Transport of the monolith from Mrákotín to Prague Castle
The Obelisk at Prague Castle, also known as the Mrákotín Monolith, is a tall, slender stone spire with a comical tip that stands in the third courtyard of the Castle near the Old Provost's Office.
It was unveiled on 28 October 1928 on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia.
Its creation was accompanied by a series of dramatic events. The monument was carved from a single piece of granite in a quarry near Mrákotín in the Telč region, and the entire project was financed by President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk from his own funds. The first attempt to produce the monolith ended in failure - the stone, almost 19 metres long and weighing 120 tonnes, broke during transportation. The shorter part was acquired by the legionaries in Telč, while the larger part of the broken block was later used in Prague as material for the monument to the Czechoslovak legionaries, which is located under the Emmaus Monastery.
The second broken block proved to be unsuitable due to a number of defects, so a third stone had to be cut out. It was transported from the quarry to the road near Mrákotín on 8 September 1925 and then arrived in Telč on 10 November. From there it continued to Prague, where it arrived on 9 December 1925. The stonemasons spent more than two years on the journey from the Dejvice railway station to the Castle, which took 22 days, and the subsequent processing directly in the courtyard of the Castle.
This fascinating story definitely deserves a documentary. There is a wealth of period photographic documentation and film footage that captures not only the erection of the obelisk itself, but also the entire arduous journey from the quarry to the final unveiling of the monument.
Location: the Mrákotín Telč route
Copyright: due to the time of the event, all films and photographs will be copyright-free
Sources: photo documentation by the Mrákotín Museum and the Prague Castle Administration
Film His Majesty the Monolith
