Obnova skulptury sokola na střeše naší sokolovny

U příležitosti 130. výročí založení naší tělocvičné jednoty jsme se rozhodli zahájit kroky k obnově měděné skulptury sokola, který byl umístěn na střeše naší sokolovny a byl stržen za okupace v roce 1941.

Nový sokol už je hotov a předpokládáme, že „vylétne“ na střechu v den 100. výročí otevření nuselské sokolovny.

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2025

ENG: The Rebirth Story of the Nusle Falcon: From Artifacts to Sculpture

Karel Holub and his son Petr worked on the sculpture, with a wingspan of 2.5 meters and a height of 130 cm, for about half a year. From the initial idea to today’s unveiling and presentation of the final form of the falcon, it took 4 years and 4 months.

Two years later, in 2025, the falcon statue is expected to return to the Nusle Sokol hall. At that time, the Nusle Sokol will be commemorating 100 years since the opening of their Sokol hall. The installation of the statue is planned as the highlight of the celebrations. „I am glad that my son and I managed to create a facsimile of the original statue. We had one photograph of the original falcon with its creators, but it was taken for the presentation of the authors rather than as a documentary photo of their work.

We also had the claws and head of the falcon, fragments that the Sokol members managed to save after the Nazi intervention. Therefore, we had to draw and think everything out in detail. Once you cut into the metal, you can’t take it back, so we really took great care. We wanted the Sokol members to have something nice,“ says Karel Holub. He emphasizes that his son Petr played a significant role in the final piece. „Given my age, I don’t have as much strength anymore, so Petr helped significantly at times. Besides being strong, he is also very skilled and had many good ideas for the final design,“ adds Karel Holub. He added that before starting the work, he and his son went to the zoo to look at a live falcon and also studied several zoological books. „We wanted the modeled pose to be as faithful to the live falcon as possible.

Of course, we had to slightly adjust the original head and its tilt to make it visible from the street,“ Karel Holub added. A documentary by Miroslav Janek, which details the work of the restorer and sculptor on this project, also premiered. „The exhibition at the Benedictine Abbey in Emmaus is an opportunity to closely examine the restored Sokol symbol, which will later be placed in a less accessible height for viewers,“ says dramaturg Miloslav Klíma in the exhibition brochure.

From Initial Idea to Realization: 4 Years and 4 Months

„On November 17, 2018, we had a ball to celebrate the 130th anniversary of our gymnastic unit. On that occasion, Mayor Brother Jiří Rejzek presented the plan to revive the falcon that adorned our Sokol hall until 1941 when it was torn down by the Nazis,“ explains the unit’s secretary František Barac.

Only the head, claws, and dumbbell that the falcon held in its talons survived from the original statue. „We have to thank our ancestors, especially the then mayor Brother Rákosník, for collecting the fragments and hiding them under the threat of severe punishment. Without them, the restoration of the statue would have been much more difficult,“ notes František Barac. According to Barac, the unit’s leadership contacted several potential creators who could undertake such a task. „In the end, we got in touch with Mr. Karel Holub, who really liked our idea. Together with his son Petr, they ‚took on‘ the project, and their creativity and ideas were absolutely fantastic. In one interview, Karel Holub said that he wanted us to have a beautiful statue and be proud of it, which shows his enthusiasm for this work,“ says the secretary of T. J. Sokol Nusle František Barac. Donations for the Stunning Falcon Can Be Made to a Transparent Account Of course, meticulous metalworking is financially demanding, so the Nusle Sokol members established a transparent account to which anyone can contribute any amount.

The money will be used for the work on the statue and possibly for the reconstruction of the part of the roof where the falcon will be placed. „Our Sokol hall has not undergone any major reconstruction for almost 100 years, so we want to combine the installation of the statue with a general repair of the hall’s roof, which is in a critical state in some places. We have to carry out maintenance work and clean the gutters and valleys every year to prevent greater damage to the wooden structure of the intricate roof. We are also trying to secure funds elsewhere, and in this regard, we have support from both the City of Prague and the Prague 4 district.

If we manage to raise more money in the collection than the cost of the Holub’s work and the installation and securing of the statue on the front of the Sokol hall, we would, of course, use it for this purpose. We have been creating a financial reserve for the roof repair since 2017, but given the current situation, it is clear that we would hardly finance such a demanding reconstruction on our own,“ adds František Barac.