Brno chose the design by sculptor Hanke for the statue of Maria Restituta

Brno - The architectural and artistic competition for the statue of Sister Marie Restituta in Brno was won by academic sculptor Radim Hanke. The design maximally fulfilled the requirements for the overall aesthetic level of the solution, said Brno's mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS) to journalists today. There were 38 designs in the competition, but three did not meet the conditions. According to the winning design, the cost of the statue is 3.3 million crowns.

The city council today confirmed the final ranking determined by the jury. Hanke submitted his entry together with the office ellement architects. The second place was awarded to Antonín Matějovský and Michal Ondráček, and the third place went to two designs, that of Lukáš Wagner and that of Vladimír Matoušek and Radim Horák. "The design that came in first place maximally fulfilled the requirements for the overall artistic level of the solution, compliance with the ideological intent of the competition, and suitability for integration into the designated space, which is the criterion that had the highest weight in the evaluation," Vaňková stated.

According to the judges, the very figurative conception should evoke joy in the park environment from a well-executed work and evoke modesty as an expression of tribute to the exemplary personal attitudes of Marie Restituta Kafková, noted the mayor. "The bronze work, by integrating into the space, unifies the memorial to the fallen from the world wars and the tribute to the native of Husovice," Vaňková added. After the statutory deadlines have elapsed, negotiations with the winner regarding the contract conditions for the creation of the work will follow.

Marie Restituta was born as Helena Kafková in Husovice. Later, her family moved to Vienna, and Kafková joined the congregation of the Sisters of Christian Charity and took the religious name Marie Restituta. She was a nurse and several times came into conflict with the Nazis during World War II. She was arrested directly in the operating room and subsequently executed. She was proclaimed blessed in June 1998. In Brno, there is also a church of Marie Restituta and a park where her statue is to stand.