Invitation to Navalis 2010 River Festivites
Dear friends, fans of historical boats, Venetian rowing and steam,
Let me cordially invite you to the revived baroque river spectacle on the River Vltava, right next to the Charles Bridge.
We will arrange that your boats will be laun ched and retrieved from the river, we will provide accommodation for the crew of the historical boats and we will grant you the best seats for the accompanying events.
The festivities are held under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic, the Archbishop of Prague and the Mayor of the City of Prague.
Crews with historical boats that register before the 15th April 2010 will be provided accommodation free of charge. We will also ensure your boats will be launched and later retrieved from the river.
We are looking forward to your participating at the festivities in Prague,
Zdeněk Bergman
Prague Ferryman
Director of the Charles Bridge Museum
You can register on lucia@navalis.cz, michaela@navalis.cz or you can call relevant contact person from the list below.
- ST. JOHN’S NAVALIS 2010 (PDF, 12 MB)
Contact persons for administration and technical matters:
Italian Ulrico Bovo 00420 608 930 542, ulrico@navalis.cz
French Nikolas Maslowski 00420 608 354 430, nicolas@navalis.cz
German Lucie Černohousová 00420 774 233 531, lucie@navalis.cz
Swedish Peter Zborník 00420 776 286 920, peter@navalis.cz
English Gabriela Novotná 00420 775 311 717, gabriela@navalis.cz
Helena Bergmanová 00420 605 572 505, helena@navalis.cz
(steamboat specialist)
Navalis 2010 Programme
Thursday 13. 5. 2010
8:00 p.m. - Launching gondolas on the River
Friday 14. 5. 2010
11:00 a.m. - Gondolas presentation on the River
5:00 p.m.- Gondoliers’ singing in the “Little Venice“ of Prague
Saturday 15. 5. 2010
12:00 (noon) - Regatta of historical boats under the Charles Bridge, on the River Vltava
6:00 p.m. - Mass in honour of St.John of Nepomuk in St. Vitus Cathedral
7:00 p.m. - Procession in celebration of St. John of Nepomuk from the Cathedral to the Charles Bridge
9:00 p.m. - Baroque spectacle on the River
10:00 p.m. – Fireworks
Sunday 16. 5. 2010
12:00 (noon) – Baroque concert in the Charles Bridge Museum - Ritornello
První Všeobecná Člunovací Společnost, Address: Platnéřská 4, 110 00 Praha 1, Czech Republic.
Zdeněk Bergman, Prague Ferryman, tel. +420 603 819 947
A brief history of the Navalis River Festivities
A procession and festivities held the night before the St. John of Nepomuk’s Day have always enjoyed a widespread attention and popularity. People and pilgrims gathered in Prague from all over the country. The interest in St.John of Nepomuk spread not only in the baroque period, but lasted well into the 19th century.
Even the cornerstone of the National Theatre was laid in the ground a day after the St. John of Nepomuk festivities to ensure plentiful attendance of crowds and pilgrims.
The first baroque festivities on the River Vltava – the first Navalis - took place already in 1715, i.e. fourteen years before the canonization of John of Nepomuk. The origin of the festivities as such traces back to mid 17th century.
Navalis soon gained a great popularity both among spectators, who travelled from far away, and among performers, for whom the invitation to perform at Navalis was a sign of prestige. Empress Maria Theresa attended the festivities in person in 1743.
Why were Navalis so popular among people? Apart from the opportunity to set on a pilgrimage, there were also numerous attractions and entertainment: baroque music in particular – dozens (and even a couple of hundred at times) musicians performed their music in boats on the River. The baroque atmosphere was then complete with fireworks and cannon salutes on the River banks and islands.
The Festivities experienced a period of silence under the Joseph’s Reforms towards the end of the 18th century, but the tradition was soon revived in the first half of the 19th century. The festivities were especially spectacular and grand in 1829, when the Czech people celebrated a 100-year anniversary of St. John of Nepomuk canonization.
The times of spectacular festivities were succeeded by times of fading glory. Secularization of the Czech society in the latter half of the 18th century and mainly in the 20th century gradually removed the glamour from the festivities and the popular event nearly disappeared from lives of the people.
The tradition of Navalis festivities on the River Vltava was revived in 2009. To the surprise of the organizers, the festivities were attended by great many spectators who confirmed that this event still plays an important role in the lives of Czechs. This year’s Navalis will continue in the footsteps of this tradition.