News | All stories

The economic recession has curbed the interest in renting and purchasing traditional costumes of St Nicolas, the angel and the devil donned on the upcoming holiday of the saint, the news agency ČTK reported. Quoting a survey among several costume rentals in the capital, the agency said many people bought their own costumes in the past or only rent the costume of St Nicolas, rather than the complete trio.

A central European analogy to Santa Claus, St Nicolas accompanied by an angel and a devil brings small gifts to children on the night of December 5, the eve of his holiday.

The authorities have asked drivers to exercise extra caution in parts of the country affected by adverse weather conditions. In the west of the country, some roads are covered with ice while in the east, snow and fog can cause poor visibility. Roads in the mountainous areas including the Šumava are reportedly covered with snow.

Czech President Václav Klaus and Prime Minister Petr Nečas have rejected an invitation to attend the awarding ceremony of the Nobel Peace Prize to the European Union that will take place in Oslo on December 10. A spokesman for the eurosceptic Czech president provided no reasons behind Mr Klaus’ decision, the government’s spokesman said Prime Minister Nečas was too busy to attend the ceremony. For his part, Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said he had not been invited. The opposition Social Democrats have criticized Mr Nečas’ decision which they said put the Czech government into isolation. The Czech Republic will be one of six EU member states whose top officials will not attend the ceremony, according to media reports.

Christian Democrats are discussing strategies to gain higher voter support at a one-day programme conference in Jihlava on Saturday. Party chair Pavel Bělobrádek said the group should pursue the concept of social market economy, and present itself as an alternative to the policies of the current government. The conference is also expected to alter the name of the party which now in full reads the Christian-Democrat Union – the Czechoslovak People’s Party. The group failed to win seats in the lower house in the 2010 general elections but most polls suggest it has a good chance of crossing the 5-percent threshold to enter the house.

The new CEO of the largest Czech public health insurance company, VZP, Civic Democrat Zdeněk Kabátek, assumes his post on Saturday. Mr Kabátek, who most recently worked at the Health Ministry, was chosen by the company’s board earlier this week. He replaces Pavel Horák who stepped down over budget issues. The change is part of a broader overhaul of the company’s management initiated by the Health Ministry. The new CEO said his first goal was to stabilize the company’s finances.

Some 10,000 people witnessed the re-enactment of the Battle of Austerlitz near Slavkov, in southern Moravia on Saturday, 207 years after Napoleon’s army beat the Russian and Austrian troops there. 900 people from 11 countries with 60 horses and 15 cannons reenacted parts of the battle on Saturday; this year, they focused on the closing phases and the retreat of the Austrian and Russian armies from the battlefield.

Painter Vladimír Houdek has won the 2012 Jindřich Chalupecký Award for artists under the age of 35. The only painter among the six finalists of the award, 28-year-old Houdek a graduate of Prague’s Academy of Fine Arts, explores in his works the ambiguous and problematic heritage of modernism, the jury said. The winner also received funds to hold an exhibition at the National Gallery in Prague and a six-week fellowship in New York. The other finalists of the Jindřich Chalupecký award this year included Adéla Babanová, Richard Loskot, Jiří Thýn and the duo David Böhm and Jiří Franta.

Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda on Saturday lit a 28-metre-tall Christmas tree in Prague’s Old Town Square, and opened a Christmas market in the square. The spruce, which is around 90-years-old, came from a forest near Rokycany, in western Bohemia. Organizers said tightened security measures were applied at the event which each year attracts thousands of people.

Fifty historic palaces, towers, churches and other monuments in Prague are open to the public free of charge this weekend as the city marks the 20th anniversary of its inclusion of UNESCO’s list of world heritage. People can visit, among other sites, the Bethlehem Chapel, the Pinkas Synagogue and the Old Town tower at Charles Bridge, the National and the Estates Theatres, the Emauzy Convent. Some of the sites however require visitors to make a reservation.

Several roads in the north of the country remain closed due to poor weather conditions, the police said on Saturday. Most roads in the region’s mountainous areas are covered with snow and ice which is expected to last for several days. Some roads have also been blocked by fallen trees.