17 November, the day that brought a better future to the people of Slovakia, will have its own memorial

Two strong messages – the footprints of the protesting crowd and the inscription November 1989 – will be depicted on the monument to the Velvet Revolution, which received a building permit at the end of September and should be unveiled to the public by the city of Bratislava and the Slovenská sporiteľňa Foundation on 17 November, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.

Said Bratislava mayor Matúš Vallo:

“The monument should remind us not only of the non-violent civil resistance that managed to break the force of the arrogance of power but should also underline the power of truth, civic courage and democratic values, which we must protect still today. Freedom is not a given. The monument will stand on the exact spot that once symbolised the power of the regime, but the determination of common people was able to reverse it.”

According to Barbara Henterová, administrator of the Slovenská sporiteľňa Foundation, which co-financed the construction of the monument, this is a very important day in our history, as it brought prosperity to Slovakia and our people and a vision of a better future for all of us:

“Slovenská sporiteľňa, or rather its mother Erste, was also built on the bold idea of bringing a better future for all. That was now 200 years ago, which is why we welcomed the opportunity to take part in the construction of the monument."

An important gesture of the victory of democracy over totalitarianism

Said Radoslav Ragač, director of the Centre for Research on the Period of Non-Freedom at the Institute of National Memory:

“The construction on Freedom Square in Bratislava has been planned for a long time. We see this civic initiative, sponsored by the City Council of the capital of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava, as positive, because the Velvet Revolution is one of the defining moments of our history and, unfortunately, it is commemorated only rarely in the public space."

Bratislava has thus far lacked a dignified monument commemorating the values of the victory of democracy over totalitarianism. This will soon change.

The new Monument to the Democratic Revolution of 1989 has obtained a building permit and will stand on Freedom square, which was one of the most important places for public gatherings in November 1989. Although the iconic site of the revolution in Bratislava is mainly SNP Square, Freedom square (then called Gottwaldovo square) is also strongly linked with the Velvet Revolution, especially with the student movement.

“The installation of the monument to the revolution on this square will also be a symbolic gesture of the victory of democracy over totalitarian power. Since a sculpture of Klement Gottwald was originally installed on this square, it was later rendered ironic with inscriptions, painted over, covered up and finally physically removed in 1990”, added historian Radoslav Ragač.

Footprints of people leading to freedom

The monument, which is an artistic installation, will be built as a monumental pedestal. It will be placed into a replica of the original “anti-crowd” barrier of a raised flowerbed, which was intended to prevent people from moving freely in front of today’s government office. The casts of the soles of shoes are intended to be an authentic reminder of the protest that left such footprints on all the raised flowerbeds of Gottwaldovo square, or today’s Freedom square.

The winning design for the monument came from a public competition, and its authors are Braňo Lackovič, Emanuel Zatlukaj and Jakub Trajter. The expert jury selected their design for its strong symbolic message, modern processing and dignified integration into the area of Freedom square. Near the monument will be a board with a QR code, which will redirect people to a specially prepared website. On the website, they’ll find basic information about the monument and interesting stories related to the past regime and subsequently to this important date. The entire website will also be available in English.

Other artistic works placed in the public spaces of Bratislava are published with detailed information on the website Umenie mesta Bratislavy ↗︎.

The handing over of the monument to the public is planned for the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.