The Czech Republic will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of Czechoslovakia on Sunday, October 28. Photo credit: Ben Skála, Benfoto [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0 ], from Wikimedia Commons.

Brno, Oct 25 (BD) – Even though the Czech Republic and Slovakia split into two separate countries in 1993, several events and exhibitions are planned throughout the country to celebrate and commemorate the independence of Czechoslovakia in 1918.

2018 will not be such an ordinary year for the Czech Republic, as the foundation of Czechoslovakia played a great role in shaping the national identity and the destiny of people in the two countries. As a result October 28 is marked as the most significant day in the country’s history, a day closely associated with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, one of the founders of Czechoslovakia and the first president of the new nation, also known as a philosopher and an educator.

Last but not least, in 1993 Czechoslovakia was divided into two sovereign states without any fighting or unrest, and the separation was completed in a cultured and peaceful manner that both nations can be proud of. Even today, Czechs and Slovaks are still very close to each other.

To commemorate the centenary of Czechoslovakia, festive events are taking place across the Czech Republic.

Commemorative Events in Brno on October 28…

A great anniversary concert “100 let Republiky v Sono Centru” will be held at Sono Centrum from 4 PM till 10:30 PM on October 28. The music will take you on a journey through time from the 1930’s until today.

A sightseeing event will take place in vila Stiassni at Hroznova 14, from 11 AM to 7 PM on the day of the Czechoslovak anniversary. Visitors can join day tours or special night tours and hear songs from the Czechoslovak era. The tour is currently available only in Czech, but in case of high demand, the organizers are also able to offer it in English. Previous agreement is necessary.

A memorial ceremony for the 100th anniversary of Czechoslovakia will be held at the statue of the first Czechoslovak President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk at Komenského nám. 2 at 10 AM on Sunday, with the participation of Mayor Petr Vokřál.

In the afternoon, the sports hall of Bohunice Kampus (map) will witness a “Mapathon” – the creation of the largest ever map of Czechoslovakia. It will be created by volunteers from the Faculties of Science and Sports Studies, who will assemble 700 sheets into a map of approximately 40 x 17 meters, attempting to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

Bedřich Smetana’s opera opus Libuše will be performed at the Brno Exhibition Centre later that day. Telling the tale of the mythical ancestor of the Czech people, a new version premiered last month with a modern slant to celebrate the country’s 100th anniversary (Read more in our previous article “October in National Theatre Brno: Premiere of Children of Paradise with English Subtitles and Czech Myth Reimagined on a Grand Scale”.

A new branch of the “Memory of the Nation in South Moravia” [“Paměť národa Jihomoravský kraj”] will open in the building of the former prison on Cejl.

The event starts at 6 PM. During the evening, visitors will be able to listen to recordings of authentic testimony from the prisoners who suffered in the prison, and watch a film featuring witnesses from Brno. Visitors are also invited to an exhibition of photographs and stories of people whose destinies crossed with the history of Brno and the dramatic events of the 20th century.

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