Město Polička

4. Martinů in the Park

Brief history – The materiál excavated during the construction of the Teacher's Training College was used for filling up the shallow eastern part of the pond. In 1902, the renovation of the park began according to the design of the janitor of the College, who was originally a manor gardener. After 1906, another part of the park was modified and the pavilion of the sport organization Sokol was built. Already in 1901, an iron riveted bridge was built by the Prague Bridge Company – now the bridge is a technical monument (at its beginning from the Grammar School /or Gymnasium/ you can see a cast iron plate with the name of the company). There are several statues in the park that you can easily find.    

The most distinctive trees in the park are chestnuts and lime trees, forming the ‘Na Valech’ (The Ramparts) alley. In the park itself there are lots of interesting trees (provided with labels), the most interesting of them (at the smaller bridge) being the thermophilic ginkgo, the symbol of the Vonts from the books by the popular Czech writer Jaroslav Foglar.    

The statue of Bohuslav Martinů – by Milan Knobloch was unveiled in 1990 when the composer’s 100th birthday was celebrated. Even in difficult times of the previous regime, in 1957, Polička unveiled a memorial plaque on the church, commemorating the composer's birthplace.    

 

(picture captions)

  • The park on period postcards