Praha 6 announced the results of the competition for the monument of Maria Theresa

Marie Terezie (1717 Vienna – 1780 Vienna)

Prague - Prague 6 announced the results of the competition for a monument to the Austrian monarch and Czech queen Maria Theresa. At the same time, the winner of the competition for a sculpture of Sophie Chotek, wife of the heir to the Austrian throne Franz Ferdinand d'Este, was determined. The city district has not yet commissioned the creation of the monuments and wants to decide their fate in the future. Adam Halmoši, spokesperson for Prague 6, said this today. All proposals are on display at the exhibition in the Glass Palace at Liberty Square.
The jury did not select a single winner, only awarded five prizes. One of the proposals depicts the empress as a branching tree in "the context of the dynastic family tree", while others work through her figure more or less realistically.
"I somewhat envy the assessors of the 19th century, when it was relatively clear that when a statue of Maria Theresa was sculpted, it would be Maria Theresa to the last lace, and then it was just a matter of who executed it more skillfully," said Ondřej Šefců, director of the National Heritage Institute in Prague and a member of the jury. "Today, artistic work is such a broad concept that you can imagine almost anything under it; the scope is limitless, and it is a question of whether we should narrow it down somehow with the assignment," he added, emphasizing that it is the artist’s responsibility to make the viewer understand the meaning of the work, what it concerns, and what it relates to. Doubts about comprehensibility were a frequent criticism from the commission when evaluating the works.
The statue of Maria Theresa could potentially be located in the new park near the Powder Bridge between Milady Horákové Street and the bastion of the fortifications of Prague Castle in Prague 6. A Blanka tunnel is currently being constructed at the site.
The sculpture of Chotek, who died with her husband in the assassination in Sarajevo, could in the future be placed in front of the Písecká Gate by Mariánské hradby Street.
"For Sophie Chotek, the jury evaluated over 30 competition proposals, ultimately rewarding five designs and awarding the first three winning prizes, but not a single one will be realized yet,” stated the mayor of Prague 6, Marie Kousalíková (ODS).
The winning proposal was determined by the jurors to be the design of a sculpture by Martina Hozová and Jan Paclík in the shape of an unfolded fan. Other awarded proposals depict Chotek bathing in a tub or place her likeness in a glass block.
The artistic competition for the sculptures was announced by the municipality at the turn of the year. The commission selected the best proposals at the turn of March and April, which have been on display in the windows of the Glass Palace since Thursday.