The centenary year in Europe’s modern history is a double jubilee for the Czech Republic. Besides marking a century since the Treaty of Versailles and the end of the World War I, the Czech Republic also celebrates 50 years of political liberalisation.

With respect to these important milestones, 2018 will be dedicated to exploring the Czech history and European roots. A number of different activities will be organised throughout the year to commemorate historic and cultural significance of these events.

Most of the Czech Republic’s cultural and government institutions will mark the anniversaries, while the government plans to make significant investments into the celebrations. The programme for the year was launched on 15 November by Culture Minister Daniel Herman, who reminded of the values of heritage and history.

Recognising culture as “a bridge on which people meet to stop feeling frightened,” he reminded of the values it brings to every citizen. This theme of culture as a timeless bond between people and cultures will dominate cultural celebrations, particularly within the framework of European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 and European Heritage Days 2018.

These pan-European initiatives will help raise awareness of the richness of Czech heritage and history. The citizens will have an opportunity to participate in a diversity of events and projects that speak about the Czech Republic’s past. This way, they will be able to expand their understanding of their national and European history, as well as to discover their identities as Europeans.

During European Heritage Days 2018, these important jubilees will also be reflected in the series of cultural explorations. Next year’s events in the Czech Republic will invite visitors to stop and think about a whole century of development, social change and improvement. Weaving this theme into different cultural activities, the Czech Republic will emphasize the incredible values the history has brought to us.

The European Heritage Days 2018 events in the Czech Republic will take place between 8 and 16 September. The full programme will be announced on the website of the Association of Historic Settlements in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, as well as on the country’s page on our portal.