Column shrine between Valtice and Úvaly, Religious shrine between Valtice and Úvaly, Czech Republic.
Boží muka is a small roadside shrine standing by the road from Valtice towards Úvaly. Its masonry structure has niches that hold statues and images: a statue of the Virgin Mary and paintings of St John of God and St Urban. The shrine also bears a plastic circle with the initials "MARIA", the emblem of the Merciful Brothers, and the inscription "ReN[O]V[ATUM] 1934".
Built at the end of the 18th century by an unknown artist, the shrine stood on land owned by Anna and Leopold Andl. In 1933 the couple exchanged the plot with the Valtice convent of the Brothers Hospitallers under prior Josua Šalamoun. The damaged shrine was repaired by prior Petronius Válek and consecrated on 20 September 1934; it was listed as a cultural monument on 3 May 1958.
The niches hold a statue of the Virgin Mary and paintings of St John of God, patron of the sick and of the Merciful Brothers, and St Urban, patron of vintners; Libor Jaroš painted the latter two. The 1934 decoration includes a band with the initials "MARIA" and the order's emblem, a pomegranate with a cross and a six-pointed star.
The shrine is located along a route between two towns and can be reached by car or on foot. Visitors should wear sturdy shoes as the site sits in open countryside without paved access paths.
The shrine's present decoration dates from a 1934 restoration: a moulded ring with the letters "MARIA", the Brothers of Mercy's emblem of a pomegranate with a cross and six-pointed star, and a ribbon inscribed "INSIGNE ORDINIS S. JOANNES DE DEO". The side bears the inscription "ReN[O]V[ATUM] 1934". The convent paid about 1,000 Kčs for the work.
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