The monument to Charles IV is installed on Krzhizhovnitskaya Square, near the Charles Bridge, in Prague. It was erected in honor of the 500th anniversary of Charles University in 1848. This four-meter bronze monument is made in the Neo-Gothic style. It is decorated with allegories of four university faculties: Arnost Pardubice, Jan Ocek Vlashimsky, Beneš Kolowratsky and Mathieu of Arras - the king's famous associates.
Charles IV is depicted holding a sword - a symbol of his military victories and the statute of the university. It is worth noting that Charles University, which is the main one in the country, the oldest in Central Europe, and also one of the oldest in the world, was founded by the emperor in 1348.
Coordinates: 50.08636300,14.41389100
Monument TGM
A bronze monument to the first president of Czechoslovakia, Tomas Garrig Masaryk, was erected on Hradcany Square in Prague.
The three-meter figure of Tomasz Masaryk rises on a granite pedestal in the very center of the historical district of Prague Hradcany.
The monument was made by sculptors Josef Weitz and Jan Bartosz on the model of the master Otakar Spaniel, having increased the original model three times. The prototype of the sculpture was created in 1931 and is now housed in the Prague Pantheon of the National Museum. The modern look of the original model was given by the architect Jiří Ratowski.
After the installation of the monument on Hradcany Square, a copy of the statue was also made, which was then taken away and placed in Mexico City on the main avenue named after Masaryk. He is so well known in his country that the authors limited themselves to the laconic inscription "TGM" on the monument, without deciphering the full name of the first president.
Coordinates: 50.08952700,14.39648800
Monument to Sigmund Freud "The Hanging Man"
The monument to Sigmund Freud "The Hanging Man" is located on the protruding part of the roof of one of the houses in Prague. The figure of the famous scientist "hangs", clinging to the beam with one hand. The author of such an unusual creation is the infamous Prague sculptor David Cherny. The monument was created in 1996 and was a resounding success, in connection with which the sculpture was hung out in Prague, Chicago, London.
They say that from a distance at dusk, the suspended figure of Freud resembles a hanged man or a person in trouble and often frightens passers-by. Some even see in the sculpture a resemblance to Vladimir Lenin and a political background. But according to the author's intention, the monument should embody the isolation of the intelligentsia from the people.
Coordinates: 50.08723700,14.41734000
Monument to Berdjikh Smetana
The monument to Bedrich Smetana was erected in front of the composer's museum. On the site where the monument is installed, a beautiful view of the Vltava River, Charles Bridge and Prague Castle opens up.
Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884) is a famous Czech composer, chief conductor of the Czech National Opera and pianist. His name is associated with the national school of composers. In his works he used Czech plots and folk motifs. He owns the work "Brandenburgers in the Czech Republic", which became the first opera in history in the Czech language. His symphonic poem Vltava is considered to be the unofficial Czech anthem. Smetana was buried at the Visegrad cemetery.
Coordinates: 50.08566100,14.41294300
Monument to Jan Hus
The monument to Jan Hus is located in the northern part of the square and with all its grandeur demonstrates the symbol of national unity. The philosopher, preacher and reformator who fought for the freedom of the Czechs was recognized as a heretic in 1414, and a year later he was sentenced by the Catholic Church to death by burning.
Monument to Wenceslas on an upside down horse
The monument to Wenceslas on an inverted horse is an ironic version of the well-known classical monument to St. Wenceslas. This unusual monument was made by a very scandalous sculptor David Cherny.
This version is just as popular as the original: a horse tied by its legs hangs upside down with its tongue hanging out, and the Czech king Wenceslas sits on her belly.
At first, it was decided to place the monument, albeit close to the original, but on the other side of the square. However, the inhabitants of the city did not like this sculpture and caused a storm of discontent. Therefore, the monument was decided to move to another place.
Today it can be seen in the atrium of the Passage Lucerne. There, the monument is suspended from the ceiling on iron cables, and there are always a lot of tourists around it.
Coordinates: 50.08093000,14.42632600
Monument to the city tramp
Monument to the City Tramp is a modern original monument to the Czech homeless, located in the heart of the capital of the Czech Republic. It is a sitting statue of a man on a blue bench - a barefoot middle-aged man in a hat and a loose raincoat.
The tramp monument is located on a small street in the historical center of the Czech Republic, between Wenceslas and Old Town Squares. This is a small statue in human height, near which tourists are happy to rest and take pictures. The monument is cast in bronze. Vacationers in Prague like to shake hands with him, rub his nose or the edge of his raincoat for good luck.
Coordinates: 50.08469700,14.42238600
Monument to Antonin Dvorak
A monument to Antonin Dvorak was erected on Jan Palach Square in front of the famous Rudolphinium, the Palace of Music and Arts.
Antonín Dvořák is a world-famous Czech composer whose works have glorified his native country. The musical traditions of Bohemia and Moravia, folk music and the tunes of his native land found expression in his work. In the last years of his life, Dvořák was the director of the Prague Conservatory, which at that time was located in the Rudolfinium, a palace in the heart of the city.
After World War II, a bronze monument to Antonin Dvořák was erected on the square in front of the residence of the Czech Symphony Orchestra.
Coordinates: 50.08923000,14.41524300
Monument on Bila Mountain
The monument on Bila Gora is a stone embankment with a memorial plaque. It was erected in memory of those who died during a short battle that took place on Bila Gora on November 8, 1620 as part of the Thirty Years' War. On this day, the Habsburg Catholic army defeated the Czech Protestants, which sealed the fate of the Czech state for the next three centuries.
Bila Hora, 381 meters high, is one of the districts of Prague and is located on its western outskirts. The monument to the fallen Czech Protestants is located in the middle of the field on the hill where the meeting of the troops of 1620 took place.
Coordinates: 50.07861100,14.31944400
Monument to firefighters
The Firemen's Monument is a memorial dedicated to the 343 New York City firefighters who died in New York City rescue operations on September 11, 2001, in a terrorist attack. This monument was opened on the island of Kampa. in Prague. The monument is a granite monument that depicts a fireman's helmet with the number 114.
The words on the pedestal read: “A firefighter is a person who lives twice in the world: for himself and for others. And that is why the life of a firefighter is a real example of a real understanding of human life.
The opening of the monument was attended by the mayor of the capital, Bohuslav Svoboda, and representatives of the US Embassy. After the end of the national anthem - members of the Prague Corps of Volunteer Firefighters laid wreaths on the granite monument.
Coordinates: 50.08389200,14.40787400
Monument to Palach and Hare
On January 16, 1969, Jan Palach self-immolated on Wenceslas Square, who protested against the occupation of the Czechoslovak Republic by Soviet troops. Jan Palach was a twenty-year-old student who, seeing around the passivity in the actions of his compatriots in front of the troops that occupied Czechoslovakia, out of despair, fearing that the country might forever remain a totalitarian state, committed an act of self-immolation. Jan Zaitz followed suit.
Monument to the Victims of Communism
The Monument to the Victims of Communism is a multi-sculptural allegorical composition located at the foot of Petřín Hill in the Lesser Town of Prague. This memorial was erected in honor of the victims of the totalitarian regime of 1948-1988. The monument was unveiled in 2002 by sculptor Olbram Zubek and architects Zdeněk Holzel and Jan Kerel.
The sculptural composition consists of 7 bronze figures, which are depicted descending down the stairs. Each subsequent statue is more "destroyed" than the previous one: first, limbs are "lost", then fractures appear in the bodies, and in the end it seems that the person has gradually dissolved. As conceived by the authors, the monument symbolizes the suffering of political prisoners during the period of communist rule. In the center is an inscription indicating how many people were arrested, deported, died in prisons, killed while escaping, executed in those years. And on the bronze tablet placed nearby, it is explained to whom this monument is dedicated.
Coordinates: 50.08336200,14.40311900
Monument to Jan Nepomuk
Monument to Jan Nepomuk - a statue depicting the famous Czech saint and martyr, installed on the Charles Bridge in Prague. It is believed that touching the statue brings good luck and happiness.
The first monument to John of Nepomuk was erected on the Charles Bridge at the beginning of the 17th century, and the modern bronze sculpture appeared in 1863. Its author was the famous sculptor Wolfgang Gerolt, and the pedestal was made by Jean Baptiste Matei. The monument turned out to be very beautiful and majestic, and it quickly became a model for many other sculptures depicting John of Nepomuk.
And even today this statue is considered the most beautiful decoration of the Charles Bridge and one of the most famous sights of Prague.
Coordinates: 50.08649900,14.41131900
Monument to Franz Kafka
Between the Spanish Synagogue and the Church of the Holy Spirit in the Old Town is an unusual monument - a monument to the famous Austro-Hungarian writer Franz Kafka.
A bronze sculpture designed by Jaroslav Rona appeared in Prague in 2003. The monument to Kafka is 3.75 meters high and weighs 700 kilograms. The monument depicts the writer on the shoulders of a giant suit, in which the one who should wear it is missing. The monument refers to one of Kafka's works "The History of a Struggle". This is a story about a man who, riding on the shoulders of another person, wanders the streets of Prague.
Coordinates: 50.09053500,14.42077900
Monument "Přemysl and Libuse"
The legend about the founding of Prague says that after the death of Cech, who brought the Czech people to the Czech Republic, his son, voivode Krok, founded the city on a rock above the Vltava and named it Vysehrad due to its high location. When Krok died, the Czechs chose his youngest daughter, Libuse, as princess. Deciding to move the capital, she sent servants to look for a place on the left bank of the Vltava. The servants met woodcutters who were hewing wood. "What are you doing?" - Libushe's servants asked. "We cut the threshold," the woodcutters answered. Returning, the servants reported everything to the princess. "At this threshold, the new city will be called Prague, and the glory of its stars will reach!" commanded the impressionable Libushe.
It is believed that at the place where Libuše uttered these words, a monument was erected in Vysehrad.
Monument to Jan Hus
In the Czech Republic, Jan Hus is a national hero, a great thinker and ideologist of the Czech Reformation. He spoke out against venality, hypocrisy and extortion of the Catholic Church.
A complex multi-figure composition on a huge stone pedestal is inscribed in the ensemble of the square in such a way that the tall figure of the courageous preacher-reformer Jan Hus was in the geometric center of the square.
On the monument is an inscription that expresses the basic philosophy of the great Czech reformer: "Love people."
The sculptural groups surrounding it personify the dramatic fate of the Czech Republic: the Hussite wars go into exile, the mother and child symbolize the hope for national rebirth.
The monument is undoubtedly one of the most significant works of the Czech sculptor of the early twentieth century, Ladislav Šaloun.
The Old Town Square is a pedestrian area, there are always a lot of walking Praguers and tourists.
Coordinates: 50.08773500,14.42113800
Monument to Saint Wenceslas
In 1912, one of the sights of Prague, the monument to St. Wenceslas by Josef Vaclav Myslbek, was erected in front of the building of the National Museum.
ghost monument
Praguers really respect their ghosts. And even a monument was erected to one of them! This is the Iron Man, whose statue you will find on the corner of the New Town Hall building.
The spirit of Yachim Berka pays justly for his sins. Returning home from the war, he, believing gossip, rejected his bride. It was only when he married the girl next door that he found out what a mistake he had made. Not only did the rejected girl and her father take their own lives, but his wife turned into a lazy drunkard.
He made a man's decision: he strangled his wife and hanged himself in the basement. But even then he did not find peace. His spirit wanders along Platnerzhskaya Street, hoping for deliverance. Once in a hundred years, he can talk to a pure girl. However, today the cat has cried such things, and chatter with the shabby girls of life will not help Yahima.
Fountain-monument to pissing men
A fountain-monument to pissing men is installed in the courtyard in front of Franz Kafka's house-museum. The museum is located in Mala Strana, about 50 meters from the Charles Bridge. The museum contains the published books of the writer, his diary, letters, photographs, sketches and many other things related to his life.
In front of the museum there is an unusual sculpture, which is a composition-fountain, made by David Cherny. Two bronze men stand opposite each other, urinating in a shallow tank, shaped like the borders of the Czech Republic. The creator of this sculpture was inspired by the statue of a pissing boy located in Brussels.
Coordinates: 50.08835800,14.41009000
Monument to Bozhena Nemtsova
The monument to Bozena Nemtsova is located on the Slovansky Island, which is located in the center of the city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The monument has become one of the symbols of the park in which it is located. The monument in Prague was created in collaboration with the Czech People's Artist, sculptor Karel Pokorny, and the architect Jaroslav Fragner, who designed the superb pedestal.
Bozena Nemcova occupies a special place in Czech literature. She is often referred to as the founder of modern Czech prose. Having virtually no means of subsistence by the end of her life, the writer received due recognition and national fame only after her death. The bronze sculpture is filled with emotionality and true human drama. The monument to Bozena Nemcova in Prague is considered one of the best monuments to this outstanding Czech writer.
Coordinates: 50.07978300,14.41238000
Monument to Rabindranath Tagore
The monument to Rabindranath Tagore is located in the historical district of Prague-6, not far from the Dejvicka metro station, in the capital of the Czech Republic. This is a monument in honor of the outstanding Indian writer and poet, composer and performer, politician, who also had a positive impact on individual cultural figures of the Czech Republic. The Tagore monument is made in the form of a bust of the writer on a high pedestal and is located in the middle of a small square.
Coordinates: 50.07553800,14.43780000
Monument to Yaroslav Hasek
The monument to Yaroslav Hasek, located in Prague, is made in the Art Nouveau style. The monument is a kind of hybrid of a horse with a bar. In the center of it is a small pedestal with a bust of the writer himself. The horse is made of bronze, the stele and the bust of the writer are made of stone. A huge hole is made inside the horse. According to the original idea, a beer barrel should have been located in this place.
The famous Czech sculptor Neprash Karel became the author of the monument. However, the author himself did not live three years before its discovery. The monument to Yaroslav Hasek was unveiled in 2005. Its opening was like a national holiday. During this event, the performance of the best Czech choreographic groups took place. On the same day, soldiers fired their weapons and sang the national anthem.
By the way, the monument cost the Czech treasury one hundred and forty thousand dollars.
Coordinates: 50.08534400,14.44084200
Prague Metronome
The Prague metronome over the Vltava is a unique monument in its own way. On the one hand, it is absurd and, as they say, closes a kind of void that was formed at this place in the course of historical events. On the other hand, impartially counting hours, minutes, moments, the metronome is an impeccable and powerful symbol of time that does not depend on anything. Rising above the center of the most beautiful Prague, this awkward building breaks stereotypes and often leads to existential experiences.
The monument was erected in 1991 on the site of the former monument to Stalin. History ordered that a huge monument to the leader of the peoples was erected at an unfortunate time, in 1955. A few years later, it was dismantled, and the resulting hole was eventually "plugged" with a metronome, a kind of modern art. At first, the monument temporarily placed here took root and has been steadily and steadily swinging its pendulum for the third decade. And it seems that this process will never stop.
Coordinates: 50.09496700,14.41603300
Monument "Pieta" on the Charles Bridge
Monument "Pieta" is located on the Charles Bridge in Prague. This sculptural group was created in 1859 by sculptor Emanuel Max, who depicted the scene of mourning for Jesus Christ. Translated from Italian, "Pieta" means mercy and piety.
In addition to the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene familiar in this iconographic plot, the Apostle John the Theologian also mourns for the Savior on the Charles Bridge.
This is not the first Pieta erected on this site. Previously, the hand of the sculptor Jan Brokoff, carved in 1695 from the Pieta stone, was located here, which was later transferred to the garden of the Convent of the Merciful Sisters. And at an earlier time, namely in the 15th century, on the site of modern Pieta, there was an image of the Crucifixion, demolished by a powerful flood in 1496.
In addition to Pieta, today on the Charles Bridge there are 29 more sculptural groups dedicated to Catholic saints and having their own unique history.
Coordinates: 50.08648000,14.41146000
Monument to Joseph Manes
The monument to Josef Manes stands on the Prague embankment at the base of the bridge, named after the outstanding Czech artist of the 19th century.
Josef Manes is a leading Czech painter of the 19th century. His works in the style of romanticism were a vivid continuation of the European artistic tradition.
The monument to the artist was erected at the end of the 19th century on the embankment, near the Rudolfinum Hall, which houses the Prague National Orchestra.
The figure of Manes, who holds an easel in his hands, complements the architectural ensemble of the square, echoing the monument to another great Czech - Antonin Dvorak, whose sculpture is installed opposite.
Coordinates: 50.08954400,14.41451800
Monument to Jan Zizka
Monument to Jan Zizka - an equestrian statue of Jan Zizka, installed on Vitkov Hill in 1950. It symbolizes the memory of the national hero of the Czech Republic - Jan Zizka, who at this place in 1420 with four thousand people defended Prague from thousands of crusaders.
The National Monument to Jan Zizka is located in the center of Vitkov Park, on top of the hill of the same name, almost in the center of Prague. The majestic statue of the national hero of the Czech Republic is nine meters high without a pedestal and weighs almost 17 tons. It consists of 120 bronze parts and five thousand bolts. The statue of Jan Zizka is the world's largest bronze equestrian monument. It was designed by the Czech sculptor Bogumil Kafka, influenced by the works of Auguste Rodin, but the master himself did not see his own creation, as he died in World War II.
Coordinates: 50.08855400,14.45003100
A monument to Soviet soldiers was erected at the Olshansky military burial in Prague in the Zizkov district. Next to the monument to the soldiers who fell during the liberation of Prague from the German invaders, there are identical tombstones in the form of a stone pillar with a five-pointed star. In total, 426 people are buried here. Architect Karel Beneš and sculptor Jaroslav Brughi worked on the project of the monument. The monument is a tall gray slab with a bronze soldier holding a rifle in his hands. Above the plate rises a five-pointed star with Soviet symbols: hammer and sickle. The monument is accompanied by a memorial plaque.
Coordinates: 50.08055600,14.47055600
Sights of Prague
Church of St. Nicholas on Lesser Town Square, Prague, Czech Republic
Irasekov bridge, Prague, Czech Republic 
About the famous sculpture "Manneken Pis", installed near the Grand Palace in Brussels, is known, perhaps, to every tourist. Do you know that his "competitor" is in the Czech capital? More precisely, even two. We are talking about a monument to pissing men, installed in the courtyard of the Franz Kafka Museum, which is located in Mala Strana, on the left side of the Charles Bridge (the distance between them is no more than 50 meters). The author of the original work is a popular artist and sculptor at home and abroad.
The sculptural composition in the form of a fountain is installed directly opposite, where, by the way, the writer's personal diary, letters, photographs and his books are kept. It looks like this: two men cast in bronze stand opposite each other and urinate. They do this, of course, not on the road surface, but in a shallow reservoir. If you thought that it was ordinary, like other fountains, you were mistaken: the shape of the reservoir resembles ... the outlines of the territory of the Czech Republic. The guests of the city on the Vltava, who saw the composition for the first time, enthusiastically exclaim: “It was necessary to think of such a thing!” And here there is something to be surprised and admire, because you will not see such monuments in Prague everywhere, but only in some places.
The Czech Republic is home to some of the strangest statues in the world. Not surprising, because Prague is the birthplace of the infamous sculptor David Cerny. His provocative works have gained recognition all over the world. In addition to the breathtaking masterpieces of Czerny, the Czech Republic is full of whimsical statues that are sure to make you stop and think.
1. Hanging man, Prague
A man hanging over one of the cobbled streets in Prague's Old Town is a sight to behold. They are worried that the person is about to fall. Don't be afraid, it's just a statue of Sigmund Freud. Like many of David Czerny's works, the sculpture is deliberately provocative and strikingly realistic, especially from a distance. The work was exhibited in different cities, from London to Chicago, but now it has returned to Prague, to the old narrow street. As a result, passers-by look away from the ancient neighborhood and look up to contemplate the future.
2. Babies on the Zizkov TV Tower, Prague
Giant metal babies crawl up the country's tallest Zizkov TV tower. Czerny temporarily installed 10 crawling babies in 2000. But they remained here due to the high popularity among tourists. From the ground, the children look tiny, but in fact they are almost two meters tall. They have very gloomy faces - these are not people's faces, but faceless robots. Tower Children have become one of Czerny's most striking and memorable works of art.
3. Manneken Pis, Prague
Czerny's sense of humor was most evident in the sculpture of pissing men at the Franz Kafka Museum in Prague. The sculpture consists of two bronze men. Their hips are robotic and move in such a way that they spell out words or whole phrases with a trickle of water. Anyone can send SMS, which will be written by sculptures.
4. Statue of St. Wenceslas on a dead horse, Prague
Hanging from the ceiling of Lucerne Palace in Prague, the ancient king sits solemnly on an upside down, dead horse. work "Horse" Czerny is a parody of the famous sculpture of St. Wenceslas - a majestic rider on a proud horse. It can be seen in the adjacent square.
5. Statue of Saint Vilgefortis, Prague
According to the legend about Vilgefortis, her father promised to marry her to a pagan king. The pious girl, not wanting to have anything to do with a pagan, took a vow of celibacy and prayed for a miracle that happened in the form of a beard that appeared. The king saw the beard and immediately refused the marriage. In a fit of anger, Father Vilgefortis crucified her. This strange and fascinating story is completely untrue. This is actually a statue of Jesus in a dress, the work of a medieval monk. At that time, the image of Jesus was often depicted in this way. This practice was discontinued in favor of the loincloth we are used to seeing today. However, Vilgefortis' story lives on with 11th-century wood carvings, inspiring many oppressed and miserably married women around the world.
6. Damn heads, Glands
An unsettling sight awaits tourists exploring the forests near the village of Zhelizy. Two huge demonic faces carved from local stone greet them with empty eyes. Created by Václav Levy in the mid-19th century, the nine-metre-high stone heads are known as Čertovy Hlavy or "Devil's Heads" and have been a local landmark for generations. Scattered in the surrounding forests are other sculptural works by Levi, carved into the sandstone. They have suffered little damage from the ravages of time and weather. The faces of the Devil's Heads became a little less distinct, but no less unsettling.
7. Holy Trinity Column, Olomouc
Built from 1716 to 1754 by local architects, the Holy Trinity Column was honored by UNESCO in 2000 and listed as a World Heritage Site as "one of the most expressive works of Central European Baroque". The 35-meter-high column was erected as a gesture of gratitude from the survivors of the plague. The monument is so large that a chapel was placed at its base. It is a source of pride for the Czech people.
Prague is filled with various monuments, including unusual and strange ones. I'll start with something pleasant to our eye - with mushrooms
This is an unusual "exhibition" of the young Czech artist Michal Trpak (Michal Trpak) in the small Trade Union Square (odboru) in Prague. Composition with 6-meter mushrooms "Psilocybin" is located in front of the hotel ("Mosaic House").
The man sitting above the entrance to the building is called the "Thinker" (Czech. Myslitel, Thinker). And happy people fly around on umbrellas - women and men.
This is a view from the Trade Unions Square to the short Trade Union Street leading to the New Town Hall.
The man is one of the flying people.
The whole installation is called “Looking for Happiness” (2013). Apparently by eating "magic moshrum". It is said that the people floating in the air are meant to signify the financial crisis...
Internet review. M. Trpak has many exhibitions with "Thinkers" or floating people called "Slight doubts" ("Slight Uncertainty"), as a hint at the financial crisis. In addition, he has several sculptural compositions and monuments: "Tornado" ("Tornado", 2005 - No. 5), a sculpture of unusual pink animals - "Tenderness" (Czech. "Mazlici", 2014 - No. 1) or a monument full of holes head, installed in the artist's homeland in Budejovice - "Mental Insight" ("Mental Insight", 2012 - No. 2), the monument "Humanoids" ("Humanoids", 2009, one of the options is installed somewhere in our Siberia - No. 4) or the monument "Reminder" ("Memento", 2014 - No. 3). One of the latest works is a philosophical sculpture with the painting "Escape into reality" - No. 6.
There are still flying people on Long Street (dlouha) in the northern part of the Old City.
As you continue down Long (dlouha) Street, you will inevitably run into a large woman. But her appearance in the audience, as a rule, causes mixed feelings. This is the work of more famous than Trpak, avant-garde artist David Cerny (David Cerny).
The composition, 6.5 meters high, is called "In the Womb" and is part of the collection of the contemporary art gallery. The only beauty is that stainless steel reflects light in different colors when the lighting changes.
One of the most famous compositions of the scandalous D. Czerny - "Gergeta's Piss-Brick Factory" (2004) was installed in the courtyard of the Kafka Museum. Two bronze men write out (here, finally, both meanings of this word coincided together) patterns and texts on the water surface of the fountain. The reservoir exactly repeats the outlines of the borders of the Czech Republic (see the outline at the top left). Those. they simply flooded the country with their urine - amazing patriotism!
Tourists, of course, cannot resist touching the moving organ of the dudes, because in the common people the composition is simply called “Two Peeing Guys”.
This young man also did not escape the hands of tourists and shines in the most interesting place. It is installed in the courtyard of the information center in Vysehrad (against the background of the remains of an old Gothic gate). Well, in the same courtyard - "the house of Czech children."
This is a monument to St. Wenceslas (author Josef Myslbek) on Wenceslas Square - a long, similar to a wide boulevard. So, in the distance, at the other end of the square, D. Czerny installed the sculpture “Horse” (1999): Vaclav sits on the belly of his upside down dead horse. According to the author's intention (?), this reflected either the political state of the Czech Republic, or a mockery of Vaclav himself.
Internet review. Currently, the "Horse" (No. 2) is located in the passage "Lucerne" in Prague. One of the first actions of the young Cherny was repainting the monument to the liberators of Prague - the Soviet tank (No. 1) in pink, now it is in the military museum of Leshany. The sculpture Hanging Out (No. 3) depicts a life-size figure of Sigmund Freud. Crawling Babies (2000 - No. 4) along the Zizkovskaya TV tower in the east of the city. Performance purple "Fuck" ("Fuck the KSCM", 2002 - No. 5) is an indecent gesture, as an attitude towards the Communist Party of the Czech Republic. An installation of two butts (2003 - No. 6) was installed in the courtyard of the FUTURA Gallery of Contemporary Art. Climbing the stairs and looking inside, you can see a vile video about politicians. Well, there are still obscene sculptures and ideas from David, which I would not like to bring here ... Such high art ... By the way, in 2000 he received the Prize to them. Jindrich Chalupecki for young artists. Yes, and our Russian history has examples of similar awards.
Another group of naked men is the Memorial to the Victims of Communism at the base of Petrin Hill (Czech Pomnik obetem komunismu, 2002). I can’t say anything bad about this successful monument. It's just a pity that there were no women among the victims ... This is all the avant-garde in art, in the aesthetics of which I, apparently, do not understand something.
There are a lot of monuments of various kinds in the capital of the Czech Republic, the most ancient, of course, are located in the Prague Castle. It is there that the famous Church of St. Vitus is located, founded in the middle of the 14th century and the phased construction of which continued until the middle of the 19th century. There are a lot of famous sculptures and bas-reliefs here. The church itself even surpasses Notre Dame Cathedral in volume, although it is somewhat shorter in length. The Charles Bridge, decorated with dozens of monuments and sculptural groups, is also unique.
But there are also bright sculptures of the new time in Prague. Among them is a monument to the victims of communism. The memorial includes seven bronze sculptures, the figures of emaciated people symbolize the suffering of political prisoners from the communist regime. The depressing impression is strengthened by the fact that, in accordance with the architects' intention, each sculpture looks inferior: one does not have any limb, a fracture is visible on the body of the other.
The well-known sculptor David Cherny is successfully working in the Czech Republic. He, in particular, created a monument to the writer Franz Kafka, having managed to bring to life the image of the most mysterious writer of the twentieth century. The art object is made of stainless steel in the form of 42 horizontal elements that do not depend on other parts and are constantly in motion, stopping only for a few minutes and allowing you to view the exact image of Franz Kafka. The writer worked on novels that influenced many readers, and now the "Brilliant Head of Franz Kafka" stands majestically over a small square and reminds of the writer's huge contribution to literature.
In the courtyard of Kafka's house-museum in Prague, another original creation by David Cherny is installed - "Monument to Pissing Men". Men urinate on a map of the Czech Republic filled with water, which symbolizes the division of Czechoslovakia. The monument is interactive: thanks to a special electronic device, male sculptures can move their hips and certain organs, drawing different quotes on the water surface of the reservoir. What will be “written” can be ordered by sending a paid SMS to a specific phone number.
One of the most provocative sculptures of David Cherny is the sculpture “Toadying”, which is two five-meter white figures of naked headless men, resting their hands on a concrete wall. In addition to monumental satire, political irony is also present in the work of David Cherny. You can feel it if you climb a specially installed iron staircase and watch a continuously shown video with Vaclav Klaus, the former president of the Czech Republic, and Milan Knizak, a famous Czech artist, sculptor, musician and dissident. The latter feeds Vaclav Klaus with porridge flowing down his chin and dripping onto the table, while Queen's composition "We are the champions" is played.
Monuments are the most important element of human civilization - they have been erected and destroyed at all times. Almost three thousand years ago, Queen Hatshepsut ruled Egypt in the guise of a male pharaoh for more than two decades, and she ruled well. When she died, her successor, by the way, a nephew, in anger for insulting the image of a male pharaoh, began to destroy all the monuments and monuments dedicated to Hatshepsut. But he ruled Egypt much worse than his predecessor.
Today, monuments continue to be destroyed and new ones created. The Czech Republic is a good example of caring for history and providing freedom for the creativity of sculptors and artists. Today, Czech modernist sculptures reflect our difficult times. Time will put everything in its place.
