Ostrava wants a statue commemorating Masaryk in the square

Ostrava - The city of Ostrava would like a new piece of art in the central Masaryk Square that would commemorate the legacy of the first president Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The author of the new sculpture is expected to come from a public art competition, which the city intends to announce only after it finds the necessary finances. The city anticipates that the costs for the sculpture and the rewards for the creators of the top three designs will be nearly seven million crowns, said Mayor Petr Kajnar (ČSSD) to reporters today.
According to Kajnar, many people have approached the city, stating that a dignified memorial to the significant statesman is missing in Masaryk Square. Currently, there is only his bronze bust in the square. "When the bust was installed in the repaired square, there was a discussion about whether the statue was appropriate and if there should be something else there," reminded the mayor's deputy Lukáš Ženatý (ODS).
According to Kajnar, the city would prefer not to have a classic statue of "a figure in a coat" in the square, but rather a more modern piece of art that would remind of Masaryk's legacy. The new sculpture is to be placed in the northern part of the square.
The effort to establish a monument to the first president of the Czechoslovak Republic in Ostrava dates back to 1928, when a cornerstone was even laid on today's Prokešovo Square; however, it had a troubled fate. The monument was never built, and the cornerstone survived World War II in hiding, after which it was also placed in the building of the Ostrava City Hall for several years. Today, it is part of the collections of the Ostrava Museum.
The renovation of the central Masaryk Square, costing approximately 100 million crowns, was completed in May 2007. Almost 10,000 square meters were newly paved with granite and marble, and brass plaques with historical events in the city were embedded in the pavement. In the summer, a walk-through fountain springs directly from the pavement.