Czech Update

Czech Republic experiencing biggest Baby Boom in 25 years

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:10:10 +0000

More than 10,000 more people were born in the Czech Republic than died which is the most since 1983. The 114 thousand newly borns take the total number of inhabitants to 10 million 381 thouthsand. This upward trend has been going on for the last 5 years. read more »

Czechs under stress

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:28:13 +0000

Turns out Czechs are just as susceptible to stress at work as people in other industrialized nations. What a surprise! read more »

New resource for Czech exile literature online

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 23:08:47 +0000

A complete text (all in Czech) of a book survey of Czech exile literature between 1971 and 1989 was made available by the author on the University of Glasgow's Slavonic Studies Department website. read more »

Šťastný Nový rok 2008 na Bohemica.com

admin — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 07:22:34 +0000

Bohemica.com a Dominik Lukeš vám spolu přejí Veselý nový rok 2008. PFko najdete na DominikLukes.net/2008. read more »

Czech inventor of the 'drunk tank' dies aged 91

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 22:07:26 +0000

Záchytka is a wonderful Czech word that stands for the institution for the collection of drunken (and possibly disorderly) individual wondering city streets occasionally referred to in English as 'drunk tank' or ' read more »

Czech taxes 113th in the world

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:15:01 +0000

In a strange imaginary league table of worldwide taxation, Czech Republic came in the 113th place. That is not good! read more »

Velvet Revolution in video (YouTube weekly)

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 20:01:27 +0000

YouTube is a great source of video to illustrate historical events and the Velvet Revolution is no exception. Here are a few clips.

Montage of moments from the days of and after 17 November: read more »

Talking about the Velvet Revolution

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 15:55:26 +0000

Listen to what it was like to be a Velvet Revolutionary in this discussion between Bohemica's Dominik Lukeš and Eamonn Burgess on Future Radio 96.9FM. This discussion was part of the Community Chest programme guest-hosted by Dominik on 16 November 2007.

Play Czech geography game on Facebook and win PDF of Czech grammar

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 14:43:31 +0000

18 years since Velvet Revolution on 17 November

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:57:39 +0000

For the 18th time since 1989, Czechs are celebrating the end of "communism" and the beginning of "democracy". The country has seen many changes since that time but many feel nostalgia for the 'bad' old times and the communist party still has 15% representation in parliament. But the chances of going back to what it was are very small. read more »

Příkopy - Prague street in Top 20 most expensive in the world

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:20:39 +0000

The Prague street that joins into the bottom of Wenceslas square came 20th in the world ranking of the most expensive streets in the world (down from 18th a year ago). Rents there reach 2000 EUR per square meter a year. Paradoxically, the Czech name translates literally as "on the ditches". read more »

Czechs bought 350 000 bicycles in 2006 for Sport not Commute

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 23:43:00 +0000

Lots of cycling stories in the Czech press this last week. Czechs seem to be buying lots of cycles but don't like to think of them as a commuting device but rather one for getting some exercise in. Prague is becoming a bit more cycle-commute friendly but it's still more the exception than the rule. read more »

Czechs succumb to blogging craze (says Jyxo)

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 16:11:39 +0000

According to Czech Google-wannabe's press release blogging has become the next big thing on Czech Internet. One of the indication is that Blog.cz has become one of the top 10 Czech websites with 2 million unique visitors a month. 60% of Czech bloggers are under 30, most are employed and more than half visit their blog more than 20 days a month. read more »

Happy birthday Czechoslovakia

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 19:24:55 +0000

Yes, it is 89 years today, 28. October 1918 that Czechoslovakia (Československo) was founded lasting with an interruption for WWII until 1992.

1950s prosecutor on trial for judicial murder

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 00:07:43 +0100

Ludmila Brožová Polednová was among the prosecutors who were involved in sending Milada Horáková and others to the gallows in the 1950s. Now, she is on trial for judicious murder. This Czech interview with a historian explains why the case against her is strong even after all those years. read more »

Sokol in New York still going strong after 140 years

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 17:54:06 +0100

Polish workers back in Czech Republic

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 16:53:28 +0100

I remember there used to be a lot of Polish workers working on construction and other projects in the 1980s and it seems that they are coming back. And why not? read more »

Bramboráky a houby in Chicago

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 14:28:42 +0100

What could be more fitting to celebrate Czech traditions than Houby Day on Čermák Road. This is the season of mushroom picking in the Czech Republic and many of the mushrooms (houby) will end up in pancakes (bramboráky), even though even more will be made into a meal with scrambled eggs (smaženice). read more »

Czechs second highest earners in new EU countries

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 07:39:39 +0100

The good news is the high salaries and lowish unemployment compared to the new countries. The bad news is a continuing lag behind old EU countries and the 25% pay gap between men and women. read more »

Kafka in Czech complete

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:27:05 +0100

Was he or wasn't he? read more »

German fighting losing battle in Czech schools

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 08:43:59 +0100

German is no longer the first or even second foreign language of choice for Czech students. It is surprising that even Spanish and Russian seem to be more popular. In a short hundred years since almost all Czechs spoke German (some better than Czech) to where very few do. It would be interesting to see what consequence it will have for Czech-German relations. Probably, it won't be all that bad. read more »

Czech search engine habits

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 13:17:45 +0100

The most common search engine used by Czechs is apparently the homegrown Seznam.cz followed by Google and the other two of the Czech top portals: Centrum.cz and Atlas.cz. read more »

Dictionary of Czech culture

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 21:56:48 +0100

The Amazon reviewer got it right! read more »

How have Czech values changed?

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 21:55:17 +0100

If you're wondering about what Czech views on this or that are, you could do worse than going to the excellent World Values Survey and use their read more »

Czech president at it again

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 14:36:03 +0100

It might be a bit unfair to say that Václav Klaus is a complete idiot. He's quite obviously reasonably well educated and pretty intelligent. But even well-educated and intelligent people do moronic things and this is one. Not so much the disagreement with the global warming lobby but the ease with which he lets himself be used by special interests. read more »

Czech news in English from a Czech online paper

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 08:44:39 +0100

Pavel Vondra » Yes, we speak English here Another milestone in Czech online journalism, or a tragically miscalculated flop? You be the judge. read more »

Burčák came early this year

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 00:02:13 +0100

Burčák the young wine (stum) popular in the Czech lands in the early autumn came earlier this year appearing in early August. Burčák sales in Prague kiosks around September and October is one of the joys of the Czech 'babí léto' and reminds Bohemians to remember how good it is to have Moravians part of the nation.
read more »

The simple pleasures of non-Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:29:00 +0100

A visit to Třeboň, a small picturesque town (malebné městečko) in Southern Bohemia elicited justified outbursts of lyricism from a Seattle columnists. And he's right. The individual personality of small Czech towns is something to be experienced through a leisurely journey rather than a hectic 'been there, done that' trip. read more »

1968 Invasion Remembered

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:00:00 +0100

Thirty-nine years ago, the Prague Spring's efforts for "Socialism with a human face" culminated in an invasion by the Warsaw Pact armies during the night of 20-21st of August. Wikipedia has useful information and you can see some moving pictures on YouTube: read more »

EasyJet planning to bring a friend to each person in Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 14:21:44 +0100

The population of Prague is roughly one million and that's exactly how many people EasyJet is planning to fly into the Ruzyně Airport each year. In effect, bringing one person for each person already in Prague. In the future, they may even make Prague one of their hubs joining ČSA and SkyEurope. As it is, they fly in from 9 destinations (incl. Geneva, London, Milano, Belfast). read more »

All Czechs to receive government-issued email address

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:05:08 +0100

According to a new draft law, lower-court summons should be delivered via email. To that end all Czech citizens would receive a government-issued email address. This is to avoid problems with people not picking up their summons from the post office and thus delaying the proceedings. It will be possible to opt-out but then summons not collected withing 10 days will be considered delivered. read more »

Czech doctors don't talk to patients

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 09:24:52 +0100

Poll: Most Czech doctors do not use patient's informed consent - Prague Daily Monitor read more »

The 10 best Czech breweries - And travelling outside Prague

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:02:39 +0100

The 10 best Czech breweries -Life & Style - Travel - Destinations - Europe - TimesOnline Prague's status as a destination for beer lovers is undisputed: the Czech Republic is home to the original Pilsner, the original Budweiser and boasts the world's highest beer consumption, 160 litres per person each year. In Prague, great pubs are found on every corner, and it is not uncommon to see people drinking one or more of the country's outstanding lagers with breakfast. Ounce for ounce, beer is cheaper than water here, and often appears to be consumed more widely. However, if you really want to sample Czech brewing, you need to leave the capital. This is far easier and less expensive than in many neighbouring countries, with excellent public transportation to nearly every Czech brewpub and regional brewery within a few hours.

Two wonderful pieces of advice. How to get to some great lesser known beers (remember you each pub only has one or at most two brands of beer) and how to travel outside of Prague to get more enjoyment out of Czech lands. read more »

Czech population highest in 10 years, foreigners help

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 12:43:50 +0100

Čechů je nejvíce za posledních deset let - www.lidovky.cz
Česko mělo na konci letošního prvního čtvrtletí nejvíc obyvatel za posledních deset let. V zemi žilo 10,306.700 lidí. Za první čtvrtletí se jejich počet zvedl o 19.500, a to hlavně díky příchodu cizinců.

The commonly bemoaned decrease in population growth has been, at least termporarily, halted. There seem to more newly-borns than the sadly-departed and the minor influx of foreigners is also a positive factor. read more »

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:45:00 +0000

Czech children not poor, but have emotional problems - UNICEF Czech children do not suffer from poverty and they have good health care and education as compared to children from some two tens of developed countries, but they have more problems in relations with parents and peers, according to a study that UNICEF released today.

Czech Republic came 11th in the overall score beating USA, France and UK (all three often featured as role models in socio-economic areas). Czechs were 11th, 10th and 9th in financial position, health and education respectively and it's infant mortality rates are one of the lowest but their overall ranking was brought down by "assessment of relations between children and their peers, and children and their parents." where CR scored 19th (ahead only of UK and US). Here are some other quotes from the article about the report. read more »

Foreign investment in the Czech Republic

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:45:00 +0000

Europe : Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic: A Challenge for Domestic Firms An economic analysis concerning Foreign Direct Investment in the Czech Republic has been published by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs The Czech Republic has been one of the primary recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) among Central and Eastern European countries. Soon after transition, it attracted the attention of foreign investors based on sound economic fundamentals and the opportunities offered by early privatizations. Substantial foreign investment over a fifteen year period has profoundly affected the structure and performance of the economy. This country focus looks at the way in which foreign investment has influenced productivity and market dynamics, including intra and inter-industry spillovers, and the expansion of the economy as a whole.

Changes and challenges in Czech education

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:20:45 +0000

Changes and challenges in Czech education The Education Act passed in 2004 calls for the standardization of the matriculation examination (ME). After finishing compulsory education, Czech students choose one track from either academic (gymnasia), secondary technical or vocational. Students from academic and secondary technical tracks finish their studies with a ME that allows them to apply to universities. Traditionally, the ME has consisted of a written and oral examination on Czech and one foreign language, and an oral examination on two eligible subjects. In accordance with the act, beginning in the 2007 academic year, all students must sit for a standardized test in Czech and foreign languages, and a third subject chosen from science, information technology, mathematics or civics.

Prague sixth most visited place in Europe, first most crowded

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 10:13:19 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Praha je šestým nejnavštěvovanějším místem v Evropě. „Ale když se podíváme na počet obyvatel, tak z první desítky turisticky atraktivních destinací je Praha suverénně nejmenší, proto je v centru několikanásobně vyšší koncentrace lidí než v jiných metropolích,“ vysvětluje Tomio Okamura z Asociace cestovních kanceláří a agentur.

Prague is the sixth most visited place in Europe, it seems (behind places like Paris, Rome, London, probably, the article doesn't say). But it is the smallest of the top ten most visited places and as a result most crowded. The one million three hundred thousand inhabitants are joined by another four million visitors every year who mostly come to visit the historic center which has one of the narrowest streets of the popular destinations. Part of the problem is the fact that the outskirts of Prague are not particularly appealing, ringed as it is by bland-looking apartment housing blocks (Note: which I personally find beautiful on many levels) so the tourists have no other outlets. (Note: this is not strictly speaking true there many places off the beaten track in Prague worth visiting but the concentrated beauty of the architectural Disneyland of the historic center makes them not as attractive.) read more »

It's a Czech's funeral

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 13:55:53 +0000

Potoky "druhých slzí" - www.lidovky.cz PRAHA 4. února 2007 | 13:45 V Česku se prý moc slavnostně nepohřbívá. Čas od času proběhnou médii zprávy o tom, že velká část pohřbů proběhne bez obřadu, v některých oblastech to je snad až šedesát procent. Je hodně pozůstalých, kteří si do pohřebního ústavu zapomenou přijít pro urnu, když uplyne lhůta, popel se vysype... někam.

Karel Svoboda, a well-known composer died recently, apparently committing suicide leading to a great amount of attention from the media and the public. This led Lidové Noviny to publish an article that has some interesting information about Czech funereal practices. Apparently, these happen typically with a minimum of pomp. As many as 60% of all funerals happen without a ceremony (I know of several families where that is a tradition) and supposedly quite a few urns with ashes are not collected from funeral homes. This is undoubtedly connected with the high level of atheism - up to 60% - which means that many Czechs don't have an easy access to a ritualized and institutionalized expression of grief and mourning. read more »

Vysvědčení dnes - School reports today

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 10:24:29 +0000

MF DNES Praha - Téměř osmdesát tisíc dětí ze základních škol a více než sedmdesát tisíc středoškoláků si dnes odnese domů pololetní vysvědčení. „V letošním školním roce máme v Praze evidováno 75 566 žáků základních škol, 4047 žáků speciálních tříd a 70 440 studentů středních škol,“ vypočítává vedoucí oddělení školského rejstříku a výkaznictví pražského magistrátu Karel Krupka.

Today is the day of so called "pololetní vysvědčení" - or the end of term ('pololetí') school report. read more »

Take the Czech quiz!

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 23:53:51 +0000

Tiscali Europa It's not all beer and the Vltava you know... Ten countries in Central Europe and the Mediterranean joined the European Union in 2004 - how well do you know them? Can you tell a Becherovka from a Jan Huss? Or a Škoda from a Schroeder? Try your luck with our great photo quizzes... but make a mistake and you get sent back to the beginning!

Tiscali Europe has provided this fun quiz on what is important to know about the Czech Republic. They hit many of the major points (although they read more »

'Rybička' makes it into Bond flick

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:38:04 +0000

"Four seconds of fame" for Czech knife in Bond movie - 12-01-2007 - Radio Prague What do James Bond and the Czech hobby of mushroom picking have in common? I won't keep you guessing - it is a knife - more precisely knives produced by the Czech company Mikov. Their products are good enough for 007 as well as the peaceful Czech family hobby of mushroom picking.

The title is a subtle pun since the 'rybička' refers to a very famous Czech flick knife with a fish-shaped handle whose maker's product was prominently displayed in the latest Bond film. This is what the company's director had to say about it (and with justification): read more »

Growth in Czech spending on science among fastest in Europe

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 17:32:59 +0000

Growth in Czech spending on science among fastest in Europe Brussels- The growth in spending on research and development in the Czech Republic is among the fastest in the European Union, Eurostat data out today have shown. ... More than half of the money spent on science in the Czech Republic comes from private resources, mainly from large companies.

Czech Republic has a very strong science and research tradition. Still, fast growth also means that there is a long way to go.

Still, read more »

Czechs lead in divorce race

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 20:05:19 +0000

Češi: rozvodoví rekordmani - Žena.cz Pevný manželský svazek vydrží v České republice jen zhruba třetině párů. Na každých 100 sňatků připadá celkem 67 rozvodových řízení. Češi jsou tak spolu s Belgičany a Estonci s přehledem "šampiony" v rozvodech v rámci celé Evropské unie.

Given the low religiosity of Czechs, it should perhaps not be surprising that the divorce rate is rather high. Two in three marriages end in divorce (67 divorces per 100 weddings - the EU average is 40). Czechs are bested only by Estonians and Belgians . read more »

Translating the Czech Golden Age

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:42:13 +0000

The Prague Post Online: Tempo: Translating the Czech Golden Age "The years of the First Republic, 1918-1938, were the golden years of Czech culture, particularly in literature," translator Mark Corner says over coffee at the French Institute's café. "It's the Čapek Age, though many of the writers were never translated for English audiences. The double blow of the Nazis and the communists saw to that."

There are many names associated with this period from Čapek to Seifert (one of two Czechs to have received the Nobel prize). read more »

Czech succumb to charm of massage as 'wellness' comes to fore

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 15:32:19 +0000

Češi propadají kouzlu masáží - www.lidovky.cz Masážní studia hlásí plné stavy. S rostoucí životní úrovní si totiž Češi dopřávají kvalitní péči o tělo a masáž vnímají jako druh relaxace po náročném pracovním dnu.

The Czech massage business is booming. This comes on the heals of changing attitudes toward the idea of getting a massage. Until very recently, it just wasn't a part of the Czech concept of things to do outside medicine and sport. This read more »

Sex scandal and gender equality for Czech third church

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 09:58:16 +0000

Czech Hussites rocked by sexual scandal - press "New patriarch Tomas Butta, Bishop Stepan Klasek, Petr Sandera and I have asked Bican to consider his resignation," Bishop Jana Šilerová from Olomouc, North Moravia, told the paper. ... MfD writes that the Hussite church is the third most populous church in the Czech Republic and now it is celebrating 87 years since its establishment.

What can we learn form this story? Gay priests having affairs? Nothing new or surprising here. However, a female bishop? Certainly a point of interest. The Czechoslovak Hussite Church not only allows women priests, they number almost half of the total 300 clergy. It should also be noted that the most populous church by far is the Catholic from which the Hussites split during the early years of the Czech Republic over ordination of women and other issues. The Hussites are not really a protestant denomination of the Lutheran tradition (they're closer to Anglicans) and having Jan Hus in their title is more a matter of national pride than ideology. They're one of the more tolerant churches out there but they were also one of the more willing to do the communist regime's bidding (although that has to be taken in the context of its time). read more »