Good Shepherd, Bronze statue in Podhoří, Czech Republic.
The Good Shepherd is a bronze group by sculptor Marius Kotrba, standing almost 4 m tall beside the D1 motorway near Podhoří. It shows a walking shepherd with a staff and a sheep curling up against the figure, set on raised ground so drivers on the Lipník nad Bečvou–Hranice section can see it. The casting weighs about 1,300 kg and was made in the Waller-Matějíček foundry in Moravské Knínice.
Sculptor Marius Kotrba (1959–2011) designed the work after consulting the Evangelical pastor Vladimír Kopecký on the biblical passage of John 10 about the Good Shepherd. The bronze was cast at the Waller-Matějíček art foundry in Moravské Knínice and installed in 2011, after the author's death. In 2017 metal thieves damaged the sculpture.
The shepherd theme comes from the tenth chapter of the Gospel of John, which Kotrba discussed with the Evangelical pastor Vladimír Kopecký. A second layer of meaning links the figure to the protection of drivers on the D1 motorway. The shepherd is shown arriving with a sheep from Valašsko, the sculptor's home region, looking toward the motorway and the Moravian Gate.
The sculpture stands on an elevated spot beside the D1 motorway between Lipník nad Bečvou and Hranice, near the village of Podhoří, so it is seen mainly from passing cars. There is no marked viewing area at the site; drivers who want a closer look must leave the motorway and approach from the village side.
The shepherd's face turns toward the D1 motorway and the Moravian Gate, a reference to Kotrba's native Valašsko. In 2017 metal thieves damaged the sculpture. It echoes Kotrba's earlier statue of Saint Christopher, patron of travellers, near the Olomouc bypass.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,724 contributors worldwide.