People from M. Krumlov will walk to Prague because of Mucha's epopë

Moravian Krumlov (Znojmo)/Brno/Prague - People from Moravian Krumlov in Znojmo are embarking on a march to Prague. They are protesting against the relocation of the Slav Epic by Alfons Mucha to the capital city. They intend to walk the 310 kilometers in a relay style over six days. They will set off on Friday. Finally, they will present a petition to the Prague representatives, urging them to change their stance on the relocation of the epic. The council will meet on Thursday, November 3. The organizers informed about the plan in a press release.
    "With our pedestrian march, we want to express our determination. We will walk even in winter and rain to show how much we care about keeping the Slav Epic in the city," stated the mayor of Moravian Krumlov, Tomáš Třetina (TOP 09), in the press release.
    The march will involve students, local politicians, athletes, and ordinary people from Moravian Krumlov as well as other locations along the route. They will pass the petition among themselves, with individual segments ranging from four to 15 kilometers. In larger towns along the route, such as Třebíč, Jihlava, Vlašim, and Benešov, there will be information tents and places for signing the petition.
    The organizers of the march claim that in the disputes over the epic, Prague is acting with a considerable degree of arrogance. "Our goal is for Prague to meet the wishes of Alfons Mucha and build a suitable building for his work. We fear that the canvases will end up in storage and then the Prague leaders will lend them out worldwide with profit in mind," said one of the co-organizers of the event, Adam Škarka, who represents students from the Krumlov gymnasium.
    The march begins with a morning gathering of participants on the square in Moravian Krumlov on Friday. The first segment of the march goes from Moravian Krumlov to Ivančice, the birthplace of Alfons Mucha. Participants will also record a collective video message for the Prague representatives at the start of the march.
    The Gallery of the Capital City of Prague wants to close the Krumlov exhibition, which currently has 15 out of 20 canvases, by the end of October. In November, they plan to transport all the paintings to Prague. The capital has been addressing for several years where the epic will be permanently exhibited. In the past, there were considerations for the construction of a new pavilion, for its placement at the Exhibition Grounds, or in the riding school at Pohořelec.
    Recently, a proposal emerged that the epic could be located in the historic Art Nouveau Fant's building at Prague's main train station. The idea was endorsed in a joint memorandum by Czech Railways as the building's owner, long-term tenant Grandi Stazioni, and the Mucha Foundation. Their representatives submitted the document to the Prague City Hall on Friday, Michaela Cibulková from the Information Institute, which prepared a study proposing the display of the epic in the expansive wings of the station building, informed today. According to Mladá fronta Dnes, the repair of the building could be completed in 2013.
    The epic consists of 20 large-scale paintings inspired by Slavic mythology and the history of the Czechs and Moravians. Mucha donated the paintings to Prague, after World War II they were transported to Moravian Krumlov. There, the work was restored and exhibited for about half a century. Opponents of the relocation point out that Prague does not need the work as it has plenty of other tourist attractions. Moreover, it has not built a pavilion for it, as the creator of the epic, Mucha, requested.