Compact archive June 2007

Summer Festivities of Early Music in Prague

Friday 29 June 2007 16:48

Vrtba Garden In less than a month Prague will host the 8th International Music Festival – Summer Festivities of Early Music Prague. The aim of this annual music festival is to enrich the Prague’s summer cultural life. The motto of this year’s festival ‘Journeying through the Centuries’.

The festival offers various historical styles performed on period instruments. The concerts take place in various historical monuments and interesting places of Prague (such as Brevnov Monastery, Vrtba Garden, Troja Chateau, etc.) which help create a special period atmosphere.

The first concert starts in the Congress Centre of the Czech National Bank on Saturday 14th July, the last one in ABC theatre on 8th August 2007. Tickets can be bought in the booking office of Collegium Marianum in Melantrichova 19 street, Ticketpro and Rokoko (Vaclavske namesti 38) and ABC (Vodickova 28) theatres. For more information about the festival, ticket reservations and the programme, click here.

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Large police controls on the roads this weekend

Friday 29 June 2007 14:54

Millions of Czech pupils and students get their school report today and that’s the start of their two-month holiday. The first holiday weekend, when families leave for holiday, is usually the most tragic on the roads.

Last year there were 1573 road accidents at the first weekend of the holiday. That’s why the police want to increase the number of policemen on the roads this weekend.

On 1st July it will have been exactly one year when the Czech Republic launched a new road law. Drivers can get not only a fine, but also a certain amount of points (read more) for their traffic offences. 12 points means losing their driving licence. Even though the system is one of the strictest in Europe, many people don’t find it effective enough.

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Faust in Vysehrad's casemate in Prague

Friday 29 June 2007 13:10

Church of St Peter and Paul in Vysehrad From 29th June to 2nd July 2007 and from 7th to 17th July 2007 you can visit one of the theatre performances of Goethe’s Faust in Vysehrad directed by David Czesany. The performances will take place in the mysterious vault Gorlice inside the Vysehrad’s Casemate.

The performances start at 20:00, tickets can be bought in Komedie theatre, Ticketpro or in the booking office of the Old Provosty in Vysehrad for 333 CZK and 366 CZK.

The Gorlice vault in Vysehrad’s casemate contains several original statues from Charles Bridge. The permanent temperature in Gorlice is 16˚C (60.8 ˚F), which is the optimal temperature for the statues. Visitors are recommended to take warm clothes with them.

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The standard of living in the Czech Republic grows

Friday 29 June 2007 11:28

According to the statistics of Eurostat, the Statistical Office of European Communities, the Czech Republic is getting closer to the standard of living of the older member states of the European Union.

Eurostat compared the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per inhabitant expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) in the EU countries. As the average of the EU27 is 100 PPS, the Czech Republic improve its rank from 74 PPS (26% below the average) in 2005 to 79 PPS (21% below the average) in 2006.

The GDP per person is the highest in Luxembourg (280 PPS), then in Ireland (144 PPS) and the Netherlands (131 PPS), the lowest GDP per person is in Poland (53 PPS), Romania (38 PPS) and Bulgaria (37 PPS).

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Prague receptionists will be trained to recognize terrorists

Friday 29 June 2007 09:39

The employees of Prague hotels will learn this summer how to prevent crimes and terrorist attacks in their hotels. Courses for hotel staff are organized by the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic.

The motto of the courses is “be prepared for the worst and hope for the best”. The hotel staff should be able to recognize suspicious luggage as well as suspicious people according to their behaviour. The courses will also focus on preventing pickpocketing.

However, it’s stressed that every customer should be treated as a guest and the safety of hotel guests should be provided discreetly. The project is financed from the European Social Fund, the budgets of the Czech Republic and Prague.

Check your health while you are in Prague

Thursday 28 June 2007 16:59

Prague dwellers and visitors can have their health checked near the vestibule of the metro station Narodni trida (yellow line B) this Friday. The action organized by the Czech insurance company VZP CR is a part of the charity festival Aventin Cultural Summer, that is taking place now between streets Purkynova, Vladislavova, Charvatova and Spalena and Aventin Palace.

Health workers near Narodni trida will measure the level of cholesterol, triglyceride and sugar in their blood, body fat percentage and blood pressure. The results will be examined by doctors who can suggest next steps if any of the measured data is not good.

The measurements are meant for everybody, regardless their insurance company. The action will be repeated at the same place on 26th July, 9th and 23rd August, 6th and 20th September and 4th October 2007.

Film festival in Karlovy Vary starts tomorrow

Thursday 28 June 2007 15:14

Danny DeVito The famous film festival in the spa town Karlovy Vary starts tomorrow with a gala evening. One of the stars at the opening ceremony will be actress Renee Zellweger. Even though she cancelled a press conference, she should hand over the honour prize to Bretislav Pojar as planned.

Another Hollywood star going to Karlovy Vary this year is Danny DeVito. He will be present at the closing ceremony of the festival on 7th July. DeVito will be awarded the Crystal Globe for the Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema. Together with Jake Paltrow he will also introduce the new film The Good Night.

The organizers of the festival also confirmed other guests of the festival – director Peter Bogdanovich, actress Cybill Shepherd, actor Timothy Bottoms, director Hal Hartley, director Tom DiCillo, actress Romola Garai, actor Raz Degan, actress Ellen Page, director Eran Kolirin, director Jean Becker, actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin, actor Janos Ban, director Ferzan Ozpetek or scenarist and actor Zdenek Sverak.

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Drivers can expect traffic jams on D1 in Prague

Thursday 28 June 2007 13:30

From 1st July 2007 the highway D1 leading from Prague to Brno will be partly closed due to the construction of a shoulder road. The partial closure will start at the crossroads of the highway and so called Jizni Spojka in the south of Prague.

One of the two remaining lines from Prague will be open for the transport from the opposite direction. That’s why drivers can expect traffic jams, especially in the morning peak. The road improvements should be finished by 9th September 2007.

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Prague is presented in Chicago

Thursday 28 June 2007 11:48

One of the biggest presentation of Prague and probably of the whole Czech Republic as well in the USA is now taking place in Chicago. According to Prague Mayer Pavel Bem the Days of Prague are very popular and that might have an impact on the number of tourists of the Czech capital in the future.

Pavel Bem together with his Chicago colleague Richard Daley will be present at the gala evening in Hilton Hotel this Friday, which is the last day of the presentation. Pavel Bem will launch there a new exhibition of drawings and graphics by Oldrich Kulhanek, the music will be provided by Ondrej Havelka and his Melody Makers. On Saturday, mayors Pavel Bem and Richard Daley will remember Antonin Cerman, a Czech native who became the Chicago mayer in 1930’s.

The presentation have presented famous Czech people living in the USA, then David Koller with his music band, violist Silvie Hessova with pianis Daniel Wiesner, films by Jan Hrebejk and many others.

Schwarzenberg Palace will be open again for one day

Thursday 28 June 2007 09:59

After four years of reconstruction,the Schwarzenberg Palace in the Hradcanske square near Prague Castle is going to be open to the public again. The palace will be open for now only for one day – on 12th July 2007. Then it will be open only for special events until the end of November 2007.

After that, probably in autumn this year, visitors can see a large collection of Czech Baroque art moved into the palace from St George’s Convent. The Schwarzenberg Palace will also host a collection of art from the Renaissance time and also art from the time of Rudolf II when Prague was the centre of the European culture.

Another historical palace is going to be reconstructed. The reconstruction of the neighbouring Salm Palace is planned for autumn of this year. The Schwarzenberg and Salm palaces will be connected. Salm Palace will hold an exhibition of the art collections of the 19th century.

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Burger King and Aldi head to the Czech Republic

Wednesday 27 June 2007 16:04

The fast food chain Burger King will open its restaurants in the Czech Republic. It was said by the AmRest company that deals with the American Burger King about the licence to the Czech Republic.

Burger King will rival McDonald’s and KFC. First McDonald’s restaurant was here 15 years ago, now it has 72 restaurants. The first KFC restaurant followed two years later, now it has 43 restaurants. When exactly the first Burger King restaurant will be open in the Czech Republic is not clear yet.

Another big chain Aldi is coming to Prague to rival Lidl, Penny Market and Plus Discount. Aldi Czechia was put in the trade register at the beginning of June this year. Aldi runs about 7,600 shops in 14 European states. Its assortment is known for not such a high quality of goods but low prices of the products.

Brad Pitt is shooting in the streets of Prague

Wednesday 27 June 2007 14:02

Brad Pitt is shooting in Prague While Angelina Jolie is busy in Prague acting in her new film Wanted, Brad Pitt loses no time to earn a bit more money here. Those who were lucky could see him near the National Theatre by the river Vltava last Monday.

A Japanese bank chose him for their new commercial set in a nice scenery of the Czech Neo-Renaissance and the river bank. Brad Pitt could have been seen walking along the National Theatre in a dark suite and with a mobile phone in his hand.

According to Aha! magazine, the shooting will take several days, so it’s still possible to meet Brad Pitt in the streets of Prague.

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Charles Square will be closed for trams this autumn

Wednesday 27 June 2007 12:33

Busy Charles Square Charles Square is the largest square not only in Prague but also in the whole Czech Republic. What’s more, it’s also the biggest road junction, providing Prague inhabitants and visitors with the access to many parts of Prague.

But it will change soon. The tracks in Charles Square and its surroundings have to be maintain, that’s why all trams running via Charles Square have to be rerouted. The service disruptions will start on 17th July in Palackeho square and will continue is Palackeho bridge and Charles square until Christmas.

Right now there are ten tram lines, two bus lines and metro yellow line B going via Charles Square. The routes of the trams and buses will depend on current works on the road and might change every week. Therefore we advice you to follow the web pages of the Prague Public Transport Company at www.dpp.cz for up-to-date information.

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Four Spanish Painters exhibition in Prague

Wednesday 27 June 2007 10:41

From tomorrow paintings by four painters coming from Valencia and Cartagena in Spain will represent the fine arts in the east cost of Spain to the Prague audience.

The exhibition of paintings by Joel Mestre and Santi Tena from Valencia and Angel Mateo Charris and Gonzalo Sicre from Cartagena is organized by the Czech Museum of Fine Arts in Prague together with SpainArt – the Society for the Support of Spanish Art and Cultural Exchange.

The exhibition takes places in Czech Museum of Fine Arts (Husova 21 street) until 23rd September 2007. It’s open daily (except Monday) from 10:00 to 18:00. The entrance fee is 50 CZK.

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New timetables for Prague public transport

Wednesday 27 June 2007 09:16

Bus in Prague This Saturday two-month holidays start for the children in the Czech Republic. Also from that day there will be new timetables for Prague public transport. The new timetables will be displayed from 27th to 30th June, even though they start to be valid from 30th June.

The public transport service during the holiday starts for metro on 30th June and finishes on 31st August 2007. At the line A only every other train will terminate at the last station Depo Hostivar from 7:00 to 17:30. At the line B, every other train will run in the route Nove Butovice – Ceskomoravska from 6:45 to 8:30 and Smichovske nadrazi – Ceskomoravska from 8:30 to 16:00.

The tram holiday service starts on 30th July and finishes on 2nd September 2007. The intervals between two trams will be prolonged by about 2 minutes. Lines no. 7 and 13 will be out of service. Many tram lines will be rerouted during many service disruption during the summer.

The bus holiday service will be valid from 30th June to 31st August. Buses no. 143, 146, 168, 274, 277, 343, 465 and school buses will be out of service. Bus lines no. 155, 199 and 233 will be slightly changed.

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Large service disruptions in Prague during the summer

Tuesday 26 June 2007 17:01

Tram crossing Prague's bridge The Prague Public Transport Company announced at the press conference today that Prague dwellers and visitors can expect 6 large tram service disruptions during the summer due to maintenance of the rails.

One of the biggest service disruptions will be in Palackeho square from 18th July until the end of October. The rails between Strossmayerovo square and Cerny most will be repaired between 6th July and 22nd August, between Radosovicka street and nadrazi Hostivar from 5th July to 9th July and at the crossroads at Klarov and Letenska street (near Malostranska metro station) from 17th August to 3rd September. Stefanikuv Bridge keeps closed until 22nd August, and the crossroad at Albertov until 18th July.

The service disruptions will be also announced in a new information campaign in the form of leaflets. The leaflets will also inform how to use the public transport to get to interesting places in Prague.

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