Urban developers nod to Winged Lion statue in Klárov

The Prague Department of Housing and Urban Development has given its approval to locate a statue in honour of the two thousand Czechs and Slovaks who fought in Britain’s Royal Air Force during World War II in Klárov, a square beside Manes Bridge. The approval came despite vehement protests from the Czech National Heritage Institute which turned down the application on the grounds that the Winged Lion Memorial was “inappropriate and incompatible” with this part of the historical centre of Prague, which is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The statue, designed by Colin Spofforth, was paid for by the British community here in Prague. It is to be unveiled on June 17 at a ceremony attended among others by June by Winston Churchill’s grandson, British Member of Parliament Nicholas Soames.