Equestrian statue of Charles IV., Steel sculpture in Divadelní náměstí, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.

The equestrian statue of Charles IV is a 5.6-metre steel monument on Divadelní náměstí, assembled from 280 laser-cut plates of 10 mm steel welded in layers. Its pedestal has 56 lamellae, and the dense grid of plates lets light through in the section showing the Crown of Saint Wenceslas. The work weighs an estimated 30 tonnes.

The idea arose in 2016, when the 700th anniversary of Charles IV's birth was marked; the Rotary Club Karlovy Vary and the city art gallery initiated the project. A 2017 competition chose Michal Gabriel's design, made with Michael Gabriel at Kasper Kovo in Trutnov over five years. It was unveiled on 7 May 2022 at the opening of the 665th spa season, as the fourth monument to the city's founder.

The statue is the fourth monument to Charles IV in Karlovy Vary; the first, from 1739, is on the facade of the Municipal Library, the second by Josef Max was unveiled in 1858 in the Jean de Carro gardens, and the third by Otakar Švec dates from 1955. The 2022 work was initiated by the Rotary Club Karlovy Vary with the art gallery and funded by public collection; a container with the donors' list, a memorandum and newspapers was placed inside.

The monument stands on a central square near the thermal springs and is easily reached on foot. Visitors can view it at any time free of charge, as the work sits in public space.

Inside the statue a sealed container holds a list of donors, a memorandum between Karlovy Vary and the Karlovy Vary Region, small objects and a daily newspaper. The author, Michal Gabriel, said the steel works with light and the slats make the viewer walk around it: "I don't turn the statue, I turn the viewer."