June 2020: Marian Column returns to Old Town Square
A replica of a Marian column torn down in 1918 was erected on Prague’s Old Town Square three years ago, in June 2020, after years of often turbulent debate.
A group called the Society for the Restoration of the Marian Column lobbied for the return of the column, which was torn down in November 1918.
They said it was a symbolic commemoration of the defenders of Prague during the Thirty Years’ War, though opponents saw it – as had its original removers – as a symbol of Habsburg domination and oppression of the nation.
After Prague councilors agreed to the replica, the 16-meter sandstone column was created by sculptor Petr Váňa. It is topped by a previously made statue of the Virgin Mary which had been temporarily located beside the nearby Týn Church.
