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Holocaust Memorial at náměstí 28. října.
Point 6 of 70 of 7 completed
A cube that refuses to become background
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49.2029, 16.6129
On arrival
Enter the park on náměstí 28. října and approach the black granite cube set within the shallow basin.
Look closer
Notice how water and polished stone change reflections; if conditions allow, look for the multilingual text and symbols beneath the waterline.
Abstraction does not make memory less specific; it can demand a different kind of attention.
The Holocaust Memorial at náměstí 28. října is deliberately difficult to treat as ordinary street furniture. Daniel Václavík's 2014 work places a black polished-granite cube with 3.14-metre edges above a shallow water basin. The city's description connects that number to pi and to the idea of suffering repeating through history; water running over the cube is described as a symbol of cleansing and forgiveness. Beneath the water, the memorial includes text in Czech, Hebrew and Romani. Brno says the design emerged from a 2012 competition with 51 entries. Here, do not turn symbolism into a puzzle to 'solve'. Read the formal choices slowly and keep the memorial's subject—Jewish and Roma victims of Nazi racial persecution—at the centre.
Accessibility at this stop
The memorial is visible from park paths. Do not enter the basin; current step-free path conditions should be verified on site.
These notes describe known conditions at this stop. Urban conditions can change, so assess the situation on site.
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6. A cube that refuses to become background
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