Ikonografia Štefánikovho pomníka v Bratislave

Iconography of the Monument of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Bratislava

Autor: VRÁBEL Ferdinand

VRÁBEL, Ferdinand: Ikonografia Štefánikovho pomníka v Bratislave.

VRÁBEL, Ferdinanb: Iconography of the Monument of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Bratislava.

Vojenská história, 4, 14, 2010, pp. 123–135.

 The study deals with the iconography of the Monument of Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Bratislava. In the comparison of the writing and three-dimensional sources, the contemporary witnesses, the allegations of the author Bohumil Kafka and the heraldic rules the author comes to conclusion that in case of the one-tail lion on the pylon behind the figure of Štefánika it is a shield- holder , or the protector of the small Czechoslovak state symbol and at the same time a symbol personifying the strength and determination of Czechoslovak legions to fight for freedom and the establishment of their own state. Th is lion, therefore, does not symbolize neither the Czech, nor the Czechoslovak statehood (the later being symbolized by the mere state symbol protected by the shield-holder in the form of a lion and two smaller two-tailed lions on the collar of the Štefánik‘ s shirt under the air suit). Th is lion was the symbol of the Czechoslovak Armed Forces whose military tradition in the 1st Czechoslovakia (1918 – 1938) were intentionally established on the mission of the Czechoslovak voluntary troops- the legions in Italy, France, and especially in Russia (Battle of Zborov, Bachmatch etc..), with the highest number of the legionnaires in action. Gen M. R. Štefánik; in the cooperation with the other establishers – T. G. Masaryk and E. Beneš. ; highly contributed to the establishment , organization and the military-political use of the legions for the sake of the build up of the own common state of Slovaks and Czechs.

Key words: Military History. Slovakia in Czechoslovakia. Personalities. M. R. Štefánik. Monuments.

Ročník: 14 | Číslo: 4/2010 | Stránky: 123—135