Murska Sobota's Monument to the Liberators of 1945 will get a facelift

6. november 2017 ob 21.03 • Murska Sobota - MMC RTV SLO

The renovations of the Monument to the Liberators on Murska Sobota's Victory Square, considered by many to be the most iconic sight in the town, have begun. Foto: BoBo

Russia will contribute some of the funds. Foto: BoBo

One of the most iconic sights in Murska Sobota is the white social realist monument made from Carrara marble – a landmark that was erected by two federal states that no longer exist. The monument dedicated to Soviet soldiers and Yugoslav Partisans, which had deteriorated in the past few decades, is now being renovated.

spomenik osvoboditeljem — Russia will contribute some of the funds. Foto: BoBo

The renovations of the Monument to the Liberators on Murska Sobota's Victory Square, considered by many to be the most iconic sight in the town, have begun. The monument was one of the first to be erected in the immediate aftermath of World War II, and the only one in Slovenia dedicated to the fight and the sacrifice of both the Yugoslav and the Soviet nations.

Russia will contribute some of the funds
The Municipality of Murska Sobota has wanted to renovate the monument for several years. The idea of Russian participation came on the initiative of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, which will help finance the first phase of the renovation work.

The project will include conservation work on the monument, which will be cleaned up under the supervision of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Heritage; the monument will also have its marble elements repaired. Next year, the cannons and the bronze sculptures of soldiers are scheduled to be renovated.

The second phase of the project, scheduled for the following spring, will see the renovation of the lower parts of the monument, as well as new landscaping around the monument.

The Monument to the Liberators in the very center of Murska Sobota dates to 1945. Its authors are the Soviet military engineer Yuri Aronchik and the brothers Boris and Zdenko Kalin, two Slovenian sculptors who created the statues of the Partisan and the Red Army Soldier.

The monument was designed as a tomb that symbolizes the walls of the Kremlin, with an honor guard in front and an imposing obelisk above with a portrait of Lenin on a bronze medallion. The monument had initially been intended to hold the remains of Soviet soldiers who were killed in the Pomurje region, but their remains were later taken to mass graves at the cemetery in Murska Sobota.

The contractor for the renovation work is the Celje-based company Dist. The value of the project is just less than 15,000 euros. The Embassy of the Russian Federation will finance the renovation work to the amount of just under 13,000 euros.