The restorers are cleaning and repairing Zderad's column on Křenová Street in Brno

Brno – Zderad's Column in the Brno street Křenová has been restored. Scaffolding surrounds the twelve-meter monument, where restorers are currently at work. The work includes cleaning the column, particularly from algae and lichens. At the same time, the restorers will repair it and treat its surface to make the column more durable, the municipality stated in a press release.

The 15th-century monument is located in a small park at the intersection of Křenová and Zderadova streets. The column was once presumably a reconciliation or confession cross that stood along the road from the city to the gallows, where confessions and prayers were held. In the past, Zderad's Column has been interpreted by various theories suggesting it could serve as a divine ordeal, a boundary marker of Brno's mile law, or a designation of a ford on a merchant route. Foreign researchers have also shown interest in it.

Zderad's Column got its name from a legend recorded in the first half of the 18th century, which linked the monument to a mention in Cosmas's Chronicle. The column is said to have been erected by the Czech King Vratislav II in memory of the murder of Zderad from Švábenice in 1091. However, the supposed royal foundation charter - if it ever existed - must have been false according to contemporary historians. Nevertheless, the legend lives on to this day.

In addition to Zderad's Column, restoration work this year will also involve the sculpture of the Holy Trinity in Zelný trh in the center of Brno, the statue of St. Florian in Brno-Ivanovice, and a cross from 1805 in Slatina. The work is expected to be completed by the end of November. The restoration of the statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Brno-Bystrc has already been completed. According to the municipality, the restoration work costs the city hundreds of thousands of crowns each year.