Franz Joseph’s Monument
There used to be hundreds of monuments to Franz Joseph across Czechia and Moravia in times of Austria-Hungarian Monarchy, many of them founded to commemorate various jubilees. They did not survive the birth of the independent Czech Republic and became very rare and they are not easily found anymore. An exception, though is a renewed one, can be seen in Hrádek nad Nisou. The monument itself is quite interesting, but its history even more so because it reflects the dramatic changes of the last century.
The giant sandstone block is located in the town’s park in Generál Svoboda street. At the time of its construction a plate was inserted bearing the inscription: ”Memorial Stone – Ceasarian Jubilee Oak Tree – 1848 – 1908”.
The monarchy celebrated 60 years of the reign of Franz Joseph I in 1908 in former Střelecká louka (Shooters’Meadow), in a spot of today’s park. During the celebration, as well as in many other towns and villages, a small oak tree was planted behind the monument, growing up to become a giant tree which outlived all the historical changes.
The First Republic laws ordered all the hated symbols of the monarchy to be removed. However, the stone in the park gained its significance back after 1918. Between 1918 and the end of the Second World War it was dedicated to the father of turners, F. L. Jahn.
After the war, the stone’s history was once again influenced by political changes. On July 5th 1946 a new marble plate was set into the memorial holding the sign of the Czech Sokol Movement and the inscription “To the Memory of our chief Josef Jireš, a principal, patriot and turner who was tortured to death in Auschwitz. Sokol Movement of Hrádek nad Nisou”. Josef Jireš’s work and achievements between the two wars were well acknowledged in Hrádek nad Nisou and neighbouring Chotyně. Shortly after the war the plate dedicated to Josef Jireš was removed, the Sokol Movement fell out of favour and was finally abolished by the communists in 1956. However, the sandstone remained in the park henceforward.
The town of Hrádek nad Nisou pledged to recover at least one of the small monuments each year, starting in 2000. The monument in the park took its turn in 2009, when the original dedication to Franz Joseph I was renewed with the emperor’s portrait made by Ing. Arch. Miloslav Heřmánek. Nevertheless, a small table briefly reminds us of the monument’s full history.
