The Week of Festivities Begins on Monday
12 June 2009
A week filled with festivities and celebrations commences in Český Krumlov already on Monday 15 June. Ms. Jitka Zikmundová, Vice-mayor of Český Krumlov, explains:
„Every day of the week prior to the main weekend celebrations we would like to invite the citizens and visitors of Český Krumlov for an interesting event. The 700th anniversary celebrations are an important milestone and are in particular dedicated to Český Krumlov past and present inhabitants. The spiritual dimension will be celebrated by the re-consecration of the Column of the Holy Virgin; on the artistic front the locals will be presented with a new statue in the Seminar Gardens across the Růže Hotel. We will also invite all the citizens of Krumlov for free visits of interesting sites around our town and the night before the Five-petalled Rose Celebrations we will award the Prize of the Town for the most important enterprise for Český Krumlov in 2008. As for the Five-petalled Rose Celebrations taking place over the weekend, these are an interesting and amusing trip down the history lane for both the locals and visitors alike. We have a truly packed programme of events."
Monday: Consecration of the Column of the Holy Virgin
St. Vitus who is the main protector of the town will be remembered on the 15 June at 5.30 pm during the act of re-consecration of the Column of the Holy Virgin taking place on the Svornosti Square and from 6 pm during a mass taking place in the St. Vitus church. The Bishop of České Budějovice, Mons. Jiří Paďour, will be celebrating both the re-consecration and the festive mass. Both the re-consecration and the festive mass will be accompanied by the St. Anne Gregorian Choir of Český Krumlov under the Choir Director Mr. Jiří Balko.
The Column of the Holy Virgin is located in the middle of the six-sided Baroque fountain. The statue of the Holy Virgin Mary stands on top of the Column, accompanied by the stautes of St. Wenceslas, St. Vitus, St. John the Baptist and St. Juda Tadeas located on the lower plane. This sculptural group was commisioned in the years 1680-1682 by the Duchess Marie Anrnoštka of Eggenberg, born Schwarzenberg. Ths Plague Column has been erected to commemorate the end to the plague epidemy that ravaged the town in the years 1680-1682. The statues are by the Prague sculptor Matěj Václav Jäckel. The Baroque fountain with the Column of the Holy Virgin and the statues have been restored in 2008. Water re-appeared in the fountain and the fountain also gained night illumination. This successful reconstruction project has been awarded an honorary mention in the PRESTA South Bohemia Contest (awarding prestigious building projects).
Tuesday: Installation of the „Bell Tower for Europe" Relief
The „Bell Tower for Europe" relief by the author Petr Fridrich will be placed in the Seminar Gardens across the Růže Hotel. The festive revelation of the relief will be accompanied by a theatrical and musical happening prepared by Karel Dvořák.
Wednesday: Town Excursions for the Locals from 6 pm and 7 pm on Svornosti Square
The town excursions for the citizens of Český Krumlov will be run by the Český Krumlov Tour Guides Association at the South Bohemian Chamber of Commerce. The excursions will be free of charge, starting at either 6 or 7 pm. In total 5 local tour guides will be guiding groups of locals around the town. In both time slots, there will be 5 groups dispatched to discover the sites of Český Krumlov in a journey lasting just under 1 hours.
Each group may contain up to 40 persons and the meeting point is at the water fountain on the Svornosti Square. For the event to run smoothly, an advance reservation is required. Your reservation slip can be collected for free at the Český Krumlov Infocenter (náměstí Svornosti 2). The excursions will be in Czech language only.
Thursday: Prize of the Town of Český Krumlov for the Year 2008
Prize of the Town of Český Krumlov for the Year 2008 from 6 pm in the Hotel Růže Courtyard
The Prize of the Town of Český Krumlov is dedicated to individuals, associations or companies for important enterprises in the past year. The Mayor of the Town, Mr. Luboš Jedlička, explains: „This prize has a shape of a cobblestone with a glass drop. It is awarded in honour of an important enterprise that helps develop or present the town of Český Krumlov and to enrich the lives of our citizens for example in the areas of culture, sports, social arts, entrepreneurial skills or in caring for our monuments." During the May session, the Town Council has decided to award the Prize of the town to Mr. Alexandr Jegorovov M.D., CSc for his professional activities in the area of surgery and traumatology. He is not only a well respected in these areas but also a court-recognized expert. He shares his wealth of knowledge with his fellow citizens through a series of speeches, lectures and articles. His ranges of interests also include mycology, astrophysics, phytology and ship building. Mr. Jegorov has also been a long-time instructor of the Water Emergency Aid.
The public award ceremony will take place on the evening before the Five-petalled Rose Celebrations on the 18 June in the Hotel růže courtyard. Last year, the Prize of the Town went to Mr. Dezider Dunka in memoriam and to the Perchta Town Signing Choir. In total 54 prizes have been awarded over the past 15 years.
Friday-Sunday: Five-petalled Rose Celebrations
The Five-petalled Rose Celebrations will re-live the memory of the first written notice of the town of Český Krumlov from the year 1309. The town center of Český Krumlov will come alive with history between 19 and 21 June. It will offer to visitors a medieval entertainment, historical marketplace and medieval gourment feast. This year's 23rd Celebrations will be a reminder of the first modern round anniversary celebrations of the town's establishment. These took place in 1909 and Count Schwarzenberg has participated in these. This year, as we celebrate the 700th anniversary of the town, the Five-petalled Rose Celebrations will not only remember the last Rosenbergs and the Renaissance period as usual, but also present all the other periods of the town's history from the Gothic period to Rococo.
For more information please view: www.ckrumlov.cz/celebrations2009
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