Committee for preservation of the 1866 year war monuments is a society that focuses on the care for war graves and monuments associated with the Austro-Prussian war in 1866 within the territory od the Czech Republic.
The 1866 committee follows a tradition of more than 125 years as it is a proud successor of the historical societies, out of which the oldest sprang up in the surroundings of Hradec Králové in 1888, and whose aim was to preserve the graves and even to build new memorabilia. After the period of forced pause (interdiction) during the communist era, the committee was restored in its current form in 1990 and strives to continue fully to the activities of its predecessors.
The aim of the society is to preserve in good state all the war graves and monuments that remind the Austro-Prussian war in 1866. Our activity is focused on preservation of the decent look of these memorabilia and their close surroundings. Of course it is necessary to approach regular repairs, reparations and complex reconstructions of these objects. We closely co-operate with the local municipalities and also with the interested institutions and individuals.
To our successful activity on this field speaks most of all the condition of the memorabilia, that, according to our data, only in the Czech Republics reaches more that 1400 (the inforamtion of recent news in the society you can find here). The committe was also honoured by the Ministry of Deffence by the memorial tablet Preservation of the war graves and one of the committe’s delegates was decoretad by the Revential cross, that is promoted by merit on the field of preservation and renovation of the war graves (here).
The 1866 committe also co-operates on builing of the new Austro-Prussian conflict memorabilia. It guarantees the decent laying of the fallen remains into new graves on the military cementaries, as these are being found by various building works. Recently also runs the final stage to rise the monument of the cavalry conflict by Střezetice (part of the Battle by Hradec Králové), which shall commemorate together the horses and their riders, or rather their relationship on the battlefield (here).
The natural part of the society’s activity lies in the general popularization of the Austro-Prussian War, especially focused on the care far war graves. That is done through the committee’s journal Bellum 1866, that is published continually for 25 years, other publication activities (e-shop), building of the nature trails on the battlefields, lectures and last, but not least, via the internet (web, facebook). Inseparable part of our activities means organization of reverential commemorative events on the battlefields (the overwiev of the current events here).
The membership of the 1866 committee consists of more than 100 members, out of which some come from the abroad (Germany, Slovakia, Great Britain). At the top of the organization stays the board, that is currently lead by Miroslav Suchý, together with the so called technical controllers, who observe the condition of the memorabilia of the 1866 war in their commited regions.
Our whole activity is concerned on the aim of preservation the memorabilia to hunderds and thousands of individuals who laid their lifes in the pointless fight and were burried far from home and their relatives, so their graves stayed uncareded-for. We are fully convinced their rememberance should be protected in accord with the antique saying „Life of the death is saved in memory of the living“.
