Project Austerlitz in 2010

In 2010 we will commemorate the 205th anniversary of the battle of Austerlitz, known also under the name of Battle of the Three emperors : french emperor Napoleon, austrian emperor Francis and russian emperor Alexander. The battle that Jean Tulard compares to a game of pokker rather than to a game of chess, fascinates even after two centuries not only the military historians and is considered with justice to be the greatest Napoleon’s victory ever, antipole of Waterloo, another important anniversary of this year – the 195th in june.

The Project Austerlitz that commemorates the historical napoleonic events since 1998 prepares for 2010 two commemorative, cultural and social events at the Austerlitz battlefield – the Napoleonic Days 2010, wising the 241st anniversary of Napoleon Bonaparte on the 13th – 15th august, and the commemorative event of Austerlitz 2010 on the 3rd – 5th december, that will be, with regard to the important anniversary and high level of interest of the participants and public, of double size compared to the traditional yearly vents.

The commemorative events are not any celebration of Napoleon or his victory, and by no means any celebration of war or battle. The international political and war events that, at their time, influenced Europe essentially, and divided it for a long time, are becoming ground for get-togetherness and common interest for many people from all around the world. The aim of the events is the commemoration and support of knowledge of the common european history.

Napoleonic Days 2010

The Napoleonic Days 2010 will partly be a sort of aftermath of the 210th anniversary of Marengo (the commemorative event will be held in Italy on the 12th and 13th june) and of the 195th anniversary of Waterloo (event in Belgium will take place on the 19th and 20th june), partly a preparation for the big 205th anniversary of Austerlitz it-self. The „armies“ will arrive to Austerlitz on friday 13th august 2010 and will build their tents in the castle park: the event will welcome about 250 members of the napoleonic re-enactment groups from several european countries. On saturday the participants will do drill and maneuvres, the main point of program will be a battle-skirmish re-enactment.

Simultaneously the traditional golf tournament Napoleon Golf Cup for the VIP guests and partners of the Project Austerlitz will take place at the Austerlitz golf course. The international competition and exhibition of wines, Grand Prix Austerlitz, will be held at the castle’s courtyard; wine makers will come from Bohemia, Moravia, Austria and France, and the results will be solemnly declared in the evening in the Historical hall of the Austerlitz castle. The whole program will culminate by solemn fireworks. During whole day a period fair and many cultural events, mainly for children, will take place in the town and in the castle park.

On sunday morning the visitors will have the occasion to visit the period military camps and see the camplife of napoleonic armies, and spectate another battle re-enactment following a different scenario.

Austerlitz 2010

The major commemorative event dedicated to the napoleonic history in central Europe will be held in Austerlitz and at the Austerlitz battlefield on the 3rd – 5th december 2010. The main points of program will be the saturday battle re-enactement under the Santon hill (14:00), the evening defile, parade and fireworks in Austerlitz (19:00) and the sunday act of piety at the Peace monument, the place of the most serious fights of the battle of Austerlitz (10:30).

The battle of Austerlitz belongs to the most important moments of the world military history, the emperor of the French Napoleon I has decided within a few hours the outcome of the campaign of 1805 and the war of the 3rd coalition. The defeated russian emperor Alexander I and his army has left the central Europe; the war between France and Russia would however continue untill 1807, the battle of Friedland and the Tilsit peace treaty. The austrian emperor Francis I has accepted the conditions of armistice signed on the 6th december 1805 at the Austerlitz castle and later also the conditions of the severe Presburg peace treaty signed on the 26th december. The severity of these conditions and Napoleon’s rising influence in Germany have led in three years to another conflict between Austria and France, the war of 1809, culminating in Moravia again, by the battle of Znaim. The Napoleonic epopee continued by the russian campaign of 1812, the war of the 6th coalition in 1813–1814 and culminated by the battle of Waterloo.

The planned number of participants of the event of Austerlitz 2010 is 1500; these will be members of european napoleonic re-enactment groups in uniforms of the armies of France, Austria, Russia and their allies. The military history program is assured by the members of the Central European Napoleonic Society. The event and it’s administration are prepared by the members of the Project Austerlitz, including the town of Slavkov u Brna (Austerlitz) and with wide cooperation with the other communes of the Austerlitz battlefield. A propagation event in Vienna is prepared as part of the project for september/october with aim to invite the citizens and visitors of the austrian capital to Moravia and recall the common history of both czech and austrian nations.

The napoleonic epopee attracts an extraordinary attention of many people from all around the world and the year 2010 will be again full of interesting events. The event of Austerlitz 2010 is going to the last event of the year that will be marked by anniversaries of Marengo or Waterloo. Austerlitz 2010 may become a dignified finale of the year.

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The programs and detailed information on both events will be published at www.austerlitz.org; the Project Austerlitz offers the possibility of presentation of partners and sponsors. The events are organized by the Project Austerlitz every year since 1998. There are five to ten thousand visitors to the main battle re-enactement every year; in 2005, the bicentenary of Austerlitz with 3500 „soldiers“ from 24 countries, about 30 thousand people have come. The event resounds widely in the media not only in the Czech republic, but in the whole Europe; with regard to the exigence and extent of this year’s project any potential partners or sponsors of the event are welcome.

Project Austerlitz follows the successfully completed Project Austerlitz 2005. The main goal of the event was the preparation of the dignified commemoration of the bicentennial of the battle of Austerlitz. The new Project Austerlitz is designed as the long-term one and is not focused on any particular jubilee. Instead it will concern the deepening and valuation of the Austerlitz and Napoleonic traditions in Southern Moravia but it is going to include other historic events of the French First Empire era connected to the Czech lands.

Project Austerlitz
Davay Communications s.r.o.
Gorkeho 11, 60200 Brno, Czech Republic
fax +420 239017458
info@austerlitz.org
www.austerlitz.org

This release was published on openPR.