Meanwhile in Czechia... 34/25
05.09.2025
Experience Vorderzinnwald in a new way
It has recently become possible to experience the former village of Vorderzinnwald near Fürstenau in a new way. The municipality of Dubí has replaced the outdated nature trail, whose boards you passed on the way to the Mückentürmchen, for example, with a modern nature trail.
It is approx. 2.5 km long and consists of 10 boards on which personalities tell short stories about various aspects of the former village. These include, for example, Queen Carola of Saxony, who talks about the chapel (which she was very involved in building), the teacher Němec, who talks about village life, and Dr. Böhm, the local doctor who gave the Doktorberg its local name. There are also people living today: Christa Knaute, the last living inhabitant of Vorderzinnwald, talks about the former inn run by her parents. And the Zinnwald local chronicler Wolfgang Mende talks about his grandfather, who tiled the roof of the chapel.
The 10 personalities are recognizable on the boards as silhouettes that you can look through. In addition to the short stories, there are also old photos. The educational trail also contains a wooden box with artifacts from the former village, e.g. shards or a pot. You can add your own finds to these. The trail has not yet been officially opened, but can already be visited.
At the same time, the war memorial that once stood next to the chapel was rebuilt in its original location. A torso of it and various stones were found in the rubble of the chapel and have now been used for the new memorial. Even the original metal plaque is there, but it is so rusty that the inscription is no longer legible.
The concept for the nature trail was largely developed by the Ústav pro interpretaci místního dědictví ČR (Office for the Interpretation of Local Heritage) and, as you would expect in Vorderzinnwald, German scholar Jan Kvapil from Ústí nad Labem was very involved. The project was funded by the ČEZ Foundation and implemented by the municipality of Dubí. Jan Kvapil reports that next year the chapel's ground plan will be made tangible and possibly even a shelter will be built.
The Elbe/Labe Euroregion had the chapel virtually resurrected in 2022. You can find more information and a short video with beautiful aerial shots on our website.
Information and video about the virtual chapel
Prefabricated building in Chomutov evacuated
On Thursday night, a prefabricated building with two staircases in Chomutov (Komotau) had to be evacuated after sensors reported movements in the building and its stability was no longer secure. This affected 17 people. The city administration was aware of the problem. The cause could be found underground, where dryness is changing the clayey soil. For the time being, the stairways are no longer accessible.
Structural investigations were carried out on Thursday to check whether individual support measures could at least allow residents to return to their apartments for a short time to retrieve their personal belongings. This was promised for one staircase on Friday, but would be too dangerous for the other, reports Deník.
Czech municipalities and districts with surpluses
In the first half of 2025, municipalities and districts in the Czech Republic generated the second-highest surpluses since 1993, reports the Ministry of Finance. At around CZK 65 billion (approx. EUR 2.6 billion), this is around 22% less than in the previous year. Although revenue increased by 2.5%, the local authorities had to settle claims in connection with the insolvency of Sberbank CZ. As a result, expenditure was 7.8% higher than in the previous year. The reserves of municipalities and districts totaled CZK 560 billion (approx. EUR 22.4 billion) at the end of June.
However, the financial situation varies greatly from municipality to municipality. Prague, for example, has the highest reserves per capita, while other municipalities have to save for investments for a long time.
In view of this, the Ministry of Finance considers a reform of the distribution of tax revenues to be appropriate. While the three large cities in particular could accumulate increasing reserves, the state would have to go into debt in order to fulfill its tasks. In Germany, on the other hand, it is often complained that the federal government transfers tasks to the municipalities without providing them with adequate funding, meaning that municipal coffers are usually very low.
Czech Republic buys German tanks
The Czech government approved the purchase of 44 German Leopard 2A8 tanks on Wednesday. These will cost CZK 34.25 billion (approx. EUR 1.37 billion), including adaptation to the needs of the Czech army. The first tanks are to be delivered to the Czech army in 2028, the rest by 2031. In total, the Czech Republic plans to purchase 77 tanks in six variants.
With the current purchase, the Czech Republic is joining a framework agreement with the German Ministry of Defense in order to achieve lower prices. In addition, Czech industry is to be involved in production.
Change at the top of the wealth ladder
According to the latest ranking of the weekly newspaper Euro, Michal Strnad, owner of the defense company CSG, is the richest person in the Czech Republic. His assets are currently valued at 330 billion crowns (13.5 billion euros). The heiress to the PPF financial group, Renáta Kellnerová, and her family are close behind with an estimated fortune of 315 billion crowns (approx. 13 billion euros). Last year's winner Daniel Křetínský, majority owner of Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH), which operates lignite mining operations in Lusatia and the Leipzig region, came third with an estimated 280 billion crowns (11.4 billion euros).
The former - and possibly next - Prime Minister and owner of the Agrofert holding company, Andrej Babiš, is in 8th place with CZK 85 billion (approx. EUR 3.4 billion).
Brown hares endangered in the Czech Republic
After Austria, rabbit plague is now also spreading in the Czech Republic, reports Radio Prague. Hundreds of carcasses of infected hares have been found in southern Moravia, following a recent increase in the number of cases in Lower Austria and Vienna. Rabbits are less affected than free-ranging hares.
Myxomatosis, also known as rabbit plague, is caused by a virus that originated in South America and wiped out practically the entire European population of wild rabbits in the 1970s and 1980s. Since 2018, a mutation that also affects brown hares has spread from Portugal via the Netherlands and Germany to Austria and now to the Czech Republic. An animal infected with the virus usually dies within a few days. Prevention is impossible in the wild, meaning that mass deaths of the already endangered brown hares must be expected.
Crown jewels are on display for 14 days
The Czech crown jewels spend most of their time locked up in St. Vitus Cathedral at Prague Castle and are only occasionally taken out and put on public display. On September 15, the time has come again: the seven key holders - the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the Presidents of the Senate and the Lower House, the Archbishop of Prague, the Mayor of Prague and the Dean of the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus in Prague - meet in the Crown Chamber and open the vault. Afterwards, the valuable items will be exhibited in the Vladislav Hall of the castle, reserved for school classes for two days, but from September 18 to 29, the general public will be able to see them.