The ancient walls of Carolinum, the seat of the directory of Charles University in Prague, along with its ceremonial halls located in the heart of Prague’s Old Town, are often host to formal events. The regular graduation ceremonies, which are usually held for 25-35 students only (unlike in countries such as the UK or US), alternate with conferences, receptions, concerts and exhibitions.

There are many religious traditions connected to Easter: remembering the final days, the death and the resurrection of Jesus. For many Czech people, however, their popular customs – which originate from the Pagan time of the pre-Christian period – are the core of the Easter holidays. These traditions celebrate the beginning of spring and the renewal of life that are associated with this time of year.

“Should I do it?”– a boundless, universal question. A question that presents itself at some of life’s most pivotal moments. However, the answer is often more complex than it needs to be. Often our conceptual understanding of time, our fear of the unknown and financial viability leave us bound to a resounding “No”.

Charles University maintains its excellent reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting institutions for international and Erasmus students – for Thursday, the 20th of November, was an incredible evening enriched with knowledge and culture on the topic of Azerbaijan. 

In summer 2016 a new permanent exhibition, “Enchanted by Antiquity”, was opened in Duchcov Chateau in North Bohemia. After a short interruption, the public once again gained access to the collection of historical plaster casts of ancient plastics from the collections of the Faculty of Arts of Charles University.

The opportunity to undertake an Erasmus in Prague cannot be justified by any amount of words. Situated in the heart of central Europe, the Czech Republic is the ultimate portal to the rest of Europe, that boasts cost and time effective means of travel, and is host to the distinguished Charles University.

In the first half of November 2016, by the occasion of this year’s Hieronymus’s Days dedicated to interpretation and translation skills, the Czech Union of Interpreters and Translators (Jednota tlumočníků a překladatelů, Czech acronym JTP) invited Barbara Delahayes from the University of Geneva to present a new piece of carefully designed software which could prove to be vitally important in the current refugee crisis.

A crowded room of academics, senators, rectors and guests welcomed his Excellency Joachim Gauck, President of the Federal Republic of Germany for a speech on European Diversity and Wealth in relation with the Czech Republic. Invited rectors and vice-rectors from distinguished Czech and Slovakian universities filled the front rows. Additional guests were present, such as Miroslava Němcová, Karel Schwarzenberg as well as President of Czech Republic, Miloš Zeman.

The excavation season 2015 took place between the 15th of June and 10th of July (20 days), followed by three weeks of finds processing. One of our main aims during the season was to shed light on stone foundations of the house we uncovered during the first excavation season conducted in 2014. Their surroundings were destroyed by treasure hunters and as such hindered any clear interpretation on the first place.

‘What does it mean to bear witness in a moment of crisis?’ was the first question posed to the audience by Professor Stuart Allan, in his lecture Revisioning Photojournalism: Citizen Witnessing and the Politics of Visual Truths. The Deputy Head of Cardiff University’s School of Journalism, Media and Culture, was invited by Charles University’s Social Sciences Faculty on the 21st of October, to speak about photojournalism.