Kladno - Statuary of the Virgin Mary

The sculpture of the Virgin Mary on the Starosty Paul Square in Kladno is a Baroque monument built according to the architectural design of Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer and the work of sculptor Karl Josef Hierl, which was created at the expense of the Abbot of Břevnov and Broumov, Benno Löbl O.S.B.

Originally, there was a small pond on the site of the Marian sculpture, with St. John of Nepomuk on a stone column in the middle of it.

Benno Löbl, the abbot of Břevnov, decided to place a statue dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the saints, including St. John of Nepomuk, in the centre of the square.

The actual construction of the statue was preceded by an exemplary 60 cm high model, which was probably made in 1739 or in the spring of 1740, i.e. before the actual work began.

Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer guaranteed the construction of the three-stage architecturally developed plinth made of sandstone from Žehrovice, and Johann Baumgartner from the Old Town of Prague was commissioned to produce the stone elements. The sculptor Karel Josef Hiernle started work in July 1740 and created the top statue of the Virgin Mary, four figures of saints, four angels with cartouches and four reliefs for the plinth part out of softer but also less resistant sandstone. While K. I. Dientzenhofer confirmed the expenses for the stonework, the prior of the monastery paid the fee to Karl Josef Hierl, who had already been working on the Kladno sculpture in July 1740 and received the additional payment for the work on 25 October 1740. The completion of the sculptural work is evidenced by the chronogram on the cartouche of one of the angels.
The foundation stone was laid on 22 July 1741.

However, the actual execution was "hindered" by the pillar - a symbol of the town law, which was removed just before the foundation stone was laid on 15 July 1741.

Only then could the stonemason Johann Baumgartner, his polisher and his journeyman Kastka begin to assemble the sculpture from the already finished stone parts.

The sculpture was completed and consecrated in 1741.

Only a part of the original sculpture by Karl Hierll is still preserved on the site. In spite of this torso, it represents a truly rare example of his art from the period when he was at the height of his creative powers.

Of the original decoration in situ, only St. Benedict and St. Benno remain, as well as a pair of cherubs - one with an inscriptional cartouche (GlorIosae...), the other with the emblem of the Broumov monastery, reliefs of St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. Jáchym and St. Anne on the plinth and a floral motif of tulips. Other statues were taken away during the previous modifications and were replaced either by copies or pieces. However, all the statues, made of soft sandstone, have been repaired several times. The dominant statue of the Virgin Mary, which was most exposed to the weather, has also disappeared.

The sculpture can be divided into three horizontal parts. The first represents the family of Jesus, namely the oval reliefs of St. Jáchym, St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist and St. Anne. The second stage bears the saints associated with the Benedictine order - St. Benedict, St. Procopius facing the church, and on the reverse side St. John of Nepomuk and St. Benno, the namesake of the builder. The traditionally mentioned statue of St. Vojtěch was probably not used on the sculpture at all. The sculpture is then graduated by the Virgin Mary - Immaculata.

The sculpture of the Virgin Mary stands on the south side of Mayor Paul Square. It stands on a raised stone base in the shape of an octagon. The sculpture is surrounded by a metal railing with stone polygonal pillars.

For the lower parts of the plinth Hiernle added four deep reliefs - St. Anne (the mother of the Virgin Mary, holding a book) is looking towards the town hall, on the south side is St. Jáchym (St. Anne's husband, with a T-shaped shepherd's staff), then St. Joseph - the Lord's Shepherd (with a lily) and St. John the Baptist (with a cross and an inscriptional band) was placed next to the church.

In the next stage, the Benedictine saints are deflated, complemented by St. John of Nepomuk, who is located on the southwest corner (it is a copy, the torsional original can be found in the building of the Kladno town hall), followed by the statue of the founder of the Benedictine order St. Towards the town hall there is St. Procopius (with a cross, the Book of the Rule and the abbot's crutch) and finally St. Benno (Benedict and the abbot's namesake, with the attribute of a fish on the book). Among the saints are angels, two with the emblems of the monasteries of Břevnov and Broumov and two others with inscriptional cartouches.

A complete restoration was carried out in 1873, during which metal railings were probably made. The monument was repaired again shortly after the accident (1979) by restorers Antonín Kolář and František Pašek, who had already replaced some of the statues with forgings. The last restoration was carried out in 2001-2002 under the direction of Michael Bílek.