Jan Hus Memorial Day in the Czech Republic (06/07)

On July 6, the Czech Republic celebrates Jan Hus Day or Den upálení mistra Jana Husa, which is an official public holiday.

Jan Hus (Czech). Jan Hus, circa 1371 — July 6, 1415) — «Master of Liberal Arts», priest, professor, dean and then rector of the University of Prague, great Czech reformer, inspired preacher of the Bethlehem Chapel, author of the treatise «O Church» and prisoner tried by the Council of Constance for heresy. He left a vast literary legacy, contributed greatly to the development of literary medieval Czech and the codification of Czech orthography.

The famous preacher was burned alive for his views and ideas, and after his death his name became the banner for the national liberation movement directed against the Austro-German dominance.

In Prague, on the Old Town Square, a monument erected in 1915 rises. It was installed five hundred years after the martyrdom of the founder of the reform movement of the Czech Republic. John Paul II subsequently expressed «deep regret» on behalf of the Catholic Church, which burned Jan Hus alive.

Currently, every year on July 6, people of different faiths gather at the Prague Bethlehem Chapel, where Jan Hus read his sermons and which symbolically does not belong to any of the churches, for a solemn mass. Also on this day, bonfires are lit throughout the country in memory of Jan Hus.

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