Czech towns had the chance to travel by public transport for free. On many places in Prague, motorists were replaced by cyclists and there was a competiton between travellers on bicycles, by public transport and by cars. The cyclists were the fastest, some of them even arrived with special costumes.

Even thought this was a fifth time the Europen Day without cars took place in Prague and its tradition goes back to 1991, the number of cars in the country keeps increasing. Nowadays, every second Prague citizen owns a car.