National Holiday – Day of Freedom and Democracy & Dean’s Day /Nov 17-18, 2022/

On November 17th, which falls on Thursday, a public holiday also known as the National Day of Freedom or Struggle for Freedom and Democracy, is celebrated in the Czech Republic.

This day commemorates the demonstrations of students against the occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1939 as well as events of 1989, where there was a memorial march to mark the 50th anniversary of the student revolt. The then authorities tried to suppress the march which only led to an avalanche of popular protests in Czech and Slovak cities. Over the following days, the protests grew into non-violent strikes at first involving students and later all citizens of Czechoslovakia. Hence, the beginning of the Velvet Revolution.

PLEASE NOTE: On account of this being a state holiday, there are NO CLASSES or OFFICE HOURS held on this day.

Also, the same applies for Friday, November 18 – all classes and office hours are cancelled due to Dean’s Day.

? Did you know ?

• November 17th is also the International Student Day
• This year, November 17th marks the 33rd anniversary of the Velvet Revolution