Prague's Statues, Plaques, Street art and other curiosities – Page 2

Prague’s Statues, Plaques, Street Art and other Curiosities

Karlovo Namesti – Dr. Vaclav Benda

Where: At Karlovo Namesti (Charles square), in Prague 2 at house number 287 and opposite of tramstop Novoměstská radnice. It is a small walk from the Palacky monument. GPS: 50.077495, 14.419256

What: It is a plaque with a sculptured head that commemorates Dr. Václav Benda. The plaque reads; “In this house, from 1969-1999 lived and fought for freedom and democracy Dr. Václav Benda dissident and politician”.

Who: Dr. Václav Benda (August 8, 1946 – June 2, 1999) was a Czech political activist. While originally striving for an academic career, this all ended when he refused to join the Communist party in 1970. Benda became active in the dissident movement against the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and was one of the founding members and a signatory of the Charter 77 in 1977.

This Charter was a document that criticized the Communist government for failing to implement national and international human rights provisions it previously agreed with. Charter 77 was signed by various influential people who represented all sorts of occupations, political viewpoints, and religions.

For his role as a spokesman for Charter 77, Dr. Václav Benda was arrested in 1979 and imprisoned until 1983 by the communist regime. After the fall of communism in 1989 he went into politics and became the first chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, the KDS and stayed active in different political positions until his death in 1999.

March 26, 2018
Chotkovy Sady – Julius Zeyer

Where: You can find this monument in Chotkovy sady, which is the public garden between Letna Park and the Royal garden. GPS: 50.093840, 14.408108 in Prague 1.

What: As mentioned on it, this monument commemorates Julius Zeyer. It was unveiled on September 16, 1913 and was created by the sculptor Josef Mauder (December 1, 1854 – November 15, 1920) . The monument is in the shape of a cave which is made from granite with marble statues in it. The statues represent characters from Zeyer’s works. On the other side of the rock formation you can find a plaque with a list of those works in golden letters.

Who: Julius Zeyer (April 26, 1841 – January 29, 1901) was a Czech writer, playwright and Romantic poet. Two of his most famous works are the poems Vyšehrad (1880), and Karolinská epopeja (1896). In his work he often blended foreign legends and history with national themes particular to Czech society and history. He is buried in the famous Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague.

March 20, 2018
Jan Palach Square – Jan Palach Memorial

Where: You can find these sculptures close to the Mánesův bridge at the Jan Palach Square on the Alšovo Riverbank just next to the Prague academy of Arts in Prague 1. GPS 50.088870, 14.414111

What: The artwork is named “the House of the Suicide and House of the Mother of the Suicide” and is created by the artist John Hejduk. The light statue symbolizes the figure of a son carrying light, the House of the Suicide, and the dark one a suffering mother, the House of the Mother of the Suicide. It was officially unveiled on January 16th of 2016. The artwork honors the Czech dissident Jan Palach who committed suicide by setting himself on fire as a protest against the Sovjet invasion of 1968. Besides the 2 sculptures there is a plaque with a poem written by David Shapiro called the “Funeral of Jan Palach”.

When I entered the first meditation
    I escaped the gravity of the object,
I experienced the emptiness,
    And I have been dead a long time.

When I had a voice you could call a voice,
    My mother wept to me:
My son, my beloved son,
    I never thought this possible

I’ll follow you on foot.
    Halfway in mud and slush the microphones picked up.
It was raining on the houses;
    It was snowing on the police-cars.

The astronauts were weeping,
    Going neither up nor out.
And my own mother was brave enough she looked
    And it was alright I was dead.

Who: Jan Palach (11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economy at Charles University in Prague. After the Sovjet invasion in August of 1968, which stopped the liberalizing reforms in Czechoslovakia and thus ending the Prague Spring, Palach decided to sacrifice himself in protest of that invasion. After he had posted letters to several public figures explaining the reasons and his demands he set himself on fire on Prague’s central square (Wenceslas Square), on 16 January 1969. His funeral on the 25th of February turned into a major protest against the occupation.He is buried at Olšany Cemetery in Prague 3.

March 17, 2018
Petrin Hill – Fountain of 2 playing boys, Masaryk’s grandsons

Where: On Petrin Hill, in the Petrin gardens (Petřínské sady) just opposite of the statue of Jan Neruda. GPS: 50.083249, 14.402064

What: This small fountain shows two boys playing, surrounded by 6 frogs and 2 lizards. It was created in 1948 by the artist Karel Dvořák. It has been in the Petrin Gardens from 1949. The inspiration for the statue of the two boys came from Herbert Revilliod, who died in an airplane crash in 1944 and Leonard Revilliod,who died because of an illness in 1945. They were the grandchildren of Thomas Masaryk, the famous first president of the Czechoslovak Republic. The statue is named Masaryks’ grandsons (Masarykovi vnuci).

Who: Karel Dvořák (Jan 1, 1893 – Feb 28, 1950) was a Czech sculptor. He was one of the disciples of Jan Štursa, who is considered to be one of the founders of Czech modern sculpture. But in his work you can also find influences of the Italian Renaissance, Neo-classicism and baroque. Karel Dvořák’s works can be found on several locations in the Czech Republic.

March 9, 2018
Petrin Hill – Statue of Jan Neruda

Where: This statue can be found in the Petrin Gardens (Petřínské sady) on Petrin Hill. It is a small walk from the Memorial to the Victims of Communism. GPS 50.083066,14.402245

What: The statue of Jan Neruda in Petřínské sady was created by the sculptor Jan Simot and architect Karel Lapka. It was officially unveiled on the 22nd of October 1970.

Who: Jan Neruda (9th of July 1834 – 22nd of August 1891) born in the Mala Strana quarter of Prague, was a Czech writer, poet and journalist. He was part of the May School, which were a group of Czech writers and poets in the 2nd half of the 19th century who focused on Czech realism and hoping to improve the status of the Czechs within the Austrian Hungarian Empire. His most famous work is considered to be Povídky malostranské (Tales of the Little Side). This book from 1877 tells satirical stories about the Czech Bourgeois of the time and gives clear descriptions of the Mala Strana quarter. He is buried at the famous Vyšehrad Cemetery.

March 5, 2018
Ujezd – Memorial to the victims of Communism
Where: The memorial of the victims of communism (in Czech: Pomník obětem komunismu) is located at the base of Petřín hill on Újezd street. GPS: 50.081164, 14.403984.

What: It shows a series of originally 7 bronze statues on a flight of 26 stairs. The statue in the front is complete but with every step the statues deteriorate more and more. It symbolizes the suffering felt by the victims of the Communist regime. The vertical bronze strip along the center shows the estimated people impacted by communism. It reads – Victims of Communism 1948-1989:
- 205 486 condemned
- 248 executed
- 4500 died in prisons
- 327 perished at the border
- 170 938 people emigrated.
The ceremonial unveiling of the memorial was on the 22nd of May 2002.

Who: The memorial is the work of Czech sculptor Olbram Zoubek (21 April 1926 – 15 June 2017) and architects Jan Kerel and Zdenek Hoelzel.
February 27, 2018
J. Plachty street – Memorial plaque Frantisek and Milka

Where: Jindřicha Plachty street, in Prague 5 on building number 3. Close to Smíchovská náplavka. GPS: 50.070823, 14.409652

What: On the plaque is written: “Here lived and were arrested František Pecháček wonderful Sokol worker, commander of the resistance organisation “Jindra” and his wife Milka Pecháčková. They were tortured to death in concentration camp Mauthausen, They sacrificed there lives for the freedom of the nation.”

Who: František Pecháček was a Czech gymnast who competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1920 Summer Olympics. During Wold War II František and his wife Milka were members the resistance organisation called “Jindra”. Illegal meetings were held in their apartment including meetings with the paratroopers responsible for the assassination of SS Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich in 1942.

As a retaliation for the successful assassination, the Nazis arrested large numbers of people who were interrogated, tortured and sent to concentration camps. František and Milka were among them. Both were arrested by the Gestapo and interrogated. Milka was later released, to hopefully lead the Gestapo to other members of the group. After she did not, she was arrested again.

The couple never met again. Both were sent to the concentration camp Mauthausen in Austria, though at different times. Milka was killed in the gas chamber on the 26th of January 1943 and František was executed om the 3rd of February 1944.

February 25, 2018
Krizikova Metro – Trialog

Where: Just outside of Krizikova Metro station on Thámova street in the district of Karlin, Prague 8. GPS: 50.093237, 14.451936

What: The sculpture is named “Trialog” and the artist is Matěj Frank. It shows metal shapes of 3 people connected with pipes. The purpose of the sculpture is to be an interactive installation that invites people to test the complexity of collective communication. The sculpture was part of 2017’s M³ festival/Art in Space in the district of Karlin.

Who: Matěj Frank born in 1989 and is a Czech artist. In his work he deals mainly with the concept of space-time-motion-body and is also very interested in the conjunction between image and sound. Besides sculptures he is not shy to move to different forms of art like drawing, sound and performance art.

February 21, 2018
Arbesovo Namesti: Jakub Arbes

Where: On Arbesovo Namesti, which is in Prague 5, Smichov. GPS 50.076497, 14.405200. This is also walking distance from the bust of Frantisek Langer

What: It is a statue of Jakub Arbes. It is bronze and made by Jan Černý. The ceremonial unveiling of the statue took place on the 8th of April 1964 which was exactly 50 years after his death.

Who: Jakub Arbes (12th of June 1840 – 8th of April 1914). He was a Czech writer, journalist and intellectual and is best known for the creation of the literary genre called romanetto. In this genre stories included something which would look paranormal but which would be afterwards explained by logical reasoning. One of his most influential romanetto’s was Newtonův mozek (Newton’s Brain 1877). Besides romanetto’s he wrote several novels.

February 17, 2018
Preslova street and namestí 14. rijna: Frantisek Langer

Where: On the corner of Preslova street and Náměstí 14. října (14th of October square) in Smichov, Prague 5. GPS 50.073166, 14.408125

What: It is a bust of Frantisek Langer with the text “In this house lived from 1945 to 1965 František Langer, writer”. The bust was created by Kurt Gebauer and was unveiled on the 2nd of August 1995.

Who: Frantisek Langer (3rd of March 1888 – 2nd of August 1965) was a physician and writer, and considered one of the best Czech dramatists of the interwar period.

As a physician Langer served in the Czechoslovak Legions in Russia during World War I. After the war, he served in the medical corps of the Czech army and continued his literary career. His most notable works are: Velbloud uchem jehly (1923; The Camel Through the Needle’s Eye), a comedy about lower-class life. Periferie (1925; “The Outskirts”), a psychological drama and Jízdní hlídka (1935; “The Cavalry Watch”) which was based upon his experiences with the legion.

In 1939 Langer went to England and spent World War II as a member of the Czechoslovakian army abroad (brigade general). He only returned to his home after World War II. The postwar Communist government did not allow him to publish new work until the late 1950s.

February 12, 2018