Pod Emauzy Square, Prague 2 1932, restored 1998 Legionary Monument
The monumental Prague to Its Victorious Sons monument commemorates the Czechoslovak legionaries who fought in World War I. It was created by the renowned sculptor Josef Mařatka, a student of Auguste Rodin.
The monument consists of a 16-meter-high granite obelisk surrounded by seven statues of legionaries and a female figure symbolizing Prague. After being destroyed by the Nazis in 1940, it was restored in 1998 by sculptor Kateřína Amortová based on original documentation.
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The monument was ceremonially unveiled on October 28, 1932, exactly on the tenth anniversary of the return of all legionaries to their homeland and simultaneously on the anniversary of Czechoslovakia's establishment. It stands at Pod Emauzy Square, in a space designed by architect Bohumil Hypšman between the buildings of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
The sculptor was Josef Mařatka (1874–1937), one of the most significant Czech sculptors of the 20th century. He studied at the School of Applied Arts and the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague. In 1900, he went to Paris, where he worked in the studio of the famous Auguste Rodin. He also contributed to the František Palacký monument, creating the Oppression group.
The project brief from Prague City Hall specified that the monument should not express tragedy, but the greatness of victors. Mařatka succeeded - the monument radiates strength, pride, and the determination of Czechoslovak legionaries.
The center of the monumental ensemble is a 16-meter-high pylon made of Mrákotín granite. This monolith has an interesting history - it was originally the first of the monoliths intended for Prague Castle, which broke during processing. President T. G. Masaryk subsequently donated it for the legionaries' monument.
The obelisk is surrounded by seven bronze statues of legionaries:
In the center of the ensemble stands a French legionary with a flag, being crowned by a female figure symbolizing the city of Prague with a linden branch. The figures are three meters tall and particularly notable for their detailed depiction of the equipment and gear of individual soldiers.
The flagpole is adorned with verses by poet Viktor Dyk:
"If you abandon me, I will not perish,
If you abandon me, you will perish"
Above the legionary figures are carved the names of battlefields: "Zborov-Bachmač-Volga, Terrron-Vouzières-Champagne, Doss Alto-Piave-Dobrudja" - a reminder of places where Czech and Slovak soldiers laid down their lives for freedom.
The monument did not survive the Nazi occupation. In 1940, shortly after the occupation of the rest of Czechoslovakia by Germans, the Nazis ordered the monument to be removed and destroyed. The symbolism of legionary resistance and independent Czechoslovakia was unacceptable to them.
Thanks to the courage of garage master Oldřich Rieger, the box with the foundation charter was saved, which he hid in Rakovník. In dismantled and partially damaged form, including several plaster models, it was preserved in the depository of the Museum of the Capital City of Prague.
The wider area around the monument, including the towers of the Emmaus Monastery, was seriously damaged and partially destroyed by Allied bombing on February 14, 1945. After 1945, the foundation charter was not found, and after 1948, there was no longer any search - there was no political will to restore the monument.
Efforts to restore the monument began to intensify only after the social changes in 1989. Models of the monument and photographic documentation were preserved in archives, so the monument could be faithfully reconstructed.
Based on the original designs, the bronze statues were created by academic sculptor and restorer Kateřína Amortová. The restorer preserved not only the appearance of the statues but also all original inscriptions, including Dyk's verses and the names of battlefields.
The ceremonial unveiling of the restored monument took place at the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Czechoslovakia's establishment on October 28, 1998, exactly 66 years after the original unveiling. The monument once again became an important site of reverent remembrance of the heroism of Czechoslovak legionaries.
Pod Emauzy Square is a small square in New Town, Prague 2, which was created in 1925 after extensive redevelopment. Between 1924–1929, a new space was created here with Palacký Square, Zítek Gardens, and a complex of new government buildings according to architect Bohumil Hypšman's design.
The square has a rectangular shape measuring approximately 30 × 75 m. On the north side is the Ministry of Health building, on the south side the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The western side consists of Zítek Gardens with a view of the Vltava River, and the eastern side is terminated by a travertine wall, beyond which the buildings of Emmaus Monastery rise on a slope with distinctive 50-meter-high modern towers.
The square got its name from its location below the Emmaus Monastery and has kept it since its creation without change - even during the communist regime, when most squares with symbolic significance were renamed.
Czechoslovak legionaries were volunteers who during World War I fought on the side of the Entente against Austria-Hungary and Germany for the creation of an independent Czechoslovak state. They fought on three main fronts:
The largest number of legionaries. They fought in battles at Terron, Vouziers, and in Champagne. They created the Czechoslovak Foreign Resistance led by T. G. Masaryk and Edvard Beneš.
Famous for the Battle of Zborov (1917). After the Bolshevik Revolution, they undertook the legendary Siberian anabasis - a journey across all of Russia to Vladivostok.
They fought at Doss Alto and on the Piave River. Fewer legionaries, but significant contribution to Italian-Austrian battles in the Alps.
The Prague to Its Victorious Sons monument is located at Pod Emauzy Square in Prague 2, New Town. It is freely accessible 24 hours a day and can be visited from Palacký Square or Zítek Gardens.
Transportation:
When visiting the monument, we recommend walking through Zítek Gardens with a view of the Vltava River and visiting the nearby Emmaus Monastery with unique concrete towers from the 1960s. From the square, there is also a nice view of the monastery towers. We recommend a visit on October 28, when commemorative ceremonies are held here on the anniversary of Czechoslovakia's establishment.
