On 19 April 2004 the Society for the Erection of a Monument to Gustav Mahler in Jihlava was founded. Its aim is to build a memorial to Gustav Mahler in Benešova Street on the site of today's market where the synagogue was burnt down by the Nazis. The monument will be created by the outstanding Czech sculptor Jan Koblasa.

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The Statue of Gustav Mahler by Jan Koblasa
On 7 July 2010, on the day of the 150th anniversary of the birth of the composer and conductor Gustav Mahler, a monument to this greatest native of Jihlava will be unveiled in Benešova Street, Jihlava, on the site where the synagogue had been burnt down by the Nazis. The idea of a monument by the outstanding Czech sculptor Jan Koblasa was brought up in 2004 by the Society for the Erection of a Monument to Gustav Mahler in Jihlava. The initiative received support from the city of Jihlava and the Vysočina region and so the society set out on its fundraising mission. Almost two hundred thousand crowns have been collected so far, which unfortunately is not enough to cover the originally intended half of the total cost. Thanks to the attitude of the city the erection of the monument is not jeopardized. The city of Jihlava shall bear not only the cost of the building of Gustav Mahler Park, which was being designed during 2007 by the architects Martin Lastovička and Vít Doležal in cooperation with the sculptor Jan Koblasa, but also the larger part of the cost of the statue itself and of the stone structures, which are part of the monument. A considerable amount has been promised by the Vysočina region. Nevertheless, the Society continues its effort in raising funds, which will be used for example to cover the sculptor´s fee. In the autumn of 2008 an auction will be held in cooperation with the Vysočina Artists´Association and a benefit concert is being prepared.

Prof. Jan Koblasa on the concept of the statue and the park:
“I think the work on the clay and plaster model of G.Mahler´s statue 1:1 is going well and that it will be possible to move it to a foundry in Bohemia soon.  The artistic intent remains basically the same as the previously published one, only my vision of Mahler has developed into the shape of a young Mahler garbed in a long cloak (he used to wear it already during his stay in Jihlava and then in Vienna together with his close friend Hugo Wolf). The long cloak implies his ahasuerian wandering round the world – he was very well aware of his not fitting in anywhere and often mentioned it. Thus an image of an artist in motion is created, his concentrated expression suggests his deep insight and outsight – when preaching to the birds and fish in a unique landscape of the park with water burbling down from a nearby wall. Everything on the figure is concentrated into a gesture, determined and decisive, just like in the moment when the conductor controls the orchestra. Birds, fish, the whole nature is transformed in an image of the complex and intricate vision of Mahler´s music. I believe the project will be legible to Jihlava citizens and visitors of the Gustav Mahler Park.
(Hamburg, 28 February 2008)

Arts historian PhDr Ivan Žlůva on the model of Gustav Mahler statue:
When creating the monument of the renowned composer Gustav Mahler the sculptor Jan Koblasa got inspiration from the Ancient Greek form of a hermaic sculpture. In Ancient Greece it was a bust of Hermes merging into a rectangular pillar of stone. Such sculptures were situated at sacred places. Instead of the head of Hermes a portrait of a famous person topped the pillar in Ancient Rome. Jan Koblasa replaced the static block with a long simple cloak, which distinguished Mahler from his contemporaries. The piece is remarkable as regards the figure as well as the portrait, which can easily match Rodin´s bust from 1909.
I am entranced with the purity of the form, with the modest motion within the figure and the climax in the beautiful sensitively modelled head and its inner concentration. From the monumental cloak the viewer´s eyes go to the small detail, Mahler´s inevitable bowtie, which represents a transition from the calm form to the soulful portrait. Nothing is to disturb the holy silence. The sculpture invites passers-by to pause in quiet, to walk on tiptoe. It is wonderful how little sufficed Jan Koblasa to express the rich inner life of Gustav Mahler. It is an exceptional piece.