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Monumental, 7.4 metres high statue of Milan Rastislav Stefanik stands on 2.7m high pylon on the left bank of the Danube river.
It was unveiled on 4th of May 2009 on the ceremony marked the 90th anniversary of Stefanik's death in an air crash near Bratislava, Slovakia.
This sculpture is a replica of original artwork by Bohumil Kafka, made in 1938 - which was pulled down by communists in 1954. Replica, which costs over 1M Euro was reproduced by students of Art in 2007 and made in Blansko (Czech Rep) from dark bronze.
Milan Rastislav Štefánik (July 21, 1880 in Košariská (Kosaras), Kingdom of Hungary – May 4, 1919 in Ivanka pri Dunaji, Czechoslovakia)
was a Slovak politician, diplomat, and astronomer.
During World War I, he was General of the French Army, at the same time the Czechoslovak Minister of War, one of the leading members of the Czechoslovak National Council (i.e. resistance government), and he contributed decisively to the cause of Czechoslovak sovereignty.
(The status of Czech- and Slovak-populated territories, among others, was in question until shortly before the disintegration of Austria-Hungary in 1918.)
Štefánik's personal motto was:
"To Believe, To Love and To Work" (Verit, milovat, pracovat).
Source of more detailed information about M.R. Stefanik: wikipedia.
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