News; the iconic Říp Hill was once a lava lake, researchers have revealed; the future Via Silva Nortica: the cycle route from Vysočina through southern Bohemia and on to Melk in Austria; will bears disappear entirely from Czech castles?; former Slovak President Kiska speaks out on Fico, Orbán, Babiš and the EU.
[Music] This is Radio Prague International coming to you from the Czech [Music] capital. Hello and welcome. I’m Danny Bait and you’re listening to Czecha in 30 minutes, the show that gives you a halfhour rundown of Czech news and current affairs in English. Coming up on today’s show, first the iconic Jeep Hill was once a lava lake, researchers have revealed. Second, the Via Silver Nautica, the future cycle route from Vissoina through southern Bohemia and onto Mel in Austria. Third, will bears disappear entirely from Czech castles. Finally, former Slovak President Andre Kiska speaks out on Fitzo Orurban Babish and the EU. But before we get to those topics, we have today’s [Music] news. News. A firm anchoring in the European Union and NATO is important for security, Czech President Pavl said on Tuesday morning during a meeting with Czech members of the European Parliament in Brussels. According to the president, the goal should be not to weaken or destabilize these institutions in any way, but rather to do everything possible to improve their functioning. The meeting is part of the president’s working trip to Belgium. The morning meeting was attended by Czech MEPs from various political factions, including the ANO Party, the Civic Democrats, Top09, and the Pirates. [Music] Czech diplomacy is dealing with the case of a Czech man who recently traveled to Russia where he joined the Russian army and who is now requesting assistance from Czech authorities. The case was announced on Tuesday by Foreign Ministry spokesman Daniel Drake. The ministry reiterated its long-standing strong warning against traveling to Russia and urged remaining Czech citizens there to leave the country. Czech citizens are prohibited from serving in a foreign army except, for example, when fighting on the side of a state, ensuring common defense in the event of an attack on Czecha itself. To do so, they must apply to the President of the Republic for an exemption. In this particular case, the ministry will proceed in accordance with Czech laws and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Ukraine can be sure that Czecha stands by it. Czech Prime Minister Petra Viala emphasized on Tuesday after talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Deneshmeal in Usharod, Western Ukraine. Mr. Schmehal expressed gratitude to Czecha and his determination to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries. At the same time, he called for further sanctions against Russia. According to Mr. Fiala, who is on a one-day visit to the country, Ukraine is and remains the highest foreign policy priority for the current Czech government. The two statesmen together with their delegations also discussed mutual cooperation on the international stage. Czecha wants to continue supporting Ukraine’s efforts to join the European Union as well as economic, banking, technological and agricultural cooperation. The number of young people in Czecha who smoke classic cigarettes, drink alcohol, or use cannabis substances continues to decline. According to the results of the Czech part of the 8th European school survey project on alcohol and other drugs last year, nearly 3,000 16 year old students in Czecha took part in the survey which showed that the situation in the country was better than 30 years ago when the use of these substances began to rise. On Wednesday, the government will decide again on the extension of the current state of emergency in effect in the area of Hustapete Nad near Perov following the benzene tanker accident at the beginning of March. Governor of the Olots region, Ladislav Oleschek, expects that the state of emergency in the area will last for several more months. The measure allows for faster organization of the remediation of contaminated soil and water. The government can only extend a special measure in the area by 30 days at a time. Tomas Rositzki will remain the sports director of the football club Sparta Prague as announced for the club’s website by vice chairman of the board Frantiek Chupra. There had been speculation about Mr. The Rositzki’s future after the dismissal of Danish coach Las on May the 15th in response to the club’s fall in the league table and its defeat in the domestic cup final against Olot. The 44year-old captain of the Czech national team became the club sports director at the end of 2018. In the past two seasons, Sparta won the league title and this year advanced to the main stains of the Champions League after 19 years. And the Czech men’s hockey team defeated Germany 5-nil at the World Championship in Hering on Monday, winning their sixth game at the tournament and maintaining their position at the top of group B. Jakob Flex scored two goals. David Pastniaak contributed with a goal and an assist. Roman Cherena and Martinas each scored one goal. On Tuesday, the team will face the United States at 4:20 p.m. And for weather, Wednesday’s weather will be cloudy or overcast with isolated showers in most areas and thunderstorms in some places. Highest temperatures will range between 18 and 23° C. New research carried out by Czech scientists has revealed that Jeep, the country’s most iconic hill, was once a lava lake. The solitary peak formed over 26 million years ago during a powerful volcanic eruption which sent molten lava into a deep underground crater. Ruth Vanova has the details. At just over 460 m above sea level, Jeep isn’t the tallest mountain in the country, but its unmistakable shape makes it a dominant feature of the central Bohemian uplands, a volcanic landscape north of Prague. This ancient hill also holds a special place in Czech mythology. According to legend, forefather Czech climbed to the top of Jeep, looked out over the land, and decided to settle there with his tribe. The story thought to have taken place in the sixth century, was first recorded in writing by the chronicler Cosmos in the 12th century. Now, scientists have looked even further back millions of years to uncover that beneath its quiet surface lies a story of fire, rock, and deep geological forces. While it was long known that heap was of volcanic origin, until now, no one had studied its exact structure in detail, says geologist Philip Domck, who led the research. The other very interesting part of this research is that this mountain is standing itself. It’s isolated from other volcanic complexes. If you go towards north, northwest and west, there are many volcanic hills, mountains, landscape, it’s called chisi mountains and the doske volcanic complex. And in these two complexes we can found tens perhaps hundreds of individual volcanoes but they are clustered together and the jeep hill on the other hand is isolated. The study began with basic field work armed with hammers, compasses and cameras. The team hiked across the area studying exposed rock. Most of this had to be done in autumn or winter when the vegetation thins out. We measured structures and we found out that there is a very interesting pattern of colon joints the geological structure that develops during the cooling of volcanic rock but we weren’t sure what’s the exact origin. We also did other analyszis including rock magnetism and uh this is what led us to the conclusion that this must have been a lava lake but we weren’t sure uh about the structure in which the lava bonded and we came to the conclusion that she is actually origin of so-called mar diatream volcano. This type of volcano begins its eruption underground. It happens when rising magma hits a water saturated layer like a massive steam cooker explains Mr. Domck. The steam increases the pressure and at some point it explodes under the surface. It creates a deep depression. It’s called diatream. And on top of this diatream, a crater develops and it’s surrounded by accumulation of volcanic rocks. And this was in our opinion the depression which was later filled by lava which ascended through the crust after the first and initial explosion. So what did the landscape around look like when the Slavic forefathers arrived? Perhaps surprisingly, it looked much like today, says Mr. Tom. Although the hills were not as eroded, some of the upper parts of the volcanoes are gone in the geological history. Uh we can see a lot of cones which look like volcanoes but they are actually remnants of magmatic dikes which were transporting the magma upwards and those dikes they solidified and they are pretty dense and they are less susceptible to erosion. So we can see let’s say erosional remnants of the volcanoes but actual volcanoes most of them are already gone. While the study focused on geology the project also involved two high school students whose role was to explore the connection between volcanoes and myth explains Mr. Tom. In general, it’s very interesting because we found out that even there are active volcanoes, but you don’t see the volcanism in the legends or in the myth. And the interpretation is that the culture never experienced an eruption when they were living near the volcanoes. But in case of dormant and extinct volcanoes like the sheep hills, these hills or these erosional relics of the volcanoes, they just represent very mythical places and people they just admired. They are standing uh in the in the nature just very high separate mountains and uh this is basically from our opinion what inspired the people. So they made some legends and myth about these isolated mountains. Geologist Philip Tom there in that report by Ruth [Music] Franova. Plans are going ahead for the construction of the Via Silva Nautica, a cycling path that will connect the Highlands or Visscina, South Bohemia, and Lower Austria. After almost 2 years of effort, all the land where the path will run has been secured, and construction work can begin along individual stretches. Daniela Lazarva has the story. The Via Silver Nautica will pass through the picturesque countryside of the Highlands through South Bohemia and end in milk, known as one of the pearls of the Danube. In addition to serving bike enthusiasts and holiday makers, the scenic route will connect picturesque rural villages and make life easier for the locals who now often bike on stretches of the future route along unpaved dirt or grass roads. Yan Vlashik, director of the South Bohemian Cycle Paths Foundation, points out where the route will lead. The cycle path will start in Tel lead towards Dachitzer Slavonit and then connect with the already built route towards Fratres. Our Austrian partners have promised to connect a few missing stretches and the route should end in Melk Austria on the Danube cycle path. Work on the project has been taking place for over a year since it was necessary to acquire the land through which the route will run. Yankee says this was not always an easy process. In planning where the route will lead, we always try to stay on stateowned land because the negotiations are generally easier there. But in some areas, we had no choice but to negotiate with private owners. Negotiations with individual land owners were undertaken by the town halls of the given locality. Ed, the mayor of Slavon was in charge of the section from the border with Austria to Dit. There are a lot of owners in our area. We have a lot of fragmented land, so the negotiations lasted for about a year. We approached about 25 owners, but when we explained what the project was in aid of and how useful it would be, 90% of them gave their permission fairly soon. However, negotiations with private owners were not always successful and at one point the cycle path veers off course to avoid private land necessitating lastm minute changes to the project. Now all negotiations with land owners are over and the respective localities have filed for subsidies from the interreg fund and the ministry for regional development. The planned budget for the South Bohemian stretch of the route amounts to 40 million crowns. The amount is similarly high in the Highlands. If all goes according to schedule, the Via Silver Nautica longd distanceance cycle route should be completed by the end of 2028. And that was Daniela Lazarova. [Music] Visitors can see bears in castle moes across Czecha in Chesky Krumlov Tochnik and until recently Konopistia and Nodot. But the 400-year-old tradition is increasingly coming under fire. Critics point to inadequate conditions while supporters speak of tradition and regular inspections. So can we expect bears to disappear from Czech castle moes? Jakob Frenchik has more. The National Heritage Institute plans to end animal breeding in castles and chateau by 2030. But critics say the concerns about living conditions are overblown. For example, Pavlo, the castellin of the Cheski Krumov Castle, argues that conservationists have only photographed part of the enclosure to prove that it is not suitable. The size of the bear sanctuary in Cheski Krumlo is twice the legal size. According to Slalco, the problem is more in the form of animal care. Nowadays, it is argued that animal caretakers interfere less in their lives to let them live in a group in a larger enclosure of up to 5 hectars. But this is not suitable for the local bears, he says, as they have had a relationship with humans since they were very young. In Chesky Krumlof, there is a 31-year-old female bear, Maria Theresa, and two 9-year-old brown bears, VM and Polikenna. They were rescued in 2017 at a Prague airport when they were being illegally transported to a circus. Yan Misha Cherney, a caretaker who has been breeding bears for almost 50 years, commented on how they were rescued. They were smuggled by air from Russia and seized in Prague. When they arrived here, their names were Arni and Masha. I didn’t like that at all. We wanted Czech names, but not something like Franta or Hanza. We gave them names connected to the personalities of this castle, the Rojenbergs. We chose Villm and Polyenna. The other bear, Maria Theresa, is a loner and such a nice old lady. She’s 31 years old. She doesn’t care about anything. She just turns around and says, “Screw you.” and walks away. These two came here over 3 years ago. They were wild cubs from the forest, so I had to use a bit of finesse. I smeared my hands with yogurt and honey, rinsed them, and put them in the cage. And she licked it off. According to him, the bears in Cheski Krumlov have the space they are accustomed to and it suits them. The conditions are also regularly inspected by employees of the original veterinary administration who examine how the bears are treated, their health condition, and what they are fed. In 2024, the management of the National Heritage Institute signed a memorandum with foreign foundations in which it committed to ending bear breeding on its premises, preferably by 2030. According to Petra Pavletz, director of the NPE’s Ches Bujit office, no complaints from the public or complaints from zoo professionals or vets about bear breeding in Kurumlov have been addressed. Slalo wants to maintain the more than 40-year tradition at the castle. Bears have been associated with Czech castles and chateau for centuries. He says in Cheski Krumlov bears have been a part of the castle fortification since the mid60th century. Jakob Fernanch reporting [Music] there. You’re listening to Radio Prague International, the external service of Czech radio. And now it’s time for today’s feature. Former Slovak president Andre Kiska gave an interview to Radio Prague International during his visit to the Czech capital in which he expressed concern about his country’s future under Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitz’s government and about a possible Czech Repos with Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orurban following this year’s general elections. Jakob Fenic has the story. In late April, Slovakia’s president from 2014 to 2019, Andre Kiska, visited the Anglo-American University in Prague to give a talk on democracy and civic duty. Radio Prague International took the opportunity to speak with the businessman and philanthropist about the authoritarian drift his country has been taking since Robert Fitzo took office. Fitz is a very tough guy and we have a government from which we are very unhappy. Of course, first is his um influence on international policy or international relations in Slovakia in the which we we will have now in EU. Then of course domestic policy from a uh position of international policy. Fitz is moving Slovakia towards Russia and I can say that against EU. He’s not as bad as Orbana but he’s really moving in the the direction which many Slovak don’t like. The problem is that he’s not like inside himself that he really trust in Russia or Russia values. The problem is that he’s very populistic. It means that what he’s saying and what he’s doing is because he wants to get uh popularity from his potential electorate and because he lost the normal people like I would say normal people okay it’s hard to say what is normal but the people like democratic Slovak he lost them so he’s now trying to approach the extremist part of the Slovakia and that’s why he’s doing what he’s doing at the same time Kiska acknowledged Fitz’s charismatic nature he argues is that it’s primarily because of this inherent friendliness that Fitz appeals to so many. If he’s sitting now with us, he would be the most friendly person who you most have ever seen. He would [Music] invite like he met like the bankers and when he was sitting with them he was saying listen I do understand the rule of banks and the rule of of everything in uh which you have to as a banker keep in our country once we he get out in front of journalists he was saying a bankers are our enemies we have to take money from them and so on so this is this is a fitz as I said schizophrenia let’s let’s call it the comparison between fits and Hungarian prime minister Viktor Urban is now on many people’s minds the former Slovak president elaborated on why he also makes that comparison well they are both almost the same the Orban is worse but u when I was a president and Fitz was a prime minister he was not uh he was not anti- media anti-free media the Fitz how it’s today so Fitz learned a lot from Orban and it’s it’s a problem and I am afraid that Babish could do the same looking at at Orban and Fitz the same in Czech Republic Kiska also referred to an leader Andre Babish the favorite to regain power after this fall’s general elections in Czecha I I am surprised that he is former entrepreneur could be such a populistic but as I me as I told you those people say what they say because to get the electorate so that’s that’s populist Hungary in particular has become a stumbling block to maintaining EU unity especially regarding sanctions against Russia in light of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine the EU as a whole must tread carefully in these cases to uphold its principles and values says Kiska and use its best tool tools available. The strongest weapon is money cuz both Hungary and Slovakia we depend a lot from money from the EU. We take we get a lot of money. So but of course we have to do or the EU has to do it very correctly. They just cannot ah we don’t like your opinion so we cut to the income from the EU. But once the basic rules are they have to do something I think that the system of EU has to be changed the system of decision we cannot uh there should be not the right of veto veto in the EU because you will always find someone who is a little bit like let’s say let’s call it crazy it could very easily happen now in Austria that they could have a very strange prime minister but luckily for them they they made a coalition which is not so bad so it could happen relatively easy that in any country of the EU could happen that you get a strange guy to be a leader of the country and but this leader cannot stop the functionality of the EU the the this basic rules. Another entity that is in functioning is the Vishagrat group according to Kiska which comprises Slovakia, Czecha, Hungary and Poland. The group has gone through many different stages. Currently the internal differences are so great that even Kiska laughs at the mere mention of them. [Laughter] I wish that it’s not functional yet because there are like pond who really fight very strongly for Ukraine and they feel very strong solidarity with Ukraine people and fighting against Russia aggression and you have Orban who is absolutely like pro-Russia and doing crazy crazy stuff. So the vishagard is not functioning now but um situation uh in all our countries is changing you know we as I was talking today we move in senoids and I would not like cancel it like like totally uh I would just keep it but it’s not functional now vish for was formed to protect together uh our interest because we are especially Slovakia chicken hungry we are a that will be small if you join Poland now then we are bigger and to have a strong voice in the U EU you have to represent certain group of people if you do not have it no one is listening to it so that’s why was vish form to before let’s say EU summit to sit together and then to speak together we as a countries for bishkar we have this opinion but of course nowadays it’s it’s just kiska also touched on the UN and its incapacity to do what it was designed for namely end conflicts and provide peace to conflictridden areas also United Nation is not working as it should you know it was formed for certain purpose and it doesn’t fulfill the purpose it should be reorganized I think you know the I don’t like Trump but Trump Trump is in many idea is relatively right there should be a strong reconstruction of NATO of the United Nation it’s really like formal United Nations very formal it doesn’t fulfill the the why the UN was established was to keep the peace. It doesn’t work and that this is the problem. With regard to authoritarianism, Kiska says that he found inspiration in the Dalai Lama himself. So the most important is um never give up. Uh I just visited uh Dalai Lama in India and he is an exile for 66 years. 66 years ago he had to leave Tibet living in India. people in uh like Tibetans are under very strong press in uh in Tibet and you know living 66 years ago away from your country from your home it’s it’s a lot of people have this illusion would this has ever the chance to to change it and he’s always repeating just never give up and that’s what I can say never give Jakob French there with that report. That brings us to the end of today’s show. For more content from us, you can find our entire broadcast archive as well as photos, articles, and videos on our website english.radio.cz. You can also find us on Facebook X and Instagram. I’m Danny Bait and thank you for listening.