Interment of the remains of poet Karel Hynek Mácha at Vyšehrad

Segment of the Český zvukový týdeník Aktualita (Czech Aktualita Sound Newsreel) 1939 No. 20 captures the solemn event of the interment of the remains of poet Karel Hynek Mácha at Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague on 7 May 1939. Mourners walk past the coffin with the poet´s remains in the Pantheon of the National Museum. The large funeral procession starts on Wenceslaus Square and continues along National Street, Masaryk Embankment and narrow alleys to Vyšehrad. The streets are lined with crowds of people. The film footage is accompanied by the recitation of the fourth canto of the poem May delivered by Václav Vydra Jr., an actor of the National Theatre. This is followed by images from the solemn ceremony in the Slavín Tomb at Vyšehrad Cemetery. The coffin with the poet´s remains is lowered into the grave. Rudolf Medek bids farewell to Mácha on the behalf of Czech writers. Actor Eduard Kohout recites 7 May 1939, a poem by Josef Hora. People walk past the grave, placing flowers on it, some crossing themselves. The mourners include composer Vítězslav Novák, painter Max Švabinský, Minister of Education and National Enlightenment Jan Kapras and the Mayor of Prague Otakar Klapka.