On Sunday 6 June 2010, a monument was unveiled to Svätopluk (c.830–894; also known as Svätopluk I), legendary third ruler of Great Moravia (871–894), in the centre of the Honorary Courtyard of Bratislava Castle, south of the Royal Palace. The ceremony, which commemorated the 1,130th anniversary of Svätopluk's coronation, took place six days before parliamentary elections. It was attended by the three highest constitutional officials of the time and was broadcast live on public television.
The creator of the work, sculptor Ján Kulich, donated a clay model of the monument to the "Slovak nation", specifically to the Office of the National Council of the Slovak Republic (NR SR). Casting of the bronze sculpture was financed through a collection organised by the Svätopluk Civic Association, which was established for this purpose on the initiative of the three highest constitutional officials.
The equestrian monument comprises a large granite pedestal composed of two connected blocks. The base is rectangular with an oval upper surface and rounded corners. A low bronze plinth rests on the granite structure, following its outline and forming the base of the sculpture of Svätopluk on a rearing horse. He raises a sword in his right hand and holds a round shield in his left hand, the centre of which was originally adorned by an equal-armed double cross. The artist created the larger-than-life sculpture in quasi-realistic style.
The face of the granite pedestal bore an inscription in raised bronze capital letters:
„SVÄTOPLUK
KING OF THE OLD SLOVAKS
846–894
TO OUR BELOVED SON SVÄTOPLUK,
THE GLORIOUS RULER.
IN LIGHT OF YOUR ZEAL, WE WISH TO MAKE IT KNOWN
THAT WE HAVE RECOGNISED THE SINCERITY OF YOUR DEVOTION
AND THE DESIRE OF YOUR ENTIRE PEOPLE.
POPE JOHN VIII.: BULA INDUSTRIĘ TUĘ, ROME JUNE
880
DILECTO FILIO SFENTOPULCHO, GLORIOSO COMITI.
INDUSTRIĘ TUĘ NOTUM ESSE VOLUMUS QUONIAM…
DIDICIMUS TUĘ DEVOCIONIS SINCERITATEM ET TOCIUS
POPULI TUI DESIDERIUM.
PAPA JOANNES VIII.: BULLA INDUSTRIĘ TUĘ, ROMAE MENSE IUNIO 880“.
Although the quoted text derives not from a papal bull but from a letter, experts and laymen have criticised certain aspects of the work ever since the monument was unveiled. These criticisms include its presentation as a symbol of Slovak statehood, the political context surrounding its creation and unveiling, and the past of its creator, as well as various historical and art-historical issues.
As early as July 2010, young activists from the UM! association wrapped the monument in cardboard under cover of darkness, adding slogans including "Statue of Lies", "Don't Modify History!", "Um!", "First Guard". Later, an expert commission was set up to assess the work, and its members drew up three alternative proposals for the monument's future: move it to an alternative location within the Bratislava Castle grounds and remove the double cross from Svätopluk's shield, transfer it to the Slovak National Museum and replace it with a different monument to Svätopluk, or return it to its creator and place a completely new work in the courtyard. In this context, it should be noted that the space in question, the Teresian Honorary Courtyard (cour d’honneur), was never designed to accommodate architectural or sculptural elements. As a significant Baroque feature, the courtyard was restored in accordance with the monument preservation methodology used in the reconstruction of Bratislava Castle, and the statue of Svätopluk forms a foreign element and an obstruction.
Although the monument ultimately remained in place, at the end of October 2010, Ján Kulich – at the initiative of the then Chair of the National Council of the Slovak Republic – appended a metal cap over the equal-armed double cross that had adorned the centre of Svätopluk's shield. This was intended to prevent associations with the double cross symbol of the Hlinka Guard. In mid-November 2010, the words "KING OF THE OLD SLOVAKS" were removed from the inscription on the face of the granite pedestal.
PB
Research status as of 16. 06. 2023.
