On the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Prague, the buildings in the center are lit up ceremonially
This is what the municipality building on Mariánské náměstí looks like in normal lighting. It will be ceremonially lit on Sunday, January 1. Photo: Jan Puci
On January 1, 2023, the Czech Republic will celebrate its 30th anniversary. On this occasion, the capital lights up selected buildings with the tricolor and hangs Czech flags in the center of the metropolis. A special tram will also hit the streets at the end of January to commemorate the anniversary of the election of Václav Havel as the first president of the republic. Vít Hofman, the spokesperson of the municipality, informed about it.
As part of the celebration of the founding of the Czech Republic, Prague will light up buildings in national colors on Sunday, January 1, from 4 p.m., specifically the New Town Hall on Mariánské náměstí, the Petrín Lookout, the Rudolfinum, since Má Vlast was played here on January 1, 1993, and also the wall under the Metronome on Letná.
The commemoration of the establishment of the republic will also be supported by the hanging of the flags of the Czech Republic – one of the symbols of statehood. The flags will be installed on public lighting poles at historically important places in the center of the capital. A total of 59 of them now adorn Wenceslas Square and Na Příkopě and Národní streets. But the colors of the tricolor also appear in other important places.
“We have prepared a ceremonial lighting of the walls under the pendulum on Letná, the Rudolfinum building, the seat of the Prague municipality and also the Petřín lookout tower, which are used annually for these purposes. The mentioned places will shine in Czech colors until the morning hours of the second of January. I believe that it will be a festive spectacle corresponding to the significance of the event,” explained Tomáš Jílek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Technologie hl. m of Prague, which traditionally ensures the installation of flags and the lighting of monuments for Prague.
On Sunday, January 1, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., an announcement with the text: “We have been traveling on our own line as an independent Czech Republic for 30 years. Therefore, we wish you a happy journey in the future. Your capital, Prague.” Just like on similar anniversaries or holidays, trams in the streets will be decorated with flags of the Czech Republic.
And on January 26, a special tram will enter Prahy Street on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the election of Václav Havel as the first Czech president. At the same time, it will commemorate the events of the republic over the past thirty years, such as the accession to NATO, the victory of hockey players at the Olympic Games in Nagano or the accession to the European Union.