Weekly review no. xx
10.05.2024
Czech Republic closes first open-cast mine
The phase-out of coal in the Czech Republic is approaching. The first open-cast mine to close in the coming weeks is the ČSA open-cast mine south of Horní Jiřetín. By July, the open-cast mining company Severní energetická plans to lay off 485 employees, mainly in technical positions. The employees will receive severance pay amounting to eight times their monthly salary. Some of those affected are already of retirement age.
Coal mining will initially cease. 150 employees will remain in the mine. In the event of an emergency next winter, coal mining could be restarted for a few months. For this purpose, employees could be temporarily withdrawn from the second active opencast mine, Vršany, west of Most. However, no new employees will be hired in this case. And if it does come to that, it will be over for good next spring. Because all the coal that would still be in the ground is protected by a government decision from 1991. According to this, no more towns or communities may fall victim to coal. Further mining would inevitably affect the towns of Horní Jiřetín and partly also Litvínov. There are still 750 million tonnes of brown coal stored there. In 2015, the then government finally confirmed the 1991 decision and the future began for Horní Jiřetín.
The Czech Republic plans to phase out coal by 2035. Until then, mining will continue in Most, Sokolov, Chomutov and Bílina.
Chemnitz christens tram "Ústí nad Labem"
Ústí nad Labem and Chemnitz have been twinned since 1970. This is now also reflected in the Chemnitz tram, which has been named after the northern Bohemian city. On the occasion of Europe Day on 9 May and the 20th anniversary of the EU's eastward expansion in 2004, since which the Czech Republic has also been a member of the community, the tram's godfather, Ústí's mayor Petr Nedvědický, together with Chemnitz's mayor Sven Schulze, presented the new name of the Škoda tram with the number 921 on Friday afternoon. This is already the thirteenth christening of a Chemnitz tram, most of which are named after the twelve twin cities. In their welcoming speeches, Schulze and Nedvědický emphasised the importance of the partnership, which will be celebrating its 55th anniversary next year, when Chemnitz will be the European Capital of Culture. In his speech, Nedvědický also promised to "repay" his city in an appropriate manner in the near future for this great honor. David Joram, head of vehicle service at Chemnitzer Verkehrs-AG, also emphasized that in 2018 Chemnitz was the first city in Germany to order trams from the neighboring Czech Republic since reunification. Several German transport companies have now joined this development.
Soon trains to Krupka again
Trains are expected to run from Děčín to Krupka again this year. The rail network administration Správa železnic (SŽ) plans to renovate the section from Telnice to Krupka in the coming months. This will provide a direct rail connection to the valley station of the chairlift to the Mosquito Tower and to the UNESCO old town of Krupka.
The Ice Hockey World Championship starts in the Czech Republic
The most important sporting event in the Czech Republic is still the annual Ice Hockey World Championship. Every May, hearts beat faster and the whole nation hopes for nothing other than the title. This year, the Czech Republic is hosting the World Championship for the first time in nine years and expectations are accordingly even higher. The World Championship began on Friday with the first games, Norway against Switzerland and Slovakia against Germany. In the evening, the Czech Republic played its first game in the sold-out Prague O2 Arena against Finland.
Whether the Czech Republic will actually win another World Cup title will be decided in the final on May 26th at the latest. One of the toughest competitors could be Germany, who finished runners-up a year ago and thus did better than the traditionally stronger Czechs for the first time. The Czech Republic last won a bronze medal two years ago. The last World Cup title was 14 years ago. Back then, the Czech Republic triumphed in Germany. Winning a home World Cup is not that common, by the way. But two years ago, the Finns showed the Czechs how to do it and won at home.
The production of this newsletter is co-financed by tax revenue on the basis of the budget approved by the Saxon State Parliament.