The Czech Republic Is Experiencing a Year of Significant Anniversaries.

2016 marks the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death, a double jubilee will be celebrated by Wofgang Amadeus Mozart and Ferenc Liszt, and finally November will see the one hundredth anniversary of the death of Franz Joseph I, Emperor of Austria, and King of Bohemia and Hungary.The whole of Europe is going to stage festivals, concerts and exhibitions, and new expositions will be open. The Czech Republic will definitely not lag behind!

Year of the Luxembourgs

Celebrations that will be impossible not to notice in the Czech Republic in 2016 will be related to the 700-year anniversary of the birth of Charles IV.. This noted King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor is not the only Luxembourg who is going to be honoured because this year will also mark 720 years since the birth and at the same time 670 years from the death of his father John of Luxembourg, who introduced the Luxembourg Dynasty to the Czech throne.

The anniversary of Charles IV’s birth, included in the UNESCO list of important world anniversaries, is going to be commemorated by the City of Prague Museum as well as the National Technical Museum. The Vita Caroli exhibition will present Gothic architecture with some interesting replicas such as that of a period battering ram and a medieval man-powered wooden crane, which actually works as was checked during the renovation of trusses at the castles of Točník and Kost. Prague Castle is going to display the Bohemian Crown Jewels and various other former seats of the aristocracy will contribute to the Year of the Luxembourgs. Spring at Karlštejn will see the opening of an exhibition of medieval silver and gold objects found in the 19^th century during the reconstruction of the castle. Festivities connected with Charles IV will also be held in the Velhartice and Veveří Castles.

The National Gallery in Prague is also celebrating

The National Gallery, which is going to present an international exhibition - Emperor Charles IV (1316–2016) - in the Wallenstein Riding Hall and in the historical premises of Charles University in Karolinum, Prague, will also have its anniversary this year.In February 1796, exactly 220 years ago, a picture gallery of the Society of the Patriotic Friends of the Arts in Bohemia was founded and later - in 1949 to be precise, after several other transformations it was succeeded by the National Gallery .

One of the world’s oldest public collections of art is preparing an anniversary exhibition focusing on topics of donations and generosity encompassing all of the gallery buildings and collections for the first time. In addition, Prague will stage an exhibition of the French cult painter Henri Rousseau and present the work of the Renaissance artistic genius Lucas Cranach the Elder. For the first time it will be possible to see creations of the Chinese conceptual artist Ai Wei-Wei, one of the most renowned artists of the present time. Apart from that, the revived grounds of the medieval Convent of St. Agnes of Bohemia with a sculpture park will open to the public as will the Kinský Palace which hosts attractive short-term expositions.

Emperor, president and industrialist

Dozens of events are going to mark the 1866 battle of Hradec Králové– thelargest military action in the territory of the Czech lands which took place 150 years ago. In addition to a spectacular battle re-enactment staged on July 1 to 3, you can look forward to the unveiling of a monument followed by the Ball of Franz Joseph I, one of the birthday boys mentioned in the introduction. The celebration will also recall the arrival of the Emperor of Austria in the Hradec Králové area in autumn 1866, when he donated a million guldens to the war-torn region.

Moreover, 2016 will commemorate the 80^th anniversary of the birth of Václav Havel, the first post-revolution president, and sadly also five years from his death. The City Council of Prague 6, where Havel used to live for a long-time, is going to place a commemorative plaque in the President’s honour on his house in Dělostřelecká Street. As a way of paying respect to this outstanding personality you can visit the floral garden of Chateau Lány or Prague Castle, the seat of Czech presidents.

In 2016 Zlín in East Moravia is going to mark 140 years from the birth of Tomáš Bata, the founder of the renowned Bata footwear business, as well as the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the Zlín film studios that were responsible for the successful company advertising. The creative environment gradually brought several excellent filmmakers to Zlín and soon after the studios started producing documentary and travel films, along with the first attempts at cartoons. Both of the anniversaries will be among the major topics of the 56^th Zlín Film Festival in 2016.

ČCCR — CzechTourism is an allowance organization of the Ministry for Regional development of the Czech Republic. Its main activity is the promotion of the Czech Republic as an attractive tourist destination both at home and abroad.