Czech morning news in brief: Top headlines for September 2, 2021

The Czech National Library has opened a special exhibition presenting the original manuscript of the Lipnice Bible, written 600 years ago in Lipnice nad Sázavou, in eastern Bohemia. The manuscript was borrowed from the Washington Bible Museum, and will be on display to the public until September 15. It will be exhibited in the Mirror Chapel of Prague’s Klementinum. The history of the Lipnice manuscript is shrouded in mystery: it is unknown where it was kept for centuries before it appeared in a private collection in the twentieth century. Experts estimate that writing for the manuscript began in 1419. The text bears typical hallmarks of Prague manuscripts written before the Hussite Wars of the fifteenth century. Most of manuscript is believed to have been written by a single person, as suggested by the specific style of handwriting.

The Czech Center in New York will organize two evening events called Requiem 2021, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The events will take place in the Bohemian National Hall on September 9 and 10. The multimedia project, dedicated to the victims of the attacks, will present a digital art show accompanied by a setting of Oratio Spei (Prayer of Hope) by Slovak composer Juraj Filas. Some parts of the program will be presented in the Bohemian National Hall, while others will take place on the roof of the building in Manhattan. The project was created by Czech artists Markéta Gebrian and Alex Dowis, under the direction of Anna Eva Kotyza, an American film director of Czech and Slovak origin.

A major exhibition has opened in Prague Castle’s Riding School to celebrate the history of Czech modern architecture since the start of the twentieth century. The works of Jan Kotěra (1871-1923), regarded as the founder of Czech modern architecture, will be focus of the exhibition. The exhibit will feature photographs, drawings, and a number of models documenting the development of Czech architecture from Art Nouveau styles through rationalism, Cubism, its national variant Rondocubism, the Dutch style and Functionalism, to complex post-war developments resulting from the political twists and turns seen in Central Europe. The exhibit will also present architecture from individual Czech regions and foreign architects’ contributions to the national style.

Google will restrict ad targeting for teenagers based on age, gender and interests. The measures intended to make it harder for advertisers to reach people under 18 are expected to take effect on September 2. The effects of the change will be felt most keenly by companies targeting the under-18 age group. For the time being, the measures will concern countries in the European Economic Area (EEA), of which the Czech Republic is a member, as well as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Later, the change will be rolled out worldwide. The age of internet users will be evaluated by Google using a search engine algorithm, so some people over the age of 18 may also be unintentionally affected by the change.

Four Czech tennis players will take part in the third round of the U.S. Open at New York’s Flushing Meadows on Thursday. Karolína Plíšková will play on the main court, Petra Kvitová will take on fellow Czech Kristýna Plíšková on the Louis Armstrong court, while Kateřina Siniaková will play at the Grandstand. This year’s Wimbledon finalist Karolína Plíšková will take on American Amanda Anisimová, while Siniaková will play Maria Sakkari from Greece, the tournament’s seventeenth seed. Hopes are high for the Czech representatives, with Karolína Plíšková the third seed and Kvitová the sixth seed. The top Czech doubles team of Siniaková and Barbora Krejčíková will not be taking part, though, after the latter sustained an injury in the qualification stage.