The Augsburg Peace Festival in Germany, otherwise called the “Augsburg High Peace Festival,” is celebrated on August 8 every year. It remembers the Protestants’ loss of religious freedom in the city of Augsburg in 1629. It likewise observes the implementation of the Peace of Westphalia. This reestablished Protestants’ religious freedom. It is a public holiday in Augsburg in the German state of Bavaria.
This annual festival is just celebrated in Augsburg, a city with Roman Catholic roots that once preclude its residents the right to practice the Christian confidence as Protestants. The harsh gap between Roman Catholics and Protestants has a long dishonorable history, which makes the festival considerably more significant in our world where passionate religious beliefs despite everything lead to wars between countries, as well as within families.
Peace Festival: History and Significance
The Augsburg Declaration of Religious Freedom ensured Protestants the right to practice their confidence in the city of Augsburg in 1555. In any case, Protestants were restricted from practicing their confidence in the city on August 8, 1629. The Peace of Westphalia restored the Augsburg Declaration of Religious Freedom in 1648.
The first Augsburg Peace Festival was held on August 8, 1650. Somewhere in the range of 1651 and 1739, the city denoted the event by giving the city’s kids picture books outlined with etchings. The Augsburg Peace Festival has appreciated exceptional assurance in German law since 1950.
The first Augsburg Peace Prize was awarded in 1985 and it has been awarded every three years from that point forward. In any case, the prize for 2006 was presented to 2005 to mark the 450th anniversary of the Augsburg Declaration of Religious Freedom. The prize’s beneficiaries have played a significant role to stimulate and encourage interfaith dialogue. Since 2005, the Augsburg Peace Festival plays a focal role in the interfaith “Pax” conversations held every year at the Augsburg Round Table of Religions.
There is a special church service for individuals from every Christian confidence in Augsburg on August 8 every year. There is additionally a festive market in the city and competition for school children to make art representing “peace”. Once every three years, Augsburg’s mayor reports the Augsburg Peace Prize winner.
Peace Festival in Augsburg is a public holiday in Bavaria. It is a three day weekend for everybody, and schools and most organizations are shut.
In 2020, it falls on a Saturday, and a few organizations may decide to follow Saturday opening hours.
