Vítězslav Hálek Memorial, Bronze bust memorial in Charles Square, Prague, Czech Republic.
The Vítězslav Hálek Memorial is a stone structure of smooth-cut opuka on a semicircular plan, set in the northern part of Charles Square near the New Town Hall. Its central edicule has a niche with a bronze bust by Bohuslav Schnirch, cast by Franta Anýž, above a stone basin with a lion-mask relief. Two horseshoe-shaped arms with stone benches and sphinx statues holding amphorae flank it.
The memorial dates from 1882, when the Umělecká beseda had it made for the writer Vítězslav Hálek. Prague's city council gave the site in the northern part of Charles Square, near the New Town Hall, free of charge, and a public collection funded the construction. The side inscriptions read Umělecká beseda and Věnuje roku 1881.
The monument was commissioned by the Umělecká beseda artists' association, whose name appears on its side, and the inscription reads "Věnuje roku 1881". A gilded relief with Hálek's name tops the niche, crowned by a bronze lyre with laurel branches.
The memorial sits in Charles Square and remains accessible year-round without any entrance fees or tickets required. It is easy to locate and view from various points around the public square where foot traffic naturally passes nearby.
The side pedestals once held water basins fed by stone sphinxes clutching an amphora in their paws. The inner paving carries an eight-pointed stone star set in a circle, a detail easily missed underfoot. The monument is listed as a Czech cultural monument under register number 40066/1-1204.
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