Prague to Spend 13 Million Crowns on a Replica of the Collapsed "Equilibrium" Sculpture — But Praguers Aren't Happy

Prague city officials have approved the creation of an exact replica of the "Equilibrium" sculpture, which collapsed near Barrandov Bridge, allocating 13 million crowns from the city budget for the project. However, an overwhelming majority of news site readers say the expense makes no sense.

In a poll run by one Czech news outlet, 7,038 people had taken part by Thursday evening. The vast majority — 5,422 respondents — said the remaining part of the structure should simply be demolished and the site left empty. Restoring the sculpture to its original form was backed by 1,021 people, while 289 voted for installing a completely new work of art. The option of leaving the ruins as they are received the fewest votes — fewer than a hundred.

Despite this, city councillors approved a long-planned sub-licensing agreement to create a new three-dimensional copy based on the original design by sculptor Josef Klimeš, citing the work's artistic significance.

"Equilibrium is one of the iconic works in Prague's public space," said Tomáš Slabihoudek (TOP 09), councillor for culture and heritage protection. According to him, the new replica will preserve the original appearance and legacy of Klimeš's work, allowing this significant piece to return to its former spot in a safe, high-quality form.

The original sculpture, standing roughly six metres tall with a "wingspan" of about fifteen metres, was created in 1989. The replica is planned to be made using the same technique — as a massive reinforced concrete structure cast in classic formwork.

Commenters under the news story make no secret of their irritation. "They should just be glad they got rid of it and nobody was hurt. It was always ugly and would still be ugly in a thousand years. That money could be spent much more sensibly," one reader wrote. Another commenter called the sculpture "a shoddy piece of work," made by simply pouring concrete into a mould rather than carefully carving the details, and described funding a replica as "a criminal waste of taxpayers' money."

Most commenters agree that the restoration amounts to a waste of public funds and suggest the 13 million crowns should go toward more useful city projects instead. Many also argue the sculpture was unremarkable to begin with, lacking any real aesthetic or cultural value, and propose holding a competition for a new work of art rather than rebuilding the old one.

Nevertheless, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) insists on restoration. "The 'Equilibrium' sculpture is an inseparable part of Barrandov Bridge and of many Praguers' memories," he said, adding that the city's goal is to preserve this significant work for future generations in a form as close as possible to the author's original vision.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz