On October 10, 2018, the Czech Post issued a miniature sheet dedicated to the historical events of 1918.

The path to state independence in 1918 during the First World War is the theme of the fifth issue in the series dedicated to the history of 1914–1948.

The artist Jan Maget created a very richly elemented drawing that combines stamps, coupons and fields of the miniature sheet into a single composition. The most important events of 1918 are reflected in the postage miniature: the abdication of the Austrian Emperor Charles I, the establishment of an independent Czechoslovakia, the end of the First World War, the first Czechoslovak stamps, the separation of the Czechoslovak currency from the Austro-Hungarian currency, as well as significant historical figures of that time: Jiří Stříbrny, Vavro Šrobár, Fantišek Soukup, Antonín Svehla, Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Eduard Beneš and Karel Kramář.

The centerpiece of this composition on the 66 CZK stamp is the monument to St. Wenceslas, the national hero and patron saint of the Czech Republic. The day of St. Wenceslas's death is celebrated in the Czech Republic as Czech Statehood Day. Since 1848, the central square of Prague was renamed Wenceslas Square, and in 1913, an equestrian monument to the prince by Josef Myslbek was erected there. Since then, all significant socio-political events in the country have been connected to this place in one way or another. St. Wenceslas is perceived by many as the center of the Czech country, around which the most important events take place.

The statue of St. Wenceslas stands at the top of Wenceslas Square. A competition for the creation of the monument was announced in 1894, and eight sculptors participated in it. The first prize was not won by anyone, and the second place was shared by Josef Vaclav Myslbek and Bohuslav Schnirch. Schnirch proposed an equestrian statue of the saint riding a horse and blessing people. Myslbek proposed an unconventional image of St. Wenceslas as a warrior. After heated discussions, Myslbek's statue was chosen.

The original model was subsequently changed several times, and over time the equestrian statue of St. Wenceslas was supplemented with four more statues of Czech saints. When creating the figure of the prince, the sculptor relied on the surviving relics of St. Wenceslas - a helmet, a sword and a chainmail. The model for the horse statue was the seven-year-old army stallion Ardo.

Work on the monument lasted more than thirty years. It began in 1882, in 1912 the monument was installed in its place surrounded by three saints, and in 1918 it was unveiled. At the same time, the work continued - in 1924, the fourth statue of the saint was installed.

The monument to St. Wenceslas is one of the symbols of Prague and Czech statehood in general.

Source: www.ceskaposta.cz , www.prahafx.ru