Upcoming Holidays and Festivals in the Czech Republic
- Before planning a trip around a festival, verify the festival dates on the festival’s website or with a local tourist information office. For more information about these and other events, visit the official tourism site for the Czech Republic.
- This list includes major festivals in major cities, plus national holidays observed throughout the Czech Republic. Many sights and banks close down on national holidays — keep it in mind when planning your itinerary. Note that this isn’t a complete list; holidays can strike without warning.
- See upcoming holidays and festivals across Europe
2015
January 1: New Year’s Day; Restoration of Czech Independence Day (closures)
January 19: Anniversary of Jan Palach’s Death (flowers in Wenceslas Square in Prague)
March 2–11: One World International Human Rights Film Festival, Prague
April 5–6: Easter Sunday and Monday (closures)
April 4: Pesach begins (Prague’s Jewish Quarter sights closed on 1st, 2nd, 7th, and 8th days of Passover)
April 30: Walpurgis Night (Paleni Carodejnic, a.k.a. “Witches’ Night”; similar to Halloween, with bonfires)
May 1: Labor Day (some closures), Day of Love (akin to Valentine’s Day)
May 3: Prague International Marathon
May 7–23: Czech Beer Festival, Prague
May 8: Liberation Day (closures)
May 12–June 3: “Prague Spring” Music Festival
May 22–30: Prague Fringe Festival (offbeat theater)
May 24–25: Shavu’ot (Prague’s Jewish Quarter sights closed)
Late May: Khamoro World Roma Festival, Prague (performances and events celebrating Roma culture)
May 29–31: Prague Food Festival (food booths in Royal Gardens of Prague Castle)
June 3–7: Festival of Song, Olomouc
June 4: Corpus Christi (religious festival; some closures)
June 16–July 20: Prague Proms (musical festival)
Mid-June: United Islands of Prague (cultural events and world music on the city’s islands)
June 19–21: Celebration of the Rose, Český Krumlov (medieval festival and knights’ tournament)
June 25–28: Strážnice International Folklore Festival, south of Olomouc
Early July: Rock for People, Hradec Králové (three-day eclectic concert series in north central Czech Republic)
July 3–11: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, western Czech Republic
July 5: Sts. Cyril and Methodius Day (closures)
July 6: Jan Hus Day (closures)
July–August: Summer of Culture, Olomouc
July 17–August 15: Český Krumlov International Music Festival (classical music and opera)
July 24–August 9: Telč Vacations Festival (folk music, open-air theater, exhibitions)
August 27–30: International Folklore Festival, Brno
Mid-September: Dvořák’s Prague Music Festival
September 28: St. Wenceslas Day (celebrates national patron saint and Czech statehood; closures)
September 28–29: Sukkot (Prague’s Jewish Quarter sights closed)
October 5–6: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (Prague’s Jewish Quarter sights closed)
Mid-October–early November: Prague International Jazz Festival
October 28: Independence Day (closures)
November 1: All Saints’ Day/Remembrance Day (religious festival, some closures)
November 17: Velvet Revolution Anniversary (closures)
December: Prague Christmas festival (markets, musical events, lights)
December 5: St. Nicholas Eve (St. Nicholas, devils, and angels walk the streets in search of nice — and naughty — children)
December 24–25: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day (Vanoce, closures)
December 26: St. Stephen’s Day (closures)
December 31: St. Sylvester’s Day (fireworks in Prague)