The Radecký monument adorned Malostranské square for over 60 years

Prague - The statue of the Austrian Marshal Jan Josef Václav Count Radecký of Radče adorned Prague's Malostranské Square for more than 60 years, but after the dissolution of the monarchy, the reminder of the loyal servant of the Habsburgs began to be a nuisance. Shortly after October 28, 1918, Prague firefighters draped the bronze statue, and on May 16, 1919, its dismantling began. For some time, however, the tall granite pedestal remained in place, which did not disappear until 1921.

The unveiling of the statue, depicting Radecký being carried on a shield by his loyal soldiers, was an extraordinarily festive occasion. The work of sculptors Christian Ruben and Josef and Emanuel Max, supposedly cast from pieces captured from the enemy, was unveiled in November 1858 - ten months after the marshal's death - by Emperor Franz Joseph I himself. The statue stood where today's tram line runs, with Radecký holding a flag and looking from what is now the seat of the Chamber of Deputies towards Mostecká Street.

Less than ten years after Radecký disappeared from the lower part of Malostranské Square, a statue of the French Bohemist Ernest Denis was unveiled here in October 1928 - just a few meters away. However, it only remained in place for 12 years before the man symbolizing the birth of Czechoslovakia had to disappear during the German occupation. Denis's statue faced a much worse fate than Radecký's, which is still on display in the Lapidary of the National Museum at Výstaviště. The bronze scholar sitting in a chaise lounge was cut up, and the metal went to scrap.

While the French Bohemist saw a return to Malostranské Square - albeit in a more modest form - in 2003, when Denis's bust and memorial plaque were unveiled, the possibility of re-erecting the Radecký statue is still being discussed. The Radecký Prague Association has long proposed placing a copy of the sculpture, created based on the original, in the square. Last spring, Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09), the Deputy Mayor of Prague, said that he wanted to advocate for the return of the statue of Marshal Radecký during its planned reconstruction. However, that has not yet begun.