Plačící matka

Plačící matka ("The Weeping Mother") is a stone World War I memorial standing in the town park of Šlapanice, in the Brno-venkov district of Moravia. The name refers directly to the figure depicted on the pedestal — a grieving woman mourning a husband and son who never returned from the front. For over a century, the monument has reminded the town's residents of the local men who died in the Great War.

Who created the memorial and when?

The memorial was erected in 1924, six years after the end of World War I. It was created by academic sculptor Josef Kubíček, who gave the work the title "Plačící matka" — a title that has since become the monument's proper name. The memorial is listed as a protected cultural monument (kulturní památka) of the Czech Republic, confirming its historical and artistic significance.

What does the sculpture depict?

At the center of the composition stands the figure of a woman set within a square stone enclosure. The sculpture portrays a mother searching for the grave of her husband and son — her posture and gesture convey grief and helplessness in the face of loss, without the militaristic symbolism common to many war memorials of the era. The sides of the pedestal and its rear wall carry plaques engraved with the names of the fallen, making the memorial both a work of art and a historical record of specific residents of the town.

Who is commemorated on the memorial?

A total of 84 names of men from Šlapanice are engraved on the monument. The breakdown of losses is documented in detail: thirty men died directly at the front, eleven were officially declared dead without established circumstances, eight were listed as missing, another eight died at home from wounds sustained during the war, and twenty-seven died abroad. This distribution illustrates how varied and often uncertain the fates of World War I soldiers could be — not every fallen man had a known grave or even a confirmed date of death.

What is the story behind one of the names?

The most remarkable episode in the memorial's history concerns one of the men listed as missing. The name of soldier František Fiala, originally inscribed among the missing, was later removed from the monument — Fiala had in fact survived the war, and after forty-two years spent in the Soviet Union, he returned to his home country together with his wife and son. This rare episode shows that some of the "fallen" soldiers had actually survived, with their fate becoming known to their families only decades after the war ended.

Where exactly is the memorial located?

The memorial stands in the town park of Šlapanice, a town in the Brno-venkov district just outside Brno. Its geographic coordinates are 49.1698367, 16.7241586. The park is open to the public, and the memorial is one of the key historical stops on a walk through the town center.

Frequently asked questions

What does the name "Plačící matka" mean? It translates literally as "The Weeping Mother" — the title given to the sculpture by its creator, Josef Kubíček, referring to the grieving female figure depicted on the monument.

How many names appear on the memorial? The pedestal bears 84 names of men from Šlapanice who were killed, went missing, or died as a result of World War I.

Can visitors freely visit the memorial? Yes, it stands in a publicly accessible town park in the center of Šlapanice and can be visited without any restrictions.

Why was one of the names removed from the memorial? Soldier František Fiala, originally listed as missing, returned alive to Šlapanice after 42 years in the Soviet Union, together with his wife and son, so his name was removed from the list of the fallen.