Socha Pieta Statue

Welcome to Chrudim. You're standing in one of those places where time stops and where the history of the city touches you right now. Look ahead. What you see is not just an ordinary piece of stone, but a deep expression of the human feeling that has stood here for centuries. Before your eyes, the statue is known as Pieta. Feel the seriousness that radiates from this work. It's a scene full of silence and sadness caught in a still sandstone. You see this woman, the Virgin Mary, in her arms, on her lap, holding the body of her son, Jesus Christ. It's a moment right after his body was taken from the cross. This whole scene, even though it's carved into hard material, seems incredibly fragile and human.

Now let's go deeper into the past to understand how this work came about. This Baroque statue is not news, but it is a witness of ancient times, namely the second half of the eighteenth century. At that time the Baroque style was in its greatest strength and this work is its beautiful and sad example. To know who is behind this masterpiece, we need to look at the name of the man who breathed his life into him. It's Petr Filip. He was a local artist, a man who meant a great deal to this town. Petr Filip was not only a sculptor, he was also an experienced stonemason. This is very important, because thanks to this double profession he managed to work with sandstone with incredible precision. He understood not only how to create a beautiful shape, but also how to care about this material and how to conjure up the appearance of softness where there is actually a hard stone.

Now pay attention to the details you have right in front of you right now. Notice how the Virgin Mary is displayed. She's life-sized, which means her character has the dimensions of a real person. This gives the whole scene incredible proximity. When you look at her, you feel like you're standing right in front of a real woman at her hardest time. Look at her clothes. The sculptor Filip in the sandstone was able to create a richly dressed gown. Notice the waves and landfills of the substance that appear to be light and moving, although they are merely carved shapes in stone. This whole statue stands on a high pillar with a decorated, profiled ledge. This pillar is not random, it is part of a modern sandstone parapet, which is located right here in Široká Street. This whole structure is used to see the statue as an important point in this urban space.

Although there are no other specific human stories in the records about the characters that the statue depicts, we can think about how much the character of Peter Filip in Chrudim must have been valued. For his work to survive for so long and so carefully preserved, it had to be truly extraordinary. Petr Filip left its soul and its skill here, which we can now perceive in every view of this sandstone block.

You may be interested in one very interesting thing that has happened to this statue over the last few years. It's a story of loss and subsequent return. This statue has a very stormy path. Already in the year one thousand nine hundred fifty-eight this statue was declared a real-estate cultural monument of the Czech Republic, which gave it high protection and the status of an enormous treasure. But in the year one thousand nine hundred sixty something happened that must have been sad for many people in the city. Due to the planned expansion of Široké Street, the statue had to be removed from its original location. They moved her to the cemetery at St. Michael's archangel. Imagine that time when this important work of art, which was to be seen right in the street, was hidden in the silence of the cemetery garden. It was a time when the statue became part of the peace and quiet of the resting place.

Fortunately, things have come back to normal. After years of waiting, the statue came home. In the year one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven it was finally placed again on its modern sandstone parapet right here in Široké Street. So it's a statue that found its way back to the people it belongs to. This return was an important moment for the whole city because it restored the continuity of history in this urban space.

Now that you have seen this memory and understood its meaning, I suggest you continue your walk. Chrudim has many other hidden treasures waiting for you on every other street. Let the atmosphere of this city drift and continue to discover its beauty. Thank you for spending this moment with this historical monument and for paying attention to the details that are here. We wish you a beautiful rest of the day and other interesting experiences during your next survey.