As we head toward spring, Czechia opens up its traditional attractions throughout the country, as well as a few new hotels in the capital city of Prague. These days, however, before visiting any city in the former Czechoslovakia, travelers should understand the country now has two names — Czechzia and the Czech Republic — and both are correct.

The formal (political) name is Czech Republic, and the short (geographical) name is Czechia. Several other eastern European countries, like Croatia and Slovakia, have used their shortened, geographical names for decades, but the Czechs have wrestled with these two names for only about five years. Most of the country’s residents are even confused about which name to use, but the friendly Czech people will happily discuss the issue with foreigners over a cold Pilsner. In this piece, I have chosen to use the short version, Czechia.

© Vysocina Tourism

In Czechia, one of Prague Castle’s most popular attractions, closed to the public for almost four years, recently reopened in January 2023. The Prague Castle Picture Gallery closed in 2019 to prepare for extensive renovations, including repairs to the air conditioning and a temperature control system to ensure stable conditions for the priceless artifacts it contains. The Prague Castle Picture Gallery dates back to Emperor Rudolf II’s collection from the early 1600s, and contains one of Czechia’s most impressive selections of artwork, including masterpieces by Titian, Rubens, Tintoretto, Veronese, Cranach and many others.

Street lighting in Prague was first introduced in 1847, when 200 gas lamps were installed. By 1940, there were reportedly almost 9,000 in the city. Gas light was also used to illuminate Prague’s parks, waterfronts and islands. In the first half of the last century, around 130 lamp lighters were reportedly employed by the city.

Gas-powered lighting was discontinued in the middle of the 1980s, when eight cast-iron lamps on Hradčanské Square and nearby Loretánská Street in the Prague Castle district were converted to electricity. However, gas lighting returned to some of the city’s most historic parts in 2002, this time powered by natural gas. In 2010, gas lighting also returned to Charles Bridge, reputedly now the only gas-lit bridge in the world.

© Prague City Tourism

During Christmas holidays, from the end November to Dec. 23, you can see gas lights lit at dusk by Prague’s lampář (lamp-man), wearing a peaked black cap and dark red short cape, along the whole of the Royal Way running through the historical center, from Powder Tower all the way to Hradčanské Square.

The Czech town of Třešť in the Vysočina region (a 90-minute drive southeast of Prague) is a hot spot for wood-carved nativity scenes. For more than 200 years, residents kept this tradition going in their homes and garages, including a 325-square-foot nativity scene. These tributes to the baby Jesus appear Dec. 25 and last through the new year.

The ancient tradition associated with building timber rafts and floating them on rivers made it to UNESCO’S Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The nomination was approved by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the Intangible Cultural Heritage at its 17^th meeting in Morocco.

 “Czechia now has eight items on UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list, for a total of 31 entries in UNESCO. This means that based on our inhabitants per square-kilometer ranking we among the most interesting countries in terms of unique travel opportunities,” said Jan Herget, director, Czech Tourism Authority. “Besides timber rafting, Czechia is also registered in UNESCO for the handmade production of beaded Christmas decorations, as well as blueprint production, puppetry, falconry, rides of the kings in Slovácko, carnival routes and masks in Hlinecko, and Slovácko´s verbuňk.”

The importance of Czech woodworking pops up again in the latest tradition to make UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list: timber rafts. This tree-to-transport tradition has been used since the 11^th century to deliver salt, honey and even Czech beer to destinations along the Vltava River. These days, the tradition stays alive through tourism and a lively river rafting scene in Czechia’s South Bohemia region.

Museum of Wooden Rafting © Richard Semik | Dreamstime.com

For travelers, flight connections to the Czech capital of Prague plan to expand in 2023 and 2024. Delta Air Lines resumes direct flights from New York’s JFK into Prague’s Vaclav Havel International Airport, May–October 2023. Newcomer Icelandair also expands its service to Prague. The carrier will offer flights to Keflavík Airport four times a week from June 2023. Icelandair’s new direct connection will support not only outbound tourism to Iceland, but also provide another transfer opportunity to Icelandair’s wide network of connections in North America.

Prague’s hotel scene also has strong recovery plans, including significant expansion across luxury hotel offerings. Hyatt opened its first property in Czechia in 2022 with the unveiling of Andaz Hyatt Prague. The 176 luxurious rooms are housed in a 1916 building known as Sugar Palace on the edge of Old Town. Located on Senovážné Square, within the magnificently restored Sugar Palace, the building was originally built for the city’s Sugar Industry Insurance Association. The hotel’s stand-alone MEZ bar delivers an exhilarating atmosphere with its signature cocktails infused with local ingredients, each inspired by historic figures of Prague.

The 204-room Almanac X (formerly Alcron Hotel) also opened in late 2022, and the 161-room W Prague Hotel, located within Wenceslas Square’s former Art Nouveau-style Grand Europa Hotel is set to open in mid-2023, along with Fairmont’s 297-room Golden Prague Hotel, currently completing renovations on its riverside property to become one of the most exclusive 5-star properties in the city with an extensive spa, indoor and outdoor pools and three restaurants and bars.