Štátule, Group of sculptures in Týn nad Vltavou, Czech Republic.
Štátule is a sandstone Calvary group up to 8 m high on the former artillery training ground above Týn nad Vltavou. A crucifix rises almost 8 m from a globe coiled by a snake, flanked by statues of the Virgin Mary of the Seven Sorrows and St John the Evangelist, each 3.5 m tall on matching pedestals. Below the globe, three faces appear among flames, the sculptor's rendering of purgatory.
The sandstone Calvary group was built to commemorate the gunpowder explosion of 20 June 1753 at the artillery training ground above Týn nad Vltavou, which killed 43 and wounded 48 people. The crucifix bears the date 1750, so it may have been carved earlier and reused, or the date was miscut during restoration. The badly decayed sculptures were restored by sculptor Ivan Tlášek in 1994 and again in 2020.
Locals call the group Štátule, and the sandstone figures stand in a grove on the former artillery training ground above town. The crucifix rises from a globe coiled by a snake, with three faces amid flames below representing purgatory. The ensemble commemorates the 1753 powder explosion.
The sandstone group stands on the former artillery training ground above Týn nad Vltavou, not in the town centre; reach it on foot via the path up to the site. The figures are outdoors in a small park laid out around them at the end of the 19th century, so they can be viewed from outside at any time.
The date 1750 is carved on the back of the central crucifix, yet the explosion it commemorates happened in 1753. The group was restored by sculptor Ivan Tlášek in 1994 and again in 2020, so the figures seen today are largely his work.
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