21.02.2025

Two dead in knife attack in Hradec Králové

The Czech Republic was rocked by a bloody attack on Thursday: In a shopping center in Hradec Králová, two sales clerks (aged 19 and 38) were attacked by a man with a knife and seriously injured. They died on the spot despite prolonged attempts at resuscitation. The police arrested a 16-year-old Czech about 1 km from the scene of the crime, 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 links to terrorist or criminal groups. The first indications appear in the press that the perpetrator may have had psychological problems.

Czech Republic also net recipient of EU funds in 2024

Last year, the Czech Republic paid around 60 billion Kč (approx. 2.4 billion euros) into the EU budget, but received around 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 with Kč 36 billion (approx. EUR 1.4 billion), from the Common Agricultural Policy with Kč 25 billion (approx. EUR 1 billion) and from separately listed reconstruction aid funds (React-EU, Just Transition Funds, National Recovery Plan, Next Generation EU) with Kč 74 billion (approx. EUR 3 billion).

In the more than 20 years since the Czech Republic joined the EU on May 1, 2004, the Czech Republic has paid Kč 937 billion (approx. EUR 37 billion) into the EU budget and received Kč 2.16 trillion (approx. EUR 86 billion) from it. Over the entire period, this amounts to a net surplus of Kč 1.22 trillion (approx. EUR 49 billion). 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 just now the conditions were right and the icefalls have grown to a nice size. But you will have to hurry to see them. The next few warmer days will be very hard on them.

The website of the Bohemian Switzerland Tourist Board (České Švýcarsko o. p. s.) describes the circular route to the icefalls and how to get there in detail. If you switch the page to Czech (top right), a picture of a hiking map also appears.

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

Germans in 5th place for popularity

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

When it comes to actually living next door to each other, 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 can be questioned if the question was actually about preferred neighbors. The TOP10 "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's vacation and will not be back until 7.3.

(This is an automatic translation by DeepL Translator.)