CEREMONY UNVEILING... 8/
finally, we come to the point of unveiling!
despite this installment being the core of the whole series, it's certainly not the last one.
a few more minor annotations gonna follow till the poll's deadline (at the end of May).
including an adventurous tale (vividly recalled while watching one particular scene of this film) of drug abuse, manhunt, paranoia & happy end (that will once become part of my memoirs).
anyway, back to the unveiling!
so, this film supposedly (based on the title & intertitles) depicts two unveiling ceremonies (of the two memorials):
A/ Memorial of the Czech Brethren on the Pink Meadow
B/ J. A. Komenský Memorial in the Town of Litomyšl
BUT... the film seems to be incomplete!
after the extensive intro and depictions of the unveiling of the memorial on the pink meadow, it ends abruptly, and the unveiling of the J.A.K. Memorial in Litomyšl is not shown at all (despite being advertised by the title and intertitles).
however, don't feel disappointed!
in this installment, both memorials gonna be featured.
preliminary (linguistic) side note:
instead of the "pink meadow", more accurate is the phrase the "rose meadow".
růže = "rose"
růžový = "pink" or "(made) of roses"
but i am gonna use the (mildly misleading) phrase "pink meadow" as well cuz it gives the narrative a fairy-tale vibe — something that can never hurt in the art of story-telling.
preliminary (fractographic) side note:
the author of both memorials is an architect Alois Metelák (1897-1980) →
https://lam.litomysl.cz/en/architect/314-alois-metelak
his surname is wrongly spelled in the Europeana (and other) synopses as "Metelík" ("í" is wrong, "á" is right).
he was tutored by Jože Plečnik →
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo%C5%BEe_Ple%C4%8Dnik
A/
Monument to the Czech Brethren at Růžový palouček (LAM link offers plenty of vintage pics!)
→
https://lam.litomysl.cz/en/object/v-05- ... y-paloucek
One of the earliest records of the use of the term Růžový palouček – Rose Meadow – (henceforth referred to as RP) is considered to have been the 1378 deed of foundation of the Carthusian Monastery Rubus beatae Mariae in nearby Tržek , as this term could be translated as the Rose Meadow of the Virgin Mary. RP became widely known in 1834 thanks to the writer V. J. Picek, whose article Růžový Palouček mentions an area densely overgrown with roses, hence Růžový palouček (Rose Meadow), and links it with the legend according to which Russian soldiers camped and prayed here during their campaign against Napoleon. In 1836, the pastor Josef Kačer tells J. E. Purkyně about how elders from a nearby village recount that under the reign of Ferdinand “II or III” Czechs met at RP to hold a final prayer meeting, that during the preceding war against Napoleon Russian soldiers prayed here, and that anyone who attempted to plough the meadow would have bad luck. In 1861, Kačer publicized the information that the Cossacks new RP well and that “it is renowned in the history of the Czech Brethren. The scattered settlements of our exiles (…) still tell of this sacred place of wonder today.” The pastor's texts as well as the legends concerning a buried gold chalice and seven kings, who would meet after a terrible battle to make peace forever, are central to a collection of legends and tidings about RP which were merely altered and developed by further additions to them (see Legends of Old Bohemia by Jirásek). In 2011, the historian Milan Skřivánek wrote: “RP is a symbol which was, to a certain extent, created intentionally and artificially.” So far, “nobody has presented positive or at least slightly trustworthy evidence that Czech Brethren actually bade farewell to each other at RP, nor do the earliest records of RP mention such an event. The marked anti-Catholic tone of the newly created symbol is evident from the very first instance that RP was linked to the traditions of the Czech Brethren. “
Ever since the second half of the 19th century, RP has been a destination for trips and a place for public meetings. In 1865, the Society of singers Vlastimil laid a commemorative stone with a lyre, which can still be seen today. From 1870 to 1909, a cross was erected here to commemorate the victims of a fire at a building for drying hemp in nearby Újezdec. During the 1890s, there was notion that land with a few trees in the open countryside could be acquired for the public and a monument could be built on it. The Society for the acquisition of “Růžový Palouček” for the public near Oujezdec, based in Litomyšl was set up. The land was purchased in 1906, with the society having right of disposition, and the owner being the District Council. In the same year, a road was built to RP and several years of negotiation commenced, initially concerning its design (among others, the sculptor Quido Kocian promised cooperation) and later, concerning the acquisition of a monument to Master Jan Hus. However, all plans were thwarted by the First World War.
In 1920, the architect Alois Metelák created a design for a monument to A Komenský at RP. However, those responsible decided that a work of art of such high artistic value in such a secluded setting would be exposed to all possible “harmful influences”, and so it was given to Litomyšl. Therefore, Metelák, at that time teaching wood and metal working at the District Technical College in Litomyšl, along with that school's headmaster, the constructor Karel Preis and several “idea” consultants, created three designs for another artwork – a Monument to the Czech Brethren. The ceremonial unveiling of both artifacts (the third, metal version was chosen for RP) created by the pupils of the abovementioned school from copper imported by the Legions from Russia, was on the 19th of June 1921. In the spring of 1924, work commenced on landscaping a park around the monument, and was carried according to a design by the winner of a public design competition the Prague landscape architect J. A. Kulišan. The premises were fenced off and, after several years, an entrance gate created by the pupils of the above-mentioned technical college was installed.
The monument itself is located inside a chased metal cage, “whose artistic appearance has been endorsed by the artist-saint Master Plečník” (according to members of the society in period). It is composed of metal slabs clad with copper sheets featuring relief work, and is topped with a chalice-shaped capital bearing a gilded globe with figures of Czech Brethren wandering the world. The capital is an allegorical representation of their activity (preachers, teachers) and sacrifice (exile), and the prism-shaped column symbolizes their virtue and belief (e.g. the bird and nest endangered by snakes represents the unity of the brethren surrounded by enemies). The names of the foremost brethren and exiles from the Litomyšl region can be also found on the monument, as can a dedication to those who erected the monument. Even though two plaques with a text by Alois Jirásek, “Nation, do not succumb, do not die! The governance of your affairs will return to you” were removed during the Protectorate, a period which the monument itself survived. There is also a commemorative inscription on the metal cage. The monument reflects the influence of the designer's mentor, Josip Plečnik, especially as regards the application of the impressive combination of copper and gold, a typical feature of Plečnik's design projects for adaptations to Prague Castle.
tl;dr of the above & a few additions/elaborations...
local version of the dilettante encyclopedia mentions at least two other places called "pink meadow" (or "rose meadow") that are supposedly the places of the last farewell of the Czech Brethren to their homeland (before their exile).
so, there might have been some specific places where the Czech Brethren ceremonially ate the blood and flesh of the messiah and shed tears (that were turning into wild roses) before leaving home forever (thus escaping religious bigotry) but these places and the places called "rose meadow" might not be identical.
the particular "rose meadow" near the city of Litomyšl was popularized by the writer of the historical novels Alois Jirásek and thus became a place of "historical significance".
wild roses of the pink meadow (growing of the tears of the poor exiled) can't vanish.
whoever tried to do so was afflicted by the ill-fortune.
and the wild roses of the pink meadow are non-transferable.
whoever tried to adorn with these wild roses his/her own private garden failed to do so, because the roses elsewhere withered.
(according to the film's intertitle) the inscription on the memorial says:
Behold, the place sanctified by the sorrows of the ancestors!
From their tears, the roses bloomed —
a monument of strong faith, faithful love,
in the horrors of exile bestowing the blessing:
Live, nation, do not die!
The rule of thy cause shall return unto thee,
O, Czech people!
on June 19, 1921, crowds had been coming to the pink meadow since the morning...
at the unveiling ceremony participated the visitors from Poland, Ukraine, USA (the offspring of the exiled)...
VIP guests (including the representatives of the government) arrived on carriages driven by horses...
the main speaker at the ceremony, Alois Jirásek, was addressing the crowd of (allegedly) approximately 70.000 ppl.
(pretty impressive considering that the population of these days Litomyšl is ca. 10.000-11.000 and in 1921 it might have been half???)
then the film abruptly ends and thus we don't see the following...
B/
Jan Amos Komenský memorial (also plenty of cool vintage pics behind the link!)
→
https://lam.litomysl.cz/en/object/02-vp ... y-memorial
Right up to the beginning of the 20th century, the buildings in the area of today's Komenský Square were low rural-style houses, and also included the popular pub U Zemanů. The decision to transform the area into a public, park-style space was taken in connection with the urban plan to create a new town suburb in the area of the so-called Český or Dolní suburb. The first in line was the Smetana House building (02-402), followed by the Girls' School (02-22). It was soon clear that it was an unfortunate decision as the new buildings, due to their character and monumental size contrasted unfavourably with the historical centre of the town.
Therefore, the area remained unfinished. The establishing of the Czechoslovak state was an opportunity for the partial regeneration of the area, when the initiative to erect a monument (originally designed for the well-known Růžový palouček) to Jan Amos Komenský arose. The leading figure of the initiative was Prof. Bedřich Dudycha of the District College in Litomyšl. The design for the monument was drawn up by his colleague, the architect and glass artist Alois Metelák, between 1920 and 1921.
Metelák created an excellent non-figurative work of art in the shape of a globe of the Earth, representing Orbis Terrarum. Its surface is covered with diamond-shaped copper sections with chased symbols of Czech statehood and moments in the life and work of Komenský, including titles of his literary works. The sphere is on a granite pyramidal base, also decorated with chased copper plates with citations from Kšaftu umírající matky Jednoty bratrské. The construction design of the monument was by Karel Preis, headmaster of the District College in Litomyšl, whose pupils carried out the construction work.
The ceremonial unveiling of the monument took place on the 19th of June, 1921 – the same day the unveiling of the Memorial to the Czech Brethren at Růžový Palouček, another of Metelák's works of art, took place.
In 1943, the monument had to be dismantled due to the Protectorate's decree that all noble metals be recycled. Luckily, the components were not melted down but hidden. Only the base construction remained and, in 1950, was substituted with a monument to the Czechoslovak Communist Party. This comprised a granite block with a metal five-pointed star and emblazoned with the letters KSČ. The Komenský monument was returned in 1967 after its complete restoration.
