Stalin Monument (Prague)
The Stalin Monument (Stalinův pomník) in Prague was inaugurated in 1955 after a construction period of 5½ years and blown up in 1962. It was the world's largest portrayal of Josef Stalin .
history
The monument was erected on a concrete base lined with granite in Letná Park. The 15.5 meter high and 22 meter long memorial represented Stalin, behind whom two rows of Czechs and Russians march. The foundation stone was laid on December 22, 1949 by Antonín Zápotocký and the inauguration on May 1, 1955. The monument was created by the sculptor Otakar Švec and the architects Jiří Štursa (1910–1995) and Vlasta Štursová-Suková (1912–1982) . With the two of them, he planned a monument for T. G. Masaryk in the same place before the National Socialist occupation . Švec received threatening letters from Czech citizens and was under surveillance by the government and the secret police. Three months before the inauguration, he and his wife Vlasta Švecová, who was also involved in the project, committed suicide.
In the vernacular the monument in view of the then poor supply situation as was fronta na maso a pun that can be translated as "queue for meat" - mocked.
The de-Stalinization by Nikita Khrushchev and the emerging thaw began shortly after the monument was completed. For the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia , the huge monument (12 × 20 × 15.5 m) became more and more of a problem. Finally it was destroyed in 1962 without public announcement by the army with 800 kg of explosives and 1650 detonators. The demolition of the 17 million kilogram object cost around 4.5 million crowns after the construction had previously devoured 140 million Czech crowns.
In 1990 the pirate radio station Radio Stalin broadcast from a bunker near the foundation . The first rock club in Prague was later set up in this bunker. In 1991 Vratislav Karel Novák set up a huge metronome on the base of the monument . The system was also used for promotions by Michael Jackson and Václav Klaus .
The future of the site has not yet been decided. Among other things, the construction of an aquarium was proposed in the 2000s. The pedestal is a popular meeting place for skateboarders .
swell
literature
- Rudolf Cainer: Žulový Stalin. Osudy pomníku a jeho autora. ARSCI, Praha 2008, ISBN 978-80-86078-86-1 (Czech).
- Duncan JD Smith: Only in Prague: A Guide to Strange Places, Secret Spots, and Hidden Sights. 2nd Edition. Brandstätter, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-85033-135-7 .
Web links
Coordinates: 50 ° 5 ′ 41 ″ N , 14 ° 24 ′ 57.6 ″ E