Club Vltavan mourns flood victims on All-Souls Day

An unusual requiem mass took place on All-Souls Day in the Trinity Church close to the Vltava in Prague, remembering all those who lost their lives in rivers across the country, especially the seventeen victims of the August floods. The mass was organised by an interesting club with a very long tradition.

Club Vltavan mourns flood victims on All-Souls Day

Photo: CTK

A small Baroque church in the Prague district of Podskali, originally a raftsmen's and fishermen's village, resounds with the symphonic poem The Vltava, by Bedrich Smetana, played - rather unusually - on an organ. This is the beginning of a requiem mass mourning those who drowned in Czech rivers. The tradition was started by Vltavan, a club founded 131 years ago in Podskali. The club, which takes its name from the river, exists to this day. Karel Novotny coordinates its cultural activities.

"The Vltavan Club was founded in 1871 as a co-operative society of swimmers, raftsmen and all people who worked on the river. At that time it was a wonderful idea, because there was no official financial support for the needy. The members of Vltavan pledged to put in 20 kreutzers every week in order to look after other members who fell ill. If a member died, they paid for the funeral and provided for widows and orphans."

Photo: CTK

Today, Vltavan's chief aim is no longer to support its members - close to 600 around the whole country. These days it organises trips around the Czech Republic and maintains the historic traditions connected with life on the rivers.

Clad in their traditional bright club uniforms, members of Vltavan listened to the sermon, dedicated to the lives lost in rivers over the past year. But the sermon also touched on new hope whose symbol - the anchor - tops the pole from which the great old club's banner flies.