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Liberation Memorial

In 1945 the sculptor Josef Kadlec, a native of Borová u Poličky, arrived in Svitavy and nearly immediately received a commission to create a memorial to commemorate the liberation of Svitavy.

Kadlec worked on the sculpture for three years; when it was finished the work was to have been installed on náměstí Mučedníků (Martyrs’ Square). The cornerstone of the memorial had been set there on 28 October 1945, but it became apparent that this site was in fact unsuitable. Instead, the work was installed in a small ornamental park on today’s T. G. Masaryk Street and ceremoniously unveiled on 6 June 1948. In the 1950s the entire area was redeveloped following the renovation of small family homes in the middle section of the street and the Liberation Memorial was moved a little ways down the road. It now stands in front of the beautiful former Sigmund Villa from 1871.