Christmas tree for Prague's Old Town Square cut down near Liberec

The Christmas tree selected for Prague's Old Town Square market was cut down in Dolní Černá Studnice, in the Liberec region of the Czech Republic, from around 9:30 a.m. this morning.

The tree will make its way to the Czech capital on Monday evening before being erected in Prague's Old Town Square ahead of next weekend. A tree lighting ceremony is tentatively planned for Saturday, November 27, to inaugurate this year's Christmas market, but may be affected by Covid-19 regulations.

This year's tree is a 21.5-meter tall Norway Spruce from a private owner in Dolní Černá Studnice. Each year, residents from around the Czech Republic submit their own trees for consideration to become the Christmas tree at Prague's Old Town Square; along with the prestige, those who submit the selected tree also receive a financial reward.

"We really like the tree, but we've been scared of it lately," the owner of the property from where the tree was taken told reporters.

"Its roots are beginning to disrupt the road around our house, so we had already planned to cut it down. During the spring, we heard a call on the radio that they were looking for a tree for Prague, so we submitted it and they really chose it."

The spruce was carefully cut down this morning by Pavel Švestka, s.r.o. Due to the size of the tree and the complex nature of the work, advance preparations took place during the days ahead of the job.

The excavation company created a makeshift road leading to the tree in the rural area, and utilized a mobile crane, a tractor, and a semi-trailer to carefully cut it down and prepare it for transport this morning.

The process of cutting down the tree took place over about three hours this morning, and was broadcast live at Mall.tv.

While the Christmas market at Prague's Old Town Square was cancelled last year due to Covid-19 restrictions, a 19-meter-tall Norway spruce from Jílové still decorated the square over the holidays.

While this year's spruce is taller than in 2020, it still comes short of the tallest Christmas tree to adorn Prague's Old Town Square, a 24-meter-tall tree in 2016.

Despite record numbers of new Covid-19 cases in the Czech Republic, plans for Christmas markets in Prague are still moving forward, with the first of the markets opening in Náměstí Míru this weekend. Visitors are asked to observe sanitary regulations including social distancing.

While this year's market at Old Town Square is scheduled to launch from next Saturday with a traditional tree lighting ceremony, those plans are not yet confirmed and will depend on restrictions in place at the time.

See our overview for more details on Christmas markets across Prague this season, and dates they are expected to open.