Milada Horáková Memorial at Sněmovní, Prague

The Milada Horáková Memorial on Sněmovní Street is a bronze monument shaped like the accused's dock from a Stalinist-era show trial, standing on Pětikostelní Square at the end of Sněmovní Street in Prague's Malá Strana, right next to the building of the Czech Chamber of Deputies. It is a separate work from the far more modest sculpture by Olbram Zoubek in Smíchov — this one, unveiled in 2015, draws its form directly from the courtroom in which Horáková lost her life.

Who was Milada Horáková?

JUDr. Milada Horáková (1901–1950) was a Czech lawyer and politician, a member of the wartime resistance movement, and a deputy in the post-war Czechoslovak parliament. After the communist coup of 1948, she was among those the new regime branded enemies of the state. In 1950 she was put on trial in a fabricated political case — one of the most notorious in the history of communist Czechoslovakia — accused of alleged treason and espionage. Sentenced to death, she was executed on 27 June 1950, the only woman among the victims of the decade's major political show trials.

What does the memorial look like, and what does it depict?

The monument was created by sculptor Josef Faltus, whose design was selected in a competition among proposals from twenty-three artists. The composition depicts a defendant's dock — the courtroom fixture in which Horáková stood during her trial — fitted with a microphone on which a skylark perches, a bird long associated with freedom and free speech. The metal form rests on a stone slab inscribed with words Horáková reportedly spoke before her execution, along with passages from her final letter written in prison, translated into four world languages. The stark, almost industrial shape of the dock contrasts with the delicate figure of the bird, creating tension between the oppression of the system and the resilience of the individual.

Where exactly does the memorial stand?

The monument stands at the end of Sněmovní Street, on Pětikostelní Square in Malá Strana, immediately next to the building of the Chamber of Deputies (Poslanecká sněmovna) — the parliament in which Horáková served as a deputy before her arrest. The location is deliberate: the memorial stands almost in the shadow of the very institution she was once part of, before the regime took away her freedom and her life.

When and how was the memorial created?

The memorial was unveiled on 16 November 2015, in the presence of the project's initiator, physician and publisher Martin Jan Stránský, representatives of the city and the state, and Jana Kánská, Milada Horáková's daughter. Work on the concept and its execution took more than three years, and the monument was funded through a public fundraising campaign.

Why is it worth a visit?

This site combines artistic form with political statement — standing almost beneath the windows of parliament, it is a reminder of how fragile democratic institutions can be and of the price some paid for opposing totalitarian rule. Because the memorial's form directly evokes a courtroom, visitors confront not only the memory of a victim but also the mechanism of repression that destroyed her.

Frequently asked questions

Who created the Milada Horáková Memorial on Sněmovní Street? Czech sculptor Josef Faltus, whose design won a competition among twenty-three artists.

When was the memorial unveiled? On 16 November 2015.

What does the sculpture depict? A defendant's dock from the courtroom of a Stalinist-era show trial, fitted with a microphone on which a skylark perches — a symbol of freedom and free speech.

Where exactly is the memorial located? On Pětikostelní Square, at the end of Sněmovní Street in Prague's Malá Strana, right next to the building of the Czech Chamber of Deputies.

How does this memorial differ from Olbram Zoubek's sculpture in Smíchov? They are two separate monuments to the same person: the Smíchov sculpture (2010) is a quiet, slightly over two-meter-tall bust in a park by an Evangelical church, while the Sněmovní memorial (2015) is a symbolic installation shaped like a defendant's dock, standing next to the parliament building.

What was Milada Horáková convicted of? Alleged treason and espionage in a fabricated political trial in 1950; she was executed on 27 June of that year.