Thieves rip skier statue from square and cash it in

A bronze statue of a skier, which had stood for almost half a century beneath the now-defunct ski resort in Kežmarok, eastern Slovakia, has been stolen and destroyed.

Despite tracking down the thieves using CCTV footage, municipal police were unable to recover the 200kg statue, sculpted by artist, jeweller and painter Imrich Svitana, reports the SITA news agency.

According to Kežmarok’s municipal police chief, Štefan Šipula, the perpetrators dismantled the statue and sold it for scrap before authorities could intervene.

Stolen overnight

The statue was last seen in place on February 4, with surveillance footage confirming its presence.

“By the morning of February 5, it was gone,” said Šipula. “After reviewing the footage, we traced two vehicles arriving at the site. The first was a van, followed by another car. The thieves spent 45 minutes dismantling the statue before driving towards the town centre.”

At an intersection, police identified the van’s registration number and linked it to a rental company, leading them to the suspects—five individuals from the nearby village of Veľká Lomnica.

"Skier" by Imrich Svitana (1978) in Kežmarok (source: Facebook)

By then it was too late.

“They hacked the statue into small pieces and handed it over for scrap first thing in the morning,” Šipula said. “They received about €580 for it.”

Police investigation underway

Authorities are now investigating the theft.

“The five suspects have been questioned as part of the proceedings,” Prešov regional police spokesperson Jana Ligdayová said. “Further investigative steps are being carried out, and we are unable to provide more details at this time.”