Derweil in Tschechien... 8/25

21.02.2025

Two Dead in Knife Attack in Hradec Králové

The Czech Republic was shaken by a bloody attack on Thursday: At a shopping center in Hradec Králové, two sales clerks (aged 19 and 38) were attacked by a man with a knife and seriously injured. They died at the scene despite prolonged attempts to resuscitate them. Police arrested a 16-year-old Czech national about 1 km from the crime scene, who has since confessed to the crime. Nothing is yet known about the motive; the victims appear to have been chosen at random. The police are assuming a lone perpetrator with no ties to terrorist or criminal groups. Initial reports in the press suggest that the perpetrator may have had psychological problems.

Czech Republic Also a Net Recipient of EU Funds in 2024

Last year, the Czech Republic contributed approximately 60 billion Kč (approx. 2.4 billion euros) to the EU budget but received approximately 143 billion Kč (approx. 5.7 billion euros) from the budget and various other programs, according to the Czech Ministry of Finance. The largest revenues came from the Structural and Cohesion Funds, totaling 36 billion Kč (approx. 1.4 billion euros), from the Common Agricultural Policy, totaling 25 billion Kč (approx. 1 billion euros), and from separately listed reconstruction aid funds (React-EU, Just Transition Funds, National Recovery Plan, Next Generation EU) totaling 74 billion Kč (approx. 3 billion euros).

In the more than 20 years since the Czech Republic joined the EU on May 1, 2004, the country has contributed 937 billion Kč (approx. 37 billion EUR) to the EU budget and received 2.16 trillion Kč (approx. 86 billion EUR) from it. Over the entire period, this amounts to a net surplus of 1.22 trillion Kč (approx. 49 billion EUR). The balance has fluctuated significantly over the years (see chart).

Icefalls Are Back

The icefalls at Brtníky (Zeidler) in Bohemian Switzerland do not appear every year. They are also becoming increasingly rare due to global warming. But right now the conditions were just right, and the icefalls have grown to a nice size. You’ll have to hurry to see them, though. The next few warmer days will take a heavy toll on them.

The website of the Bohemian Switzerland Tourist Board (České Švýcarsko o. p. s.) provides a detailed description of the circular route to the icefalls and how to get there. If you switch the page to Czech (top right), an image of a hiking map will also appear.

To the website of České Švýcarsko o. p. s.

Germans Rank 5th in Popularity

Czechs are often said to have a rather ambivalent relationship with their German neighbors, characterized by both admiration and rejection. It is difficult to prove whether this is the case, especially since such sweeping generalizations are hard to make anyway.

When it comes to actually living next door to one another, 73% of Czechs consider Germans to be unproblematic or preferred neighbors. This is shown by a recently published study by the renowned Institute for Empirical Research (STEM). This is sometimes abbreviated in the media as “Who are the most popular foreigners?” This interpretation is open to question if the survey actually asked about preferred neighbors. The top 10 “preferred foreign neighbors” are as follows (the fact that Jews are listed here should not be interpreted as anti-Semitism in the Czech context):

The study also examined general views on foreigners. For example, 63% of the population believe that foreigners living in the Czech Republic pose a security risk.

A Week's Break

This newsletter is taking a week off and will not be back until March 7.

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)