Icarus - Ostrava, Czech Republic
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vraatja
N 49° 50.487 E 018° 17.448
34U E 305213 N 5524523
Statue of Icarus, a famous character from one of a most fascinating Greek Myths, in front of Town Hall in Ostrava
Waymark Code: WMJPFM
Location: Moravskoslezský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 12/13/2013
Views: 38
The statue of Icarus is a part of fountain dominating the place in front of Town Hall in Ostrava, Prokešovo námestí (Prokešovo square). The bronze statue weighing about 7 tons (15k lb) and its height is 3.5 meters (about 12 ft).It is the third largest bronze sculpture in the Czech Republic. The statue was creatd by the sculptor František Štork and installed here on July 1st, 1999. The statue is supposed to symbolise, according to a legend, Ostrava’s takeoffs and falls.
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Icarus
According to the Greek myth Icarus was son of Daedalus who dared to fly too near the sun on wings of feathers and wax. Daedalus had been imprisoned by King Minos of Crete within the walls of his own invention, the Labyrinth. But the great craftsman's genius would not suffer captivity. He made two pairs of wings by adhering feathers to a wooden frame with wax. Giving one pair to his son, he cautioned him that flying too near the sun would cause the wax to melt. But Icarus became ecstatic with the ability to fly and forgot his father's warning. The feathers came loose and Icarus plunged to his death in the sea.