The Pardubice crematorium is preparing film screenings, tours, and stamps for the anniversary.

Pardubice – The Pardubice crematorium will continue the events marking the 100th anniversary of its establishment this autumn. An outdoor panel exhibition titled "Temple of Fire – 100 years of the Pardubice crematorium" was opened in January and will be freely accessible in the central cemetery area until November 20. In September and October, attendees can look forward to screenings of the cult Czech film "The Cremator," directed by Juraj Herz, right in the large ceremonial hall of the crematorium, announced Klára Sýkorová, spokeswoman for the Pardubice City Services, which operates the crematorium.

"This film, which is closely related to the theme of the crematorium, will be screened on September 27 and October 4. Tickets for this unique screening are available in advance from the East Bohemian Theatre Pardubice. This will take the audience to a place that has an inseparable connection with the horror black comedy, as a significant portion of the film was shot directly at the crematorium in Pardubice," Sýkorová stated.

The celebration will also include an open house at the crematorium on October 28; tickets will again be available in advance from the East Bohemian Theatre. Visitors will have the opportunity to gain deeper insights into the history and present of the facility during guided tours. They will see not only the entire historical building, including its facilities, but also the modern part with currently used cremation furnaces.

A special edition of collectible stamps commemorating 100 years of the crematorium in Pardubice will also be released for the anniversary. They will be available starting September 1 at the funeral service establishment in Dubina. Due to great interest, Pardubice City Services will not accept any orders or reservations for the stamps before this date.

The Pardubice crematorium was built according to the design of architect Pavel Janák. The competition for the construction, held in 1919, received submissions from 81 authors with 95 projects, but the jury was not entirely satisfied with the proposals and did not award first place. The proposals were evaluated by architects such as Josef Gočár, Ladislav Machoň, and Karel Kotten. Janák's project won second place. He had to revise the proposal; construction took place from 1922 to 1923. The building cost the city 1.9 million crowns and became a manifesto of the Czech national style, also known as national decorative style or rondocubism, which emerged after World War I. It symbolized the young Czechoslovak Republic and a departure from the Habsburg monarchy. The facade of the building features stylized patterns inspired by Czech and Moravian folklore. The interior includes wooden elements of rural architecture, carved railings of the singing tribune, and painted wooden ceilings. The main ceremonial room is adorned with plant motifs.

The crematorium in Pardubice also represented a departure from the church, part of the secularization process. Following the establishment of the republic, a law permitting cremation was enacted in 1919. The cremation movement began operating in Czech territory in the 1880s. The Catholic Church later permitted cremation in 1963.

The first ceremony at the Pardubice crematorium took place on September 28, 1923, for the deceased Marie Řezačová. By September of last year, the crematorium had conducted 345,182 cremations. The furnaces were heated with coke until the 1930s, then with illuminating gas, and currently with natural gas.

In 1958, the crematorium building was registered as a cultural monument, and in 2010 it was declared a national cultural heritage site.