The Comenius stone in Amsterdam, 12 March 2018

The Czech and Slovak Embassy hosted the ceremony which has been marking the restoration of the monumental Comenius stone at its historic place at Valeriusplein opposite “Het Amsterdams Lyceum”.  This historical "Comenius Stone" was replaced after its restauration on March 12, 2018. The event took place in Het Amsterdam Lyceum. Students of Lyceum were actively involved to the event. In 1920, the first stone for a monument of Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670) in his honour was unveiled on the Valeriusplein, in front of the Amsterdams Lyceum. The stone was unveiled on the 250th anniversary of the death of Jan Amos Comenius. The monument was never realised, but the first stone remained.

The exhibition of the Heritage Comenius in Naarden, 15 March 2018

The Czech and Slovak Embassy opened the exposition called: “The Heritage of Comenius: the birth of Czechoslovakia”. On the 100^th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia in 2018, the Museum of Jan Amos Comenius prepared a retrospective exhibition about the history of our country, which also documents how Comenius's reference was reflected in the fate of the Republic.

The exhibition was established in cooperation with the National Pedagogical Museum and the library of J. A. Komensky in Prague, the J. A. Komensky Museum in Uherský Brod and Přerov and the Czech Center in Rotterdam. At the same time, the Exhibition of the Thousand Years' Heritage of Czech Payments (coins and banknotes) was opened with this exhibition. The Museum will organize a cycle of lectures that will highlight the major events of the past century.

 

The Comenius Day in Naarden, 17 March 2018

The annual commemoration of the birthday of Comenius was held in the Big Church in Naarden. The Comenius Day was opened by a ceremony during which the ambassadors of the Visegrad countries laid wreaths at the foot of the Comenius statue. The embassies of the Visegrád countries in the Netherlands, commemorated the death day of scholar Jan Amos Comenius (1592-1670), together with the municipality of the Gooise Meren and the Museum Mausoleum Comenius. Comenius, buried in Naarden, marks a cultural heritage the four countries share.

The program in the Big Church was accompanied by music performances of a very special quartet, namely the V4 Quartet, which played beautiful jazz pieces. The four performers are each from one of the Visegrád countries. The Comenius Day also included the annual Comenius lecture, which was given by former justice minister of the Netherlands, prof. dr. E. Hirsch Ballin. His speech was followed by the presentation of the Comenius Award. This year, the award went to Mr. H.D. Tjeenk Willink. The 76-year old Minister of State and former cabinet informateur got the award because "he has worked with heart and soul for the democratic constitutional state".

The event was organized by the Hungarian Embassy on behalf current V4 Presidency in the cooperation with the other V4 Embassies in the Netherlands, the Comenius Museum and Mausoleum of Naarden and the Czech Centre in Rotterdam.

 

The Embassy of the Czech Republic appreciates the long-term activities of Jan C. Henneman and Pieter Goedhart in the Foundation and the Administrative Board of Jan Amos Comenius. The Embassy also thanks for all their efforts to the foundation stone for Comenius´s statue in Amsterdam, and to restore and its re-reveal to Lyceum Het Amsterdam.

The Embassy of the Czech Republic is very much in favor of the long-term activities of Jan C. Henneman and Pieter Goedhart thanks to their contribution to the spread of the reputation of the Czech Republic in the Netherlands.

Comenius stone in Amsterdam (PDF, 502 KB)