Weekly review no. 2
27.09.2023
Symbolic Closing of the Gap in Louka on Saturday
The resumption of rail service from Holzhau to Moldava in the Czech Republic remains uncertain. But supporters of the rail connection continue to campaign undeterred to close this gap in cross-border traffic. On Saturday, September 30, the fifth symbolic closing of the gap will take place at the Louka u Litvínova (Meadow) train station. A variety of activities are on the program starting at 10 a.m. A special historic train will also depart from Moldava at 10 a.m. Following its arrival on October 11, the official program will begin with exhibits on railway and model railway technology, children’s theater, live music, and cuisine from Carpatho-Ukraine—the region that was part of Czechoslovakia between 1918 and 1938.
The train station in Louka is an important junction where two railway lines meet. The route to Moldava intersects with the so-called “Goat Railway” (Kozí dráha) to Děčín (Tetschen), which is currently only in use between Děčín and Telnice. The Ústí district is therefore planning to expand the train station into a tourist visitor center.
Regular trains to Moldava and back also run all day on Saturday. The special train begins its return journey after the program ends at 9:05 p.m. (arriving in Moldava at 10:35 p.m.). Tickets can be reserved by emailing info@erzgebirgs-zeitung.de. A limited number of tickets are still available. One trip costs 3 EUR.
Czech Railways Raises Prices
With the timetable change on December 10, prices will rise at the Czech state railway, České dráhy. As the company announced, prices will increase by an average of 9.5 percent. According to the railway, a non-discounted ticket for a 45-kilometer route will then cost 101 crowns, instead of the previous 92. For 100 kilometers, the price increases from 188 to 205 crowns. However, travelers can continue to use the old prices for a while if they purchased their ticket by December 9. Until then, tickets can be purchased up to two months in advance.
České dráhy regularly adjusts prices, most recently by 15 percent in December of last year. As is the case today, the railway cited increased costs as the main reason. Conversely, the railway was able to record an increase in passenger numbers. After the COVID-19 pandemic, passengers returned to the railway. Passenger numbers rose by 6 percent to 79 million passengers in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.
Former castle director moves to the presidential castle
Iveta Krupičková ran the castle in Děčín for 12 years and turned it into the most visited castle in the Ústí district. Above all, she oversaw the renovation and restoration of nearly the entire castle and its gardens and managed to ensure that parts of the furnishings were returned to the castle, at least on a loan basis. But in 2019, the castle director was fired. The reasons—as quickly became clear—were fabricated. Alleged errors in financial management were cited as the basis for her dismissal. Krupičková had always denied this. Police and prosecutors later confirmed that the allegations were completely unfounded. Apparently, the city simply wanted to get rid of the successful manager and replace her with someone they favored. Two years after her dismissal, the city issued a half-hearted apology.
Now Krupičková could be moving into a particularly prestigious position. According to a report in the daily newspaper *Děčínský deník*, she will take over management of the castle in Lany starting October 1. This information has not been officially confirmed. The castle in Central Bohemia serves as a country residence for Czech presidents (and previously for Czechoslovak presidents). However, the presidents after 1990 used it very differently. While Václav Havel stayed there only occasionally—but revived the “Conversations from Lany” of his famous predecessor Tomáš G. Masaryk and broadcast them on the radio—his successor Václav Klaus also avoided the castle. In turn, Miloš Zeman, who was seriously ill toward the end of his term, hardly ever appeared in Prague at all and stayed almost entirely in Lany. President Petr Pavel, who has been in office since the spring, has already announced that he does not want to use the castle for private or official purposes. If Ms. Krupičková takes over management, the castle could also be put to a completely new use.
Voting for Czech Film Wednesday ends tomorrow
You still have the opportunity to vote for December’s film on Czech Film Wednesday until tomorrow evening. There is currently a neck-and-neck race between two films, so your vote could be decisive.
To vote for your favorite film
Reminder: New newsletter from the Elbe/Labe Euroregion
A second announcement on our own behalf: So far, we have only received one newsletter from the Elbe/Labe Euroregion. In the future, however, we will be sending out more information on various topics and are setting up several newsletter lists for this purpose.
So far, we’ve mainly sent information about cultural events via the existing newsletter list—in recent months, especially about Czech Film Wednesday. There’s now a new newsletter list that you must subscribe to in order to continue receiving information from us.
You can do this very easily by clicking on this link: Sign up for the Elbe/Labe Euroregion’s cultural newsletter
Furthermore, in the future we plan to send a weekly overview of interesting events in the Czech Republic and the border region, covering politics, society, and everyday life. You are currently reading the first edition of this newsletter. This newsletter could be a good alternative, especially for those who sorely miss the “Look at the Neighbor” page in the Dresden edition of the SZ.
You can sign up directly by clicking on this link: Sign up for the weekly newsletter of the Elbe/Labe Euroregion
We will send the weekly review only once more via this mailing list. After that, it will be used only for the most important reports from the Euroregion and the border region—that is, much less frequently . If you don’t want to miss anything, please sign up for one of the other newsletters.