Meanwhile in Czechia... 29/25
01.08.2025
Commemoration of massacre in Ústí
At the end of July, representatives of the city leadership of Ústí nad Labem (Aussig) together with German associations and citizens commemorated the terrible massacre 80 years ago. The first commemoration took place in U Cukrovaru Street in the Krásné Březno (Schönpriesen) district, where an ammunition depot exploded at the time. Afterwards, the commemoration continued on the Elbe Bridge, but this time, due to construction work, not on the Beneš Bridge as usual, but on the railroad bridge, where the memorial plaque was temporarily moved. The German ambassador to the Czech Republic, Mr. Andreas Künne, representatives of the regional assembly of German associations and the deputy federal chairman of the Sudeten German Landsmannschaft, Steffen Hörtler, were also present at the commemorations.
On July 31, 80 years ago, members of Czech militias and other Czech citizens carried out a massacre among members of the German minority. The cause was the explosion of the ammunition depot in Schönpriesen, for which a sabotage operation by a werewolf unit was blamed. However, it was never investigated what really happened in the ammunition depot, nor were members of a werewolf unit ever identified and convicted. Instead, people of German nationality were indiscriminately shot, otherwise killed in agony and pushed off the Beneš Bridge, both dead and alive, and then shot at in the river. Historians put the number of dead at between 43 and 100, plus a high number of injured.
Dramatic decline in rail freight traffic
The rail freight company ČD Cargo is laying off 700 employees by the end of the year. The company explained the painful step with the difficult market situation. As a result, the volume of goods transported by rail has been falling continuously for years. The total volume of goods transported by rail in the Czech Republic fell by 5.3 percent in the first half of the year alone, and by 3.2 percent at ČD Cargo. Since 2022, the volume of goods transported has fallen by a seventh.
Various factors are responsible for the decline in rail transportation. Paradoxically, these include the energy transition. Until now, coal and the transportation of oil products have been a significant part of rail transport. Added to this is the decline in the European steel industry, which transports many of its products by rail. In the Czech Republic, this particularly affects the closure of the Liberty steelworks in Ostrava. The weakening chemical industry with repeated production stoppages is also causing problems for rail freight transport. Both the steel and chemical industries have high energy costs, which makes production in Europe unprofitable in the long term.
Another factor is the decline in timber transportation after the damage caused by the bark beetle has subsided. In addition, there are structural reasons such as the efforts of competitors to avoid transportation with short wagon rows. In the past, ČD Cargo in particular put together many freight trains from individual wagons from individual railroad stations or industrial connections and collected them into large transports. ČD Cargo now charges significantly higher fees for such small transports, which is why demand has fallen. Since then, goods have preferably been transported by road. The only transport by rail that is growing is intermodal transport, i.e. the transportation of one and the same load unit alternating between rail, road and possibly water. This mainly concerns container transport.
The decline is not a purely Czech phenomenon, but affects almost the entire European market. Accordingly, the volume of goods transported by rail is declining despite growing transport volumes. Experts assume that the trend will continue in the coming years.
Elbe ferry in Žleb still out of service
The car ferry in Dolní Žleb is still out of service. The city of Děčín was unable to find a new operator in the first round of tenders and has now put the operation out to tender for a second time. If the search is successful, the ferry could go back into operation in mid-September at the earliest.
The ferry connects the village on the left bank of the Elbe with state road 62 and is mainly used by tourists and climbers, but also by locals who use the state road to get to Hřensko and on to Germany or towards Růžová or Jetřichovice more quickly by car. The state road is also faster to Děčín. On the left bank of the Elbe, the village is only connected to the district town by a small road, which is often only designed for one car.
The new operator will receive significantly more money from the town of Děčín, but will also have to invest in the maintenance and repair of the ferry itself in future. In addition, the ferry will now operate daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. instead of the previous 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. in summer.
The ferry's forced break is nothing new. Every year, the ferry has to pause for several months due to the water level. The ferry cannot be operated either at low water, as has been the case in recent weeks, or at high water. The ferry is a yaw rope ferry comparable to the one in the spa town of Rathen.
Czech Republic exports more armaments
Arms exports from the Czech Republic increased by 86 percent to a volume of 91 billion crowns (3.6 billion euros) in 2024. This is according to figures from the Czech Ministry of Industry and Trade. Most export licenses related to exports to Ukraine, which was affected by the Russian invasion. In total, the Czech Republic delivered military equipment worth 47.1 billion crowns (around 1.9 billion euros) to Ukraine last year. The Czech Republic also supplied military equipment to Bulgaria (11 billion crowns), the Netherlands (8.5 billion crowns) and Vietnam (5.3 billion crowns). Most export licenses after Ukraine were approved for exports to Slovakia, the USA, Israel and Great Britain. In contrast, the Ministry of Industry rejected applications for exports to Belarus, North Korea and Syria.
The import of military equipment also increased significantly in 2024, by almost 130 percent to 26 billion crowns (1 billion euros).
Bonuses for wild boar hunting
Wild boar are often uninvited guests in urban areas. In Ústí nad Labem (Aussig) in particular, this is a long-term problem that the city is unable to get under control. In search of food, the animals repeatedly invade the urban area and have already set up their resting places near the city. The easily accessible food near garbage cans, but also deliberate feeding, are the reasons why Ústí cannot get rid of the problem.
The city has now reacted and increased the premium for shooting a wild boar from 500 crowns to 2,000 crowns, i.e. from around 20 euros to 80 euros. The city hopes that this will not only increase the shooting rate, but will also reward the greater effort required to shoot a boar. Unlike in the wild, this is associated with considerable safety regulations, which cause additional costs.
At the same time, the city council records high levels of damage caused by wild boar to public and private property. In Ústí, they regularly appear in prefabricated housing estates or parks. Wild boars are not entirely harmless to humans, especially during the breeding season. The wild boars themselves are now accustomed to the presence of humans.
As a further measure, the city is planning to prune public green spaces, especially bushes and shrubs at the edge of the urban area, where wild boars like to retreat. The pruning is intended to ensure that the wild boars can no longer stay close to the city. In addition, two large steel cages continue to be used as traps. The wild boars in the cages are killed.
Ústí has earmarked the equivalent of 80,000 euros in its budget for the shooting premiums.
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