In Pardubice, a new statue of aviator Jan Kašpar already stands

Pardubice - A new statue of aviator Jan Kašpar, a local native, now stands on Třída Míru in Pardubice. It is located where he was born in 1883 in the now non-existent Hotel Veselka. The bronze figure holding a propeller will be ceremonially presented to the city in January, Nataša Hradní from the press department of the town hall stated in a press release today. Initially, the statue was to be unveiled in early March next year.

"I have a personal connection to this statue. My father was an aerospace engineer, a military pilot, so I have a connection to flying and to Kašpar," said the creator of the work, František Bálek.

The statue stands in the western part of Třída Míru directly on the sidewalk, looking towards the Green Gate. In front of it is a timeline embedded in the pavement, about six meters long, with significant milestones in the aviator's life.

The city councilors of Pardubice decided this March to commission the statue for approximately two million crowns. The aviator is depicted in slightly larger-than-life size at about two meters, with the propeller extending another half meter above him.

Initially, the city announced an architectural competition in 2013, which was won by a 37-meter high column with a windsock designed by Petr Pinkas, while Bálek's statue was second. However, the installation of the column would be complicated and the cost would rise from about one million to 2.7 million crowns.