The memorial to Ferdinand Peroutka in Prague 5 will arise from the design by architect Talaš

Prague – The memorial to journalist and writer Ferdinand Peroutka will arise from the design by architect Radek Talaš. He won the artistic competition announced by Prague 5 with his proposal. This was communicated today by the spokeswoman for the fifth district, Lenka Abessi. The statue is to be located in Portheimka Park in Smíchov. Peroutka lived before his deportation to a Nazi concentration camp in a house on Matoušova Street near the park.

The single-round artistic competition for the design of the memorial was announced last December, with the estimated cost of the work set at two million crowns excluding VAT. The competition was financed by the capital city through its program Art for the City, which supports art in public spaces. The winning proposal was selected by a jury that included, among others, architect Jan Šépka, critic and journalist Karolína Jirkalová, and the deputy mayor of Prague 5, Lukáš Herold, who, according to Abessi, initiated the creation of the memorial together with councilor Viktor Čahoj.

The winning design named Who We Are was praised by the jury, according to the city hall spokeswoman, as a striking solitary piece. The jurors highlighted, among other things, that the proposed memorial refers to the iconic pipe associated with Peroutka through its shape. The statue is to be made with a polished metal surface. The second place in the competition was awarded to the design by architect Ondřej Bělíci. No third prize was awarded.

The representatives of Prague 5 had previously granted Peroutka honorary citizenship, and there is also a commemorative plaque on the house on Matoušova Street where he lived. A street in Malvazinky also bears his name.

Journalist, writer, and playwright Ferdinand Peroutka was born on February 6, 1895, and was among the most prominent journalists of the First Republic. He authored, among other things, the extensive work Building the State, describing the creation and early years of Czechoslovakia. He spent the war in Nazi concentration camps and emigrated after the communist coup in 1948, where he continued his journalistic activities. He died on April 20, 1978, in New York.