The borders of the pre-war Czechoslovak Republic were flanked by border columns in the shape of a flag with the national emblem. Officially called "border orientation columns", they became a symbol of the determination to defend the homeland in 1938.
These columns were erected on the border from about 1925 at all customs crossings across the national border.
- Size: 4 x 5,5 cm
- Material: zinc
- Own production
The creation of these columns was associated with the insufficient marking of border roads, i.e. roads crossing the state border. Their design was selected through a public competition in 1924. The jury also included representatives of artistic circles - architects Josef Gočár, Pavel Janák and Theodor Bach.
A total of 97 designs were submitted to the competition and the winning design was by architect Josef Havlíček (1899-1961) and sculptor Bedřich Stefan (1896-1982). The border pillar was to have a diamond-shaped ground plan with a length of 650 mm, a width of 550 mm and a height of 3800 mm. It was made of iron sheet, had the colours and the form of the national flag. The height of the column was approximately two metres, on which was placed an oval emblem with the inscription 'The Czechoslovak Republic' and a Czech lion.
During 1925, around 250 columns were produced and subsequently placed on the border roads with the customs office.
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