Earth Hour in Prague: Ten monuments turn dark. Prague joins global initiative to highlight the significance of climate in today's world and in history.
On Saturday, March 28, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Prague city center went dark. Joining the global Earth Hour initiative, Prague had its technical services company, Technologie hlavního města Prahy (THMP), turn the lights off on selected monuments in the order of their construction. Each building represents one century, from the 12th to the 21st. The aim of the initiative is to acknowledge that without favorable environmental conditions, the city would not have flourished for the centuries. That is why we must address climate change.
“By turning off the lights symbolically on the city's most prominent monuments, not only do we acknowledge climate change and express our resolve to tackle it, but also remind people that life goes on despite the difficult situation caused by the pandemic and that we should carry on with what we consider important,” said Prague City Councilor Jan Chabr, adding that last year, Prague City Council adopted a climate commitment for Prague to reduce its carbon footprint, including specific measures to accomplish the goal. “One of the projects is a synergic upgrade of the Prague street lighting cabling and the national grid cables that will include the installation of up to three thousand e-car charging outlets on lampposts.”
At 8:30 p.m., the first monument – Strahov Monastery – went dark, and that last one was the Memorial to the Victims of Communism nine minutes later. “Other monuments taking part in the event included Charles Bridge, Rudolfinum, Old Town Hall, Klementinum and more. The monuments went dark one by one in one-minute intervals, starting from the oldest one, and remained unlit until half past nine.” The aim is to remind people that the fate of the entire society has always been dependent on favorable environment. “We cannot change the past, but we have the future in our hands. That is why THMP uses environmentally friendly vehicles, implements healthy lighting, and takes a responsible approach to waste management, among other commitments,” says THMP CEO Tomáš Novotný.
The Earth Hour is a global event that takes place every year on the last Saturday in March. Households, business, public institutions and historic monuments turn off the lights for one hour to highlight the issue of climate change.
This year, Prague switched the lights off on the following buildings and monuments: Strahov Monastery, Old New Synagogue, Charles Bridge, Old Town Hall, Lesser-Town Bridge Tower, Klementinum, Estates Theatre, Rudolfinum, Čech Bridge, and the Memorial to the Victims of Communism.