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Event Information:
For
the Czechs, Silvestr is without
doubt the noisiest day of the year.
People generally equip themselves
with fireworks and champagne for the
midnight toast and gather with
friends to eat, drink and celebrate
at parties, in pubs, clubs, in the
streets or city squares. In larger
cities and especially in Prague, the
first detonations of pyrotechics can
be heard in full daylight, even
before noon, the frequency steadily
rising until midnight. In the first
minutes after midnight, people
toast, wish each other a happy new
year and go outside to light their
fireworks or watch others'.
All
major TV stations air entertaining
shows before and after the midnight
countdown which is followed by the
national anthem. The president gives
his New Year's speech in the
morning. Prague has been a
political, cultural and economic
centre of Europe and particularly
central Europe during its 1,100 year
existence. For centuries, during the
Gothic and Renaissance eras, Prague
was the permanent seat of two Holy
Roman Emperors and thus was also the
capital of the Holy Roman Empire.
Later it was an important city in
the Habsburg Monarchy and the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, and after
World War I became the capital of
Czechoslovakia. The city played
major roles in the Protestant
Reformation, the Thirty Years' War,
and in 20th-century history, during
both World Wars and the post-war
Communist era.
Prague
is home to a number of famous
cultural attractions, many of which
survived the violence and
destruction of twentieth century
Europe. Main attractions include the
following: Prague Castle, the
Charles Bridge, Old Town Square, the
Jewish Quarter, the Lennon Wall, and
Petřín hill. Since 1992, the
extensive historic centre of Prague
has been included in the UNESCO list
of World Heritage Sites.
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