Prague will once again witness a unique spectacle when the Vltava River around Prague’s Charles Bridge shines with colour, music and light. Taking place on 14 and 15 May 2025, the Saint John’s Festival Navalis is a celebration of the patron saint of all who live by the river – Saint John Nepomuk – and an unforgettable experience that combines history, faith and art.
The tradition of the Saint John’s Naval Festival (Svatojánské slavnosti NAVALIS), which dates back to the 18th century, commemorates St John Nepomuk, a martyr who was thrown into the Vltava River and became a symbol of silence, protection from floods and the patron saint of all river travellers.
This year marks the seventeenth time in modern history that the festival has been held. It is always celebrated on the eve of the feast of Saint John Nepomuk, which traditionally falls on 16 May.
The festivities have a fixed framework every year. They begin with a solemn mass in the Cathedral of Saint Vitus, Wenceslas and Adalbert, followed by a procession across Charles Bridge to Křižovnické Square and culminate in a Baroque concert on the Vltava River. Together with numerous decorated boats, they form an impressive performance under the Prague sky.
Saint John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of Bohemia, is venerated by the Catholic faithful as a protector from floods and drowning.
According to legend, King Wenceslas IV had him tortured, killed and thrown into the Vltava. How did this happen? The monarch suspected his wife Sophie of Bavaria, with whom he was at odds – as he was with almost everyone – of plotting against him. He suspected that she had let her confessor John of Nepomuk in on her secrets – perhaps he was even involved in the conspiracy himself.
Statues of John of Nepomuk, such as the one erected on the north side of Charles Bridge in Prague in 1683, were erected long before his canonisation.
Immediately after his death, Saint John of Nepomuk was regarded as a martyr and was already highly revered in Bohemia at the beginning of the 18th century as the patron saint of confessional secrets. John of Nepomuk was beatified in 1721 and canonised in 1729.
Further information on the programme can be found on the official website Navalis.cz.
Saint John’s Festival Navalis (Svatojánské slavnosti NAVALIS)
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