THE FALL OF THE IRON CURTAIN – CZECH REPUBLIC REMEMBERS

In 1989, the most crucial moment in the country’s modern history occurred in then Czechoslovakia, when the Iron Curtain fell. The country is now preparing to commemorate the events that set the nation free.  November 1989 remains in the hearts of many Czechs as the most crucial month of their lives. That November, the nation got close together, sensing a weakening of the Soviet power, to bring about the Velvet Revolution and regain the long lost independence. Twenty years have passed since the Soviet bloc started to fall apart and Czech Republic is now preparing to remember those days that set a new start for the country – democracy.Artists and students have always been the leading, free thinking force here. To remember the ‘underground’, a concert will be held on the 17th of November, the same day the revolution began two decades ago. It will feature both young Czech artists that had a chance to express themselves without being punished as well as those who fought their own battles under the regimes cruel rule by means of their music. The National Museum will host an exhibition ‘Bee Free’. Its aim is to recreate the atmosphere of the former communist regime – including a hot-air balloon from which Radio Free Europe dropped anti-communist pamphlets across former Czechoslovakia, or even a typical apartment of that time period.What always tells the most are the photographs; the exhibition ‘1989 Through the Eyes of Photographs’ will offer an unbelievable insight into the fight for freedom of the Czech nation. There are many tours around Prague designed for those who are interested in following the footsteps of the Velvet Revolution as well as learn about the history of the communist rule, what brought it about and what caused its end. Last, but not least, is the Museum of Communism which shows the regime in all its aspects. This permanent exhibition vividly describes what life on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain truly entailed.  Related: CURTAIN CHANGES FROM IRON TO GREEN GRASS