Husitské slavnosti v Tachově - tradice a současnost
Hussite Festival in Tachov - Tradition and Present

Summary/Abstract: In my research, I describe the emergence of the modern Hussite celebrations and their gradual development that shaped the modern history of the Tachov region. A fundamental change for the development of the Hussite celebrations took place after the WW2 with the displacement of the former German population and the commencement of Communism. The Hussite celebrations, directed by the Communists, certainly had an ideological intention, but it is very difficult to substantiate whether most of the inhabitants perceived this fact. Most of the new inhabitants rather needed to identify with their new home, and the Hussite tradition supported by the Communist government served this purpose the best. A fundamental transformation of the Hussite celebrations took place after 1989, when the Communist regime collapsed and the Hussite celebrations lost their main organizer. During the first modern Hussite celebrations there was seen a sort of considerable embarrassment, which were caused mainly due to the new political situation and the creation of new cooperation between the German and the Czech side of the border. It was this new cooperation between the Czech and the German side that has brought a completely new element to the Hussite celebrations, the view at the Hussite movement as a religion battle, and it overshadowed the original view at the Hussite movement as a social struggle, which had been originally presented with the support of the Communists. One of the surprising discoveries was the Czech-German question, which thanks to a new perspective of the German population on the Hussite celebrations as a religious strife brought the Czech and Bavarian cooperation in holding the celebrations. Thanks to several interviews with organizers of the modern Hussite and historical celebrations I basically disproved the view of Milada Kraus at the celebrations held for the purposes of commerce. The intention of transforming the celebrations for the commercial purposes is strictly denied and the organizers agree that the main objective of the Hussite and historical celebrations is the commemoration of important historical events, together with a cultural program. I believe that this thesis has convincingly demonstrated this fact, or at least that it fairly captured all available knowledge about this phenomenon of the modern history of the Tachov region.

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