Kobylisy shooting range
The Kobylisy shooting range ( Kobyliská střelnice in Czech ) is a former shooting range in the Kobylisy district north of the Vltava in the 8th district in Prague . Today a memorial commemorates the mass shootings that took place here during the occupation of Czechoslovakia by the National Socialist German Reich .
history
Austria-Hungary until 1918
The firing range was laid out in 1890 as a training area for the infantry for the army of the Austro-Hungarian Empire near the village of Kobylisy, at that time outside the city of Prague. Stables were built on the site for the horses.
Czechoslovakia until 1938
The troops of Czechoslovakia , which was independent from 1918 , continued to use the area, and it also served as a training ground for clubs such as the Sokol .
time of the nationalsocialism
With the annexation of the Czech Republic and the establishment of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia under National Socialist rule , the stables on the shooting range were converted into prisons.
After the assassination attempt on Reinhard Heydrich , mass shootings took place on the firing range as a "retaliatory measure". Almost 540 people were murdered between May 30 and July 3, 1942. Many of the victims were then cremated in the Strašnice crematorium . Among the victims were
- Jan Auerhan, Chairman of the Czech Statistical Office
- Alois Eliáš , General and Prime Minister of the "Reich Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia"
- Josef Mašín , officer and member of the Three Kings resistance group
- Josef Páta , Professor of Sorabic Studies in Prague
- Matěj Pavlík , Orthodox bishop, canonized as a martyr
- Františka Plamínková , women's rights activist and politician
- Evžen Rošický , athlete, sports journalist and resistance fighter
- Vladislav Vančura , writer, film director and doctor
- 26 residents of Lidice village (members of the Horák and Stříbrný families who were arrested before the village was exterminated, as well as men who were away at work during the destruction)
After the Second World War
After the Second World War, the site was converted into a memorial site on which several monuments were erected until 1975. In 1978 the memorial was declared a National Cultural Monument of the Czech Republic .
memorial
The area of the former stables is covered by a mosaic by Martin Sweet . Nearby are a wooden cross (the original was in poor condition and was replaced in 2007) and the sculpture of a crying woman by Milos Zeta .
Near the entrance gate, along with a list of those who were murdered, is the verse of Miroslava Floriana : “Hold a moment. Our blood soaked the earth, but we rose again. "
The complex was renovated from March 2015 to April 2016. Access to the site is free and can be reached in a 10-minute walk from the Kobylisy or Ládví metro stations .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 7 ′ 54 ″ N , 14 ° 27 ′ 47 ″ E