Radio Prague International - latest articles

A new project aims to create a new 9,801 kilogramme bell for Prague – to commemorate thousands of Czech church and tower bells stolen and melted down by the Nazis in summer 1942. The cost will be raised via a public collection.

Wolves are slowly returning to the Czech Republic after more than a century. What kind of environment are they returning to, do they have enough prey and adequate conditions for breeding? And are the country’s present day inhabitants ready to live in harmony with them? Those are questions I put to Jakub Čejka from the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection.

As more and more countries in Europe prepare to return to a normal life, pressure has been mounting on the Czech government to follow suit. Thousands have rallied in the streets of Prague in the past weeks, demanding an end to the restrictions, and a decision by the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday speeded up the government’s plans for a gradual return to normal.

The Ministry of Environment has announced plans to declare the Křivoklát region, south east of Prague, a national park. While conservationists welcome the proposal, the locals oppose it, fearing unwanted restrictions and an influx of tourists.

Julian Anderson, one of the most distinctive composers of his generation, has never been to the Czech Republic, yet he knows more about the country than the vast majority of Brits. Although he has never set eyes on Prague, he has fallen in love with the city and is currently composing a symphony about it. Called Prague Panoramas, it was inspired by Josef Sudek’s black and white photographs of the city, and is due to premier this spring in Prague’s Rudolfinum Music Hall.

Many Czechs will be glued to their screens in the coming weeks, with the Winter Olympics due to get underway in Beijing on Friday. Among the country’s medal hopefuls is Ester Ledecká, whose unprecedented success was the biggest story at the last games four years ago.

A controversial amendment to the Czech Republic’s Pandemic Law, which would broaden the government’s ability to enforce restrictions, is being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. While the ruling coalition claims it is a necessary step that would avoid the need to call a state of emergency, opposition politicians and some members of the public have criticized what they see as an unnecessary extension of executive powers.

Rote learning, the backbone of the Czech education system for centuries, may finally be on its way out. The new minister of education, Petr Gazdík, is planning a radical school reform where the emphasis will not be on memorization, but the ability to find information, verify it and use it creatively.

Czech Republic’s doubles duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková won their fourth Grand Slam title on Sunday after a beating Kazakstan's Anna Danilina and Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in a three set final battle for the Australian Open title.

More than a hundred university students from Belarus have found refuge in the Czech Republic, after being forced to flee their country following persecution by President Alexander Lukashenko’s regime. They have been supported not only by the universities that took them in, but also by the Ministry of Education and their new classmates.