It has been 100 years since May 4, since the death of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, one of the greatest Slovaks in history.

Even when the architect Dušan Jurkovič learned about the deaths of Štefánik and the Italian pilots, it occurred to him that Bradlo could become their final resting place. The first outlines of today's mound began to be drawn during their funeral.

However, the construction of the mound itself was lengthy - the reason was the finances, which were finally collected thanks to the public. In total, it was almost 3 million crowns. "The mound was built admirably fast - in 280 working days," said Matúš Valihora from the DS Jurkovič Museum. It was worked on several places at the same time and it also helped that the mound is lined with Spiš travertine only from the outside. The construction was completed on September 20, 1928, and includes four pylons symbolizing four victims and four hearths in the corners of the upper terrace. At the same time, Jurkovič determined that fires would be lit always on the eve of Štefánik's death to warn people of the upcoming anniversary.

Broken by an excavator, hidden in a well

The lobby of the Trenčín County Office has been beautified since May 6 by busts of several important natives from our region. One of them is Štefánik's portrait. However, it is not the only one within Trenčín - you will find another, much older bust in the city park. She has a unique story.

As part of the celebrations of the 20th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia, an eight-meter-high monument was unveiled in Trenčín - the bronze statue of Štefánik was complemented by a sculpture of legionnaires and a Slovak family. However, after the regime change, the work became a thorn in the side of Communist Party officials, who had it demolished in April 1953. The statue was melted down and the head was saved thanks to the courage of two brothers. One of them hid the bust at home, and although the lost piece caused a great commotion, it remained well hidden from public view - first in a well and later under a tree in the garden. The head did not return to Trenčín until 1990, and a copy can be found in the park there today.

The biggest Slovak?

Is Štefánik the biggest Slovak? The answer was given to us by the published results of a nationwide survey announced by public television. A native of Košarísk, out of a dozen personalities, among whom the public chose the one that still means the most to Slovakia, he placed first. In addition to the victory in this poll, Štefánik has one more first account - he became the winner of the Slovak journalists' vote.

As a poor student, he managed to win his dreams. As a scientist, he was extremely persistent and tenacious. As a statesman, he gained worldwide recognition for himself and his nation - these are just some of the reasons why Štefánik holds the first place in the national poll.

The largest Slovak is a licensed BBC format. In the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill won the "The Great Britons" poll in 2002. The most important personality has since been chosen, for example, by the Germans, for whom he is Konrad Adenauer, or by the Czechs, for whom Charles IV won.

Theater

The Trenčín Municipal Theater is preparing an author's project about Štefánik under the working title World Slovak Štefánik. The performance will make the songs more attractive and will be intended for all ages, including pupils and students. The director of the production is Karol Rédli, whose productions The Fat Pot, Perinbaba and Ženba appealed to a wide range of spectators and are characterized by humor and imaginative processing. The permanent Trenčín production and dramaturgy team of MDT is already working on the performance: Zuzana Mišáková, Michaela Gallová and Silvia Ďurovcová. "Thanks to the excellent cooperation with the Public Library of M. Rešetka in Trenčín, we managed to obtain valuable documents in the form of more than 25 publications about MR Štefánik, which is a good basis for a credible treatment of the general's life. We want to be consistent, "said Zuzana Mišáková, the producer of the performance and the director of the theater. In the performance we will see popular MDT actors, but also new faces. The director of the theater did not want to reveal more yet. "The name of the actor who will play the general himself will remain a secret until the launch of the promotion during the autumn of 2019. There are several names in the game, we will see with whom we will agree in the final. However, we believe that he will strongly evoke the general audience. In fact, it is our condition. ”The Trenčín Theater considers work on a performance about our native to be a debt repayment to its region. "Similar to when we paid attention to JM Hurban, Ľ. Štúr and A. Jurkovičová in the performance Silver Bowls - excellent containers. I feel a strong personal commitment from the whole preparation team. I am looking forward to working on this performance, because we have not yet staged the period of the end of the monarchy and the beginnings of young Czechoslovakia in our theater, and therefore it will be a new experience for the audience as well, "added Zuzana Mišáková.

photo: Richard Bergel