- CzechTek
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Type of DIY party Teknival Freetekno Sound System Music Played at the Parties
Also see Rave musicbreakcore - dubstep - drum and bass - free tekno - gabba - jungle - psychedelic trance - speedcore - acid techno and techno Famous Parties Castlemorton Common Festival - CzechTek - Windsor Free Festival - Stonehenge Free Festival - Reclaim the Streets
File:Cztk2000.gifCztk00CzechTek was an annual teknival normally held on the weekend at the end of July in the Czech Republic. It attracted thousands of free tekno dancers from several European countries (40,000 people attended in 2003 and 2006). Open invitations were usually made to all soundsystems, performers and all human beings with positive thinking.
The first CzechTek was in 1994 at Hostomice. Every year the festival was held in different locations around the Czech Republic. The festival was not the same as more commercial festivals such as the Love Parade or the Street Parade. It was usually set on ex-military land or in a meadow near a forest. There was little or no organisation, since the idea of free tekno is based on personal freedom and responsibility, although later teknivals required organisation due to large numbers of attendees. The style and image of the people was also different from that of the Love Parade's participants, it was more underground.[clarification needed] The location of the meeting was always revealed one day before the event on Czech rave websites.
Contents
History
Date Location Number of people 28 July – ? 1994 Hostomice pod Brdy legal at least 1000 26 July - ? 1995 Hostomice pod Brdy legal at least 3000 26 – 28 July 1996 Hostomice pod Brdy legal 1.500 25 – 27 July 1997 Stará Huť near Dobríš legal 5.000 30 July – 4 August 1998 Stará Huť near Dobríš legal 5.000 30 July - 4 August 1999 Hradčany nad Ploučnicí near Ralsko illegal 5.000 28 July – 2 August 2000 Lipnice near Třeboň illegal 10.000 27 – 30 July 2001 Doksy illegal 10.000 26 – 31 July 2002 Andělka near Višňová legal 20.000 25 July - 3 August 2003 Letkov near Kopidlno legal 40.000 30 July – 3 August 2004 Boněnov near Chodová Planá illegal 20.000 29 - 31 July 2005 Mlýnec pod Přimdou legal* 5.000 27 – 30 July 2006 Military Area Hradiště legal 40.000 CzechTek 2005
In 2005 shortly after the start, the CzechTek festival was broken up. The organizers of CzechTek claimed to be permitted to set up the event around Mlynec, in the west of the country close to the German border. However, around 1,000 riot police arrived, using heavy equipment including tear gas, water cannons and the military BVP vehicle stating damage of private property. The standoff between police and public resulted in multiple injured on both sides. A few of the injuries were severe. Protests arose outside the Czech interior ministry. The Czech president criticized the heavy use of police force. The Prime Minister, Jiří Paroubek, defended the action, stating that the techno fans were "not dancing children but dangerous people".
Several months after the clash all charges against police were dropped[clarification needed][citation needed]. In April 2006, there was a march followed by a free party in Strasbourg, France to protest against police repression in general and against the actions of the Czech police in closing CzechTek specifically.
CzechTek 2006
On 14 June 2006 an agreement was signed between the Ministry of Defence and the Association of Czech Sound Systems. The festival was held on land which was part of the Hradiště Military Region. It took place without any repeat of the previous year's violence.
Czechtek Discontinued
As the co-ordinators stated (on the official site of CzechTek) after the last event (2006), Czechtek has been discontinued.
References
- "Czech PM defends rave crackdown" BBC News, August 2, 2005, retrieved September 29, 2006
- "CzechTek 2006 to be Held Within the Hradiště Military Region" Czech Ministry of Defence, June 15, 2006, retrieved September 29, 2006
See also
© 2005, Techno.cz. Foto: flash CzechTekExternal links
- Official site
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2002
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2003
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2004
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2005
- Interactive Map Of CzechTek 2006
CzechTek 2005
- CzechTek 2005 Police and protests (English, Czech)
- CzechTek WebLog Czechtek 2005 & Police intervention (Czech)
- CzechTek 2005 News Events after Police intervention (English, Czech)
- CzechTek 2005 Photos Photos of Czechtek 2005
- Free4EuroAlternatives Protest in Strasbourg 2006
Articles:
- Czech freetekno party ended by police assault
- Techno festival turns to protest – Police, audience injuries show need for a tactics review, by Matt Reynolds, 3.8.2005, The Prague Post
Categories:- Electronic music festivals
- Parties
- DIY culture
- Recurring events established in 1994
- Recurring events disestablished in 2006
- Musical subcultures
- Counterculture festivals
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