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Christmas celebrations in the Czech Republic this year were overshadowed by tragedy. The death of 13 miners killed in a methane explosion at a coal mine in the north-eastern part of the country dominated news coverage over the holidays, as did the deadly tsunami in Indonesia. The victims were remembered in masses over Christmas and people donated money to accounts in aid of the victims.

For centuries, Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral, a symbol of Czech statehood, lacked a suitable pipe organ whose sound would fill its monumental space. Now, nearly 700 years after construction began, the cathedral is set to get a huge new organ. More than 74 million crowns have already been raised in a public collection to build the instrument.

On Thursday, a methane explosion in a mine located in the northeast of the Czech Republic killed 13 miners and injured 10 more. Most of the victims were Polish nationals and both the Czech and Polish prime ministers have visited the scene.

Officials of the Pardubice region recently announced a surprise discovery. Dozens of gold coins were found on a pasture near the town of Králíky in the north east of Bohemia. Experts, who have analysed the coins, say they date to the period of the Thirty Years’ War and may have been buried while an army was on the march.

The Czech Republic is Europe’s top toy distributor, exporting more than 50 billion crowns now annually, according to a new study by UniCredit bank. LEGO, Playmobil and similar plastic toy sets account for two-thirds of that, though the country is also churning out various miniature sets and dolls. Along with neighbouring Slovakia, the Czech Republic has been the fastest-growing toy exporter in the EU since 2004. I asked UniCredit bank senior economist Patrik Rožumberský how and when this country became the top exporter.

Rychlé šípy or The Rapid Arrows, a legendary Czech comic series by Jaroslav Foglar about the adventures of five boys in the city, marks its 80th anniversary this week. The first strip was published on December 17, 1948 on the back-page of the New Herald children’s magazine. Since then the comics have enjoyed a cult following, despite being banned several times first by the Nazis and then by the Communists.

The Czech Republic’s cyber security institution, NCISA, has released a warning that Huawei devices may be used to damage the country’s national interests. Following the warning’s release, many institutions including the Office of the Government and a number of ministries have reacted by banning Huawei phones. The new measures are likely to impact ongoing tenders as well.

Tuesday marks the seventh anniversary of the death of Václav Havel. The former president remains a much respected figure in the country, even though his quotes are often used to help delineate the current divide in Czech society. Several commemorative events are taking place across the Czech Republic, including those that seek to bring Havel closer through his works.

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš on Monday responded to criticism from Brussels over an alleged conflict of interest linked to EU funds paid to his former business conglomerate Agrofert. The prime minister said that in order to avoid any suspicion that he was influencing the distribution of EU funds in favour of his former business empire he would step down from a government council dealing with European Union subsidies.

A novel database featuring thousands of companies has been created to help Czech soldiers secure jobs when they leave the army. Around 800 soldiers depart the force every year and for some it can be difficult to find their feet in the jobs market once they return to civvy street.