After twenty years, the underground of the former Stalin monument will be opened

Prague - After twenty years, people will have the opportunity to visit the underground of the former Stalin monument in Prague's Letná on Thursday. During guided tours, they will learn from a historian about the creation of the monument, nicknamed the meat queue, as well as the mysterious circumstances surrounding its destruction. In the spacious areas beneath the metronome, they will have the chance to see fragments of the former monumental communist building, said Martin Kotas from the non-profit organization Opona during today’s tour.
    The twenty-two meter long granite monument embedded in the Letná slope was created in honor of Soviet leader Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. At its time, it became the largest, most expensive, and most bizarre sculpture in Europe. It was unveiled with great pomp on May 1, 1955. According to architectural historian Zdeněk Lukeš, the extensive underground that supported the enormous monument was originally intended to serve as a monumental hall or communist mausoleum. However, the former regime never realized the idea.
    The monument stood for only seven years. In November 1962, it had to disappear due to changes in circumstances and Soviet leadership. It was demolished and destroyed. "There are several theories about where the former regime stored hundreds of tons of material from the sculpture. In my opinion, they were buried down into the underground spaces," said Lukeš during today’s tour to reporters. Experts examined the rubble in the 90s, but found nothing interesting in it. "You won't find a nose or a button from the statues here," the historian stated. The entire underground was also surveyed.
    The spaces have not found any use to date. "As a kid, I remember there being a potato storage," Lukeš said. Shortly after the Velvet Revolution, the extensive underground, supported by a system of columns, served as a club where Radio 1 broadcasted from. Since then, several ideas about how to utilize the place have emerged. According to Lukeš, the best option would be to build a museum of totalitarianism. There was talk of creating a café or an oceanarium. "But everything has remained at the stage of contemplation," Lukeš added.
    The underground tours are organized by Opona on the occasion of two anniversaries that the Czech Republic is commemorating this year. These are the tenth anniversary of entering the EU and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the fall of totalitarianism, Kotas said on behalf of the organizers. The event will include two thematic exhibitions - Totalitarianism Calendar and 10 Years of the Czech Republic in the European Union.