Monument to Maryčka Magdonova

The Monument to Maryčka Magdonová stands in Staré Hamry, in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, and commemorates the most famous poem by Petr Bezruč from his collection "Silesian Songs" — a haunting story of poverty and injustice suffered by the mountain people of this region around the turn of the 20th century. It's a modest but powerful memorial that draws both admirers of Czech literature and hikers passing through the Beskid valleys.

Where does the monument stand?

The monument is located in Staré Hamry, a mountain village in the valley of the Ostravice River, within the Moravian-Silesian Beskids in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. Its coordinates are 49.472 N, 18.4419 E. The monument stands near a cemetery situated below the site once used to bury suicide victims — a location chosen deliberately, echoing the tragic ending of the story told in the poem.

Who and what does the monument honor?

The monument depicts a scene from "Maryčka Magdonová," one of the best-known poems in Petr Bezruč's collection "Silesian Songs." Its heroine is a poor girl from a mountain village who, driven by her family's extreme poverty, gathers — the poem frames it as stealing — firewood in a forest belonging to a wealthy landowner. Caught by forest wardens, she is brought before a court, and facing shame and her family's hopeless situation, she takes her own life by drowning herself in the Ostravice River. Bezruč's poem became a symbol in Czech culture of the suffering and social injustice endured by Silesian mountain communities, exploited by wealthy landowners and forest estates under Austro-Hungarian rule.

When was the monument built, and by whom?

The monument was unveiled on August 14, 1933, to mark Petr Bezruč's 65th birthday. The initiative came from the local Sokol organization in Staré Hamry, which wanted to honor the poet and keep alive the memory of the fate suffered by the heroine of his most famous poem. The sculpture was created by Augustin Handzel, an academic sculptor based in Ostrava, who drew directly on the scene described in the poem.

Why does this site still matter today?

The Monument to Maryčka Magdonová remains an important site of regional memory, linking literature with the social history of the Beskids and recalling an era when poverty and exploitation were part of daily life for the mountain population. For visitors, it offers a chance to confront, on the ground, a story many know only from Czech literature classes. The monument's restrained, unpretentious form matches the stark, matter-of-fact tone of Bezruč's poem itself.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Maryčka Magdonová? She is a literary character from Petr Bezruč's poem — a poor girl from the Beskid mountains who, due to her family's poverty, gathered firewood in someone else's forest, was put on trial for it, and in despair drowned herself in the Ostravice River.

Who wrote the poem the monument commemorates? The poem "Maryčka Magdonová" was written by Petr Bezruč, one of the most important Czech poets of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, author of the collection "Silesian Songs."

When was the monument in Staré Hamry unveiled? It was unveiled on August 14, 1933, to mark Petr Bezruč's 65th birthday, on the initiative of the local Sokol organization.

Who created the sculpture? The monument was created by Augustin Handzel, an academic sculptor from Ostrava.

Where exactly is the monument located? It stands in Staré Hamry in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids, near a cemetery below the site once used for burying suicide victims — a detail that echoes the ending of the story told in the poem.