The National Monument at Vítkov is a building on the summit of Vítkov hill in the Prague district of Žižkov, built in the 1920s and 1930s in memory of the Czechoslovak legionnaires.
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The National Monument at Vítkov stands on the summit of the hill of the same name in the Prague district of Žižkov. The building was erected in honour of the Czechoslovak legionnaires and the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic [1][2].
History of the site and the building
The name of the hill is linked to the battle fought here on 14 July 1420, when a Hussite army led by Jan Žižka defeated a crusader army; in memory of this battle the hill was later named Žižkov [2].
The design of the building was prepared by the architect Jan Zázvorka. The foundation stone was symbolically laid on 8 November 1928 by President Tomáš Masaryk, and construction work began in 1929 [2]. The building, clad in massive granite blocks, was completed in 1932, and work on the interior decoration continued until 1938 [2]. The completion of the interior was interrupted by the German occupation; during the Second World War the premises served as a Wehrmacht storehouse and were considerably damaged [2].
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
On 14 July 1949 the remains of an unknown soldier who fell in the Battle of Dukla were placed in a sarcophagus in front of the building [2]. The tomb is covered by a granite slab with the state coat of arms and an inscription dedicated to the heroes who died for their homeland [2]. The original coat of arms from the First Republic, created by the sculptor Otakar Španiel, was replaced in 1962 by a socialist coat of arms by Jiří Pradler; in August 1997 a copy of Španiel's coat of arms, made by the sculptors Vladimír Oppl and Martin Ceplecha, was put back in its place [2].
Mausoleum of Klement Gottwald
On 22 June 1954 a mausoleum of Klement Gottwald was set up in the building; it was abolished on 30 March 1962. The embalmed body was then tended every night by seventy doctors and cosmeticians, and the operating theatre was located in the basement [2]. Gottwald's sarcophagus stood in the middle of the central hall beneath the ceremonial hall, and along the walls of the hall were placed ten further sarcophagi and a number of urns [2]. The placement of remains in the monument was decided by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ); in total there were almost fifty urns, including the remains of Presidents Klement Gottwald, Antonín Zápotocký and Ludvík Svoboda [2]. After 1990 some remains were returned to families, and the rest, in which the bereaved showed no interest, were taken over by the KSČ and placed in a common grave at the Olšany Cemeteries [2].
Architecture and furnishings
The building is conceived in a constructivist style; it is 142 metres long and 27.6 metres wide, and the height of the main building reaches 31.5 metres [2]. The bronze entrance doors were made by the sculptor Josef Malejovský and are decorated with reliefs, six of which relate to the Hussite era [2]. Beyond the entrance is a ceremonial hall with overhead lighting, the largest organ in the Czech Republic and a marble floor, from which entrances lead to further smaller halls [2]. At the top of the building are the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a monumental equestrian statue of Jan Žižka and a café with a view of Prague [1]. The building houses an exhibition titled Crossroads of Czech and Czechoslovak Statehood, which depicts moments from the history of Czechoslovakia in the 20th century [1].
Practical information
According to the Prague City Tourism website, the monument is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10:00 to 18:00, with last entry at 17:30. Café Vítkov is open at the same times as the monument [1].