About this place
Monument of Understanding (Pomník porozumění) is a modest but historically layered memorial standing on náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square) in Jeseník, a spa town in the Czech Republic's Olomouc Region. Its story mirrors the turbulent 20th-century history of this borderland — from a tribute to a German gymnastics pioneer, through a postwar reinterpretation, to today's trilingual symbol of reconciliation between Czechs, Germans and Poles.
Where exactly does the monument stand?
The memorial sits in a small park on the southern side of náměstí Svobody, right in the heart of Jeseník, a town at the foot of the Rychlebské hory (Golden Mountains) in the Jeseník district of the Olomouc Region. It's an easy walk from anywhere in the compact town center, and the square itself is a natural orientation point for anyone exploring Jeseník's historic buildings.
What was the monument originally built for?
The monument dates to 1908, when it was dedicated to Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the German pedagogue and founder of the Turnverein gymnastics movement (Deutscher Turnverband), who was widely honored at the time among the German-speaking population that then made up most of Jeseník and the surrounding Sudetenland. After the Second World War, following the expulsion of the German population from the border regions in 1945, the original dedication lost its meaning, and the monument came to be associated instead with Czech statehood. The turning point came with a reconstruction unveiled on 28 October 2006 — the anniversary of Czechoslovak independence — when the monument was reworked into a symbol of understanding between Czechs, Germans and Poles, timed to coincide with the 125th anniversary of the founding of the Moravian-Silesian Sudeten Mountain Association (Moravskoslezský sudetský horský spolek), established in 1881.
What does the monument look like, and what do the inscriptions say?
The centerpiece is one of the largest glacial erratic boulders in the Jeseník region — a rock deposited here by glacial movement in an earlier geological era. Set into the boulder is a sandstone plaque bearing a trilingual inscription: "POMNÍK POROZUMĚNÍ" in Czech, "DENKMAL DER VERSTÄNDIGUNG" in German, and "POMNÍK POROZUMIENIA" in Polish, alongside the dates 1908, 1945 and 28 October 2006, marking the successive chapters of the monument's history.
What condition is the monument in today?
The memorial is currently undergoing restoration as part of a wider municipal program covering more than thirty smaller heritage sites in Jeseník, including monuments and historic springs. Conservation work has already made the inscription on the sandstone plaque legible again after years of weathering. Further work is planned, including repairing cracks in the boulder and reinforcing and color-matching the plaque, carried out with respect for the monument's original structure and appearance.
Frequently asked questions
What did the monument in Jeseník originally commemorate? From 1908 it honored Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, the German founder of the Turnverein gymnastics movement.
When did it become a monument of understanding? On 28 October 2006, the anniversary of Czechoslovak independence, when it was reworked into a trilingual symbol of reconciliation between Czechs, Germans and Poles.
What is the monument made of? One of the largest glacial erratic boulders in the Jeseník region, fitted with a sandstone plaque bearing a trilingual inscription.
Where in Jeseník can visitors find it? In a small park on the southern side of náměstí Svobody, in the center of town.
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