art.wikisort.org - Sculpture

Stalin's Monument (Czech: Stalinův pomník) was a 15.5 m (51 ft) granite statue honoring Joseph Stalin in Prague, Czechoslovakia. It was unveiled on 1 May 1955 after more than 5+1⁄2 years of work, and was the world's largest representation of Stalin. The sculpture was demolished in late 1962.

History

The monument was located on a huge concrete pedestal, which can still be visited in Letná Park. It was the largest group statue in Europe, measuring 15.5 m (51 ft) high and 22 m (72 ft) long. The sculptor was Otakar Švec, who killed himself a few days before the unveiling.[1][2]

The process of de-Stalinization began shortly after the unveiling of the monument.[2] The monument, therefore, became a liability to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.[1][2] As ordered by the Soviet Union, it was taken down with 800 kilograms (1,800 lb) of explosives.[1][2]

Later use of site

In 1990, pirate radio station Radio Stalin operated from a bomb shelter beneath the statue's plinth. The same shelter was also the home of Prague's first rock club in the early 1990s. Since 1991, the marble pedestal has been used as the base of a giant kinetic sculpture of a metronome. In 1996, the pedestal was briefly used as a base for a 35-foot-tall (11 m) statue of Michael Jackson as a promotional stunt for the start of his HIStory World Tour. A billboard promoting Civic Democratic Party leader Václav Klaus was erected on the site during the Czech parliamentary elections of 1998 but was removed soon after due to high winds.

A green plaque below the metronome reads:

Metronome
Letenské sady
The Metronome, the work of sculptor Vratislav Karel Novák, was erected in 1991 atop the massive stone plinth that originally served as the base for the monument to Soviet leader Josef Vissarionovich Stalin. Work began on Prague's Stalin monument towards the end of 1949, and in May 1955, it was finally unveiled. The largest group sculpture in Europe during its existence, the monument had a reinforced-concrete structure faced with 235 granite blocks, weighing 17,000 tonnes and costing 140 million crowns to complete. The gigantic composition, by sculptor Otakar Švec and the architects Jiří and Vlasta [his wife] Štursa, did not tower for long over the medieval centre of Prague: in connection with Soviet criticism of Stalin's "cult of personality," the work was dynamited and removed towards the end of 1962.

The City of Prague has been considering several options for redevelopment of the site for years, including a plan to build an aquarium.[3] The remaining socle is a popular meeting point for skateboarders and other people.[4]

See also

• Stalin Monument (Budapest)
• Socialist realism
• List of tallest statues

References

External links

• Article from Prague local about Stalin monument
• 1990 Bomb shelter housing Stalin Club and pirat radio station, photo by Peter Lind

На других языках

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[de] Stalin-Denkmal (Prag)

Das Stalin-Denkmal (Stalinův pomník) in Prag wurde nach einer 5½-jährigen Bauzeit 1955 eingeweiht und 1962 gesprengt. Es war die weltgrößte Darstellung Josef Stalins.

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- [en] Stalin Monument (Prague)

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[es] Monumento a Stalin (Praga)

El Monumento a Stalin era una enorme estatua de granito en homenaje a Iósif Stalin que se inauguró en 1955, tras más de cinco años y medio de obras en Praga (Checoslovaquia entonces, hoy República Checa). El monumento era la mayor representación de Stalin en todo el mundo y fue destruido en 1962.

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[it] Monumento a Stalin

Il monumento a Stalin è stata una statua alta 15,5 metri in granito, eretta in onore di Iosif Stalin a Praga, nell'allora Cecoslovacchia. Fu inaugurata il 1º maggio 1955 dopo oltre cinque anni e mezzo di lavori e fu la più grande rappresentazione al mondo di Stalin. La scultura venne poi demolita nel 1962.

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[ru] Памятник Сталину (Прага)

Памятник Сталину в Праге («Народ Чехословакии — своему освободителю») — крупнейшая скульптурная группа в Европе. Была посвящена государственному деятелю СССР Иосифу Сталину и располагалась в 1955—1962 годах на Летенской смотровой площадке в районе Голешовице Праги. Торжественное открытие памятника произошло 1 мая 1955 года. Это был самый большой за пределами СССР памятник Сталину (вес монумента 14 000 тонн, длина 22, ширина 12 и высота — 15 метров, состоит из 32 тысяч каменных фрагментов).

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