The Wilson statue has returned to Vrchlického Sady after 70 years

Wilson statue, source: www.polasek.org

Prague - After seventy years, the statue of American President Woodrow Wilson has returned in front of Prague's main train station, which was torn down by German occupying forces during the war years. A bronze tube containing commemorative documents was placed inside the statue today. The ceremonial unveiling of the memorial will take place in a month.
Written documents and photographs chronicling the history of the memorial and the process of its restoration will be stored in the statue for future generations. Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda, Mayor of Prague 1 Oldřich Lomecký, and a representative of the American embassy along with the organizing company American Friends of the Czech Republic (AFoCR) signed a joint statement today, and then sealed all the documents in the tube. The founder who participated in making the statue then inserted it into the statue.
"President Wilson is considered the father of our free statehood because America stood up for the creation of the Czechoslovak Republic under his leadership," the mayor told ČTK during today's ceremony. "Only those who value their past and their history are the ones who deserve to have their own state, their own republic, and their own history," he added. He also promised that the city hall would participate in the revitalization of Vrchlického Sady, which are a notorious refuge for the homeless and drug addicts.
The Woodrow Wilson monument, which was erected in 1928, was located against the train station building and was the work of sculptor Albín Polášek. The Nazis destroyed it in 1941. The site where the monument stood is now occupied by a new train hall.
The idea to create a 3.5-meter tall bronze statue was initiated by the AFoCR, which also secured the funding. In June 2008, the sculptural team of Václav Frýdecký, Michal Blažek, and Daniel Talavera took on the restoration work. The artists first created a plaster model of the statue, which they then cut into parts, from which sections of the statue were cast at a foundry in Prague's Lysolaje. "After welding the individual parts and chiseling, the statue was unpatinated and transported for final adjustments to its designated place in Vrchlického Sady," said Magdaléna Vošalíková on behalf of the American Friends of the Czech Republic.
The memorial will also include a so-called freedom path made up of plaques with the names of people who financially contributed to the project. Workers began laying the path on Tuesday.
A copy of the statue will be ceremonially unveiled in Vrchlického Sady on October 5. "The ceremony, which is also supported by President Václav Klaus, will be attended by about 200 foreign guests, including former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright," Vošalíková stated.
As part of the celebrations, a number of cultural events will take place in Prague in October, including an exhibition in the new building of the National Museum and a symposium at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Masaryk and Wilson Prize for Peace and Democracy will be awarded for the first time on the eve of the unveiling of the memorial.