The Prague Castle Guard
or simply the Castle Guard
( cs, Hradní stráž) is a specific and autonomous unit of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic
The Armed Forces of the Czech Republic ( cs, Ozbrojené síly České republiky) are the military forces of the Czech Republic. They consist of the Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky), the Military Office of the Presiden ...
directly subordinate to the Military Office of the President of the Czech Republic
The Military Office of the President of the Czech Republic, MOPR (Czech: Vojenská kancelář prezidenta republiky, VKPR) is the official military department of the Office of the President of the Czech Republic. It serves as a separate entity of th ...
. Its main task is to guard and defend the seat of the President of the Czech Republic at the Prague Castle
Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...
.
Although its most visible activity comprises ceremonial duty within the Prague Castle, most of the unit's 650 soldiers are tasked with actual protection of compounds belonging to the Presidential Office, whereby they serve in standard uniforms armed with modern weaponry.
History
During the period 1939 to 1945 its duties were performed by the 1st Battalion of the Government Army. During the communist regime, the Castle Guard faded. On December 15, 1952, it ceased to be part of the Czechoslovak People's Army and became the 14th Special Battalion of the 1st Mechanized Brigade (or Unit 2295) of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministr ...
passed into the competence of the Ministry of the Interior, who performed the tasks of today's castle guard during the period of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic
The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, ČSSR, formerly known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic or Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, was the official name of Czechoslovakia from 1960 to 29 March 1990, when it was renamed the Czechoslovak ...
. After the reorganization in 1966, the Castle Guard, as the 7th Special Battalion, was subordinated to the Civil Defense Staff of the Ministry of the Interior. On 1 March 1970, the Castle Guard of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was established by order of the Minister of the Interior and in 1976 was put back under Ministry of the Interior. However, in the performance of security tasks, it remained subordinated to the 5th SNB Department. This situation was changed only by Act No. 20 in 1990, which returned the Castle Guard to the Ministry of Defense.
In 2006, Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
veterans took part in an initiative aimed at replacing the Castle Guard uniforms, signing a letter proposing to President Václav Klaus
Václav Klaus (; born 19 June 1941) is a Czech economist and politician who served as the second president of the Czech Republic from 2003 to 2013. From July 1992 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in January 1993, he served as the second ...
that the Castle be guarded by soldiers in the uniforms of Czechoslovak Legionaries from the First World War.
Since 2018, soldiers of the Prague Castle Guard are also being deployed in Afghanistan as part of Czech Army deployment in Resolute Support Mission
Resolute Support Mission (RSM) or Operation Resolute Support was a NATO-led multinational mission in Afghanistan. It began on 1 January 2015 as the successor to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which was completed on 28 Decem ...
. There they serve as ''Guardian Angels'' providing protection outside of allied military bases primarily to Czech Army helicopter instructors that are training Afghan National Army
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
pilots.
Organizational structure
The Castle Guard is a brigade unit with a total of 2,000 soldiers with the following structure:
*Headquarters
**Castle Guard Staff
**Personal staff
**Logistics
*1st Battalion
**Battalion Headquarters
**3 guard companies
*2nd Battalion
**Battalion Headquarters
**3 guard companies
* Band of the Castle Guards and the Police
*Security Company
**Motorcycle Platoon
**Handler Platoon
**Transport Platoon
**Warehouse Platoon
Armaments
As of April 2018, the Castle Guard consisted of 672 soldiers and 43 civilian employees. These were armed primarily with the following weaponry:
* CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. I ...
SP01 Phantom Standard Service Pistol
* CZ Scorpion Evo 3
The Scorpion EVO 3 is a 9mm carbine manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod, the select-fire submachine gun variant is designated A1, and the semi-automatic variant is designated S1. The EVO 3 designation denotes that the firearm is a ...
A1 Personal Defense Weapon
* CZ 805 BREN
The CZ 805 BREN is a gas-operated modular assault rifle designed and manufactured by Česká zbrojovka Uherský Brod. The modular design enables users to change the calibre of the weapon to 5.56×45mm NATO or 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridges by ...
Standard Service Rifle
Other weapons include:
* Vz. 52/57 Ceremonial Rifle
* CZ 750 CZ, C-Z, C/Z, or Cz may refer to:
* Czech Republic, ISO 3166 country code CZ
* .cz, internet country code top-level domain for the Czech Republic
Businesses and organisations
* C/Z Records, an American record label
* Česká zbrojovka firearms ...
Sniper Rifle
* RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Th ...
rocket-propelled grenade launcher (to be replaced by a recoilless rifle in 2018)
* Uk vz. 59 universal machine gun (to be replaced by a new machinegun in 2018)
Symbols
On October 13, 1921, a banner was ceremoniously handed over to the Castle Guard by President Tomáš Masaryk
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk (7 March 185014 September 1937) was a Czechoslovak politician, statesman, sociologist, and philosopher. Until 1914, he advocated restructuring the Austro-Hungarian Empire into a federal state. With the help of ...
in the courtyard of Prague Castle.[Prapor Hradní stráže](_blank)
– Slavnostní předání z roku 1921 The banner displayed the emblem of the Castle Guard on one side and the emblem of the President of the Republic and the slogan '' Truth prevails'' on the other side. The banner was intended for use on festive occasions. On February 20, 1993, then-President Václav Havel gave a military banner to the Castle Guard, and since 1993, it was located in the office of the Chief of the Castle Guard.[Zpravodaj Vexilologie č. 133 (VI/2004)](_blank)
/ref> The unit also has an emblem and a seal.
Gallery
Ceremonial duty
File:Guard Prague Castle.jpg, Summer uniform
File:Guard at the Prague castle, Prague - 7620.jpg, Winter uniform
File:Prague Castle Guard - winter 2012.JPG, Winter uniform
File:Change of guard at the Prague Castle - 9223.jpg, Changing of the guard
Standard duty
File:Praha, Pražský hrad, hradní stráž, bojová 01.jpg, Standard uniform
See also
*
References
External links
*
*
Guards regiments
Military units and formations of the Czech Republic
Prague Castle
Guards of honour
Military of Czechoslovakia
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