Jan Hus Memorial

There is another monument to Master Jan Hus in Malšovice – it is one of the six statues depicting the medieval reformer in the territory of today’s Hradec Králové. On September 6, 1923, the municipal council appointed the so-called Hus Committee, which was to arrange the placement of the monument. The committee subsequently agreed on a suitable location and its designer. Its members liked the plot of land at Jan Šolc’s villa at 34 Náhon Street the most, so it was then prepared for the monument. The committee approached the sculptor Josef Václav Škoda from Hradec Králové to make designs for the monument with a budget of CZK 9,000, and he agreed to the offer. 
 

The committee most liked the design that depicted the spiritual father of Hussitism in a larger-than-life figure, wearing a long flowing robe and tightly holding a Bible in his hand, pressing it against his body. The inscription on the pedestal reads: “I beseech you also to love one another, not to oppress the good, and to wish the truth to everyone.” The laying of the foundation stone took place on July 8, 1923, when the local beautifying association celebrated its 25th year of operation.
 

The monument to the church reformer made of Hořice sandstone was unveiled in Malšovice on 8 June 1924. The ceremony was opened by the vice-chairman of the Hus Committee, teacher Matěj Tykal, the ceremonial speech was given by Prof. Bohdan Dobiáš, and the Czechoslovak Church was represented by parish priest Stanislav Kordule. After the singing of the chant by the Workers’ Singing Association from Střelnice and the playing of the national anthem, the celebration was closed and all participants left in a procession to the U Zezuláků restaurant.

The local beautifying association was established as the administrative body of the monument, but this patronage was acquired by local gardeners from the Malšovice gardening settlement in the 1960s and 1980s. However, they mostly took care of the floral decoration and only minimally attended to the memorial itself.
 

JFB