At the junction of winter and spring, you can get into the fantastic world of Czech carnivals and fun.
The Prague carnival is no newcomer to the list of such entertainments. It continues the historical traditions of allegorical festivities and performances held in the Czech Republic since the Middle Ages, which took place annually until the recent past. 'Bohemian Carnevale' is a revived phenomenon glorifying fantasy and human joy. This year, Prague residents and carnival guests will celebrate it from February 25 to March 9. They will celebrate, one might say, everywhere. Carnival fun will take place both outdoors and in palaces, museums, restaurants and hotels.
To make your immersion into the world of fantasy as perfect as possible, you need to get a carnival costume. You can rent or buy an original carnival costume right in the Klam-Gallas Palace at the Bohemian atelier Budoir on Husova Street in the center of Prague. Here on March 5, the biggest event of the Prague carnival will take place – the Crystal Ball, a grand ball in the Baroque style, and guests must definitely be in masks. For some carnival events, entry will be free for guests in masks – for example, to the Prague towers or the Charles Bridge Museum. And if you are also a romantic, then, of course, you cannot miss the boat carnival parade of masks on the Vltava River. Some restaurants will offer their guests a carnival menu. The most up-to-date information about tickets, festival events, costumes, etc. can be found on the website Carnevale.cz.
The Czech traditional celebration of Maslenitsa was also appreciated by UNESCO last November. The UNESCO World Intangible Heritage List also included the Maslenitsa procession from Hlinecko in the Pardubice Region. According to ethnographers, in the local villages of Vortová, Studnice, Hamry or Blatno, this procession has existed in the same form for almost 250 years. Costumes, masks and rituals have changed little over this time. The Maslenitsa procession consists of a group of beautiful mummers in red costumes and frightening ones in black costumes. This year, the procession will take place on February 26, and the characters, as always, are traditional – chimney sweeps, a bear with a bear handler, mares and Turks.
Original festivities await guests of the Czech Republic in the East Moravian town of Strání in the White Carpathians. Here, the Czech Maslenitsa (Masopust) is called 'fašank'. Folk groups from all over the Czech Republic and abroad gather here annually for the fašank celebration. Here, according to ancient legends, the traditional dance with a saber used to be performed by bandits. Today, the saber dance is danced in a circle by five fašankars and one master host with a wooden skewer. The dance with decorated sabers is danced in the courtyard of the house, and the host skewers lard on the wooden skewer and ties donated bottles of slivovitz and sausages. The 'fašankars' will go around local houses on Butter Tuesday or Fašank Tuesday – March 8.
Folk festivities in the Domažlice region with a procession of mummers and masks accompanied by folk musicians with helicons, accordions and guitars await you at the opposite end of the Czech Republic – in the West Bohemian region of Chodsko. The largest and most famous celebrations take place during the last four days of Maslenitsa in the town of Postřekov, but in a more intimate form – in almost every local village.
Maslenitsa celebrations are also held at the Wallachian Open Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, the largest and oldest skansen in Central Europe. In addition to the traditional parade of masks and colorful folk procession, gourmets will also feel on top of the world here. On the first Saturday of Maslenitsa (February 26), the 14th competition for the best Wallachian sausage and the 4th competition for the best Wallachian head cheese will be held here.
You will feel the atmosphere of Maslenitsa not only in Czech villages, but also in Czech cities. The second largest city in the Czech Republic – Brno – has prepared a thematic exhibition called 'Balls, Festivities, Maslenitsa' for this event. It can be visited at the Moravian Provincial Museum in the Palace of Noble Ladies. And on March 22, a procession of butter allegorical floats will take place. Thematically connected with the exhibition is also a theatrical performance that starts on March 22 at 2 p.m. on Freedom Square in Brno.
Festive processions for Maslenitsa are also held in UNESCO heritage cities. For example, annual carnival mask parades take place in Český Krumlov or Telč.
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