Czech news in brief for March 19: Thursday's top afternoon headlines

Culture Minister Oto Klempíř has dismissed National Gallery Prague director Alicja Knastová before the end of her mandate, the gallery confirmed. Knastová, appointed in 2021, had been due to finish this year. Olga Kotková will serve as interim head. Knastová had recently warned that state funding was not keeping pace with rising costs at the institution.

Between 200,000 and 400,000 people are expected to attend this week-end's anti-government protest in Letná, organizers have announced, with the fickle weather being one of the main variables. Taking place this Saturday between 3 pm and 5 pm, the demonstration wants to draw attention to the illiberal turn and oligarchic tendencies of the current ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Andrej Babiš.

Pirate Party city councilor Adam Zábranský wants to significantly reduce the number of boats and cruise ships on Prague's Vltava riverfront from 2028, Novinky.cz reports, citing the need to unclutter the city's embankments from sometimes overcrowded piers. Boat operators have already taken up arms against the proposal which they say could threaten hundreds of jobs.

The intensity of traffic on Czech highways has grown by 12 percent in the past five years, according to preliminary figures from the Roads and Highways Directorate (ŘSD). Nationwide, the busiest section is the segment of the D1 highway between Průhonice and Chodov, in the south-east of Prague, where an average of 107,000 vehicles passed daily in 2025.

Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša received the award for International Artist of the Year, often dubbed the 'Oscar' of classical music, at a ceremony in Germany, as well as the Bavarian Order of Merit. 44-year-old Hrůša is the chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and music director of the Royal Opera House in London. He has also been appointed to lead the Czech Philharmonic from the 2028/2029 season.

Fourteen Czech authors will officially attend this year's Leipzig Book Fair, one of the world's most prestigious literary gatherings that opened to the public today and runs until Sunday. Marek Torčík, Petra Dvořáková, Jiří Hájíček, Zuzana Říhová or Miroslav Hlauč are among those representing Czechia, which will also be the guest of honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair in October.