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April 30 is ‘Čarodějnice’ in the Czech Republic, the day that winter is ceremonially brought to an end. How? By the burning of rag and straw witches on bonfires around the country. The festival offers Czechs the chance to eat, drink and be merry around a roaring fire, and for some, there’s even the chance to dress up.

Last year a design for the new national library by architect Jan Kaplický promised to bring an unprecedented architectural edge to the centre of Prague. But almost from day one, the project has been dogged by controversy. After initial support from the city’s mayor, the gelatinous-like structure nicknamed the Blob or the Octopus, to be situated on Prague’s Letná Plain, drew increasing criticism, including sharp words by Václav Klaus. The project was also challenged by architects who argued the project failed to respect prerequisites of the original

Czech wine producers returned from an international competition in Bordeaux recently with an impressive haul of awards. Facing competition from 47 other wine-growing countries around the world, they took six gold medals at the prestigious Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. I spoke to one of the Czech winners from the event.

Jaroslav Hašek, the author of the world renowned book, The Good Soldier Švejk was born 125 years ago today. Celebrations across the country, and in particular in the town where Hašek is buried, have often taken an unusual form:

Yom HaShoah or Holocaust Remembrance Day victims - a day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews who perished during the Second World War - was marked in many parts of the Czech Republic - in synagogues, at public gatherings and in private, by families whose lives were directly affected by the Holocaust. Anyone passing through Prague’s Náměstí Míru on Wednesday could stop to take part in a public reading of the names of Holocaust victims. The event was organised by the Terezín Initiative Institute, the Czech Union of Jewish Youth

Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek’s centre-right government survived a no-confidence vote in Parliament on Wednesday. The motion from the opposition Social Democrats won only 98 votes out of the overall 199 deputies present in the 200-member lower house. The three party coalition, which has been dogged by corruption scandals and weakened by internal strife once again showed that at times of crises it stands united.

Plans to build a radar base 70km southwest of Prague as part of the U.S. missile defence shield encountered a minor setback on Monday, as it emerged that U.S. secretary of state Condoleezza Rice will not visit Prague on May 5th to sign a bilateral agreement on the base. The news came as activists from the environmental group Greenpeace occupied the patch of land where the base is to be built.

With thousands of Americans visiting the Czech Republic every year, the United States is one of the most important markets for CzechTourism. How does the state tourist board go about attracting US tourists? And after the boom of the 1990s, can it persuade Americans to keep coming back? At her New York office, I discussed those questions and more with Michaela Pálková-Claudino, director of CzechTourism in the US.

Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Prague Mayor Pavel Bém on Tuesday signed a memorandum on a proposed makeover of the Prague city centre. The plans include revamping the Czech capital’s somewhat jaded main thoroughfare Wenceslas Square and redirecting the busy four-lane road (the so-called magistrála), at its top end. The ambitious project could be launched in three years’ time.

Institutionalized care for disabled people in the Czech lands goes back almost a century to the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ninety-five years ago in April of 1913 a prominent surgeon by the name of Rudolf Jedlička established a medical-and-educational facility which aimed to give disabled children and adults a chance to live a more dignified, active life.