Prague Uprising monument set for spot where Konev statue stood
A new monument honouring the courage of those who fought in the May 1945 Prague Uprising has been selected in a public competition and will be erected in the Bubeneč district. It will replace a statue of the Soviet Army commander Ivan Konev, which was removed in 2020.
A larger-than-life statue of Red Army Marshal Ivan Konev was taken down four years ago due to his repressive role within the Communist Eastern Bloc. This caused a quite a stir in Czechia, including protests and disputes between Prague and Moscow. Now, a monument to the liberation of Prague from Nazi occupation is set to be erected in its place.
I discussed the winning design with the project’s PR coordinator Marcela Straková and I first asked her how the idea for the monument came about:
“Actually, the idea of the monument reacts to an open call. There was an open call published by Czechdesign and the organizers of the competition also cooperated with the Prague 6 district.
“The studio Roháč Stratil Architekti and Bronislav Stratil as the head architect were looking for a team and the team was put together to reflect the open call, which required an architectonic and artistic cooperation. That was one of its conditions.”
The name of the new monument, Calling all Czechs, refers to a call broadcast by Czech Radio on May 5th 1945, in the final days that led-up to the end of the Second World War. Can you tell us more about the monument and the idea behind it?
“What you see in the visualisation that accompanies the communication of the winning project is a concrete block with a hole going through it. What we intended was to create a reminder of courage of the civil society, which was willing to stand up to evil. The evil is symbolised by the hole, which we call ‘an arrow of evil energy’, and that was stopped by the courage of the civil society.”
From what I understand the monument is supposed to be interactive. In what way exactly?
“The monument includes a walkable green roof and also an interactive point, featuring a trumpeter or an amplifier with a golden talking head. This part embodies freedom of expression.
“So people are invited to stop and to speak and their voice will be actually carried through the monument so their voice will be transferred to the other part of the park where people can hear it.”
When do you expect the monument to be completed and unveiled at the location in Prague 6?
“We were told that the expected year is 2026.”
Has the work on the monumental already started?
“Yes. Currently there are some meetings and negotiations that need to be done, so it’s an ongoing process.”
