Day of Restoration of Lithuania's Independence marked in a celebration of the life of Jonas Basanavičius who started the national revival of Lithuania in Prague
Feb. 13, Embassy of Lithuania in Prague organized a celebration for the members of the Lithuanian community, children and parents of the Saturday Lithuanian language School Debesynas and the residents of the neighborhood where Basanavičius lived in Prague from 1882 to 1884.
The event began with a guided tour titled “Jonas Basanavičius and Prague” that was led by Vaidas Šeferis, Assistant Director of the Baltic Languages Institute at the Masaryk University in Brno. The tour took the participants through the points of significance in the life of Basanavičus in Prague; most importantly, the place of the building where he wrote the first words for the newspaper “Aušra” that instigated the national revival of Lithuania. The tour also revealed a side of Basanavičius not well known to public – his story of falling in love with Gabriela Eleonora Mohl whom he married later.
The building where Basanavičius’ plaque was erected in 2013 was the end destination of the tour where the participants and the residents of the neighborhood joined in celebration with hot beverages, while curious passersby were handed information about Lithuania and the life of Basanavičius in Prague.
To end the event, the participants joined in singing the Lithuanian national anthem.
