Weekly review no. 23
08.03.2024
No RegioJet trains to Prague for the time being
The Czech railroad company RegioJet is not starting any regular train connections between Prague and Berlin for the time being. Originally, three pairs of trains were to run daily on the Prague-Dresden-Berlin route from March 20. The company announced that Deutsche Bahn, as the network operator, had not provided sufficient route capacity. However, when asked by saechsische.de, Deutsche Bahn replied that RegioJet had been allocated capacity. However, the journey times had changed due to construction work. This was apparently no longer attractive for RegioJet. "The slots were not good," RegioJet spokeswoman Alexandra Janoušek Kostřicová is quoted as saying by saechsische.de, referring to the travel times offered by Deutsche Bahn. RegioJet, on the other hand, is taking off in Austria and Hungary. The number of train connections between the capital cities of Vienna and Budapest will be doubled to eight from April 4 due to high demand. A pair of trains will also be added between Prague and Brno in the morning and evening hours. However, RegioJet will continue to offer long-distance buses between Prague and Dresden and Berlin.
A small consolation for the Berlin-Dresden-Prague route is the extension of the night train connection European Sleeper from Brussels and Amsterdam to Berlin via Dresden to the Vltava city. This provides a further direct connection from Dresden and Bad Schandau every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. The train departs from Dresden at 8.24 a.m. (Neustadt) or 8.31 a.m. (Hauptbahnhof) and from Bad Schandau (8.58 a.m.).
There is an additional evening connection from Prague (18.04 from the main station) on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Episcopal consecration in Litoměřice
On March 2, the 52-year-old Stanislav Přibyl was consecrated as the new bishop of the diocese of Litoměřice. The consecration in St. Stephen's Cathedral, which was filled to capacity, was attended by numerous spiritual dignitaries from the diocese of Meissen. The consecration also marked the departure of outgoing Bishop Jan Baxant, who stepped down after 15 years for reasons of age.
Přibyl is the youngest bishop of the Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. He is no stranger to Litoměřice. Born in Prague, he served as vicar general in the diocese from 2009 to 2016. When his time allows, Přibyl plays the organ. He speaks several languages, including German.
Czech Republic strengthens German as a minority language
The Czech parliament has approved an extension of German as a minority language. This raises German to a new level. The decision came into force at the end of February this year.
The new provisions refer to the European Charter for Minority Languages, which the Czech Republic adopted back in 2006. It consists of different levels depending on how strongly the minority language is protected. German has now been included in the third and highest level. This applies in the regions where the German minority is most strongly represented. In addition to three districts in Moravian Silesia and South Bohemia, these are primarily districts in North Bohemia near the border with Saxony, such as Cheb, Sokolov, Karlovy Vary, Ústí and Liberec.
These districts are now subject to 35 new funding regulations. These include bilingual schools and kindergartens, more German lessons, but also the possibility of using German in court and with authorities or issuing legal documents in German. German is also to be increasingly promoted outside the eight districts. This concerns, for example, the teaching of the history and culture of Germans in the Czech Republic as well as the promotion of German lessons.
Soviet memorial must make way
The deputies of the town of Litoměřice have decided to remove the monument to the Soviet soldier from Jirásek Park. The MPs were responding to a petition calling for the removal of the monument. However, they adopted a compromise proposal. According to this, the monument, which was erected in 1975, is not to be removed completely, but moved to an alternative location. The author of the monument is the artist Otakar Petroš. It was unveiled to mark the 30th anniversary of the Czech Republic's liberation from the Allies.
The current location in Jirásek Park is very prominent. The monument had already been graffitied several times in the past. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine alone, there have been two new paint attacks. After the second attack, another unknown person removed some of the paint and referred to the Ukrainian soldiers who were involved in the liberation of the Czech Republic as part of the Red Army.
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