GALLERY: This week's headlines for Czechia in 10 photos

If you see me, cry: Centuries-old boulders, known as "hunger stones," reappeared last week in the Czech Republic as rivers dried up in Europe due to drought. The inscriptions on the stones, found in the Elbe river bed warn of “years of hardship” and contain the initials of the authors. Numerous media outlets around the world have run stories about the stones. Scientists say that Europe is experiencing the worst drought in 500 years.

On Friday, Defense Minister Jana Černochová decorated soldiers who intervened in the destructive fire of the Bohemian Switzerland National Park at the Prague Kbely airbase. Černochová thanked the soldiers for their help during which they poured almost four million liters of water on the burning site from helicopters. The soldiers flew for some 226 hours in total and assisted for 19 days.

Considered the oldest ceramic statuette in the world, dating back to the Palaeolithic period, the Venus of Věstonice has gone on public display on Friday at the Moravian Museum in Brno in the Anthropos pavilions as part of an exhibition "The Oldest Body and Jewelry Ornament" that will last until February 2023.

Pictured here is exhibit curator Martina Galetová Ph.D. The small clay figurine representing is 11 centimeters high and 25,000 to 29,000 years old. It was discovered in 1925 in South Moravia and is rarely exhibited.

This week customs officers uncovered tons of tobacco, millions of cigarettes, and illegal production lines for the manufacturing of cigarettes and other tobacco products within two extensive raids in Prague, Olomouc, and Pilsen. The police also uncovered tax evasion worth over CZK 170 million. The equipment recovered is capable of producing 5,000 cigarettes per minute.

This week saw the opening of another newly revitalized hangout zone in Prague. The Jammertal leisure area completes the restoration of the Folimanka part under the Nusle Bridge, which connects Prague 2 and Prague 4. The new multifunctional area is equipped with facilities for a number of activities and sports but has a particularly interesting connection to roller sports: the world's oldest skateboarding statue is located here.

The Czech Academy of Sciences put out a call this week to the public to help vote for the winning photo in the annual Photogenic Science photo contest. Shown here is "Dancing defects" (defects in a nematic liquid crystal viewed under a microscope) by Vladimír Novotný from the Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. More photos can be seen and voted for here.

Through the weekend the Josef Vágner African Safari at the Zoo Park Dvůr Králové welcomed its traditional veteran ride from the Králové Palace to Ratibořice. Vintage cars took a spin among the newborn zoo babies as well as other zebras, water buffalo, and other zoo inhabitants.

The historic Sluneční lázně (Sunshine spa) restaurant on the banks of the Mšeno dam in Jablonec nad Nisou, burned down on Wednesday morning. The heritage building, which consisted of several wooden stalls, caught fire shortly before 5 a.m. and was completely destroyed by the fire. Firefighters do not yet know the causes and damage.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala at a commemorative meeting in Hodonín u Kunštátu on Aug. 18 honored the memory of the Czech and Moravian Roma who became victims of the Holocaust during World War II. Only a tenth of the Roma population in the Czech lands survived the Nazi rampage.

Czech athlete Adam Ondra claimed bronze at the men's joint boulder and lead event at the 2022 European sport climbing championships in Munich. Although Ondra earned the most points in boulder, he missed the last clip of the lead route. Ondra's silver in B&L compliments the other medals he won this week: bronze in the boulder and gold in lead climbing at Munich 2022. This is the final event of the European sport climbing championships. The next B&L event will take place in Japan in October.

BONUS PHOTO: The light installation Coral Moon by artist Jan Lamr continues to illuminate Prague's riverbanks this week. It was created to suit the unique architectural space (A)void Gallery, at cube no. 10 of the Prague embankment. The work will be on display until Aug. 29.