The name Milan Rastislav Štefánik can be seen nearly everywhere in S l o v a k i a – memorials, statues, schools and street –names, even on airport too. Who was Štefánik and why was he so important for the country?

General Milan Rastislav Štefánik was a person who could inspire Slovaks in determination, grandeur, courage and love for their homeland.

He was a Slovak politician, aviator, diplomat, scientist, astronomer and he was one of the most instrumental figures in the setting up of Czechoslovakia in 1918. His life began on July , 1880, in the village of Košariská. He attended both Slovak and Hungarian schools and spent his university years in Prague. After study at the University of Prague, from which he recived a doctorate of philosophy he went to Paris in1904.

Joining the staff of the astronomical observatory at Meudon, he served on scientific expeditions to Africa, America and Oceania.

After becoming a French citizen in 1912, Štefánik was inducted into French army during the First World War. He served at the same time as Minister of War for Czechoslovakia and as a general in the French Army.

Simultaneously he started a political and diplomatic struggle for the establishment of independent Czechoslovak Republic. Together with Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and Edvard Beneš he founded the first Czechoslovak National Council in 1915. He was its chairman and one of the main representatives of the Czechoslovak struggle for independence from Austria – Hungarian Empire.

Milan Rastislav Štefánik was one of the most significant figures of Slovak´s modern history. Because of his diplomatic experience and international connections, Štefánik main task was to persuade both Czechs and Slovaks to start fighting with the enemy. He was building Czechoslovak armies, known as Czechoslovak legions, whose activities contributed to the fact that at the end of the war Czechoslovakia was considered a victor.

He died in a tragic plane crash near Bratislava. His plane from Italy crashed on the 4th of May 1919 with three Italian passengers. Whatever the circumstances of his death, Štefánik was an instant Slovak hero and thanks to the initiative to his friend Dušan Jurkovič, he was buried with grand ceremony on a mountain in Bradlo.

In 1928, the original stone grave was substituted with a travertine mound designed by Jurkovič himself. Thanks to its location and size, the tomb looks like the ruins of old castle peering over the region where Štefánik was born and brought up.

The historian Bohumila Ferenčuhová says that the memorial has its own symbolism: „ The mound on Bradlo represents the Slovak place of memory. Is is not only the tomb of Štefánik, but also the symbol of the fight for freedom and human values“.