Pardubice want to have a statue of a horse in the wider center, they are preparing a competition for it

Pardubice - Pardubice could one day have a statue of a horse in a public space. The city hall is preparing a competition for next year that will propose both the location and the design. Jiřina Klčová, the deputy mayor, told ČTK. The regional city is associated with horses, using the coat of arms of the Lords of Pardubice as its city crest, which features a silver half-horse with a golden bridle on a red field. The prestigious horse racing event Velká pardubická is also held in Pardubice.

"It would be good to have a horse statue here. We want the statue to be created after a discussion with experts and the general public. Next year, we will announce a competition that will determine the location and parameters of what the statue should depict. Whether it should be a fragment, a whole body, or a statue with a rider," Klčová said.

The city has one horse statue borrowed since the end of April, for about a year. It is a large steel sculpture by Michal Gabriel. It is installed on a meadow between Příhrádek and the castle ramparts. "It has turned out that people like it," the deputy mayor stated.

The city still needs to clarify the conditions of the competition, for which half a million crowns is allocated. In the past, the city hall commissioned the creation of statues of aviator Jan Kašpar and railway builder Jan Perner, both of which are realistic and life-sized.

"We will see whether we let the artists work freely to come up with their own design, or if we will guide them to whether the statue should be realistic. Opinions vary. Personally, I would prefer a realistic statue because alternative works often result in pieces that not every citizen will accept," the deputy mayor said.

Ideally, the statue should be placed in the broader city center. In January, city representatives will meet with architects to discuss suitable locations. There may also be discussions about the area currently occupied by the statue of a Red Army soldier from 1957. However, no decision has been made about relocating it, for example, to a cemetery. Nevertheless, the proposal keeps resurfacing in public discourse.

"It would be one of the solutions; if the Red Army soldier were relocated, then a horse statue could be placed there. It could offer a view of the castle and also reference the Pernštejn family. However, relocating the Red Army soldier also depends on funds. The statue is heavy, located near trolleybus lines, and cannot simply be dismantled and transported," the deputy mayor said. Its relocation would cost several million crowns, she added.

In the past, politicians also considered placing a statue at a roundabout. However, that will not be possible. "There was a discussion about whether to place the statue at the roundabout upon entering Pardubice. However, we are facing issues with fulfilling the safety sightlines. We are not completely giving up on this; we are discussing with the road engineers whether we could find a place for another work that would reference the racetrack," Klčová said.

In addition to the statue, the city hall would also like to have a tourist photo point in Pardubice, as larger cities have. "There are photo points like 'I love Karlovy Vary.' We don't completely identify with that. We could have just a sign saying 'Pardubice' or our coat of arms next to it. We need to find a suitable location for it, so that people can easily find it and it is photogenic," Klčová said.

Photo points can look like gates or be made up of 3D signs crafted from various materials. In some cities, they are designed to allow people to climb on them. "There are many options for representation; whether it should be an interactive sign or some kind of frame in the shape of a heart or coat of arms, that is up for discussion," Klčová said.