Praha agrees to the return of the Marian Column to the Old Town Square

Prague - A copy of the Baroque Marian Column, which was demolished after the declaration of independence of Czechoslovakia in November 1918, is set to return to the Old Town Square in Prague next year. The capital city's council agreed to the reconstruction of the column today. Tereza Králová, spokesperson for the Prague City Hall, reported this to ČTK. Prague is also considering the return of Krocín's fountain. This Renaissance artwork was demolished in 1862 in connection with the Neo-Gothic completion of the town hall.
     There have been turbulent discussions about the reinstatement of the column. Members of the Society for the Restoration of the Marian Column welcomed the decision. "This is the first Baroque monument in Bohemia, one of the most beautiful, from which all Baroque sculpture evolved," said academic sculptor Petr Váňa, who is creating a copy of the column, in a response to ČTK. "After fifteen years of work, almost the entire architecture is completed," he added. The creation of the column is funded by donations. The Society intends to donate the work to Prague. The recreated parts of the column are stored in various locations in Prague. "In total, it amounts to almost one hundred tons of stone," said the sculptor. For instance, the statue of the Virgin Mary is currently located behind the Church of St. Nicholas.
     According to the schedule approved by the council today, the installation of the column and fountain will be preceded, among other things, by a feasibility study that could be completed this summer. Archaeological research is also expected to be carried out at several locations in the square. The city plans to organize a professional colloquium. At the end of this year, Prague hopes to announce a conceptual architectural competition.
     The estimated costs for the preparation of the metropolis are around 4.4 million crowns, part of which the city hopes to obtain from the Ministry of Culture. The actual installation of the Marian Column could begin in the spring of next year. The costs are expected to amount to around three million crowns.
     Historians and heritage experts are not united in their opinions on the restoration of the Marian Column, which was torn down after the fall of the Habsburg monarchy. Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) previously stated on his blog that the column remains a symbol of the dispute over Czech history, the Reformation, and the Counter-Reformation for some. "For me, the rebuilding of the column is primarily the return of a valuable work of art to a place where it is missing, a restoration of historical memory," he concluded.