John Zizka Memorial, Bronze equestrian statue at Vítkov Hill, Czech Republic
The John Žižka Memorial is a bronze equestrian statue on Vítkov Hill, part of the National Memorial complex. The statue is 9 meters high, 9.6 meters long, 5 meters wide, and weighs 16.5 tons; it consists of 120 bronze parts joined by screws. Žižka, blind in one eye and about 60 years old, holds a mace in his right hand and has a two-handed sword at his left side. The horse is a Noriker stallion with a lowered head, and the saddle and stirrups are medieval.
The idea of a Žižka monument at Vítkov dates to the 1860s, when Karel Hartig promoted it alongside the plan to name the new suburb Žižkov. The foundation stone was laid on 28 June 1920, the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Vítkov, with President Masaryk present. After three competitions without a winner, the commission went directly to Bohumil Kafka in 1932; the statue was installed in July 1950.
The statue shows Žižka with a mace in his right hand and a two-handed sword at his left side, wearing a wire shirt over a sheep's-wool skirt and leather boots. The weapons were modelled on pieces held by the National Museum in Prague. The name Vítkov refers to the hill where the Hussites won in 1420.
The site is reachable by public transport and sits on a hill with good views over the city. Plan for a walk to reach it and come prepared for the weather, as the exposed location can be breezy.
The statue is 9 metres high, 9.6 metres long and 5 metres wide, weighs 16.5 tonnes, and is built from 120 bronze parts joined with screws. Its horse is modelled on Albin Theseus, a ten-year-old Noriker stallion from the Tlumačov stud farm.
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