Autumn Prague Conference Source:www.panoramio.com Hotel InterContinental 6th --9th9th October 2011 Index Your Host 1-2 Prague 3-5 Hotel InterContinental Praha 6 How to get to the InterContinental Hotel 7 Golf Tournament - Albatross Golf Resort 8 Tennis Tournament - Sportcentrum Step 9 Restaurace Monarch 10 Historic Brewery Staropramen 11 Vysehrad Steamboat 12 Prague Castle 13 Municipal House 14 Opera Don Giovanni 15 Delegate Schedule 16 Spouse Schedule 17 Your Host Advokátní kancelá řř KKřříížža Ba B ěělina s.r.o. Was established in 1991 as an association of individual attorneys and today it has the form of a limited liability company with six partners. Advokátní kancelá ř Kříž a Bělina s.r.o. (AKKB) has rich experience in providing legal services and is currently one of the leading law firms in the Czech Republic. The AKKB team comprises of around 30 experienced attorneys who do not only excel professionally, but also in terms of fluency in foreign languages. Thus AKKB is capable of providing all legal services in Czech, Slovak, English, German and Russian as well as in other languages, if required. Some of AKKB’s attorneys are counted among the leading Czech experts in certain legal fields such as labor law or intellectual property law and in recent years they have obtained several prestigious awards in these legal fields. LEGAL SERVICESERVICESSPROVIDEDPROVIDED BYBY AKKB AKKB provides complex legal services to local and international clientele throughout the spectrum of the segments of valid law. AKKB provides legal services comprising of the preparation of legal documents and other legal acts as well as the legal representation before general and arbitration courts. AKKB does not only represent clients before general and arbitration courts, however, also during negotiations with state authorities and institutions. 1 FIELDS OF LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDED BY AKKB w Mergers, acquisitions and transformations w Litigation (arbitration and judicial proceedings) w Intellectual property rights and other rights to intangible assets w Labour law and collective bargaining w Public contracts w Economic competition w Power engineering w Commercial law: contracts and company law w Real estate w Bankruptcy w Family law w Administrative law w Tax, financial (including banking) and exchange law w Criminal law OTHER LEGAL ACTIVITIES In addition to the legal services commonly provided to clients, AKKB also prepares regular information on significant changes to legal regulations for its clients . The majority of AKKB‘s attorneys are also very active in other legal activities, such as in the form of frequent publication in Czech and foreign trade journals and other periodicals or by participating as lecturers or co-organisers in a wide range of specialised conferences and seminars in the Czech Republic and abroad. Several of AKKB’s attorneys are active as arbitrators at the Arbitration Court attached to the Economic Chamber of the Czech Republic and the Agricultural Chamber of the Czech Republic. Contact Dlouhá 13, 110 00 Praha 1 The Czech Republic Telephone: +420 224 819 334/+420 224 819 325 Fax: +420 224 819 343 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.akkb.cz 2 Prague Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. To this day Prague is at the forefront of development. Even now a significant proportion of the nation’s wealth emanates from Prague, and the city is often taken as a synonym for the whole Czech Republic. Source:www.bohemiaweddings.com Prague’s first inhabitants arrived during the early Stone Age. The hills over the Vltava river were first settled by members of an unknown tribe. Their descendants gradually settled the entire area around the Vltava river meander, the shape of which (that of the letter P) symbolized the settlement’s future name. Archeological finds of jewels from the prehistoric era that are similar in style to those from the Great Moravian Empire, confirm the existence of a Slavic settlement. The foundation of Prague Castle, the building of the Christian Church of the Virgin Mary at its center, and the promotion of the Castle as the chief seat of the Přemyslid dynasty gave the Prague basin settlements a new mission. Prague Castle became the heart of the Czech Principality; the rise of the Přemyslid princes to power, along with an advantageous position at a crossroads of trading paths over the river, made Prague the most important place in the country. The metamorphosis of the fragmented agglomeration below the castle into a fortified and privileged medieval city took three centuries. The importance of the Castle settlements was to a great extent the work of Prince Bo řivoj, the first known Czech ruler. Prague became a city at the end of the 12th century. The Old Town of Prague came into existence in 1220 and joined with the Lesser Town at the end of the 13th century. At the beginning of the 14th century, another Prague town appeared: Hrad čany (the Castle Quarter). 3 A period of great prosperity and growth came with the rule of Charles IV (1346-78), who made Prague the greatest center of the European empire. After Rome, it was the second Christian metropolis in Europe. Charles IV built the stone Charles Bridge (1357), founded Charles University (1348) and, during the same year, established Prague’s New Town. After his death, his son Wenceslas IV took over and Prague becomes one of the most beautiful and splendid towns in the Source:www.stopin-prague.com whole world, fully deserving of its epithet, “Rome of the North”. Its appearance did not change for another 200 years. It was only during the Jagiellonian era that Prague completed its Gothic evolution. The rule of the Habsburgs brought to Prague the spirit of the Renaissance, and Emperor Rudolf II added to its luster by making it the imperial seat of the Holy Roman Empire. The series of heavy blows that fell on the Czech lands in the wake of the Protestant Czech estates ’ defeat in the Battle at White Mountain (1620), did not spare Prague. The Habsburg victory installed Ferdinand II on the Czech throne and the city became a provincial capital, without power or importance. Even the first woman on the Czech throne, Empress Maria Theresa (1740-80) did not do much to raise hopes of its revival. The rule of her son, Josef II, marked the beautiful city by its fervent abolition of convents, monasteries, and churches, as well as by intense national repression. Source:http://en.wikipedia.org Spreading re-catholicization brought with it the construction of new churches, convents and monasteries in the Baroque style. In the new fashion, a number of palaces were also built, many of which still help define the appearance of the city. After 1784, in the tumultuous period following the unification of Prague’s many municipalities, a new style, that of burgher-like Classicism, appeared. Source:www.prague-guide.co.uk 4 The Romantic era blew a breath of fresh air into Prague’s gardens and parks. The mid- 19th century brought a revival of previous styles, which left its mark all over Europe, Prague not excepting. The Neo-Renaissance style symbolized the rebirth of the Czech nation and found most use in the construction of buildings closely associated with Czech national culture (e.g., the National Museum, the National Theater, the Rudolfinum.) At the same time, Prague said farewell to its old fortifications. Around the year 1900, Prague’s population approached 200,000 and the prevailing style was Art Nouveau. The city then Source:http://www.localyte.com was among the largest in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Source: http://hissandra.blogspot.com On October 28, 1918, Prague became the capital of the newly independent Czechoslovakia. With the dawn of a new era, new styles also arrived: functionalism and constructivism. A unique group of Cubist houses can still be seen at the foot of the Vyšehrad cliff near the river. World War II and the Nazi occupation halted the development of the Czech metropolis. The country’s newfound freedom was quickly suppressed by the nascent communism, which proceeded to inflict on Prague five decades of “building Socialism”. At the end of the last century, Prague’s historical center was included in the prestigious UNESCO list of World Heritage sites. The city entered the new millennium as a self-assured, proud metropolis, blessed with an ancient heritage as well as new, exciting works of architecture. Source: http://www.orangesmile.com/ Text Source:www.czech.cz 5 Hotel InterContinental Praha Pa řížská 30 110 00 Praha 1 Czech Republic Tel: +420 296 631 111 Fax: +420 224 811 216 Email: [email protected] Website: www.icprague.com Located on Prague's most famous and luxurious shopping boulevard Pa řížská connecting the historical Old Town Square with the banks of the Vltava River, the InterContinental Prague is a truly exceptional Prague hotel. Exclusive accommodation provide the perfect base to explore the shops, restaurants, and architectural treasures that give this region its distinctive character. Health Club & Spa is an impressive Prague fitness center, offering state-of-the-art cardio and workout facilities. Keep your fitness regimen with a swim in the unique salt water heated swimming pool under a glazed roof. Relax in the whirlpool. Ease tired muscles in the sauna. Hotel facility also includes a soothing Prague spa, featuring a full range of spa services and personalized programs and therapies for individual health concerns. source:www.icprague.com 6 How to get to the InterContinental Hotel From the Prague Ruzyne Airport A hotel limousine service is available to take you from the airport to the hotel 24 hours a day. The price is CZK 900 (approx.