The Marian Column on Old Town Square will not be

Prague - The Marian Column will not be re-erected in the Old Town Square. Today, the city council expressed disagreement with the restoration of the column through a resolution that was adopted after discussing two petitions regarding the erection of the Marian Column. The city hall considered a petition for the restoration of the monument, which was signed by more than 3,000 people, and a petition against the restoration of the column with more than 1,000 signatures.

The resolution mandated the city council to take all legal steps to terminate contractual obligations and to withdraw Prague's consent to the placement of the column in the square by the end of this year. Councilor Lukáš Kaucký (ČSSD) told ČTK that based on the resolution, the city will not accept a copy of the Marian Column as a gift. This step was supposed to continue the process in case Prague approved its restoration.

The Society for the Restoration of the Marian Column had the consent of the city district Prague 1 for the placement of the copy since July. Several entities appealed against this.

Opponents of the column's restoration argued that it is a symbol of Habsburg dominance and the re-Catholicization of the country, which caused a wave of emigration. They also see a reason against the restoration in the fact that it was toppled by a crowd on November 3, 1918, after the establishment of the Czechoslovak Republic. "The re-erection of the Marian Column would mean a denial of the development of Czech history," stated the petition. The placement of the copy is also rejected because, in the opinion of the opponents of the restoration, an exact copy of the Baroque monument cannot be created, as some elements have not survived.

Supporters emphasized a different dimension of placing the column in the Old Town Square. They described the Marian Column as a symbol and a reminder of the defenders of Prague during the Thirty Years' War, a significant work of art from the beginning of the Baroque style, from which Baroque sculpture in Bohemia developed, and as a spiritual artifact. According to the petition, the erection of the column next to the Jan Hus monument would be a symbol of reconciliation.

Since the early 1990s, there have been heated discussions regarding the restoration of the column. The city hall has dealt with petitions concerning its restoration several times.