Derweil in Tschechien... 12/25
28.03.2025
Highway tunnel completely closed for a week starting April 1
The two tunnels on the D8 highway just across the border (Panenská Tunnel and Libouchec Tunnel) will be completely closed for a week starting April 1. This is due to repair work in the tunnels. Since up to 30,000 vehicles typically pass through this section each day, traffic congestion is expected in the surrounding area.
Some of the possible alternative routes to avoid the closure are very narrow. Two separate detour routes have therefore been designated for freight traffic (and buses): For trips toward the Czech Republic, you must exit at Petrovice and then drive through Petrovice, Tisá, and Libouchec to rejoin the highway at the Telnice ramp (No. or km 80). In the opposite direction, exit the highway at this exit and drive via Varvažov, Telnice, and Nákleřov to the Petrovice ramp. The police will deploy a larger force to ensure that trucks and buses comply with this regulation and that oversized vehicles avoid the area by taking completely different routes.
A shorter route is available for cars: After the Petrovice exit, turn right and drive through Nákleřov and Telnice, but instead of continuing to Varvažov, turn left after the sharp bend and drive through Knínice to the Telnice exit back onto the highway. This route works in both directions.
This is the route over the Nollendorf Pass, which was also used by Napoleon’s troops. Today, you can take the opportunity to stop in Nollendorf (Nákleřov) at the rustic U Johnů inn, which was called U Napoleonu until a few years ago.
Twelve New INTERREG Projects Approved
Twelve new projects were approved last week under the INTERREG program Saxony-Czech Republic 2021–2027, with total funding of 8.9 million euros. Specifically, these are the following projects (with funding amounts):
- Network for railroad innovation with SME participation in the Erzgebirge/Krušnohoří border region (821,833.81 euros)
- Capability to determine unknown heat flows in small and medium-sized production facilities (913,931.61 euros)
- NET4DIGI: Saxon-Czech cooperation network for the digitalization of SMEs (652,526.45 euros)
- Deepening cross-border cooperation between SMEs in the Liberec region and Saxony (219,023.75 euros)
- On their own since 1875, together into the future / Oberwiesenthal and Kovářská (749,329.60 euros)
- Rescue service without borders (227,362.16 euros)
- Addressing environmental risks in post-mining landscapes (551,601.24 euros)
- Soccer Unites – Inclusion Project of Chemnitzer FC and FK Banik Most-Sous (708,194.26 euros)
- Turning the Surrounding Countryside into a Tourist Experience (979,995.34 euros)
- From Athena to Garden Gnomes / Museums in Děčín and Pirna (330,318.31 euros)
- Childhood and Education Among the Aristocracy and Bourgeoisie from a Historical Perspective (834,757.88 euros)
- Landscape and Man—Live and Virtual in the Museum (1,965,932.00 euros)
Anyone wishing to learn more about the individual projects is welcome to review the minutes of the committee meeting (PDF).
The program provides approximately 142 million euros from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for cross-border projects in the areas of innovation and competitiveness, climate change and sustainability, education, lifelong learning, culture, and tourism, as well as partnership cooperation. To date, a total of 80 projects have received funding totaling approximately 96 million euros.
Czech Republic Seeks Bone Marrow for Little Madlen
The case of Madlen, who is almost two years old, made headlines in the Czech media: the girl suffers from aplastic anemia, a disease in which the production of blood cells is severely impaired. One of the consequences is a very weak immune system, which is why Madlen is isolated in a sterile environment at the hospital, and only her parents are allowed to visit her while wearing special protective clothing. A bone marrow transplant could cure her, but it is very difficult to find a suitable donor. Even her three sisters are not compatible.
After the father publicized the case on social media and further reports followed in other media outlets, people in the Czech Republic are now flocking in large numbers to donation centers and registering with one of the two relevant registries. The registry for cell donations in Prague is receiving hundreds of applications per day, whereas normally there would only be a handful. Last weekend, the registry received as many applications as it normally does in four months. In total, over 2,000 people have registered in the last two weeks. Meanwhile, donors are being recruited in various regions of the Czech Republic who can provide a DNA sample at local facilities. We can only hope that the search is successful.
Emergency Measures Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease
Foot-and-mouth disease is currently spreading in Hungary and Slovakia. Although this disease is not dangerous to humans, for many animals—such as cattle, pigs, and other hoofed animals—it is a serious threat and can sometimes be fatal. Sick animals are usually slaughtered. The highly contagious virus can very easily be carried into barns by humans via shoes, clothing, or vehicles.
A few weeks ago, the Czech Republic therefore imposed an import ban on livestock and animal products from Slovakia and Hungary. This week, the measures were tightened: all animal transports between Slovakia and the Czech Republic will be restricted to four border crossings. These will be equipped with disinfection facilities for vehicles weighing over 3.5 metric tons. The fire department estimates that it will be able to decontaminate 250 vehicles per hour. As of today, the ban on animal imports also applies to Lower Austria and Burgenland, as a new outbreak in Hungary has spread to Austria.
Other measures to limit the risk of the disease include closing wildlife enclosures to prevent infection and a general ban on entering fields. Workers will still be allowed to enter the fields but will have to pass through a disinfection station. So far, the measures appear to be working in the Czech Republic; at least, no cases of foot-and-mouth disease have been reported. At the same time, the minister in charge stated that not everything was as it should be in Slovakia.
Environmental Disaster Following Serious Train Accident
On February 28, a freight train carrying more than 1,000 metric tons of benzene derailed near Hustopeče nad Bečvou in the eastern Czech Republic due to excessive speed and caught fire. The accident itself was quickly brought under control by the fire department. It will be more difficult to bring the resulting environmental disaster under control. Czech Environment Minister Petr Hladík described the accident as the largest of its kind in the world, noting that the cleanup will take several years and cost hundreds of millions of crowns.
About 400 cubic meters of benzene—a highly flammable, highly toxic, and carcinogenic substance—is believed to have leaked during the accident. However, experts are working to prevent it from spreading into the groundwater by constructing barriers. These barriers are being installed at a depth of up to seven meters between the accident site and the lake. However, benzene has now also been detected in the wells of a cottage community. The groundwater is therefore contaminated, and the pollution is spreading toward the Bečva River. The contaminated soil at the accident site must now be removed as quickly as possible.
The situation is not helped by the disputes between the Minister of the Environment and the responsible Hejtman of the Olomouc district. The former—like the local mayor—is pushing for the declaration of a state of danger, which would facilitate and speed up the necessary processes. The regional governor had long rejected this and only declared a state of emergency today at noon. One possible reason for this could be the two men’s different party affiliations, especially in light of the upcoming parliamentary elections this fall. ČT24, for example, suspects that construction of the underground protective wall and the removal of the soil could have already begun had it not been for this dispute.
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