Press information – Napoleonic Days 2003
On weekend August 15th–17th 2003 the community of Austerlitz and the Central European Napoleonic Soci-ety (CENS) have organized within the project Austerlitz 2005 the Napoleonic Days to commemorate Napo-leon Bonaparte’s birthday anniversary (August 15th 1769). The event started on Friday with laying the wreaths at the grave of the Austrian chancellor Wenzel Anton Kaunitz, continued on Saturday with the battle in the streets and the park of the chateau of Austerlitz and was closed today by the members of the military historical societies who held the piety acts at the mass graves on the “Urbanek” hill.
In the French and the Allied camps located in the Austerlitz chateau park more than 300 re-enactors, members of the military historical societies from Germany, Austria and Hungary and of course from Czech, erected their tents.
The most interesting feature for spectators (more than 15000 according to the initial estimates of the organizers) was the battle reconstruction in the town streets and the chateau park where people could find themselves right in the centre of the battle turmoil, muskets and cannon shots or cavalry charges.The second peak of the program was the proclamation on the occasion of the Napoleon Bonaparte’s birthday read to the lined up troops on the town square followed by the glow of torches. Then the great fireworks for more than 5000 present spectators were fired by the Brno pyrotechnic specialist Ivan Martínek.
All the participants of the event have declared their unanimous protest against the planned construc-tion of the NATO radar site in the close proximity of the Peace Monument, the piety location on the Pratzen heights, in the very centre of the preserved Austerlitz battlefield zone. The Proclamation of Austerlitz (http://www.austerlitz.org/en/clanek/radar/proclamation/423) targeted against this hardly understand-able intent has gained the support from hundreds of members of the European Napoleonic Society (ENS) and more supportive reactions are coming from around the world. His support for the Proclamation of Aus-terlitz and the promise of help has expressed Mr. Lubomír Šmíd, Deputy Director of the Southern Moravian Regional Authority. Mr. Šmíd is actually the very first official of the Southern Moravian Regional Authority who is truly actively interested in the case.
Also other secondary events next to the military re-enactments were held in Austerlitz this weekend – the international pétanque tournament hosting more than 200 players, 2nd golf tournament Napoleon Golf Cup 2003, folk concert and today the finals of the Czech Beach Volleyball Women’s Championships.
The Napoleonic days were also visited by the official guests admitted by the mayor of Austerlitz Mr. Petr Kostík, among the others Colonel Robert Payen, Military Attaché of the Embassy of the French Repub-lic in Prague, Mr. Alexei Isachenko, Attaché of the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in Brno, Mr. Pavel Němec, Minister of the Local Development of the Czech Republic, Mr. Josef Bednář, president of the Antimonopoly Bureau of the Czech Republic, Mr. Petr Duchoň, Lord Mayor of the City of Brno and the Deputy Director of the Southern Moravian Regional Authority Mr. Lubomír Šmíd.
The Napoleonic days 2003 have finished but the organizers already invite for the next year’s event which will be held on August 13th–15th 2004. In that way the Project Austerlitz 2005 in cooperation with the publicly beneficial society Peace Monument–Austerlitz fulfils its role to help to discover this region to the visitors all around the world.
The organizers would like to express their thanks to the Ministry of the Local Development of the Czech Republic for the major sponsorship of the event.
Contact:
Miroslav Jandora
President Project Austerlitz 2005
Executive board member Peace Monument–Austerlitz o. p. s.