Praha had two statues restored at the entrance to the Prague Market

photo: https://www.praha.eu/

Prague - The capital city has restored two statues of men with bulls from 1895, which stand at the entrance to the Prague Marketplace in Holešovice. Today, representatives of the city council and the Gallery of the Capital City of Prague (GHMP), which oversaw the project, told reporters on site. The work was carried out by restorer Jan Brabec for about 1.5 million crowns. According to him, the statues were in very poor condition due to neglected maintenance.

The statues were created at the end of the 19th century by prominent sculptors Bohuslav Schnirch and Čeněk Vosmík, who also contributed to the decoration of the National Museum. The works symbolically stem from the original function of the marketplace area, which housed the city slaughterhouse. One of the statues depicts a herdsman with a bull, while the other shows a man leading the animal to slaughter. Both works are protected as cultural monuments.

According to the restorer, the city decided to restore the works "at the last minute." "The statues are made up of three large blocks, and all the cavities and joints between them were flooded, causing water to seep in, allowing vegetation to establish itself, and there was a risk that the vegetation and frost damage would harm the statues much more, or even compromise their structural integrity," he explained. He added that the statues had received almost no care since their installation.

According to him, the work began last year with cleaning, during which he discovered damage to the plinths to such an extent that it later became necessary to replace parts of them with new stones. In the second phase, which began in spring, he carried out color retouching, restored metal attributes, and replaced damaged blocks in the lower part.

The city's councilor for culture, Hana Třeštíková (Prague Together), reminded that besides the restoration of existing statues, Prague has a program called Art for the City, which supports the creation of new works in public spaces. Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Together) added that in managing the area and carrying out ongoing modifications, the city wants to show respect for its history.

Recently, the city selected the authors for the future shape of public spaces in the marketplace through an architectural competition, which turned out to be Studio Perspektiv. According to the proposal, the marketplace area will receive new entrances, which are to be divided into entrances for pedestrians and vehicle access, a new square, a children's playground, greenery, water features, and furniture. According to previous information, the design work for the transformation of public spaces in the Prague Marketplace is expected to last about two years. The actual modifications are planned in phases. According to earlier information, the transformation of the marketplace will take about ten years, with the first changes expected to be visible around 2027.

The city is making smaller modifications in the area; for instance, last year it demolished two buildings at the entrance from Jateční Street that did not fit the historical appearance of the marketplace. The area has recently been transferred to the management of the city company Výstaviště Praha, which takes care of the Exhibition Grounds.

The area of the original Prague slaughterhouses was founded in 1895. It functioned as a slaughterhouse until the 1980s, when it began to be transformed into a marketplace. The area has been declared a cultural monument.