The horse erected in downtown Prešov was later moved. (source: TASR)
Between September 13 and 18, inhabitants and visitors of Prešov were able to see a horse made of wood, wire and recycled bottles standing in front of the town hall. Teachers and students from the Elementary Arts’ School in Októbrová Street made the original work of art. The horse weighs more than 700 kilograms. During its construction, spruce wood and about 30 square metres of wire netting were used.
“This project began in January 2012 and making the constructions took two months,” headmaster Ľubomír Gurman told the TASR newswire. “The filling of this horse – or the body, if you prefer to call it – is made of recyclable plastics,” Gurman said, adding that horse was filled with more than 2,500 bottles.
Pavol Hagyari, the mayor of Prešov, said that the idea to install a horse in the square came from the town hall itself, as the councillors wanted to stress the symbol of Prešov, whose inhabitants are called “koňare”, or horse-people, allegedly due to a stud farm that used to stand in today’s Sabinovská Street. Hagyari noted that the project is part of a series of joint activities with the city of Košice, which will become the European Capital of Culture next year.
“This is a different artwork; it reflects this time, and we are happy that children engaged in it. Also the environmental dimension is important, which we want to develop in children: thus the PET bottles,” the mayor said.
He added that on Saturday, September 15, the innovative artwork was transported to the horse racing complex at Sídlisko III borough where a horse race took place. According to the www.presov.sk website, it will now remain there as a symbol of the Prešov inhabitants.
