Sloup se sochou svatého Josefa Pěstouna Statue column

Welcome to the Golden Mountains. You have just stopped at Liberty Square, where one of the most important and beautiful symbols of this city stands before you. You are standing right in front of a monumental column that dominates the whole area with its presence and immediately encourages you to stop, to quietly observe and to feel the history that is felt at every step. This column with the statue of St. Joseph Pošten is not just an ordinary stone piece, which stands here as decoration. He is a living witness for many centuries, who lasts here as a fixed point in the midst of a changing world and as evidence of the artistic expression of the human spirit. Feel the atmosphere of this square where Baroque art meets the daily life of the city and where history becomes part of your present moment.

Let us now return together to a deep past to understand how this pillar came into being and why it is so important for the city. In order to truly understand its meaning, we must return to 1731 in our thoughts. That was the year this statue was ceremonially placed in its place. But it was no random moment or simple construction. This whole process was driven by a strong will and vision of the then mayor, who was called J. G. Wietze. It was his initiative, his effort and his desire to secure this spiritual and artistic element for the city that made this column an essential part of Freedom Square. Since then, this pillar has been a solid part of the urban monument zone and reminds us of the era when the Baroque style became the main way in which people expressed their faith, their beauty and their social position. It is a work that was created in times of great emotion and expressed through a stone that resists time.

Now pay attention to the very form of the monument and what you see right in front of you right now. If you look closer at the surface of the statue, you can see its very specific and unique texture. This whole piece is carved from a rough-grained Bosnian sandstone. This material plays a key role in the entire work of the statue. Its rougher structure allows light and shadows to form constantly changing shapes and depths on the surface of the stone. When you look at the statue from different angles, you see how the material reacts to light, how it highlights shapes and how it gives the whole piece its unmistakable character. This statue belongs to the works of Silesian provenance, which means that in its details and overall composition you can find a print of the local artistic spirit and tradition that has evolved in the region for centuries. It is a work that requires not only great technical skill, but also a deep understanding of the very nature of the stone that the sculptor worked with.

Now, when you look up and focus your eyes on the characters themselves, you see something that carries a deep human feeling that may surprise you. The statue depicts St. Joseph Pošten, but not in the noblest, furthest or most serious form you might imagine looking at religious monuments. Because there's a little Jesus present. Notice the unexpected playfulness that radiates from the entire work. The little Jesus is just holding the beard of St. Joseph. This one detail changes the whole atmosphere of this monument. Instead of a steep and cold statue, we meet here with a moment of family proximity, tenderness and child intransigence. It is precisely this detail that makes this baroque work such an extraordinary and human work. It can reach every visitor with its unexpected humanity and ability to tell the story of relationship and love through stone.

If you look at the base, the plinth on which this whole column stands, you might encounter another fascinating and mysterious element. In this place there are inscriptions which have a very specific and specific form. It's called chronographs. For some, at first glance, they may look like ordinary texts or historical records, but they're actually hidden secrets. These inscriptions contain a hidden date which is encoded in the text using a certain way of writing letters. It is the way that older masters and scholars left a legacy for future generations to know exactly when the work was completed or when something fundamental happened. It's like history is trying to talk to us through hidden codes carved right into stone, waiting to be rediscovered.

However, this monument was not only a one-off event from 1731, but is the result of a very long history of care, maintenance and restoration. To make her look like you see her today, she had to go through some important stages of restoration that made her what she is today. In order to see this symbol of the city in its beauty, people had to take care of it even in difficult times. The first significant renewal took place in 1851, when the people at that time decided that this inheritance was too valuable to let go. Another important step was taken in 1999 when the statue was treated carefully again. Finally, in 2011, there was an overall and very thorough restoration carried out by academic sculptor Jakub Gajda. It is thanks to this continuous care that lasts over 300 years, this pillar is still so preserved and can remind us today of its original baroque beauty. Each of these revival was an important bridge between the past and the present which allowed this piece of Silesian art to survive until our time.

You're standing here now in front of something much bigger than just a stone statue on a tall pole. You stand before a deep union of history, art, faith, and human endeavor to keep beautiful things from disappearing. Whether you were intrigued by the unexpected playfulness of little Jesus, or fascinated by the secrets of hidden inscriptions on the plinth, or by the texture of sandstone, we hope that this moment of stopping by the monument brought you a new perception of the Golden Hors. Continue to take a peaceful walk around the city, explore other parts of the square, look at the surrounding buildings and let yourself drift through the atmosphere of this place. Thank you for taking this moment and spending it with us at this important monument. We wish you the lovely rest of your visit.