Plzeň will build a monument to Patton after more than 10 years of discussions

Plzeň - By May 2015, when Plzeň will celebrate the 70th anniversary of liberation by the American army, a long-planned memorial to the legendary American General George Patton will be built in the city, whose units liberated Plzeň in May 1945. The councilors approved the awarding of the public contract by inviting a single supplier, said Deputy Mayor Pavel Šindelář (ODS) to ČTK.
    "It will be a team of architects consisting of Václav Zůna, Lubomír Čermák, and Tomáš Beneš, who emerged as the winner from the public one-round artistic and architectural competition announced in May 2009," he stated. The commission selected the winner from 37 proposals in October of that same year. General Patton's grandson George Patton Waters was on the seven-member jury.
    "The realization has been long postponed. The memorial will be part of the reconstructed terraces near the opera house. The entire construction will be completed by May next year," said Mayor Martin Baxa (ODS).
    The cost of the nine-meter-high steel pylon was estimated at 1.9 million CZK in 2009, and the city now has 2.5 million CZK for it in its budget. It will rise beneath the theater building towards the synagogue. It will take the form of a stylized triumphal arch, with both sides bearing Patton's profile. The chosen material also references the personality of the general - the so-called cor-ten, which is low-alloy steel with great resistance to weather conditions and corrosion. It symbolizes the armor of tanks from Patton's armored division. There will be an inscription on the ground. The memorial will be illuminated.
    The discussion about Patton's memorial has been serious in the city for about 11 years. The first attempt failed due to the author's collaboration with the former State Security on the monumental bronze statue of the general. From the selection process, a large-scale design full of symbols at the Patton Museum emerged. Ultimately, it was not built due to problems with engineering networks. The city then chose a location under the theater and announced another architectural competition.
    The final abstract work will be created during the reconstruction of the terraces under the opera house. The city is revitalizing the last southwest part of the park circuit of the historic core. The ongoing construction costing 45 million CZK will be completed in April 2015; about 82 percent of this will be funded by the EU.
    During construction, the unused chimney of the theater boiler room, steppe space, greenery in concrete boxes, and asphalt will disappear. A reinforced sloping area with lawns, flower beds, and paved paths will be created. A new avenue and parking bays will be built around the Pětatřicátníků park. Additionally, the staircase from the theater to Kopeckého sadů will be renovated. The space was supposed to be adorned with a modern glass café for an additional 40 million CZK, but this is currently not being planned.