Around the statue of Saint Wenceslaus in Prague, there will again be a chain

Prague - A chain will once again surround the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas in Wenceslas Square in Prague. The restoration of the iron protection was advocated by Prague 1. The original chain made of linden flowers, which was removed from the statue in 2005, will return to the site. The chain will be reattached at the end of January or the beginning of February, said the spokesperson for Prague 1, Veronika Blažková, today to ČTK.
     "It is necessary for the statue to be protected from vandals and tourists, who confuse the memorial with a food counter," stated the mayor of Prague 1, Oldřich Lomecký (TOP 09). The police deal with cases every year where people climb onto the several-meter-high statue.
     The removal of the chain was advocated in June 2005 by representatives of the Balbínova Poetická Strana. The Balbínovci considered the chain of linden flowers to be a symbol of evil and the occupation of former Czechoslovakia by the Soviet army. They pointed out that while the linden is a national symbol, the leaves on the chain point upward with sharp tips like barbed wire.
     The magistrate originally claimed that the chain is part of the cultural monument and protects the statue. However, the preservationists eventually approved the dismantling, and the then-mayor Pavel Bém (ODS) unscrewed the first part of the chain. The chain was first installed at the memorial in 1974.