Meanwhile in Czechia... 10/26
13.03.2026
Hollywood is filming in Úštěk again
The dreamy North Bohemian town of Úštěk (Auscha) is somewhat out of the way. Despite its compact and well-preserved old town, situated on a sandstone spur, tourists rarely come here. However, this small town of less than 3,000 inhabitants is well known among film buffs. Location scouts are happy to guide anyone in need of an unadulterated natural small-town backdrop here. And so next Monday, Hollywood will once again be moving into the old town. There was even talk that Leonardo Di Caprio would be in town for the filming at the beginning of the week. However, Mayor Ondřej Elísek relegates this to the realm of myth. But a little bit of glamor still falls on the city, as none other than star director Martin Scorsese will be present in person for the filming. The 83-year-old was already there in February. Now things are getting serious. The film is currently still running under the working name Schnapps.
The old town will be prepared for filming on Saturday. Filming will continue throughout Monday, and if everything goes as planned, it will be dismantled again on Tuesday. It all depends on the weather. Úštěk will be dusted with artificial snow for the shoot. For residents and businesses in the old town, the filming means considerable restrictions. Cars will have to disappear completely from the western part of the main square Mírové náměstí. However, residents will have access to their homes. Mírové náměstí and the surrounding streets are particularly affected.
In the past, Úštěk was the location for the bitter comedy "Jojo Rabbit". The Oscar-winning Czech film "Kolja" was also shot here.
Czech Republic's most popular talk show host quits
Václav Morávec is the most famous talk show host in the Czech Republic and his program "Otázky Václava Morávce" is the most popular talk show on Czech television. It ran every Sunday afternoon for 21 years on the public broadcaster Česká televize (ČT), and the first goal for all politicians in particular was to be given speaking time. However, appearances on Morávec were no walk in the park for the political elite. The journalist is feared. But that is now a thing of the past. On Sunday, Morávec announced his departure at the end of the program. He was moved to do so by the events surrounding public broadcasting. The final impetus came from a debate about whether a politician in one of the highest offices of state should continue to be denied an invitation to appear on the show.
It concerns the right-winger Tomio Okamura. The Czech-Japanese political entrepreneur had never made it onto Morávec's show before, which obviously annoyed him greatly. Even a TV-tested politician like Okamura didn't want to miss out on the kind of attention that the ratings-boosting program receives. And since his party, the SPD, is part of the government and he himself is President of Parliament, he has been pushing hard. The President of Parliament can no longer be denied an appearance. Public television is also under increasing pressure. The SPD in particular had called for the abolition of broadcasting fees during the election campaign. In the Czech Republic, there is a similar financing model to that in Germany. Now the government is pushing for a change. Against Morávec's declared wishes, the new dramaturge of the television station had invited Tomio Okamura onto the program. Morávec then announced his resignation. He opposed a pseudo-balance and could not guarantee the independence of television.
Česká televize has already announced a replacement. Three representatives of the governing parties and three representatives of the opposition have been invited to appear next Sunday. Tomio Okamura will not be among them. Lukáš Dolanský and Vanda Kofroňová will take over the moderation.
Director of the Krkonoše National Park resigns
The long-standing director of the Krkonoše National Park, Robin Böhnisch, has been dismissed. In a statement from the Ministry of the Environment, it was said that they were parting by mutual agreement. No reasons were given. The environmental organization Hnutí Duha (Rainbow Movement) accused Environment Minister Igor Červený (Motorists) of dismissing a successful manager for no reason. The daily newspaper Deník N named Klára Sovová, an entrepreneur who runs the Meadow Lodge and the Elbe Lodge in the Krkonoše Mountains, as the driving force behind the dismissal. A year ago, she came into conflict with the national park because she violated its rules. After repeated warnings, the national park blocked the access road to the Wiesenbaude. Sovová then had the chalet, which houses a hotel, restaurant and brewery, closed to visitors. It is piquant that Sovová had unsuccessfully applied for a seat in the provincial parliament on the motorists' ticket in the fall.
"If Minister Červený continues to support people like Klára Sovová, it will mean the beginning of the end for national parks in the Czech Republic," explains Hnutí Duha in a statement. According to the environmental organization, the next candidate for dismissal is the director of Šumava National Park, Pavel Hubený. Former national park director Jiří Mánek has announced his ambitions for the post. Unsurprisingly, he is close to the motorists.
Bohemian Switzerland expands quiet zones for breeding birds
Meteorological spring has arrived and the breeding season for birds has begun again. In order to allow protected birds such as peregrine falcons, eagle owls and black storks to mate and raise their offspring undisturbed, the Bohemian Switzerland National Park closes off further areas in addition to the quiet zones, as it does every year. As a rule, no marked hiking trails are affected. The closure is marked by trilingual signs (Czech, German, English) and, in some cases, barrier tape. It applies from March 1 until the end of June. In breeding areas of the black stork, the closure applies until the end of July.
Station building in Moldava is sold
The fate of the huge station building in the village of Moldava, right on the border with Saxony, is turning in a new direction. After the last owner wanted to set up a railroad museum with historical exhibits here, the new owner is now planning a luxury hotel. The municipality has succeeded in finding a new owner for the building, which is in need of renovation. This is the real estate entrepreneur and former politician from Teplice, Petr Benda. He is paying just 1.69 million crowns for the property, the equivalent of around 70,000 euros.
The municipality bought the building ten years ago for 3 million crowns and invested a further 600,000 crowns in the most necessary repairs. Two years ago, Moldava was able to sell the building to a museum association for 3 million crowns. However, the association was unable to raise the money, which is why the municipality launched a new tender.
The official buyer of the building is the company Hotel Prince de Ligne. The 4-star hotel of the same name is owned by Petr Benda. The plan is to convert the station building into a branch of the hotel. Municipal representative Iveta Boudišová doubts whether the plan will ever be implemented. She voted against the sale. However, she has a cordial enmity with Benda from earlier times, which involved the ski resort on Bouřňák Mountain, where Boudišová owned the mountain hotel, which has long since closed. Petr Benda and his brother Jan (a lawyer) own the ski resort.
However, doubts about Benda's true intentions are not entirely unfounded. Benda was head of the Social Democrats in the Ústí region at a time when one of the biggest cases of corruption involving European Union subsidies took place. At that time, millions were handed out preferentially to friendly entrepreneurs, but also to soccer clubs and other pseudo projects. The Social Democrats ruled the district at the time (2008-2012). Politicians from the party were charged and convicted.
Litoměřice relies on geothermal energy
Many people would like to be independent of oil and gas prices on the global markets at the moment. However, the northern Bohemian town of Litoměřice is getting serious. From 2028, it could cover 15 percent of its heating requirements from underground storage heat. Currently, 100 boreholes are being drilled in the vicinity of the former barracks "Jiří z Poděbrad". The boreholes, which are up to 100 meters deep, are intended to store excess heat in the future and feed it into the heating network during the cold season if necessary. The temperature in the layer at a depth of 100 to 400 meters is 12 to 15 degrees. The heat is to be stored there as water at temperatures of up to 90 degrees. This warms the layer of earth. Reuse would have an efficiency of 80 percent.
Even more spectacular, however, are two further boreholes, which are also due to be completed by 2028. These are boreholes to a depth of 3.5 kilometers. Geothermal energy is to be extracted from this later. This would cover 60 percent of the heating requirements. The total investment in the construction of the geothermal power plant and the heat storage facility amounts to 1.5 billion crowns (62.5 million euros). Most of the costs are for the boreholes.
Another 16 projects funded
At its meeting today, the Local Steering Committee of the Small Projects Fund of the Elbe/Labe Euroregion approved funding for 16 German-Czech projects. The number of Czech applications (11) was once again significantly higher than the Saxon applications (six). This is also reflected in the amount of funding approved: 98,238 euros for Czech project sponsors compared to 46,300 euros for Saxon project sponsors. The complete list of funded projects can be found on our website.
After this round of decisions, around 1.9 million euros in funding will still be available for cross-border projects until the end of 2028. If you have a project idea, please do not hesitate to contact us for a consultation. We will be happy to call you back, explain the funding program and work with you to develop your idea into a project application.