Sousoší Panny Marie, svatého Šebestiána a svatého Jana Nepomuckého Statue

Welcome to Tašovice. You just stopped in front of one of the most important art treasures this city has to offer. You're standing right in front of a component that can immediately amaze you with its size, its dynamics and its wealth. Feel the strange atmosphere that floats around this work. It's a space where history meets, deep faith and incredible art of sculpture work. Look at these figures as they stand in the sky, and try to perceive their movement and the emotions that their creator has put in them. It's a work that doesn't seem to be moving, but it's like life is still flowing in it.

Let us now go back in time together to understand how this work was created and why it is so important to us today. This sculpture is a typical and masterful example of late Baroque art. At that time, artists tried not to make their works harder, but to make them feel movement, drama and a strong spiritual expression. This particular work was created by an excellent sculptor Josef Leonard Weber. His work was in the years of a thousand seven hundred thirty-six to a thousand seven hundred thirty-seven. Weber was an artist who was able to capture the highest level of detail in the stone while expressing profound significance. So this sculpture is not just a cluster of statues, but it is a living expression of an entire era that shaped our culture and the way people perceived the world around them.

Now pay attention to the architecture itself and all the details you have right in front of you. Your eyes should now lead me to the highest part of the work. It is dominated by the figure of the Virgin Mary who gently holds a child in her arms. Notice how this character is drawn up. A beautiful metal wreath composed of twelve stars shines on her head. These stars are not just a simple ornament, but they have a deep symbolic meaning that everyone immediately understood at the time. If you look further down, you will see a detail that may surprise you with its strength and its dramatic nature. The Virgin Mary tramples the head of the serpent with her foot. This snake revolves around the globe, which represents the victory of good over all the evil that is found in this world. It is a moment of strength and triumph, which is very typical in the baroque style and gives a man a thrill.

Now look down at the pedestal itself. The whole sculpture is based on a two-stage structure that gives the piece the necessary stability while creating a dignified and noble framework for it. At these stages you can see two other significant figures. There is Saint Sebastian and Saint John Nepomucký. Notice how these statues are integrated into the overall composition. They're not just separate characters, but they're firmly connected to the whole story that tells this sculpture. The whole character is richly decorated with Baroque reliefs. These reliefs, i.e. these cut-out scenes, add a whole depth and richness that you can perceive from different angles. Every move, every groove in the stone serves to keep you in the loop.

Although we do not have detailed records of the particular persons that have been around this sculpture in the past, the figures of the saints themselves tell us about the values that were so important to people in the eighteenth century. Saint Shebestian and Saint John Nepomuk are characters that embody courage, sacrifice and loyalty in popular faith. The sculptor Weber carved these figures so that their inner strength and dignity were felt.

I have one more interesting thing for you that may make you think more deeply about how the world around us changes. You may think this sculpture has always stood here in this exact place where you see it now. But history is a little more complex and interesting. Around the year a thousand and seven hundred and fifty, this work was located completely elsewhere, specifically near the road. This means that this work of art has gone through a path that we can hardly imagine today, and it has to be moved to find its place today. And there is one other thing that is very important to all of us and requires our attention. In the year two thousand twenty-five this protected cultural heritage was found to be in an emergency situation. This is a strong signal to all of us that this beautiful work is fragile and requires our care, effort and protection to stay here for future generations and not to be lost.

I hope that this short journey over time has pleased you and that you have found some time with this sculpture for peace, for observation and for the perception of beauty. Before you go on your next journey, stay in silence for a while and feel the atmosphere of this place. Take another look at the details, perhaps from a different angle, to fully understand Josef Leonard Weber's championship and his vision. I wish you a nice walk and other interesting experiences in the surroundings.