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Praha
Hlavní mĕsto

Staromĕstké námĕstí, Staré Město

Mariánský sloup

Saint Mary's Column

Various sculptors
1650 (2020-2024)

Description

Column, just under 16 metres high, topped by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin Mary standing on a dragon, with statues of angels battling symbols of evil standing on the corner plinths. The column, functioning as a gnomon, together with the Prague meridian marked on the paving, forms a sun dial, which was formerly used to determine noon local time. The original column, dating from 1650 and consecrated in 1652, was destroyed shortly after the establishment of Czechoslovakia and was replaced by a modern replica on its original site. The new column, topped with a statue by Petr Váňa and his colleagues, was ceremonially consecrated on 15 August 2020. Initially, the pedestals lacked the statues of the four angels fighting the symbols of evil, which were added in 2024.

Praha - Mariánský sloup
Copy of the painting of Our Lady of Rynec on the restored column.

NW side: angel subduing the devil with a cross, sculpted by Vojtěch Adamec (the younger). From this angel only a minimal fragment remains, and for the new model the sculptor used depictions of the statue in old engravings. Praha - Mariánský sloup
SW side: angel striking down the devil with a spear, sculpted by Petr Váňa.

SE side: angel fighting a dragon, sculpted by Jiří Kačer.
NE side: angel subduing a lion, sculpted by Petr Siegel.

Inscription(s)

VIrgInI
genItrICI
sIne orIgInIs Labe
ConCeptæ
propVgnatæ
et
LIberatæ
VrbIs ergo
Cæsar
pIVs et IVstVs
hanC statVaM
ponIt

To the Immaculate
Virgin,
conceived
without sin,
for the defence
and
liberation
of the city
the pious and just
Emperor
erected this
statue

Chronogram for 1650

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)

Artists

Vojtěch Adamec (mladší), Czech sculptor.
Jan Jiří (Johan Georg) Bendl (Schwaben c. 1610 - Praha 1680), Bohemian Baroque sculptor, who worked mainly in Prague (Wikipedia).
Jiří Kačer (Praha 1952), Czech sculptor, restorer and university lecturer (Wikipedia).
Petr Siegel (Praha 1948), Czech sculptor and restorer.
Petr Váňa (Praha 1965), Czech sculptor (Wikipedia).

Sources & Information

Mariánský sloup, Info.
Wikipedia, Mariánský sloup (Staroměstské náměstí).
Wikipedia, Společnost pro obnovu Mariánského sloupu na Staroměstském náměstí v Praze.

Location (N 50°5'14" - E 14°25'16") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: czpr183; Photograph: 11 July 2026
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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Copy of the painting of Our Lady of Rynec on the restored column.
NW side: angel subduing the devil with a cross, sculpted by Vojtěch Adamec (the younger). From this angel only a minimal fragment remains, and for the new model the sculptor used depictions of the statue in old engravings.	SW side: angel striking down the devil with a spear, sculpted by Petr Váňa.
SE side: angel fighting a dragon, sculpted by Jiří Kačer.	NE side: angel subduing a lion, sculpted by Petr Siegel.