Czech news in brief for July 6: Monday's top morning headlines

Today is a public holiday marking the 611th anniversary of Jan Hus's execution, with a commemorative service planned at Prague's Bethlehem Chapel. Stores aren't closed for this state holiday, however, lawmakers say the rules are confusing and want to make changes holiday trading law.

Meanwhile, a parliamentary vote curbing presidential powers is headed for a court challenge, and a new bill could complicate the legal status of Czech mixed-nationality family members. Good morning, here's your mix of Monday headlines.

Czechia observes the Day of the Burning of Master Jan Hus today, a public holiday commemorating the medieval church reformer's execution at the Council of Constance 611 years ago. A service led by the Patriarch of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, Tomáš Butta, will be held at 3 p.m. in Prague's Bethlehem Chapel, where Hus once preached, and will be broadcast on Czech Television and Czech Radio. A separate two-day celebration continues in his birthplace of Husinec, in the Prachatice region, with markets, music, theater, and fencing performances.

The reformer's legacy: Beyond his church reforms, Hus is credited with authoring the treatise that introduced diacritical marks to Czech orthography. His death also carries diplomatic history; 1925 celebrations under President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk prompted the Vatican to recall its papal nuncio from Prague for three years.

The Chamber of Deputies has approved an amendment stripping President Petr Pavel of authority to appoint and dismiss heads of Czech missions to international organizations, shifting that power to the foreign minister. Opposition TOP 09 lawmaker Jiří Pospíšil said the matter will end up before the Constitutional Court, calling the measure a political rebuke of the president. The bill now moves to the Senate.

Tensions escalating: The dispute follows a separate Constitutional Court injunction this year that ordered the government to secure Pavel's attendance at the NATO summit, begining this week in Ankara, reflecting broader strain between the president and the coalition government.

A pending overhaul of Czechia's Act on the Residence of Foreigners would require many non-EU family members of Czech citizens to leave the country and wait abroad for a residence decision, a process that can take three to six months, rather than applying from inside Czechia as current rules allow. Immigration lawyers say the change would hit non-EU nationals most.

A possible fix: Pirate Party MPs have submitted an amendment that would align conditions for non-EU family members of Czech citizens with those for family members of other EU nationals living in Czechia, though it is not yet clear whether it will be adopted.

Michaela Macharik, president of the Czech-Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said Czech companies face a shortage of information, financing, and investment insurance rather than a lack of interest in Ukraine's reconstruction. Her chamber, formed after Russia's invasion, now has 90 members with 13 more awaiting approval, spanning energy, water management, and manufacturing.

The obstacles: Entrepreneurs have called for faster rollout of the Ukraine Facility program through the National Development Bank, expanded insurance through the Export Guarantee and Insurance Company, and better coordination between state institutions.

Confusion persists over which public holidays require stores to close, prompting competing proposals in parliament. The KDU-ČSL wants all public holidays closed to shoppers, arguing the current rotating system makes no sense, while ODS wants the restriction scrapped entirely and left to individual retailers to decide. ANO has not yet taken a position.

The current rules: Stores under 200 square meters, pharmacies, gas stations, and train station shops are already exempt from the closures. Violations carry fines up to CZK 1 million, though the Czech Trade Inspection Authority found just two violations in nearly 170 inspections last year.

Wenceslas Square goes gray. Wenceslas Square's colorful mosaic paving is giving way to a uniform dark gray limestone finish as tram line construction continues, and not everyone is happy about it. Residents on social media have mourned the loss of the traditional pink-and-black Sliven marble, though Prague 1's mayor says she is working to preserve the mosaic elsewhere in the district.

Historic train returns to the tracks. Elinka, a 1903 electric rail car from the National Technical Museum's collection, is running again this summer along the Tábor–Bechyně line, Czechia's first electrified railway. The rides run every Saturday from July 4 through Aug. 29, alongside other historic trains including the 1957 locomotive Bobinka.

World's biggest Lego collection is in Prague. Miloš Křeček, a Prague butcher by trade, holds the Guinness World Record for the largest Lego collection on Earth, with roughly 12,000 sets. He has opened five Lego museums across the Czech Republic and spends about five hours a day building.