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Hundreds of cameras flashed on Thursday when seven representatives of church and state, including President Václav Klaus, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek and Prague Archbishop Miloslav Vlk gathered in Prague’s St Vitus cathedral to unlock the chamber in which the Czech crown jewels are stored. The chamber only opens when all seven keepers of the keys unlock seven different locks at the same time. The crown jewels were then taken to Prague Castle’s Vladislav Hall, the traditional site of the coronation of kings, where they will be put on display for

Werich’s villa in Prague’s Kampa Park, once home of the famous Czech actor Jan Werich, will open its door to the public next year. The villa has been uninhabited and falling apart for years, but all the previous attempts to lease it fell through. The city council this week finally rent it to Meda Mládková, head of the nearby Kampa Museum, for the next 40 years. After renovations it will serve as a cultural space for screenings, debates and performances. I spoke to Mrs Mládková earlier and began by asking her a bit about the site’s history.

The Constitutional Court in Brno has postponed a decision on whether symbolic fees for visiting the doctor are unconstitutional. The court’s chairman Pavel Rychetský said the court needed more time to reach a decision. He was speaking after a day of deliberations and cross-examination with the health minister and even the prime minister appearing to give testimony.

Slavia Prague battled to a 4-2 victory against Karlovy Vary in the Extraliga Playoff Finals on Thursday evening. It all came down to a decisive Game 7. In the knockout competition 8 teams in the Czech hockey league battle to be champions, more prestigious and important than overall position in the regular season. Jamie Brindley has the story.

Last weekend Prague Zoo opened a new pavilion for a number of famous new inhabitants: young gavials, a rare species of crocodile from India. Prague Zoo is the only European facility to house the creatures, listed as critically endangered in the wild.

More than 300 bronze plates with the names of wartime victims were stolen last week from the National Cemetery in Terezín, north of Prague, which served as a ghetto for Czech and European Jews and housed a Gestapo-run prison during the Second World War. Commemorative plaques have been stolen in the past but never on such a large scale. Now it seems unlikely that they could be restored by May 18, a day commemorating the victims of Nazi persecution at Terezín. Ruth Fraňková reports.

There has been renewed speculation that Czech soccer star Pavel Nedvěd might come out of international retirement to represent the Czech Republic at Euro 2008 – the European football championship held in Austria and Switzerland this summer. While he has not directly addressed the issue as yet, his return would almost certainly be welcomed by coach Karel Brückner, currently left with a major void in the midfield. Tomas Rosický, who succeeded Nedvěd as captain, remains injured and might not recover in time for the kick-off.

Hundreds of people used the opportunity on Tuesday to browse the collections of the Czech National Museum for free. The country’s biggest museum has opened its doors to the public to celebrate its 190th anniversary, which falls on the 15th of April. It’s also holding a series of other events to mark its birthday. But most of all it is getting ready for a major renovation project, that will get under way in three years’ time.

Concerns have been increasing about the relative strength of the Czech crown. On Monday, the currency briefly set a new record, trading at 23 crowns to the Euro. But a strong crown is proving to be a double edged sword, with many businesses in the country wanting the government and Czech National Bank to prevent the currency from getting any stronger:

The One World (Jeden Svět) festival of human rights documentaries has established itself as one of the most interesting events on the Czech Republic’s cultural calendar, and the biggest festival of its kind in Europe. This year, to mark its 10th anniversary, One World (run by the NGO People in Need) is organising mini festivals in 10 cities around the world – including New York. At the opening at the city’s (under renovation) Bohemian National Hall on Monday night, I spoke to organiser Tereza Porybná.