The equestrian statue of Masaryk will be unveiled in Lány on March 6

Lány (Kladensko) - The equestrian statue of the first Czechoslovak president, which is to stand in front of the T. G. Masaryk Museum in Lány, will be ceremoniously unveiled on March 6. Currently, a public fundraising campaign is still ongoing to acquire the statue, with about 290,000 crowns left to raise. František Povolný, the director of the T. G. Masaryk Museum, told ČTK this.
    The artist Petr Novák from Jaroměř in Náchod is currently working on the statue, which is slightly larger than life, with costs amounting to over 2.3 million crowns. The names of contributors will be listed on the statue's pedestal and all documents related to the creation of the work will be stored inside it. The statue is to be unveiled on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of Masaryk's birth.
    The largest contribution to the public fundraising campaign so far has come from the Central Bohemian Region, which donated two million crowns. One of the last contributors is the town of Rakovník. The councilors decided this week that the town will support the statue’s production with a sum of 5,000 crowns. Mayor Zdeněk Nejdl (ODS) reminded that the T. G. Masaryk Museum is located in Rakovník, there is a memorial to the first Czechoslovak president, and his name is also in the name of the Rakovník hospital. "We know that Masaryk visited Rakovník several times," added the mayor. The establishment of the statue has also been supported by other municipalities, such as Stochov or the village of Lány itself.
    The idea to unveil the statue of the first Czechoslovak president in Lány has been around for years. Several attempts by locals to pay tribute to the head of state in this way have ended in failure.
    Masaryk was the first president of Czechoslovakia from 1918 to 1935, and he was involved in its creation along with his successor Edvard Beneš and Slovak Milan Rastislav Štefánik. He held the office of head of state longer than any other president who led Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.
    Masaryk died at the Lány castle on September 14, 1937, at the age of 87. This was nearly two years after he abdicated the presidential office for health reasons. The Lány cemetery is also the final resting place of his wife Charlotte, son Jan, and daughter Alice.