Saint Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Sandstone equestrian statue in Vyšehrad, Prague, Czech Republic
The Statue of Saint Wenceslas is an early Baroque equestrian statue of Duke Wenceslas carved by Jan Jiří Bendl from Žehrovice sandstone between 1678 and 1680. The sandstone original now stands in the Lapidarium of the National Museum, while a copy made by Jiří Novák in 1959 stands in Štulcovy sady at Vyšehrad.
Sculptor Jan Jiří Bendl signed the contract with the New Town council on 16 November 1678 and carved the sandstone equestrian statue by 1680; stonemason Jan Bureš placed it on a Baroque fountain in the middle of the Horse Market, today's Wenceslas Square. In 1879 it was moved to Vyšehrad, and since 1990 the original has stood in the Lapidarium of the National Museum.
The sandstone statue by Jan Jiří Bendl stood on a Baroque fountain in the middle of Koňský trh, today's Wenceslas Square. Open-air Masses were held at it, including during the 1713 plague epidemic when church gatherings were banned. A Mass by priest Jan Arnold on 12 June 1848 marked the start of the June uprising, and the square was renamed Wenceslas Square on Karel Havlíček Borovský's proposal.
The sandstone original from 1680 stands in the Lapidarium of the National Museum at Výstaviště, while the copy made by Jiří Novák in 1959 is in Štulcovy sady at Vyšehrad, near the chapter house park. The Vyšehrad copy is outdoors in a public park; the Lapidarium original is an indoor museum exhibit.
The sandstone original stood on a Baroque fountain in the middle of Wenceslas Square; in 1879 it was moved to Vyšehrad, and since 1990 it has been in the Lapidarium of the National Museum. A copy by Jiří Novák from 1959 stands in Štulcovy sady.
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