The replica of the Marian column in Prague is to be completed a month earlier

photo: NPÚ

Prague - The construction of the replica of the Marian column in Prague's Old Town Square is past the halfway mark and is expected to be completed by August 15. This is a month earlier than originally planned. The quicker completion was aided by the cancellation of Easter markets. Petr Váňa, the author of the replica, told ČTK today. According to him, the central part is now being completed, on which the column shaft, the capital, and the statue of the Virgin Mary will subsequently be placed. Construction began in mid-February after the Prague city council expressed its consent to the placement of the replica.

According to the sculptor, the central part is the most complex element, which will bear the weight of the column and the statue. So far, the sculptor and his team have assembled just over a hundred stone parts weighing nearly fifty tons. "I am pleased that we are working, that it is going well, and that after a quarter of a century we can see this work of our hands where it belongs,” Váňa told ČTK. He added that work will now begin on the balustrade.

The column was originally supposed to be completed by mid-September, but the schedule accounted for a one-month pause due to the annual Easter markets. These did not take place due to measures against the spread of the new type of coronavirus, so construction continued without interruption. The new completion date agreed with the building authority and the Transport Infrastructure Administration (TSK) is therefore August 15, although Váňa believes it is likely that the column will be completed even earlier.

The city originally planned to waive the fee for the occupation of the construction site, which amounts to over a million crowns. However, Váňa and his team will ultimately have to pay it. The money comes from donations sent to the Society for the Restoration of the Marian Column in Old Town Square in Prague. According to the sculptor, it seems that enough funds will be raised. He also pointed out that the city waived fees for the occupation for all restaurant outdoor seating areas, including those in Old Town Square, in connection with the coronavirus crisis. "We are actually the only ones who are heroically paying there,” he noted.

Prague city councilors previously repeatedly refused to express consent to the placement of the replica of the original column. The situation changed at the end of this January when a majority was found in the council to revoke the city's original dissenting opinion. Following that, the TSK allowed the construction occupation. However, not all Prague residents are supporters of the column's return. Petitions against it have also been created, one of which is organized by former Communist MP Marta Semelová.

The original column from the 17th century was toppled by a crowd in 1918, as it was seen as a symbol of the Habsburg monarchy. Its return has been discussed since the 1990s. Proponents of the restoration consider it a symbol and a reminder of the defenders of Prague during the Thirty Years' War and a significant baroque artwork. According to opponents, it represents the symbol of Habsburg dominance and intolerant re-Catholicization of the country.