In Brno, a statue of priest Středa, the protector of the city, will be created within a year

Brno - A statue of priest Martin Středa will be erected near the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Brno. He was a significant representative of the Jesuits and a protector of Brno during the siege by Swedish forces. The price of the four-meter bronze statue with a concrete pedestal is around two million crowns, said sculptor Jan Šebánek today to ČTK, who won in a public art competition. The city received 27 proposals for it. The statue is expected to be completed next August, said the mayor's deputy Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL).

The statue will be located at the corner of Jezuitská and Beethovenova streets, at the church where Středa served and is also buried. "We chose Jan Šebánek's design for its modesty, simplicity, and strong connection to the classical heritage of figurative sculpture. It will thus serve as a certain counterpoint to many existing statues in Brno, which are conceived more unconventionally," said Hladík, who was the chairman of the jury. All 27 proposals submitted for the competition can be viewed by the public at the Urban Center in Brno from Wednesday until August 24.

The statue will depict a priest with hands clasped in prayer. "Embedded in the pedestal is a cannonball. According to legend, the last cannonball fired by Swedish forces stopped at Father Středa's feet; we are preserving this element," added Šebánek.

The cannonball also symbolizes the period of the Thirty Years' War and the siege of Brno. During the siege of Brno by Swedish forces, Středa was the rector of the Jesuit college and a close collaborator of the commander of the city's defense, Jean-Louis Raduit de Souches. He participated in the defense of the city by organizing students, apprentices, and burghers, and served as a spiritual and moral pillar for the defenders of Brno.

The statue will be part of the project Statues for Brno. Previously, works referencing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Thomas Alva Edison, or the poet and writer Jan Skácel have been created. In the future, statues may also be made for architect Adolf Loos, Queen Eliška Rejčka, gymnast and resistance fighter Jan Gajdoš, or architect Bohuslav Fuchs.