Compact archive June 29, 2007

Summer Festivities of Early Music in Prague

Friday 29 June 2007 17:48

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 15:54

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 14:10

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 12:28

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 10:39

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.