We are preparing for the 219th anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz 2024, the Battle of the Three Emperors, which will take place on 29 Nov – 1st Dec. We expect approximately 1000 participants from 15 countries, 60 horses, 15 cannons, and a full programme including a commemorative event in Kučerov (27 November), fires at Žuráň (29 November), a reenactment of the Battle of Austerlitz on the battlefield under Santon near Tvarožná (30 November) and the act of piety on the Peace Monument near Prace (1st December).

The event is prepared within the Austerlitz Project by the Central European Napoleonic Society, the municipalities of Kučerov, Tvarožná and Prace and Austerlitz z.s. The event is financially supported by the South Moravian Region. The partner of the event is the CzechTourism agency and the Ministry for Regional Development.

At Austerlitz, the French Emperor Napoleon I decided the campaign of 1805, the war of the third anti-French coalition, in a few hours. The defeated Tsar Alexander I and his army left Central Europe; the war between France and Russia continued until 1807 with the Battle of Friedland and the signing of the Peace of Tilsit. Emperor Francis I of Austria agreed to the terms of the armistice signed on 6 December at the Castle of Austerlitz and later to the terms of the hard peace of Bratislava on 26 December 1805. The harshness of the terms and Napoleon’s growing influence in Germany led after three years to an escalation of tensions between Austria and France, the War of 1809, which culminated again in South Moravia, near Znojmo. The Napoleonic epic continued with the campaign into Russia, the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1813-1814, and culminated in the Battle of Waterloo.

Every year, at the turn of November and December, on the anniversary of the Battle of Austerlitz, thousands of “Napoleonic soldiers” from all over Europe descend on South Moravia for a winter weekend to commemorate the encounter, known around the world by its German name – Austerlitz – and also as the battle of the three emperors, Emperor Napoleon of France, Emperor Francis of Austria and Emperor Alexander of Russia. The battle, the course of which Professor Tulard, on the French side, likens to a game of poker rather than a game of chess, fascinates even after two centuries not only military historians, and is rightly regarded as Napoleon’s greatest victory, the counterpart of Waterloo. It is the largest regularly held Napoleonic commemoration in the world.

The main points of the programme of commemorative events are Saturday’s reconstruction of the battle, which takes place near the village of Tvarožná, under the Santon hill, on the northern edge of the historical battlefield, which is extraordinary already for its size of approximately 10 x 12 km. On Sunday at noon, a commemorative act is held on Pratzenberg, the site of the fiercest fighting of the battle, in front of the Peace Monument dedicated to the victims of the war, during which not only military but also civilian victims of the Battle of Austerlitz are remembered.

The commemorations are not a celebration of Napoleon or his victory, and certainly not a celebration of the war or the battle. The international political and war events that profoundly affected Europe in their time, and divided it long afterwards, have become, with the passage of time, a means of meeting and a common interest for many people from many countries of the world. The aim of the events is to commemorate and promote knowledge of a common European history.