Standout Christmas trees make their way to Prague for grand reveal

Kytlice, a small town in the north of the Czech Republic, will play a big role this Christmas. Two large spruces from the quiet town in the Ústí nad Labem Region are currently on their way to Prague, where they will spread Christmas cheer in the Old Town and Wenceslas Square.

It is the first time in Czechia’s history of sourcing Christmas trees that spruces in both Prague’s Old Town and Wenceslas Square will come from the same place. The trees were the winners of a nationwide competition to determine the most aesthetic spruce.

"The tree has to be beautiful, accessible for heavy equipment, and healthy, both of which have been confirmed by experts," said Hana Tietze, a spokeswoman for Christmas market organizer Taiko said.

The felling of the spruces, which happened on Saturday, turned out to be a tricky process. According to the woodcutter of the trees, Jiří Vorlíček, there had been a “high voltage on one side [and a] railway line on the other.” 

It was also important that the trees did not fall on the ground, to avoid the branches being broken. A crane was thus used for the process. “Because of work safety and traffic safety, this is an extremely demanding event," said Vorlíček.

The trees, carried by large trucks, set off on the way to Prague yesterday afternoon and will arrive on Tuesday. Their great size – one is 25 meters tall, and the other 15 meters tall – complicate the logistics of transportation: the spruce’s branches need to be carefully tied up.

The trees will be erected and decorated from Tuesday, and will be officially lit up on Saturday. They will stay in Prague until early January. Despite spiraling energy costs, Prague authorities have not announced any widescale plans to limit light decorations.

It will be the first time since 2019 that the Christmas markets will operate free of any health-related restrictions.

The trees will be a source of wonder for those visiting Prague’s upcoming Christmas markets, which the CNN labelled as “among the best in the world.”