Czech Republic

50 Czech Crown Bill Not Valid as of April 1

March 31, 2011 By Jeff Leave a Comment

Today is the last day that the 50 Czech Crown (CZK) bill is valid for payment. As of April 1, only the 50 CZK coin will remain in use due to the much higher cost of keeping the bills in circulation. The bills can be exchanged free of charge at Czech banks for one year. The Czech National Bank will exchange the bill for a total of six years.

Starting tomorrow, the valid Czech banknotes are 100 CZK, 200 CZK, 500 CZK, 1,000 CZK, 2,000 CZK and 5,000 CZK. The coins in circulation have the denominations 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50.

For more information, see the press release on the Czech National Bank web website.

50 Czech Crown Banknotes — 50 Czech Crown banknotes are being removed from circulation

Images from cnb.cz

A Bit More on the Three Kings

January 11, 2011 By Dana Leave a Comment

I wrote about the Day of Three Kings a few years ago, although my post wasn’t really about the Three Kings tradition per se. I witnessed the custom performed in a Moravian village this year. Three children about five to seven years old (all of them happened to be girls) came by, rang the doorbell, lined up and sang the Three Kings carol to us. They were dressed as Kašpar, Melichar and Baltazar, each initial printed on a paper crown on their heads. They gave us a packet of sugar and frankinsense. The girls were accompanied by a woman who carried a donation box. We made a donation and she proceeded to write the inscription K + M + B + 2011 on the doorframe with a chalk. The inscription supposedly means Christus mansionem benedicat (“May Christ bless this house”). The donations go to the Czech Republic Charity (Charita České republiky).