St. Wenceslas Monument (Wenceslas Square)
The St. Wenceslas Monument (Czech: Pomník svatého Václava ) on Wenceslas Square in Prague is one of the most famous sculptures in the Czech Republic and a symbol of the city of Prague. Its creator is the most important Czech sculptor of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries and the founder of modern Czech sculpture, Josef Václav Myslbek , who worked on the monumental work for more than three decades.
The bronze equestrian statue depicts the patron saint and first Christian martyr of Bohemia , St. Wenceslaus , who is surrounded by four other Bohemian saints. The work became a symbol of the independent Czech state.
history
The first monument
The statue that stands in Wenceslas Square today is the second equestrian statue of the saint in this place. The first, built in 1680, was the work of the sculptor Jan Jiří Bendl and was enthroned above the Rossmarkt (Czech: Koňský trh ), as the square was called until 1848. Masses were also celebrated here, e.g. B. during the plague epidemics when the churches were closed. A famous mass was held there in 1848 when the Slavs Congress was held in Prague . The first Baroque monument was moved to Vyšehrad in 1879 and is now in the National Museum's Lapidarium . A copy was placed on Vyšehrad, made in 1959 by the Czech sculptor Jiří Novák.
The second monument
In 1894, a competition was announced for a new, more modern monument for the patron saint to replace the statue. The selection process was only open to artists who were born or lived in Bohemia. Eight sculptors took part. The main prizes went to two Czech sculptors, Josef Václav Myslbek and Bohuslav Schnirch . After many discussions, which were not only conducted in specialist circles, but also among the general public and in politics, Myslbek finally received the contract.
Myslbek changed the original model several times. In the course of time it was supplemented with the statues of the four Bohemian saints Ludmilla , Agnes , Prokop and Adalbert . Originally, the hermit Ivan was supposed to be in place of Saint Agnes . Myslbek's model for the horse was the seven-year-old military stallion named Ardo - an East Frisian warm-blooded horse . Myslbek worked with the architect Alois Dryák , who was responsible for the architectural design of the group of statues, and with the sculptor Celda Klouček, who created the ornamental decorations on the base.
The memorial was erected between 1912 and 1913 and officially unveiled in 1913. At that time the last statue (Saint Adalbert) was still missing, it was only added in 1924. In 2004 and 2005 the monument was extensively restored .
description
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The bronze monument stands at the top of Wenceslas Square, in front of the National Museum building . The prince, riding majestically on horseback, is shown in knight's outfit with a helmet and chain mail, in his right hand he carries a lance and in his left he holds the reins. The rider is surrounded by four saints. If one stands in front of the monument, the statue of St. Ludmilla can be seen in the front left, St. Agnes stands behind her, St. Prokop stands in front on the right, and St. Adalbert behind him.
On the polished granite base are engraved words from the medieval St. Wenceslas chorale : Svatý Václave, vévodo české země, kníže náš, nedej zahynouti nám ni budoucím (“Saint Wenceslas, Duke of the Bohemian Land, our prince the future will not perish ”). The entire sculpture measures 7.2 meters to the tip of the lance. The equestrian statue alone weighs about 5.5 tons.
Social and historical importance
The Wenceslas Monument is not only a symbol of the city of Prague, but also a popular meeting place for Prague citizens. You can meet privately - for a meeting “under the horse”, “by the horse” or “under the tail” - or use the space in front of the monument for public rallies of all kinds and for political demonstrations.
On October 28, 1918, the establishment of the independent Czechoslovak state was publicly announced in front of the monument ; the declaration was read by the writer Alois Jirásek . To commemorate this, the date 28.X.1918 was engraved in the base plate in front of the group of statues in 1935 . The end of the Second World War was also solemnly announced here.
At this memorial, people repeatedly gathered for mass demonstrations - e.g. B. during the occupation by the National Socialists , or in 1968 when Russian tanks invaded Prague to put a violent end to the Prague Spring . Even in the years of so-called normalization after 1968, the memorial was a center of public protest against the communist regime.
On January 16, 1969, student Jan Palach burned himself to death on Wenceslas Square near the monument to protest against the Soviet occupation. There is now a memorial on the site that commemorates this act.
In November 1989, thousands of people gathered at the foot of the memorial for demonstrations for freedom and democracy .
The equestrian statue of St. Wenceslaus is depicted on the Czech 20 kroner coin .
The monument has been a cultural monument of the Czech Republic since 1964, registered under number 39814 / 1-1042, and from 1995 a national cultural monument , registered under number 176.
literature
- Karel B. Mádl: Myslbekův svatý Václav . In: Zlatá Praha . tape 16 , no. 47 , October 1899, p. 553-557 (Czech, online ).
Web links
- Statue of St. Wenceslas on the tourist portal of the city of Prague, accessed on March 5, 2018
- Anne Lungova: Cult around a cult figure - Saint Wenceslas and his monument in Prague. In: Radio Praha , December 18, 2008
- Pomník svatého Václava at PragueCityLine.cz, accessed on March 5, 2018 (Czech)
Individual evidence
- ↑ St. Wenceslas Monument is being restored Martina Schneibergová on August 7, 2004 on Radio Praha , accessed on March 5, 2018
- ↑ pomník sv. Václava Národní památkový ústav , accessed March 5, 2018 (Czech)
- ↑ pomník sv. Václava Národní památkový ústav , accessed March 5, 2018 (Czech)
Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 46.9 " N , 14 ° 25 ′ 47.3" E