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“Czechs have golden hands,” boasts a popular saying meaning, that Czechs are generally manually a very skillful nation. Economists do not doubt that the Czech economic success is based on a long tradition of manufacturing and other industries. But can there be any truth in such a claim in the highly globalized, high-tech economy of the 21st century?

Teams of archaeologists and anthropologists are currently excavating on the site of the former military cemetery in Prague’s Karlín district. The site was in use from the second half of the 1700s to the end of the 19th century and excavators believe that many of the remains belong to men who were casualties of the Napoleonic Wars.

Czech officials have responded with concern to the news that two allegedly Russian missiles hit Polish territory on Tuesday, killing two people. Czechia has said it will coordinate with its EU and NATO partners and support whatever action is agreed on.

Hand-made Bohemia crystal-glass and glass jewelry have a centuries old tradition that is taken to new heights by cutting-edge technology. Stunning crystal glass lighting installations, art works and glasses grace palaces, luxury hotels, public spaces and private residences worldwide.  Bohemia glass artisans pioneered a technique for replicating the look of precious stones, producing cut-glass crystals that closely resembled diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and emeralds sought after the world over.

An exhibition presenting the life’s work of the twin sisters Jitka and Květa Válová got underway in Gallery of the Central Bohemian Region in Kutná Hora earlier this month. Entitled A Path Destined by Faith, it presents numerous works on loan from other galleries, as well as works from both sisters’ estates that were donated to the gallery's collection in 2021, marking the centenary of the sisters’ birth.

University students across Czechia are taking part in protests against climate change, calling on the government to take immediate action to address global warming, soaring energy prices and growing social inequalities.  The series of events, including sleep-in and sit-in protests as well as demonstrations, started on Monday and will culminate on Thursday with a march through Prague. I discussed the events with one of the organisers, Anežka Lindaurová:

The newly-restored greenhouse in the garden of the Augustinian abbey in Brno where the father of modern genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel, cross-bred pea plants and thereby discovered the laws of heredity, opened to the public for the first time on Saturday afternoon. The ceremonial opening was planned to coincide with the anniversary celebrations of the bicentenary of Mendel’s birth.

The Czech men’s national floorball team has just registered its greatest international success in nearly two decades, reaching the final of the World Championships in Switzerland. Despite losing to Sweden 3:9 in Sunday’s final, recent Czech successes at junior level suggest that this may be a sign of things to come.

Proponents of “Czechia” got a boost this month, when Olympic officials in Prague asked the International Olympic Committee to register it in its database of country names. But will the short name ever replace the official “the Czech Republic” in common speech? I discussed the matter with leading Czech linguist Karel Oliva.

This year’s celebrations of November 17, the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, will see the centre of Prague and many other cities across Czechia fill up with events and festivities. The organisers of one of the largest annual events, the Festival of Freedom, opened up about their programme earlier this week. It includes the annual Concert for the Future on Prague’s Wenceslas Square, where there will be a performance by the famous Russian music group Pussy Riot, says spokesman Marek Cieslar.