On the morning of 23 December 2014, the Ministry of Culture for the Czech Republic, declared that it had over-ruled the decision, of 9 October 2014, by Prague 1 Heritage Department ordering the removal of the Winged Lion monument from Klárov, in Prague 1 District, to a different, unspecified location elsewhere in Prague.
The Ministry of Culture’s decision came after the Národní památkový ústav (NPÚ) – National Heritage Institute – has decided that the memorial, constructed without the Heritage Departments consent, had no detrimental impact on Klárov and did not devalue Prague’s heritage by being at that location.
“The NPÚ has decided that the memorial does not harm the environment of the urban conservation area,” said Patrik Košický, from the Culture Ministry, “As a result, the Culture Ministry has over-ruled the decision issued by the Prague City Hall Heritage Department.”
Oldřich Lomecký, a staunch supporter of the monument and Mayor of Prague 1 District who own the memorial, thanked the Ministry of Culture for their decision in this dispute. He said “the Ministry of Cultures decision cannot be appealed and their intervention had avoided international disgrace” and that “from the beginning, the Heritage Department were delaying the approval process and after the memorial was installed, they did their most to have it removed from Klárov.”
Victory for the remembrance of the nation’s patriotic RAF men and women and common sense has finally prevailed!
Congratulations to the Winged Lion Project Team and Best Communications for achieving this long overdue memorial. It is the only memorial in the world that remembers all the Czechoslovak men and women who served in the RAF during WW2.
A big thank you to all the descendants, relatives of those Czechoslovaks RAF and supporters of this website – not just from the Czech Republic but from around the world – who rallied in their support in the campaign to keep the Winged Lion at its rightful place at Klárov.
https://fcafa.wordpress.com/2015/01/01/christmas-cheer-for-the-winged-lion-memorial/
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RAF memorial at Klárov lit November 17, 2014 - without the participation of the public media!
Jan Šinágl, 1.1.2015
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