The Memorial of Journeys for Freedom at Cínovec in the Ore Mountains will take the form of a stele

Cínovec – The Memorial of Journeys to Freedom will take the form of a stele. The design was published by the association that is preparing its location near the border in the Ore Mountains at Cínovec. It will be visible from the statue of the border guard with a dog, intended to be its counterpoint. Installation is planned for the summer of 2024. Vladimír Šavel from the Association for the Construction of the Memorial of Journeys to Freedom told ČTK this.

The author of the memorial is academic sculptor Petr Císařovský, and architect Jiří Hůrka is responsible for its placement in the landscape and the design of the surroundings. The work will be made of corten, which is a steel that withstands harsh weather conditions and corrosion. Goethe's quote will be displayed in Czech, German, and English on its sides. Near the memorial, there will be a QR code that will direct all passersby to the association's website, where they can learn more about the idea of the memorial and the reasons for its creation.

The preliminary budget is 350,000 crowns. In the fundraising campaign that the association launched at the end of November 2021, they have so far managed to raise about 120,000 crowns. "So we still have to work quite hard, but we believe that now, when we can show all contributors the concrete form of the memorial, it will go better," said Anna Šavelová. Interested parties can find a sketch of the artwork on the association's Facebook profile. The memorial will be on an area of approximately 80 m², and the land is owned by the Šavel couple.

According to the Šavels, the initial idea for the memorial arose from their frustration that even more than 30 years after the fall of communism, there are still those who recall with love, pride, and a tear of nostalgia in their eye the times when the country's borders were guarded by the Border Guard. "About the time when people who were not considered 'chosen' by the communist regime were not allowed to cross these borders and became prisoners in their own country. Frustration over the fact that the Association of the Czech Borderlands, an organization under the scrutiny of BIS (Security Information Service), is building a monument to 'heroes' from its ranks," states the association on its website.

The controversial statue of the border guard has stood on private land in Cínovec since September 2021.

In January, the Šavels will begin obtaining the necessary permits for construction from the authorities and will be collecting the remaining funds for its realization.