GALLERY: Interactive Memorial to Replace Koněv Statue, Honoring the Prague Uprising

Instead of the statue of Marshal Koněv, an interactive memorial will be created to honor the courage of those who participated in the Prague Uprising.

The winning proposal recalls the first moments of the 1945 uprising. The work arose from an art-architecture competition organized by Czechdesign.

The main architect, Bronislav Stratil, and sculptor Jakub Berdych Karpelis collaborated on the project, along with landscape architect Lucie Miovská.

The monument includes a walkable green roof and an interactive point featuring a trumpeter with a golden talking head, embodying freedom of expression.

The park space will offer cultural activities and serve as a reminder of the Prague Uprising, connecting with nearby parks.

Mayor Jakub Starek lauds the competition’s quality, emphasizing its importance in maintaining public space.

“The monument is primarily intended to be a reminder of the courage with which civil society was willing to stand up to evil. Symbolically, it should pay tribute to thousands of often nameless fighting men and women, who were often non-soldiers,” he said to Prague Morning.

The Prague Uprising

The Prague uprising (Pražské povstání) was a partially successful attempt by the Czech resistance movement to liberate the city of Prague from German occupation in May 1945, during the end of World War II.

On 5 May 1945, during the end of World War II in Europe, occupying German forces in Bohemia and Moravia were spontaneously attacked by civilians in an uprising, with Czech resistance leaders emerging from hiding to join them.

The Russian Liberation Army (ROA), a collaborationist formation of ethnic Russians, defected and supported the insurgents. German forces counter-attacked, but their progress was slowed by barricades constructed by the insurgents.

On 8 May, the Czech and German leaders signed a ceasefire allowing all German forces to withdraw from the city, but some Waffen-SS troops refused to obey. Fighting continued until 9 May, when the Red Army entered the nearly liberated city.

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