Mendlovo náměstí in Brno will be adorned with a bronze monument Hrachovina

Brno – Mendl Square in Brno will be adorned with a bronze monument of Jaromír Gargulák called Hrachovina. Gargulák's design won a public competition announced on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of the father of genetics, Gregor Johann Mendel, which falls in 2022. The results were announced today by the organizers of the competition.

In Brno, celebrations of the anniversary are being prepared for next year. The new monument will be an important part of these celebrations. Its conception is based on the fundamental principles of heredity. The monk Mendel formulated them based on experiments with peas at the Augustinian monastery at what is now Mendl Square.

Sixty-three-year-old Gargulák is a Brno-based artistic caster and sculptor. He has tried to understand Mendel's research as best as he could. He even bought peas that he grew at home and observed in various growth stages.

"I felt as if I were back in elementary school, watching how the pea grows, coming to life, and based on that, I started sketching and modeling the steles," Gargulák said. The twelve-ton monument will be accessible, consisting of four horizontal and vertical elements. Dominating the structure is a square with 16 steles shaped like keys, on top of which are peas in colors and shapes proportionally corresponding to Mendel's discoveries.

The production of the monument will be demanding. Gargulák expects that 15 people will spend approximately 8.5 months working in the foundry. The main material is bronze, but Gargulák is also considering an internal stainless steel reinforcement, in case someone decides to climb the nearly five-meter steles. The date of the monument's unveiling has not yet been set, but it is likely to take place next summer following the completion of repairs to Mendl Square.

The costs amount to 20 million crowns. Half will be provided by the city of Brno. The rest will be financed from private and public sources, and small donors can contribute. "Thanks to the fact that Gregor Johann Mendel was the father of genetics, we have prepared an opportunity for the most significant donors to, for example, store their DNA directly in the winning statue," said Jakub Carda from the non-profit organization Společně, which cares for Mendel's legacy and promotes his work.

The cornerstone of the future monument was recently blessed by Pope Francis in Rome. The idea of the new statue has the support of the Augustinians from the Old Brno Monastery, where Mendel worked. "Mendel's work is unique and has a deeper meaning. After all, his actions express the idea that does not exclude the possibility that faith in God and science can peacefully coexist," stated economist Jan Emil Biernat from the Old Brno Monastery.