Visited:22. 6. 2021
History:This monument was created as a memorial to Emperor Franz Joseph I. It was created by an unknown artist sometime during the second half of the 19th century and the top of the monument was decorated with a sculpture. After the establishment of the First Republic, monuments of this type were gradually destroyed. It is only fortunate that this monument survived and was converted into a monument commemorating the victims of World War I. After the removal of the German population, this monument ceased to be maintained and gradually fell into disrepair. Sometime around this time or perhaps during the first two decades of the 21st century, this monument was modified to commemorate Jan Heřmánek and Václav Kocián. But who were these two men? Jan Heřmánek, born in 1895, served as a legionnaire during the war and was awarded the Czechoslovak War Cross in 1918. After the war he began serving as a gendarme at Všetaty station and was sent to this town in 1938 as reinforcements during the Henlein riots. Jan Heřmánek together with Private Antonín Laburda chased a suspected cyclist at 1 a.m. on 15 September 1938. They attempted to detain the cyclist, but the cyclist immediately opened fire. Thus Jan Heřmánek was killed by two shots in the chest, Antonín Laburda was seriously wounded and Otto Pešek, an assistant from the local police station, was also wounded by gunfire. The unknown shooter subsequently fled across the border, and it could never be investigated who was actually involved. However, suspicion fell on Henlien's Albino Schaarschmied. As for Václav Kocian, he was born on 24 July 1909 and served as a corporal in the Financial Guard before the war. When the Prague Uprising took place in the spring of 1945, he took an active part in it and was shot on the barricades on the night of 7-8 May 1945. Thus, at present, this monument commemorates these two men and their stories.
Source:https://www.sebestian.cz/obec/zajimavosti-o-obci/pamatky/
Source:https://www.codyprint.cz/padli/ces/ces08.html
Impressions:An interesting subtly decorated monument that replaced several reminders of events.
