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Czechs can look forward to a gorilla reality show. Crows from Russia get
the cold shoulder. And, a famous skeleton takes a trip by car. Find out
more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
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Current AffairsPrague's Astronomical Clock stops for two months due to repair work
Prague's Orloj, or Astronomical Clock, is one of the city's major tourist
attractions. But for the next two months some visitors may be disappointed
to find the clock is out of action: it's about to undergo its first repairs
for over a decade. Ludvik Hainz is a well-known Prague clockmaker - indeed,
his family have been taking care of the Astronomical Clock since the 1860s.
I asked him why the work was being done now, not during the winter when
there are fewer tourists.
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ArtsSaving the statues of the National Theatre, and a pot-smoking pontiff comes to Prague
In the arts this week, we report on a public drive to raise funds for the
restoration of the statues of the National Theatre. We also take a look at
The Pope Smoked Dope, a retrospective of sixties counter-culture, which is
being held in Prague.
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MagazineMagazine
Can a hard rock festival kill a shark? Waiting for the 25 bus under a
decapitated head! A new artsy bus stop in Liberec evokes mixed reactions.
And, a survey just out suggests that Czechs are the biggest bookworms in
Europe! Find out more in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
More
Current AffairsT-shirts against communism
A few years ago the well-known Czech artist David Cerny made headlines when
he produced a t-shirt showing a spiky finger flipping the Communist Party
the bird. Now a design studio - alarmed by growing support for the party -
has got a similar idea, commissioning designers around the country to take
part in a competition protesting against growing public support for the
communists. Titled "De-communisation" the project has attracted
a lot of attention so far.
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Current AffairsMemorial to President Benes sparks controversy
A memorial to the second Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes was unveiled
on Monday in front of the Foreign Ministry headquarters near the Prague
Castle. President Benes is not as widely popular today as his predecessor,
Tomas Garigue Masaryk. But he is still very much respected among many
Czechs, who see Edvard Benes as a champion of democracy and fighter
against Nazism. Their view is, however, not shared by the Sudeten Germans
— ethnic Germans expelled after World War II —who blame President Benes
for their plight.
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Current AffairsThe complicated history of Prague's Tank No. 23
Prague's Kinsky Square was for many decades called The Square of Soviet
Tank Crews. It was because a huge Soviet tank, a memorial to the
liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, used to stand there on a 5-metre
pedestal, its barrel menacingly pointing at a tram stop. Until one
morning, in the spring of 1991, locals woke up and could not believe their
eyes. The tank had turned pink overnight.
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Current AffairsWorld's biggest Stalin monument would have turned 50 on May Day
It's a beautiful sunny day here in Prague and I'm standing on Prague's
Letna Hill overlooking the Vltava River and the Old Town. Tourists come
here today, not only for the breathtaking view but to see the large
ticking metronome, which was erected here in 1991. But for the local
residents this spot holds a darker memory - little do the tourists around
me know that exactly fifty years ago, at this very site, some six hundred
men and women were working around the clock to create the world's biggest
monument ever to honour the Soviet Communist party chief Josef Stalin.
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Current AffairsGeneral Patton statue becomes a hot potato
Last year in the West Bohemian city of Plzen, the foundation stone was laid
for a large bronze statue of General George Patton, whose 3rd US Army
liberated the city in the spring of 1945. It seemed an apt gesture to
remember one of the war's great generals, and the unveiling was to be one
of the highpoints of this year's 60th anniversary celebrations taking
place next week in Plzen. At the time no-one could have guessed that just
a few months later the stone would be dug up again, and that the city
would not have its statue after all, after city councillors voted for the
commission to be cancelled. David Vaughan looks at the strange story of a
statue that has turned into a hot potato.
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