Utku (Zafer) Anıtı - Great Victory Monument

The Utku (Zafer) Anıtı — Great Victory Monument — stands in Anıtpark in the centre of Afyonkarahisar and is one of the most significant commemorative monuments of the Turkish Republic. It was commissioned to mark the Great Offensive of August 1922, the decisive campaign of the Turkish War of Independence that was launched from the hills south-west of Afyonkarahisar. The monument was sculpted by Austrian artist Heinrich Krippel, who was also responsible for the equestrian Atatürk statue in Ankara, and was made between 1934 and 1936. It was unveiled on 30 March 1936 in a major ceremony that Atatürk himself attended; he reportedly declared it the monument that best expressed the spirit of the Great Victory. The composition depicts two bronze soldier figures — one standing, one kneeling — mounted on a stepped plinth of pale trachyte stone quarried locally from the region's volcanic rock. The figures are bold and naturalistic, capturing both the resolve and the physical exertion of the campaign. The monument is set at the centre of a planted park with benches, and the surrounding area is a popular gathering point for local residents in the evenings when the monument is illuminated by floodlights. A visit typically takes 20 to 30 minutes. The site is freely accessible at all hours.