Smírčí kříž, Conciliation cross in Topolany, Czech Republic.
Smírčí kříž is a conciliation cross made of sandstone in Topolany, standing about 0.80 meters tall and 0.45 meters wide. Its surface features a sunken relief carving depicting an axe.
The sandstone cross is dated to the 16th or 17th century. It stands at the end of Topolany by the road III/5709, near house No. 9, and is protected as a cultural monument of the Czech Republic. Local tradition links it to the killing of a Swedish officer during the Thirty Years' War by a jealous farmer wielding a carpenter's axe.
Local legend ties the cross to a murder: a jealous farmer killed a Swedish officer courting his wife during the Thirty Years' War, using a carpenter's axe whose outline is cut into the stone. Another account holds that soldiers fallen in battles around Olomouc lie buried at the spot.
The cross stands at the end of Topolany, on Bílkova Street (road III/5709), beside house No. 9 in Olomouc. It is a protected cultural monument, so it is viewed from the roadside rather than approached through a site; the carved axe is on the front face, the back is smooth.
Local legend says soldiers who fell in battles around Olomouc are buried at the spot where the cross stands. The axe carved on its front is linked to the murder weapon in the story of a jealous farmer and a Swedish officer.
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