The statue of Marshal Konev has found a new home, it will be exhibited in the Prague Museum of Memory XX. century Home
“We chose the depository in Měšice because it specializes in the storage of works of art. The means of the warehouse therefore enable the statue to be protected against damage or theft in favorable conditions and to the maximum extent possible, “said the mayor of the sixth district, Ondřej Kolář (TOP 09). According to earlier information, the statue, which was valued by an expert at 13 million crowns, is protected from ultraviolet radiation by the town hall in the depository, and technology maintains stable temperatures and humidity inside the hall. Among other things, fire safety is installed in the building.
The monument was removed from Interbrigade Square on April 3, 2020. Last December, the concrete layers on which the statue stood and the reinforced concrete structures were further demolished. About a million crowns was originally earmarked for the dismantling of the plinth, demolition of concrete structures and subsequent reclamation of the open area. In the end, the works were 673,000 crowns more expensive than expected. According to the previous statement of the spokesman of Prague 6 Jiří Hannich, the planning of the demolition work was based on the documentation of the author of the monument Vratislav Růžička from 1980.
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The Interbrigade Square would be followed by statues of a Soviet military leader who had a monument in the following state commemorating the liberation of Prague at the end of World War II. The architectural and urban planning competition for the realization of the memorial should be announced this year. A specific date has not yet been set, Lacina said. According to the Deputy Mayor of Prague 6, the reason is that due to the coronavirus pandemic and related government measures, the town hall is operating in an emergency mode. It thus deals with selected obligations and those already imposed by law.
Konev’s life-size statue from the workshop of sculptor Zdeněk Krybus and architect Růžička was unveiled in Prague on May 9, 1980, on the 35th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. The monument to the military leader, who took part in the liberation of Prague from the Nazis, but also in the bloody suppression of the anti-communist uprising in Hungary in 1956, was a frequent target of vandals in Prague 6. In September 2019, representatives of the sixth district had to remove the monument and replace it with a monument to the liberation of Prague at the end of World War II. The Russian embassy called it outrageous. The statue was removed from the square on April 3 last year. The Czech Communists, Russia, through its Prague Embassy, and President Miloš Zeman strongly protested against the town hall’s advance.