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The holiday home of the late Czech writer Bohumil Hrabal in Kersko, just 30 kilometres east of Prague, could soon be turned into an exhibition space. Plans for its use were presented on Monday by representatives of the Central Bohemian Region and the museum of Polabí.

Along with other states in Central Europe, the Czech Republic is currently facing another coronavirus epidemic wave. This Monday sees the activation of new measures aimed at curbing the spread of the virus, which should be in place for at least two weeks. The government is also set to decide on whether to enact a state of emergency. Meanwhile, there is talk of implementing a lockdown and mandatory vaccinations.

People around the Czech Republic have donated more than 410 tonnes of food and hygiene products for people in need within the bi-annual National Food Collection, which took place this Saturday. A record number of shops and supermarket chains took part in the autumn collection, reaching the second-best result in its history.

The Czech Republic is one of the least vulnerable countries when it comes to Russian and Chinese malign activities in the Central European and Western Balkan regions, according to a newly published Vulnerability Index, produced by the Bratislava-based security think-tank GLOBSEC. To find out more about the vulnerabilities that countries in the region face and why the Czech Republic is doing better than most, I spoke to Dominika Hajdu, the head of GLOBSEC’s Centre for Democracy & Resilience and one of the authors of the study.

Following a decade of preparation, a permanent exhibition on the history of ethnic Germans in the Czech lands opened at the City Museum of Ústí nad Labem this week. The exhibition, entitled “Naši Němci” (or “Our Germans” in English), explores relations between Czech and German communities dating back to the Middle Ages.

Hand-crafted Bohemian crystal-glass and glass jewelry have a centuries old tradition 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.  Bohemian glass makers 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. The Museum of Glass and Jewelry in Jablonec nad Nisou traces the history of Bohemian glass making over seven centuries.

Czech tennis duo Barbora Krejčíková and Kateřina Siniaková have won this year’s WTA Finals women’s doubles tournament in Mexico after beating Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens 6:3 and 6:4 in the final. The victory means that Kateřina Siniaková will end the season as world number one in the doubles category and comes as a perfect finish for the duo, which won gold at the Tokio Olympics as well as the French Open earlier this year.

Fragments of the co-called Maloměřice kettle, a masterpiece of Celtic art, is currently on display at the Dietrichstein Palace in Brno. The kettle, which was probably used as a ritual object in Celtic ceremonies, was found more than 80 years ago on the outskirts of the city at one of the largest excavated Celtic burial sites in Moravia.

A large number of wild animals, especially birds, travel across the Czech Republic each year to breeding grounds in the north in search of more food and smaller predation risks. However, a new study co-authored by Czech scientist Vojtěch Kubelka shows that many of these animals no longer profit from migrating to the northern latitudes due to environmental changes associated with climate change.

The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia no longer has parliamentary representation. It is the first time since the fall of Communism that the party failed to gain any seats in the Czech Chamber of Deputies. As the country remembers the Velvet Revolution that started on November 17, 1989, one could ask whether this is likely a permanent demise of the Czech Communists, or just a temporary setback.