I just realised that today is the 392nd anniversary of the Battle of White Mountain (Bila Hora in Czech). Now this is obviously not something celebrated by the Czechs considering they got trashed by the Imperial and Catholic League army in short measure (I think the time span of the battle amounted to liitle more than your average game of football). Only the Moravian regiments on the right wing in front of the walls of the Star Palace summer residence put up much of a fight, and a last stand at that as it turned out for them.
Bila Hora today is now a suburb of Prague, at the end of the number 22 tram line. Most of the area is built up, though the centre of the battlefield at the crest of the hill remains untouched, as does the Star Palace (Hvezda) and the park around it.
Every year in early September there is a big reenactment of the battle by the Hvezda which is good fun, even if the noise of traffic, the sight of overhead power cables, and overflying airplanes on their way to land at the airport are a distraction... Above you can see a photo of myself and a few friends (Butler's Dragoon Regiment) participating in the reenactment of the battle, just by the wall of the Star palace . All good fun...
Looks like a lot of fun!
ReplyDeleteWere the photos from this year? Why does the re-enactment take place earlier than the anniversary?
Hello. No the photos are from a couple of years back, though the event went ahead as planned this year (I couldn't make it but the gang from Butlers'Dragoon Regiment were all there). It's held in September, as November in Prague is often very cold and dark, and not really suitable for such an event. That said though, the annual Austerlitz reenactment held near Brno takes place in December, often in a foot of snow. Maybe the Napoleonic reenactors are a bit hardier? :-)
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