The exhibition presents the history and current repairs of the Marian column

Prague - The history of the Marian plague column at Hradčanské Square in Prague and its current restoration is highlighted by an exhibition installed in its vicinity. This year marks the 280th anniversary of the consecration of the Marian column. Most of the statues will return to the column in their original forms, while some will be in copies. The entire column will be restored by 2019. Michaela Vrchotová from the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague, which is the author and manager of the public sculpture in Prague, informed ČTK about the start of the exhibition.

The panel exhibition in the square is divided into three sections - the history of the Marian column and its creators, surveys and restorations, and finally medallions of individual saints that visitors can view in photographs.

The Marian column at Hradčanské Square was built between 1724 and 1736. It was erected on the site where a plague altar stood from 1713 to 1714, serving for communal worship and prayers during the Prague plague outbreak. The monument was pursued by Hradčany, which at that time was still an independent royal city.

The author of the column's architectural design is unknown, but it is very likely that it was Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff himself, the creator of the sculpture decoration. The stonework was carried out by stonemason Johann Ulrich Mannes, who worked in the nearby area of Prague Loreta. The first part of the work was halted in 1728 due to lack of funds, when the entire architecture of the column and the statues of St. Charles Borromeo, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Peter, St. Paul, and largely or completely the statue of St. Florian with the figure of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, intended for the very top of the column, were completed.

Further work on the column began during the sculptor's lifetime in 1731. At that time, Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff was already seriously ill and unable to complete the commission. It was probably completed by his friend František Ignác Weiss. In his workshop, the statues of the three main Czech patrons, St. Wenceslas, St. Adalbert, and St. Vitus, and the statue of St. John of Nepomuk were created. The ceremonial consecration of the column took place on May 13, 1736.

According to the curator of public sculpture Marie Foltýnová, the statues do not have serious static damage, but they will be cleaned, restored, and preserved, and returned to the Marian column as soon as possible after the architectural work is completed. The statues of St. John of Nepomuk, St. Florian, and all three statues from the second tier of the pedestal - St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas, and St. Adalbert - will be replaced with carved copies. The restored statues and the copies of the statues will be installed continuously until 2019.