The Palach Memorial will open in August, construction work is currently ongoing

Všetaty - The Jan Palach Memorial in Všetaty near Mělník will be completed this August, and construction work is currently ongoing. The exhibition is being created in Palach's childhood home, and its opening is scheduled for August 21, spokesperson for the National Museum Kristina Kvapilová announced today in response to a query from ČTK. The National Museum is the custodian of the memorial. Fifty years will pass since Palach's death on January 16.

"In August 2018, the contractor began construction activities. As in any construction site, demolition work is underway, and now we are working on the rough construction, which we will complete at the turn of spring and summer," Kvapilová stated. Afterwards, there will be surface refinements, completion of interiors, and installation of the exhibition.

The memorial was supposed to be completed earlier. The state purchased the house in 2015, followed by the announcement of an architectural competition, the development of the project, and the announcement of a tender. However, companies repeatedly did not apply to it, which delayed the start of work.

Student Jan Palach set himself on fire in protest against how quickly people resigned to any resistance against the occupation of the country by the Warsaw Pact troops. In Prague, Palach's act is commemorated by a memorial plaque in the pavement of Wenceslas Square, another is on the wall of the Faculty of Philosophy on Palach Square, and there is also his grave at Olšany.