Czechs commemorate Jan Hus with services and ceremonies

People across Czechia are marking the national holiday commemorating the death of religious reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake in the German city of Constance 611 years ago because of his religious teachings. The main commemorative service takes place in the afternoon at Prague’s Bethlehem Chapel, where Hus preached in the early 15th century. It will be led by Patriarch Tomáš Butta of the Czechoslovak Hussite Church, together with other church leaders, and will be broadcast live by Czech Television and Czech Radio. Celebrations also continue for a second day in Husinec, Hus’s birthplace in southern Bohemia.