Weekly review no. 61
20.12.2024
The most beautiful Christmas tree in the Czech Republic in Velký Šenov
According to the readers of the Deník newspaper, the most beautiful Christmas tree in the Czech Republic can be found in the small town of Velký Šenov in the Šluknov region. It received around 20% of the almost 70,000 votes cast. It therefore repeated its success from the previous year and finished slightly ahead of the Christmas tree in Kněževes near Rakovník.
Man must not smile on his ID card
He took his case all the way to the Czech Constitutional Court (Ústavní soud), but without success: a man in the Czech Republic was refused an identity card with a photo of him smiling. He argued that he was a member of the Church of Smiles (Ecclesia Risorum), but this did not help him. The Constitutional Court did not consider the obligation to have a neutral facial expression with a closed mouth when taking a photo for an ID card to be an infringement of the man's fundamental rights and did not consider it necessary to grant him an exception on grounds of conscience. The Church of Smiles had tried to register as a religious community, but was denied in 2019.
The Light of Peace from Bethlehem is distributed
The Light of Peace from Bethlehem (Betlémské světlo) has arrived in the Czech Republic. Scouts brought it from Vienna to Brno. Tomorrow, Saturday, it will also be distributed by scouts by train throughout the country. There will be many activities, especially at train stations and in churches.
For example, it will arrive in Ústí nad Labem by Regiojet and (if it is hopefully on time) will be blessed at 11.30 am in the church of Nanebevzetí Panny Marie (Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the one with the leaning tower). You can also pick it up on the following days. It will arrive in Děčín at 12.33 pm and will be distributed in several churches on Sunday. It will arrive in Teplice at 13:03. Here the distribution will only take place on Christmas Eve, usually between 10 am and 12 noon. If you are interested, we can recommend a visit to the impressive Beuron Chapel, which is otherwise only occasionally possible (see https://de.mapy.cz/s/ke zomobemo).
The tradition of the Light of Peace from Bethlehem began in 1986 in Upper Austria as an initiative of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. The flame is actually brought from the Church of the Nativity of Jesus in Bethlehem. This year, however, this is not possible due to the security situation in the Middle East. Therefore, last year's light was kept in the pilgrimage church of Christkindl in Steyr and is now being distributed from there.
Jan Svěrák has also made a film entitled "Betlémské světlo", which was shown last year at the Czech-German Culture Days.
Living standards in the Czech Republic are approaching the EU average
According to the recently published Statistical Yearbook of the Czech Republic 2024, the Czech Republic's GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power reached 91% of the EU average last year. This was a small increase of one percentage point compared to 2022. Luxembourg remains the leader with 239%, while Bulgaria is at the bottom with 64%. Germany is at 115%.
Despite a 0.3% decline in economic output, the Czech Republic maintained its position as the country with the lowest unemployment rate in the EU last year. Although this rose to 2.6%, it remained well below the European average of 6.7%.
Court of Auditors criticizes use of EU funds
The Supreme Court of Audit (NKÚ) in Prague published its latest report on the utilization of EU funds on Wednesday. Although a net 40 billion euros had flowed into the Czech Republic since 2004, this had mostly been spent on projects with little added value. As a result, convergence with Western living standards has been slower than elsewhere. Between 2003 and 2022, the gross domestic product per capita adjusted for purchasing power rose by 33 percentage points in Poland compared to the EU average, in Lithuania by as much as 38, but in the Czech Republic by only 19. The Court of Auditors sees the reason for this in a poor selection of target areas. For example, measures in the area of employment are hardly helpful in the country with the lowest unemployment rate in the EU. Another example is the promotion of large companies with funds that were actually intended to support small and medium-sized enterprises.
Germany abolishes fees for gas transit
Today's decision in the Bundestag to amend the law on the gas storage levy means that the transit fees for transporting gas via Germany to the Czech Republic, which have been heavily criticized by the Czech Republic, will no longer apply. The Czech Minister for Industry and Trade, Lukáš Vlček, was very pleased with the decision.
Wolf hit by car recovers
In November, a wolf equipped with a transmitter and monitored as part of the REDEMA research project was hit in Bohemian Switzerland. The collision was even filmed. As this is the last wolf in the project still wearing its transmitter, its loss would probably have meant the end of this project component. However, it recovered, remained rather quiet for some time and only moved in a small radius. He is now roaming around again and has also crossed the road where the collision happened several times. It also recently went into a photo trap again.
The REDEMA project is funded by the INTERREG program Saxony-Czech Republic and serves to research the red deer population in Saxon-Bohemian Switzerland. Among other things, the influence of the wolf on the deer is being investigated.
German club collects record sum
The German Club in Litoměřice (Leitmeritz) has been bringing together people interested in the German language every week to practise conversation for eight years now. Donations are always collected for charitable causes. This year, a total of CZK 71,000 was raised, which was donated for tuition for children in foster families.
Fewer fireworks in Prague
Once again this year, there is a ban on private fireworks displays in Prague's historic center and many other places. This includes the areas surrounding many social and health facilities as well as natural areas such as waterways and parks. Overall, the ban affects relatively large parts of the Czech capital. Fines of up to CZK 100,000 are threatened for violations.
Newsletter takes a Christmas break
This is the last newsletter for 2024. The next one will be published as planned on January 3, 2025. Until then, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a good start to the next year.
The production of this newsletter is co-financed by tax funds on the basis of the budget adopted by the Saxon State Parliament.