Hranice

The westernmost city in the Czech Republic

The German word for the border is Roßbach, which means horse brook in Czech. At first glance, it doesn't look like it, but it can surprise you. The dominant feature of the town is the Evangelical church. In front of the church stands an interesting monument commemorating the victims of the First World War. The monument was unveiled on October 14, 1928. Its author was the Cheb sculptor Karel Wilfert Jr. (1879–1932) in the classicist style. It is dedicated to the fallen members of the "Ostmark" and "Kirchfahrt Rossbach" associations.

Monument to the fallen in World War I

The monument is designed as a wall, into which are set inscription plates with the names of the fallen (more than 200 names). The center of the composition is an allegorical figure of a Roman soldier in the form of a nude with a helmet on his head and a long sword in front of his body. He stands on a pedestal, his elbows leaning on the wall and holding a pair of laurel wreaths in his hands. This figure is likened to the Archangel Michael, who decorates the monument to the fallen in the First World War in Chyšy (1920). Karel Wilfert the Younger is also the author of the Goethe Fountain in Františkovy Lázně. He was also a member of the Cheb branch of the Schlaraffia company.In the area in front of the church there is also a monument to the youth association "Ostmark". The Hranice cemetery is also worth a visit. Right at the entrance, on the left side, lies the grave of Count Siegmund Zedtwitz (1778-1847). A viewing terrace extends from the slope below the church, from which we can have a beautiful view of the Hranice square below us. The platform also serves as an interesting photo point with a grazing horse, the symbol of Hranice. We can see all the way to the monument, which reminds us that not far from here, on April 18, 1945, American troops crossed the Czechoslovak border for the first time. The other side of the monument commemorates the deaths of RAF pilots who crashed in the Farský Forest behind Hranice on March 5, 1945.A short walk of about 1.5 kilometers takes us directly to the site of the tragedy. Seven names are engraved on the small monument in the forest still life. An information board nearby explains what happened here in March 1945.

​Photo 1: Evangelical Church. Hranice 
Photo 2: RAF Airmen Monument 
Photo 3: Observation deck