Emanuel Purkyně memorial in Bělá pod Bezdězem

1831–1882 (monument unveiled 1950) 

The memorial plaque on the northern side of Masarykovo náměstí in Bělá pod Bezdězem at the edge of the park commemorates the knight Emanuel Purkyně (1831–1882), a prominent botanist and forester, who worked as a secondary school teacher in Bělá pod Bezdězem.

 

Emanuel Purkyně was the son of the famed Czech scientist Jan Evangelista Purkyně and is considered to be the founder of plant geology and forestry meteorology. He worked at the Bohemian Forestry School (Böhmische Forstschule) in Bělá pod Bezdězem from 1861 as a secondary school teacher. He also died in Bělá and is buried in the local cemetery. The person who takes most credit for the plaque is the local historian František Zuman together with the Museum Board in Bělá pod Bezdězem. The design was completed in 1939 and at the beginning of the war Zuman tried to have it placed in the courtyard of Bělá chateau, home to the Forestry School from its establishment in 1855 to 1885, when it was moved to Zákupy near Česká Lípa. The plaque was actually cast at the end of the 1940s and unveiled in the park on the main square on 24 September 1950.

 

References

Muzeum Podbezdězí, Sbírky.
Uhlíř, J.: 160 let od založení lesnické školy v Bělé pod Bezdězem (1855–1904) a v Zákupech (1904–1940), přeložené roku 1945 do Trutnova. Boleslavica ’15 Vlastivědný sborník Mladoboleslavska, 8/2015, s. 75–85.

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