September 4-6 will be when the Slovak capital this year witnesses its customary re-enactment of the coronation of Hungarian kings and queens. The 2009 event will commemorate the coronation of Maria Anna of Spain in 1638, the wife of Ferdinand III.
Event organiser Miroslav Vetrík of the Civic Association Coronation Bratislava announced at a press conference on September 2 that the queen will be played by dancer Ivana Surovcová, her husband King Ferdinand III by actor Filip Túma, and the Bishop of Kalocsa, overseeing the ceremony, by actor František Kovár. Rehearsals are now taking place in Bratislava. The coronation’s supervisor is Pavol Smolík; the Choir of Slovak Teachers will sing during the ceremony.
“The event will culminate on Sunday, September 6, at 2.30 PM in Hviezdoslav Square. Before that, there will be a coronation march from Bratislava Castle,” Vetrík said. For the event, 150 seats are being set up and knights’ tournament, minting of coins and a period shooting event held. The Old Town council will also organise a historical market of crafts in the square and there will be a live chess game between Old Town Mayor Andrej Petrek and Mayor of Petržalka Milan Ftáčnik. In the evening, there will be a firework display. Between 1563 and 1830, ten kings and nine queens were crowned in Bratislava’s St. Martin’s Cathedral, the TASR newswire wrote.
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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