2023-05-13 19:11:00
“O sole mio,” sings a gondolier sailing on the Vltava, the water splashes, the lamps are lit in Prague and the night life begins. Idyllic scenery that becomes a reality for the weekend. The ships from Venice arrived in Prague as part of the St. John’s Day festivities, which have a three-hundred-year tradition in Prague.
The first musical performance on ships took place in 1627. The Navalis festivities began on Saturday, May 13 and will continue until Monday, May 15. Italian barges and a concert under the Charles Bridge will become the main point of the Sunday program. From 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., the people of Prague can mentally transport themselves to the Italian Venice and take a ride on typical boats as part of a “Venetian afternoon”.
Gondolas and St. Jan Nepomucký go together
Every year, Venetian gondoliers come to Prague for this celebration. Under their supervision, the ships were transported on trucks and their subsequent lowering to the surface of the Vltava at Herget’s brickyard. Saint John of Nepomuck is the patron of all gondoliers and one of the eight patrons of Venice. His statue is the only Baroque statue located directly on the banks of the Grand Canal in Venice, Italy.
What to look forward to?
The Navalis St. John’s Day festivities are a celebration of the most famous Czech saint and “Prague” St. John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of all people from the water. The program is planned for both Saturday and Sunday, but the golden mushroom is planned for Monday. On Monday, everything starts at 2:30 p.m. with the decoration of the horses on Hradčanské náměstí. Two hours later, the horses and riders will be blessed, at 5:30 p.m. the solemn Holy Mass will begin in the Cathedral of St. Welcome, Vojtěch and Václav. Then, at 7 p.m., there will be a St. John’s procession to the Charles Bridge.
At 7:45 p.m., this year’s evening program will start again with the jump of five illuminated parachutists, the sixth parachutist will jump through the arch of the Charles Bridge in the place where John of Nepomuck was thrown into the water. At 20:00, devotion is planned in front of the church of St. Františka on Křižovnické náměstí, but the most important thing starts at 8:30 p.m., when the concert begins on the surface of the Vltava under the Charles Bridge.
Saturday
Location: Archbishop’s Palace, Cardinal Barana Hall
Time: 14:00 – 18:00
Event: St. John’s Day Symposium with the presentation of a new book
Sunday
Location: embankment near Hergetova Cihelna
Time: 14:00 – 18:00
Event: Venetian Afternoon (possibility to ride on boats)
Monday
Time: 14.30
Location: Hradčanské náměstí
Event: Horse Decoration
Time: 16:30
Location: Hradčanské náměstí
Event: Blessing of Horses and Riders
Time: 17:30
Location: Cathedral of St. Vít, Vojtěch and Václav
Event: Holy Mass
Time: 19:00
Location: Charles Bridge
Event: St. John’s procession to Charles Bridge
Time: 19:45
Location: Charles Bridge
Event: Regatta of Venetian Vela al Terzo boats, sailing of the hardy, skydiving
Time: 20:00
Location: Křižovnické náměstí
Event: Devotion in front of the church of St. Francis
Time: 20:30
Location: Charles Bridge and embankment
Event: Concert on the surface of the Vltava under the Charles Bridge
Midsummer celebrations of Navalis in 2016 Youtube: Prague Venice
Navalis festivities, May 15, 2021.
Author: Lightning: Daniel Cernovsky
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