Statues - Hither & Thither

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Letohrad
Pardubický kraj

Václavské náměstí

Marianský morový sloup

St Mary's and Plague Column

Antonín Appeller
1717-1725

Description

15 m high Marian column made from a dark sandstone. The column surmounted by a golden statue of Corinthian column surmounted by a golden statue of

(click on the photo for an enlargement.)

Saint Mary Immaculate, standing on a sphere with putti.

The column stands on a large square base in two levels. On the corners of both levels are statues. On one of the faces of the upper level is the coat of arms of Earl Harrach, who partly financed the structure. On the faces of the lower level reliefs from the life of the Virgin Mary.

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

The four statues on the upper level show angels. The four statues on the lower level:

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

Svatý Roch / Saint Roch, in pilgrim's outfit with staff and dog, and showing his tigh.
(14th century), saint from Montpellier, he is specially invoked against the plague. (Wikipedia).
Svatý Šebestián / Saint Sebastian, tied to a tree and shot by arrows.
(died c. 288), martyr, killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians (Wikipedia).
Svatý Karel Boromejský / Saint Charles Borromeo, a young priest with a cross staff.
(Italian: Carlo Borromeo) (1538 - 1584), cardinal, worked during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church (Wikipedia).
Svatý Florian / Saint Florian, Roman soldier with flag and throwing water from a bucket on a burning house.
St. Florian (d. c. 304), commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum, responsible for organizing firefighting brigades. Martyred because is did not want to sacrifice to Roman gods. He is usually depicted as a Roman officer pouring water from a pitcher over a fire (Wikipedia).

The whole is surrounded by a balustrade with putti carrying six-pointed stars.

(click on the photo for an enlargement in a separate window.)

Annotation

The foundation stone was laid in 1717, and it was inaugurated in 1725, in gratitude for warding off the plague.

Marian, Holy Trinity and Plague Columns (Mariensäule, Dreifaltigkeitssäule, Pestsäule)

Marian and Holy Trinity columns are religious monuments with a statue of Saint Mary or a depiction of the Holy Trinity on top of a column. Around the base of the column are usually various saints. Marian columns were built to thank the Virgin Mary for intervention to quell the pestilence and other scourges. The first of those was erecrted in Vienna in 1667 (Mariensäule) and the second in 1679 also in Vienna at the Graben, the Pestsäule.
The purpose of the Holy Trinity columns was usually simply to celebrate the church and the faith, although the plague motif could play a role.
Erecting religious monuments in the form of a column surmounted by a figure or a Christian symbol was a gesture of public faith that flourished in the Catholic countries of Europe especially in the 17th and 18th centuries (Wikipedia)

Sculptor

Antonín Appeller, Czech sculptor of Litomyšl.

Sources & Information

Kulturní centrum Letohrad, Morový sloup.

Locatie (N 50°2'10" - E 16°29'55") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: czpa012; Photograph: 3 September 2012
Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
© Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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Statues - Hither & Thither

Marianský morový sloup

St Mary's and Plague Column

Description

Annotation

Marian, Holy Trinity and Plague Columns (Mariensäule, Dreifaltigkeitssäule, Pestsäule)

Sculptor

Sources & Information

Tags

Locatie (N 50°2'10" - E 16°29'55") (Satellite view: Google Maps)