Meanwhile in Czechia... 37/26
02.10.2026
Prague's Industrial Palace Reopens
Prague has regained an important architectural gem. The Industrial Palace on the exhibition grounds in the Bubeneč district has reopened following an extensive renovation.
A fire on October 16, 2008, destroyed the palace’s left wing. Reconstruction did not begin until early 2022. At the same time, the central section and the right wing were renovated. Since there were no plans for the left wing, the east wing served as a model, as it was built with exactly the same proportions as the west wing. The building attracts attention with its glass-enclosed facade in the central section and the clock tower featuring a spiral staircase and four corner towers. When the palace was built in 1891 according to plans by Bedřich Münzberger for the Jubilee Provincial Exhibition, it was the first steel structure in the lands of the Bohemian Crown. The then-bold combination of steel and glass was influenced by the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris.
During the reconstruction, a basement was added to the entire left wing to house utility lines and systems, bringing the entire building up to code for fire safety, security, and state-of-the-art standards.
The Industrial Palace is part of the fairgrounds. For the first few weeks, the operator—the municipal fair company—is offering guided tours. The palace is open to the public only as part of these tours. Otherwise, as it was before the fire, it serves as a venue for trade shows, conventions, corporate events, and even balls.
Czech Republic Offers Fuel Discount
As of Thursday, a government-subsidized discount on fuel prices at gas stations has been in effect in the Czech Republic. It is composed of various elements. The Czech Ministry of Finance sets a maximum price for diesel and gasoline each day, based on the wholesale indices of leading trading firms and the market prices from the Platts platform. To this, it adds a maximum retail margin of 2.50 korunas per liter (10.4 cents), which it sets itself, as well as sales tax. For October 2, the prices were set at 45.92 korunas (1.91 euros) for gasoline and 48.58 korunas (2.02 euros) for diesel. On the first day the prices took effect, prices had fallen in response to the government’s price cap, though the drop was more pronounced for diesel than for gasoline. While the difference in diesel prices averaged 13 to 17 cents, the difference for gasoline was only 3 to 8 cents. Prices fell the most at highway gas stations.
The larger discount on diesel is also related to another government measure that reduces the excise tax on diesel from 9.95 crowns per liter to 8.011.
On October 2, gas stations also kept gasoline prices closer to the maximum price, while diesel prices fell further below it. For example, the Prim gas station in Děčín near the main train station sold gasoline for 45.90 crowns per liter—effectively at the maximum price—and diesel for 47.90 crowns. The maximum prices apply only to fuels outside the premium segment. The daily price cap will remain in effect for the time being until the end of October. The government had already capped prices in this manner during the spring and summer.
The government also plans to impose an extraordinary tax on refineries retroactively for both last year and this year.
Court Exonerates Cardinal Trochta
The District Court in Litoměřice has exonerated former Cardinal Štěpán Trochta. The case concerned a three-year period from 1950 to 1953, when the then-Bishop of Litoměřice was held under house arrest by the State Security Service (StB) at the bishop’s residence and was, quite literally, monitored around the clock. It is reported that the surveillance even took place while the bishop was asleep.
The court decided to rehabilitate the clergyman based on extensive materials from the Office for the Documentation and Investigation of the Crimes of Communism. The report states that the State Security Service had intensively and persistently violated human rights. During his three years of house arrest, Trochta was constantly surrounded by people who, each in their own way, had been instructed to monitor the bishop. “That must have been stressful and exhausting,” commented prosecutor Jan Jakubec.
The house arrest occurred during the period of the worst persecution by the communist regime, which had violently seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948. On January 16, 1953, Trochta was arrested while under house arrest, taken to prison, and subsequently sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was released in 1960 under an amnesty and was rehabilitated in 1968 for his time in prison. He was allowed to resume his duties as bishop. Pope Paul VI appointed him a cardinal in 1969. However, after the suppression of the Prague Spring, the pressure intensified once again. On April 6, 1974, Trochta died in Litoměřice after prolonged police interrogations and harassment.
Chairlift to the Mückentürmchen Featured on a Stamp
The chairlift to Komáří vížka (Mosquito Tower) is being honored with its own postage stamp. It will be issued on October 14 in a print run of 300,000 and corresponds to the “B” denomination, which currently costs 31 crowns. Designed by artist Milan Bauer, the stamp features a view from a two-seater chairlift toward the mountain hotel at the summit. The stamp is being issued to mark the major renovation of the cable car system in recent years. The Czech Post is issuing the stamp as part of its “Technical Monuments” series. Collectors will also find the stamp booklet—printed in a run of 10,000 copies—particularly interesting; it features, among other things, the valley station with its drive wheel.
The chairlift is the longest of its kind without an intermediate station in Central Europe. It runs from Bohosudov (Mariaschein), a district of Krupka (Graupen), to the summit of Mückentürmchen and is 2,348 meters long. Its technology has remained unchanged since it began operating in May 1952. In 2013, it was designated a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.
Protest Against Hospital Cuts in Rumburk
Hundreds of people demonstrated on Thursday against the closure of the pediatric ward at the Rumburk Hospital. The hospital’s intensive care unit is also threatened with closure. By Thursday evening, more than 700 people had signed a petition against the closures. The closures would affect 10,000 children. The nearest hospitals with pediatric wards are located in Liberec, Česká Lípa, and Děčín.
Demonstrators also criticized the lack of transparency in the decision-making process. In early August, the daily newspaper *Děčínský deník* was the first to report on the upcoming closure. The regional hospital network *Krajská zdravotní*, to which the hospital in Rumburk belongs, only recently confirmed the information at a meeting of mayors.
Another Record High in Doksany
The North Bohemian town of Doksany near Litoměřice was the second-warmest place in the Czech Republic on Wednesday. Indian summer had also arrived in the Czech Republic. In Doksany, thermometers read 26.1 degrees Celsius. This made Doksany one of only two places in the Czech Republic where the temperature rose above 26 degrees. The warmest location was Husinec-Řež, near Prague, at 26.2 degrees Celsius. Eight other weather stations recorded temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius.
Doksany had already reported high temperatures during the summer heat wave. However, the data from neither Husinec-Řež nor Doksany were sufficient to set a new all-time temperature record. Instead, new records were set at three locations in South Bohemia, where temperatures on those respective days reached new highs.
Summer temperatures are also expected to persist in the Czech Republic until at least the middle of next week.