Focus on this artwork and explore the Establishment of the monument.
In 1918 an independent Czechoslovak state was declared. The state consistently supported activities aimed at maintaining and developing the tradition of foreign legions. The Resistance Monument was established within the Ministry of National Defence in May 1919 as an institution whose role it was to collect written and material memorabilia relating to the resistance. In 1920 the Monument became a separate military institute, with colonel Rudolf Medek as commander. The objective of the Resistance Monument as an institution was to build a structure which would inspire celebration and reverence as well as historical research activities, such as including an archive, library and museum. At that time the Resistance Monument was already cooperating with the Association for the Construction of Žižka's Monument in Žižkov. The two institutions merged in 1926, establishing the Union for the Construction of the Liberation Monument and the Monument to Jan Žižka of Trocnov.
Two art contests were held for the design, the more significant being the second one in 1925, which assumed separate buildings for the Monument. The first building, located on Vítkov hill, was to be a necropolis for prominent representatives of the First Resistance, and the second building at the foot of the hill, now used by the Institute of Military History, was to house the administration and museum. The architect Jan Zazvorka won first prize in the contest.
The construction of the museum at the foot of the hill was launched in 1927 and completed two years later. The construction of the National Liberation Monument commenced in 1928 when the corner stone was laid on the top of Vítkov Hill in the presence of President T. G. Masaryk to mark the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia. The shell was completed in 1933 and interior works continued, involving many leading artists.
Žižkov Jan Žižka Rudolf Medek memorabilia Czech T. G. Masaryk Jan Zazvorka necropolis Vítkov Hill Czechoslovakia Czechoslovak