Prague, March 2 (CTK) – Henri, the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, will attend the Prague celebrations of the upcoming 700th birth anniversary of Charles IV, Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor from the Luxembourg dynasty, Czech Foreign Minister Lubomir Zaoralek said after meeting his Luxembourg counterpart Jean Asselborn on Wednesday.
Charles IV (May 14, 1316 – November 29, 1378) was the second Luxembourg sovereign on the Czech throne, from 1346 until his death.
“This is an event that unites us this year,” Zaoralek said, referring to the anniversary linked to both the Czech Republic and Luxembourg.
The Luxembourg dynasty came to power in the Czech Lands through the marriage of Eliska, daughter of the last-but-one Premyslide King Wenceslas II, and John of Luxembourg, who was Czech king in 1310-1346. Charles IV was their oldest son.
In Luxembourg, John of Luxembourg is as popular a historical figure as Emperor Charles is in the Czech Republic, Zaoralek said.
Grand Duke Henri will visit Prague on May 13-14.
His schedule includes a meeting with Czech President Milos Zeman and members of the Czech government.
Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka, with whom Asselborn had talks before meeting Zaoralek on Wednesday, also appreciated the grand duke’s plan to attend the celebrations in Prague.
The Czech government previously earmarked 71.5 million crowns for the series of events to mark Charles IV’s birth anniversary, which will be staged by a number of cultural, educational and scientific institutions this year.
The anniversary figures on the UNESCO list of significant world anniversaries in 2016-2017.
