Prague Blog

Dolores O’Riordan is back. The singer of the legendary band Cranberries is starting her European tour while her band is being at rest and is going to perform in Prague with her accompanying band on Monday 26 November 2007 in Prague Lucerna.

The Cranberries is one of the most world famous band and all their hits will be performed on the Dolores O’Riordan tour in Prague. O’Riordan’s first solo album “Are You Listening?” was released on May 4, 2007 in the Republic of Ireland. The hit “Ordinary Day” was recorded in Prague and you can hear it at all music TV channels.

Dolores Eileen O’Riordan was born September 6th, 1971 as the youngest of seven children in Ballybricken, Limerick, Ireland. Her family was strict Catholic and she has a lot of respect for the good in the Catholic Church, but she doesn’t go to church. In 1990 she joined “The Cranberry saw Us” and later its name was changed to Cranberries at her request. On July 18th, 1994 O’Riordan married Don Burton, the former tour manager of Duran Duran. Now she lives in Howth, County Dublin with her husband and their four children (one is from a previous relationship of Burton’s).

If you come to her concert in Lucerna you will hear the Cranberries’ best hits including Linger, Animal Instinct, Zombie, Salvation, When You Are Gone and also hits from her new album “Are you Listening? “.

Tickets are available at the Ticketpro chain outlets and they cost 800 CZK (26,6 €). You can also buy the tickets right before the concert for the price of 950 CZK (31,6 €).

Current number two of American rap is comming to the Czech Republic within the scope of his European tour (he didn’t cancel his tour, just moved it for two months). Tickets for his performance which is going to take place on 21st November in Prague T-mobile arena are on sale.

Rapper 50 Cent whose real name is Curtis James Jackson comes to Prague for the first time. He promotes his new album Curtis which competed at the beginning of September with Kanye West‘s album, Curtis‘ American competitor.

50 Cent comes from New York – Queens but has affinity for gangsta rap from the West Coast. It’s no wonder, his mother was a dealer of cocaine and died when Curtis was still a child. However not a young rapper didn’t avoid problems with law. In a half of 90‘s he was imprisoned because of selling crack and carrying weapons to school.

Then he began to assert himself at a scene of New York rap after his cooperation with producers Trackmaster.
In 2000 he almost fell a victim of violence. He was wounded by 9 mm pistol, but it only emphasized his position of controversial figure in New York scene.

However he is not only a gangster rapper, he also has catchy melodies what confirmed the last album Curtis. Mary J. Blige and Eminem are the guests on this album.
Tickets are from 790 to 990 CZK (26,3 – 33 €) and are available at the Ticketpro and Ticketportal chain outlets.

The world-famous gospel choir, cooperating with the biggest stars of the world of music is coming back to the Czech Republic after its great successful last year.

Tickets to the concert cost between 250 and 890 CZK (8,3 and 29,6 €) and are available at the box office of the Prague State Opera and also at the Ticketpro chain outlets.

Last year, Harlem Gospel Choir’s visit to the Czech Republic was something like a “trial run”. Gospel music has never had a tradition in this country and its music scene, so no one expected the choir to have such a success at the local audience. However enthusiasm and euforia which accompanied the whole Czech stage of the choir’s tour could not escape the attention of the Czech press and other media. All tickets were sold out for every tour’s stop and the choir performed something unexpected. The tour was hosted by churches and synagogues where this type of show has not been ordinary. But Czech music fans and those who were courious were excited. Many of them followed the tour along next stops to feel the atmosphere again and again. Gospel singing as performed by this most famous New York-based choir had a great success.

In 2007 they had a great success in Russia where people keenly applauded at number of concerts in Moscow. Their great success was for example three-month long completely sold out indoor arena tour of Germany and France with Andre Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra. Harlem Gospel Choir has also a lot of fans from celebrities. For example: Bono Vox of U2, Diana Ross, Elton John and Donatella Versace.

Harlem Gospel Choir travels about the world and shares its joy of faith through its music and raises funds for children’s charities. The choir was established by Allen Bailey in 1986 and was formed from the best singers and musicians from various churches catering for the African American community in Harlem. Harlem Gospel Choir has been sharing for a long time the message of love, peace and harmony with thousands of people of different nations, environments, and cultures. It tries to make the world better with greater love and freedom. It wants to promote a better understanding of the African American culture through its dynamic performance. The topics of these songs have something in common – to connect people and nations together and revive some of these ideas.

Harlem Gospel Choir is comming to Prague on 1st November 2007 with their World Tour 2007 – God Bless The Children.

Unfortunately for Prague, it is well known all around the world that local taxi drivers are not really honest. Especially if they see you are a tourist. Way too often they calculate that you don’t know the average pricing and they try to rip you off.

It is to say, however, that Prague has been fighting with dishonest taxi drivers. It is obvious that Prague taxi drivers are a scar on its reputation. The question is, though, who is winning the battle? So far, it looks that Prague might be successful at last.

A new strategy has been introduced not long time ago – the so called “Fair Taxi”. If you come across a place marked with a sign saying “Fair Place Taxi” with a dumb-up image, you can be certain that your ride will not be overpriced.

Will “Fair Taxi” help to change the bad reputation of Prague’s taxis? Only time will show if this campaign has been successful. Nevertheless, some tips still might be useful.

If you don’t see any “Fair Taxi” around, call some taxi agency. Try to avoid street cabs since they are more likely to overcharge your ride. If you can’t call, don’t get into a taxi that is parked right in front of some typically tourist area, e.g. airport, railway station, National Theater and so on. Walk a bit. The taxis parked a bit further are more likely to be fair to you.

If you stop a taxi, make sure it has a fair list printed on both front doors. Now, once inside, check if the rate on the taximeter corresponds with the fair list posted on the car doors. At the end of your little journey, every taxi driver has the duty to give you a receipt printed out by the taximeter. If the driver refuses to give it to you, refuse to pay for the ride.

Well, you can never be sure with the taxi drivers. My recommendation to you is to have your eyes open. Be cautious. If you follow those “rules” mentioned above, you should have no problems whatsoever. But still, if you do, you should know that there are means of how you can defend yourself. More in Help to Fight Dishonest Taxi Drivers.

Are you an animal lover? Are you mad about all creatures walking or crawling on the planet Earth? Are you concerned about maltreatment of animals? Is zoo usually the first place you visit in a foreign country? Well, if you answer yes at least once, but even if don’t, there is a great exhibition in Prague right now you may want to visit. Or to be frank, an exhibition you should visit in any case.

This is really not an ordinary exhibition. It is truly an unique and touching one. The idea of this exhibition is quite inviting – let’s look right into the eyes of wild animals. So you will get the chance to fix your eyes with the octopus, rattlesnake, chameleon and others, without the fear that they will hurt you. Isn’t it great?

I was so amazed at the exhibition I couldn’t let my eyes go. The feeling that you stare into the eyes of an alligator, for example, was even deepened by the fact that many pictures are quite big. Everyone who sees this exhibition will probably come to the same conclusion. And that is that nature is fascinating indeed.

You fill find this exhibition in the shopping centre Atrium at Charles Square. Take a subway to station Karlovo namesti (yellow B line) or get off the tram 3, 4, 6, 10, 14, 18, 22, 23, 24. Open is daily from 9am to 9pm. But hurry up, the exhibition runs only till October 31.

Oh, and the best information at the end – it is for free.

The old Jewish cemetery is the only reminder of old Prague Jewish Town, otherwise cleared away during “the asanation” (the demolition) in the 19th Century. Since its founding (the 15th Century), the limited grounds gave rest to thousands. The most visited tomb is that of Rabbi Jehuda Löw, the „inventor” of Golem, the legendary clay giant. Never mind this story, Löw was without a doubt a very educated man of many virtues, with interest in alchemy and possibly magic but that’s hard to say, since anything having to do with chemistry and physics was seen as magic at the time.

The town covered one tenth of the present size of Old Town, which means it was quite overcrowded as the population grew with centuries. Six gates separated it from the rest of the city, gates which were locked all day and night during the Easter. That was the tiniest of acts of oppression towards the minority. The pogroms did occur and reasons were various: the city was struck by cholera or some other illnesses, explainable as a punishment from (Christian) God by anti- Semite radicals. One of the gravest pogroms took place in 1389, during the reign of Wenceslas IV, the son of Charles IV. A catholic priest was wounded while walking through the quarter. The fanaticized crown stormed the ghetto, burning down houses and killing whoever got into its reach. Majority of the then- current Jewish population (which is thought to have been about three thousand), fell victim to the rampage that was probably encouraged by the clergy.

The modern times of the Jewish quarter, now called Josefov, brought little progress to the town. The new quarter remained poor and was damaged by high crime rate and an unfriendly stance of the city majority. In literature, the area was traditionally a setting for dark mysteries and horror tales. Jan Neruda was possibly the first Czech author to write objective reports on the state of living of the Prague Jews, so opening the door for more young writers to approach the community as a serious problem (meaning their social situation) and not an object of fear and/or hatred.

Contemporary population consists of an estimated 1,700 Prague Jews. The community conducts a kinder garden, a home for the elderly, various seminars and, of course, religious services in the synagogues.

The Jewish Town got into the daily news recently, as the magistrates finally forbade neo- Nazi groups from having a march on the anniversary of Kristallnacht (the extremists feebly tried to argue it’s just a coincidence). A right decision, for any kind of celebration or even renaissance of the European majority’s former conduct towards the community would be, in my opinion, extremely shameful.

Every year, Intenational Fair EXPOLINGUA offers to more than 5000 visitors the unique opportunity to gain information about programmes, services and products relating to foreign languages,education and culture.

The demand for language learning in the Czech Republic is growing in consequence of increasing number of students who are interested in studies abroad. In the past four years, the number of students who participated in European programmes has more than tripled. The increasing interest in language learning is connected with requirements of the Czech employment market. Knowledge of at least one foreign language is a necessity. More and more Czechs are also studying languages only for pleasure and tourism.

The Fair EXPOLINGUA Praha 2007 will present over 70 exhibitors from more than 13 countries of the world.

Rich programme of workshops and lectures will offer more than 60 presentations by national and international experts in the fields of languages and cultures. Speakers will focus on new aspects of language learning and present the latest innovations and technologies. The seminar programme is free for the Fair visitors.

Last year, more than 5000 mostly young people between 15 and 25 years of age visited EXPOLINGUA Praha 2006. During two days, they could see 72 exhibitors from 13 countries in Narodni dum, Prague 2 – Vinohrady. Among exhibitors there were international universities and language schools, learning software producers and organisations providing study exchange and study and work abroad programmes. The could also gain some information about the various options for foreign language study in the Czech Republic. Increasing interest in studying languages such as Japanese, Portuguese, Basque, Arabic and Chinese appeared. Except for studies abroad, visitors were interested in e-learning, educational CD-ROMs, textbooks and dictionaries.

The exhibition will take place in Narodni dum in Prague 2 – Vinohrady, Namesti Miru 9. By metro it is line A, station Namesti Miru. Opening hours are: daily from 10‑18 on November 9-10, 2007. Entrance fees are for adults 50 CZK (1,6 €) and for students 25 CZK (0,8 €).

For more information or visitor flyers look here.

You have now the extraordinary opportunity to see the holy statues of Baby Jesus of Prague, called the Bambino di Praga, together with his “mother” – the statue of Our Lady of Aparecida. Both famous statues are installed side by side in the church of Our Lady Vitorious – Infant Jesus of Prague.

The wax statue of little Jesus, which is well known for its various robes, is probably the strongest symbol of Prague for Roman Catholics all around the world. The statue was made in the beginning of the 17th century and is said to be miraculous. If you ask the Jesus child kindly, your wish will come true. (So why not give it a try.)

The statue of Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil. The statue was found in 1717, when she appeared (thus the name “Aparecida”) in a fisherman’s net. Just like the statue of Infant Jesus of Prague, the statue of Our Lady of Aprecida is said to have answered many prayers. The statue was declared the patroness of Brazil in 1930 by pope Pius XI.

Naturally it is not the original you may adore in Prague now, it is a copy. But it would be nice to mention that the Czech Republic is only the second European country after Portugal to have the Our Lady of Aprecida statue installed. Nevertheless, the statue of Infant Jesus of Prague is original, you can be sure of that.

And where can you find both holy statues? The church of Our Lady Vitorious – Infant Jesus of Prague is on Karmelitska 9, Prague 1, best reachable with trams 12, 20, 22, or 23. Get off on Helichova station. If you take the tram from the Malostranska direction, the tram station is right in front of the church. If you take the tram from the other direction, you must walk a little bit – just go straight on as if you were to continue your ride in a tram. The church will be on your left side.

And since October 12 it is the day of Our Lady of Aprecida in Brazil, it may be a great time for a visit.

The word octopus is mentioned in the title, but this article is not about a cephalopod, the creature who inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, but it is about new concept of the National Library in Prague which resembles an octopus. You must have heard about the famous architect Jan Kaplicky and his concept of the new building for the National Library. He won the international architectural competition, which was declared by the International Union of Architects (UIA). Jury compound of world famous architects, the Mayor of Prague Pavel Bem and the Director of Library Vlastimil Jezek. The Czech architect Eva Jiricna lives in Great Britain and was a jury foreman.

The National Library needs a new building, because it doesn’t have a place for its books. Every year the number of books increases for more than 56 000.

Kaplicky’s project counted with new depositories with capacity of 10 million books that would solve the problem for next 50 years. The library should have been built on Letna in 3 years, with costs estimated at 1,8 billion CZK (60 million €).The project criteria includes: 200 study places on 9 floors, a system for expedition of books, which would provide getting any book in 3 minutes, and a depository for 10 million books underground. “The building has fabulous colour, which begins as colour of champagne, yellow-gold and nose-up continues as almost white colour. The building has a big eye, which looks at the city – on the one side there is the Prague Castle and on the other side there is the Old Town Square”, says Kaplicky.

Now the possibility that this futuristic building of the National Library will be built decreases. The Director of the National Library Vlastimil Jezek permitted that he will have to declare a new competition. Why? ODS representatives blocked sale of land on Letna which the city detached for the building one year ago. The most of ODS representatives do not like an “octopus” or they do not want it on Letna nearby the Prague Castle. The Mayor Pavel Bem (ODS) suggests he will find a new place for it, for example at Pankrac plain. However, it is not possible to build it somewhere else, because the architect created the plan for Letna as it was submitted in the competition. “If it was another place it would be a new competition”, says Jezek. Kaplicky said he had no reason to move the building. It must be remarked that the President Vaclav Klaus does not like the building as well.

And what about people? How do they like it? The most of experts and ordinary people do not agree with this concept. They do not like location of the building, height or they think the building is not dignified for the function of the National Library. On the other hand people who like it say that time for courageous projects has come. They say Prague miss a new building of the world significance.

Walking along the Zelezna street from the Old Town Square, you find yourself on the square of the former St Havel’s market. Originally called the New market, in order to distinguish itself from the Old Town Square market. The place, established in the 13th Century was called after the Church, which dominated the then- empty place and was one of the four main churches in Prague at the time. It profited from its position, being in the spotlight, and it was harmed by it, the noise of the market often interrupting the markets.

What was slowly becoming a square often hosted celebrations and feasts in the name of newly crowned kings. The Zbraslav chronicles mention the occasion when Wenceslas II had pipelines laid down to the square, so that wine would pour out of fountains on the occasion of his coronation.

There were different kinds of shops present, some were of stone and there was some sort of a Jewish presentation at the spot. The various shops were a regular source of amusement for the Prague university students, who tended to escape the nearby Carolinum in search of a meal, ale and some entertainment.

Next to the renowned Church, in the place called Kotce (because of the shops), there was a building, which became a ground for theatrical companies and later became the first regular Prague theater in 1738. This was soon overshadowed by the Nostic, later Stavovské divadlo (The Estates Theatre), on the opposite end of the square. It is clear than that the spot turned into a centre of dramatic art, also the Czech- spoken.

The trade is lively in Havelska street close to the square. Inside the passage, in the “U zlate vahy” pub, a secret assembly of Czech radical democrats, who called themselves “Repeal”, inspired by the Irish independence movement, using the same slogan, was born and had their sessions.

The area around the market is visibly different from the Old Town. Unlike the Old Town, this area had an architectonic plan, while the Old Town grew spontaneously. It is one of the striking differences between the Old and the New, but even when compared to the Havel’s Town, you see a complicated net of narrow streets on one hand and an order and utility, streets wide and straight and useful. It’s interesting that the architectural anarchy of the early settlement is one of the reasons why the city center remains special.