Reconciliation March

For the twentieth time, we will follow in the footsteps of more than twenty thousand Brnoers who were driven towards the Austrian border 80 years ago. While able-bodied men had to stay in the city for forced labour, women, children and the elderly were herded into the procession. At least 1,700 of them succumbed to the hardships on the way and in the days and weeks that followed.
Ten years ago, the Brno councillors adopted the Declaration of Reconciliation and Common Future in connection with this pilgrimage, which became a historic milestone in the process of Czech society’s coming to terms with this chapter of our history

Since 2015, we have been walking, symbolically, in the opposite direction to the historical march, that is, from the mass grave in Pohořelice back to the garden of the Augustinian abbey in Staré Brno. Again, this year’s march will be a remarkable experience and an opportunity for inspirational encounters. Witnesses and public figures from Czechia, Austria and Germany will take part in the event. Organisations active in the field of Czech-German and Czech-Austrian relations will present their activities at their stands and provide an accompanying programme.

Participants may join or leave the march at any point, thanks to special shuttle buses available throughout the day. During the event, special buses commute along the route, allowing to join or leave the March at several stations. You can see the timetable of the buses here. You can see the map of the march here.

Course of the event:

8:30 am Brno, Mendelovo náměstí | Departure of the first busses from the stop next to the Starobrno brewery

9 am | Departure of further buses to Pohořelice

9:30 am Pohořelice | Opening speech by Mons. Dieter Olbrich and prayer for the victims, setting off

noon Ledce (10 km)

2-2:30 pm Rajhrad (17 km) | Information and lunch at the crossroad Masarykova-Štefánikova in the town center

4:30 pm Modřice (24 km) | Information and food at City Hall

5 pm Brno, Gymnasium Vídeňská (30 km) | Information and food, music performance (the procession arrives at about 5:45 pm)

6 pm Garden of the Augustinian Abbey at Mendelovo náměstí (32 km) | Ceremonial Speeches, greetings from the ambassadors of both neighboring countries

For your comfort, we suggest booking your place on the bus on the Brno-Pohořelice route below on this site.