The National Monument at Vítkov stands on Vítkov Hill in the Žižkov district of Prague. Jan Zázvorka won first prize in the 1925 art contest and designed the building. The cornerstone was laid in 1928 in the presence of President T. G. Masaryk, and the shell was completed in 1933. It was first meant to honor Czechoslovak legionaries of World War I.
The site holds Bohumil Kafka's bronze equestrian statue of Jan Žižka, unveiled on July 14, 1950. It is 30 feet (9 meters) high and 31 feet (9.6 meters) long and weighs 16.5 tonnes. The article calls it the third-largest bronze rider statue in the world.
The building has served many roles. It was occupied by the Wehrmacht from 1942 to 1945, and from 1953 to 1962 it was the Klement Gottwald Mausoleum. The National Museum acquired it in 2000, and it reopened on October 29, 2009, with a ceremonial hall and exhibitions.
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