The missing sculpture will return this year to the Memorial to the Fallen for Těšínsko in Orlová

Orlová - The renovation of the Memorial to the Fallen for Těšín at the cemetery in Orlová in the Karviná region is expected to be completely finished this year. Sculptor Martin Chmelař is completing a replica of the sculpture group that will be placed in the empty spot. This will conclude the restoration of this war grave, which will regain its original appearance from 1928, said Nataša Cibulková, the spokesperson for the town hall, to ČTK.

The reconstruction of the memorial was divided into two phases. The first phase cost nearly seven million crowns and was completed in November 2020. During this phase, the restoration of the memorial's elements and structures was completed, including landscaping. The second phase involves the creation of a replica of the original figurative sculpture group featuring the Silesian eagle. The sculptor has been working on this piece for nearly three million crowns for the second year. The work is taking place in the Prague district of Velká Chuchle. "We expect to see the sculptures in the spring of this year and we firmly believe that our town will be able to showcase this exceptional sculptural work during the celebrations of the 800th anniversary of its founding," Cibulková stated.

She added that work slows down during the winter months and only takes place in favorable weather when temperatures are consistently above freezing. "Currently, we are in the so-called point-smoothing phase of the entire sculpture using a pantograph. This involves a pair of needles that allow me to transfer the actual model onto the stone. Once the entire surface of the stone has been smoothed, I will be shaping sections of the sandstone segments to semi-finished forms. I will gradually work from the top down and then back up, until I give the sculpture group a specific shape with detailed elements," said Chmelař.

The sculpture consists of five pieces of sandstone, each weighing around ten tons. "Here we have stacked the individual pieces on top of each other to create the whole work. For transport, the sculpture will be disassembled into parts and gradually transported to Orlová, where we will reassemble it," described the sculptor.

The shape and size reconstruction of the sculpture group is based on preserved visual materials. The original sculpture group was damaged during the Polish occupation after the Munich Agreement in 1938 and was subsequently violently demolished by the Germans and taken away to an unknown location.

At the Memorial to the Fallen for Těšín, people commemorate the victims of the so-called seven-day war for Těšín in 1919. The outcome of the war established a new demarcation line that expanded the territory controlled by Czechoslovakia. The dispute between Czechoslovakia and Poland over the territory of Těšín escalated into war in early 1919, costing dozens of lives and significantly affecting relations between the two countries for a long time. The graves that are part of the memorial contain the victims of this Polish-Czechoslovak dispute. However, not all of them were soldiers who fell in the seven-day war; among the soldiers are also buried civilian victims. The memorial holds the remains of 56 individuals. The memorial was created in 1928 based on a project by Prague architects Jaroslav Stránský and Josef Šlégl in collaboration with sculptor Václav Žalud.