Slavin War Memorial, Bratislava, Slovakia
The monument was designed by architect J. Svetlík. Its construction was finished in 1960.
A staircase leads to the cemetery with 6 mass graves and 278 individual ones. The central part is created by a ceremony hall, the dominant part of the monument. It is encircled by a magnificent colonnade. The entrance cassette door into the ceremony hall, whose walls are covered with marble, is decorated with a bronze relief composition by R. Pribiš from the outer side, commemorating the struggles during the World War II.
The monumental granite pylon, erected over the ceremony hall, is 39.5 m tall. An 11 m tall sculpture of victory by A. Trizuliak stands on its top. The author presented a soldier in the moment of erecting the flag over the liberated country.
The monument is surrounded by a park with planted trees and shrubs brought from various parts of the former Soviet Union. There is a beautiful view of the city from the eastern terrace.
The site consists of:
- A solemn staircase
- A cemetery with graves (6 mass graves, 278 individual graves) of 6,845 Soviet soldiers who fell while liberating Bratislava
- The central solemn hall with various statues, inscriptions, and a symbolic sarcophagus made of white marble. It also features a 39.5 m high obelisk topped with a statue of a Soviet soldier, and on the outside walls are inscriptions of the dates of liberation of various places in Slovakia during 1944–45.
Other facts about Slavín:
- This monument is situated in Malé Karpaty and it is very often attended because of its beautiful view.
- In the area of Slavín are also more statues of Slovak famous artists, such as Jan Kulich, Tibor Bártfay and Jozef Kostka.
- In 2005, Vladimir Putin, Russian president, visited it during his meeting with G. W. Bush in Bratislava.
- There is day of Bratislava’s liberation on 4 April, when people and president show their honor to fallen Soviet soldiers.
