Column of the Holy Trinity in the Czech Republic, Olomouc spa
Rating: 8,4/10 (114 votes)  The Holy Trinity Column or the Plague Column is located in Olomouc on the Gorny Square. In 2000, the pillar was listed by UNESCO as an outstanding monument of Central European Baroque. Today, the column is a religious monument that was erected in gratitude for the retreat of the Black Death – plague. The construction of the column was carried out in 1716-1754. At the end of the construction, the column was the embodiment of Czech patriotism – local craftsmen took part in the construction, adding sculptures of Catholic saints associated with the city of Olomouc to the construction. The column was modeled after the Roman column located in Piazza Santa Maria, built in 1614. Initially, the construction work was supervised by Wenzel Raeder, who proposed to build a plague pillar, and he also sponsored the construction at the very beginning. The architect died shortly before the start of the second phase of construction. Construction work was continued by the successors of Raeder – Franz Teneck, Augustin Scholtz and Johann Wenzel Rokicki. In 1754, the construction of the column was completed by Johann Ignatius Rokitsky. Philip Sattler began the sculptural decoration of the column. After his death, the work was continued by Andreas Zaner. The gilded sculptures of the Virgin Mary and the Blessed Virgin Mary that adorn the column were made by Simon Forstner. The official consecration of the column took place with the participation of Emperor Franz I and his wife Maria Theresa in 1754. In 1758 the city was besieged by the Prussian army. During that period, the convoy came under fire from cannons. And today in the column you can see several cannonballs left specially in memory of this event. A sculpture of the Holy Trinity was installed on the spire crowning the column. Near it are the sculptures of the Archangel Gabriel and the Assumption of the Virgin. The monument consists of three levels, decorated with 18 stone sculptures and 14 bas-reliefs. Sculptures of people who took part in the earthly life of Jesus Christ were created on the upper level. Here you can see Joseph, Joachim, Saint Anna, John the Baptist. It also houses sculptures of St. Jerome and St. Lawrence. Three bas-reliefs represent faith, hope and love. On the middle level, there are sculptures of Czech and Moravian saints. There are images of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Wojciech, Saint Blasius of Sebastia, Saint John Sarkander, Saint John of Nepomuk. On the lower level there are sculptures of Saint Wenceslas, Saint Mauritius, Saint John Capistran, St. Florian, St. Alois Gonzaga, St. Anthony of Padua. Between the sculptures are the bas-reliefs of the 12 apostles. It is a generally accepted fact that We also recommend reading Puerta del Sol in Spain, Madrid resort Topic: Column of the Holy Trinity in the Czech Republic, Olomouc spa. |
