Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc
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"To the glory of God the Almighty, the Virgin Mary and the saints I will build a column that in its height and splendour will be unrivalled in any other town." From Wenzel Render's letter to the Olomouc City Council. |
The Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc is a magnificent
Baroque monument, built in
1716–
1754 in honour of
God. The main purpose was a spectacular celebration of
Catholic Church and faith, partly caused by feeling of gratitude for ending a plague, that struck
Moravia (now in the
Czech Republic) between
1714 and 1716. The column was also understood to be an expression of local patriotism, since all artists and master craftsmen working on this monument were
Olomouc citizens, and almost all depicted saints were connected with the city of Olomouc in some way.
It is the biggest
Baroque sculptural group in the
Czech Republic. In
2000 it was inscribed on the UNESCO
World Heritage List as "one of the most exceptional examples of the apogee of central European
Baroque artistic expression".
According to the
ICOMOS evaluation of this patrimony, "the erection of
Marian (plague) columns on town squares is an exclusively Baroque,
post-Tridentine, phenomenon. Its iconographic basis lies in the
Book of Revelation. The basic model is thought to have been the column in the
Piazza Santa Maria Maggiore in
Rome, from
1614. [
1]
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Historical picture of the Holy Trinity Column on Olomouc Upper Square |
This admirable monument for
Olomouc was the culmination of work of several artists and master craftsmen, but it did not bring much fortune to them. The first to die during the work was Wenzel Render, a monumental mason and privileged imperial architect. He came first with the idea to build the column, enforced his will upon the city council, designed it, built the first stage and helped to finance it. His followers Franz Thoneck, Johann Wenzel Rokický and Augustin Scholtz also did not live long enough to see the column finished; it was completed by Johann Ignaz Rokický. The splendid sculptural decoration was started by Phillip Sattler. After his death Andreas Zahner continued and made 18 sculptures and 9 reliefs in 7 years before he died as well.
Goldsmith Simon Forstner, who made
gilded copper sculptures of the
Holy Trinity and of the
Assumption of the Virgin, was somewhat luckier and managed to finish his brilliant work. However he lost his health when working on the sculptures and using toxic mercury compounds during the
gilding process.
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Gilded replica of a stone shot reminds that the column was hit from Prussian cannons several times during the siege of Olomouc in 1758. |
After the Holy Trinity Column was finished in 1754, it became a source of great pride for Olomouc, since all people participating in its creation were citizens of the town. The column was consecrated in a great celebration attended by Empress
Maria Theresa and her husband
Francis I.
Only four years
later, when Olomouc was besieged by a
Prussian army and the Holy Trinity Column was hit by shots from Prussian cannons several times, Olomouc citizens went bravely in a procession to beg the Prussian general not to shoot at this sacred monument.
General James Keith complied with their wishes. The column was repaired soon after the war and a replica of a stone shot was half-buried in its stem on the place where it was hit to remind people of this event.
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gilded statue of the Holy Trinity on the top of the column |
The column is dominated by
gilded copper sculptures of the
Holy Trinity accompanied by the
Archangel Gabriel on the top and the
Assumption of the Virgin beneath it.
The base of the column, in three levels, is surrounded by 18 more stone sculptures of saints and 14 reliefs in elaborate
cartouches. At the uppermost stage are saints connected with
Jesus' earth life â€" his mother's parents
St. Anne and
St. Joachim, his foster-father
St. Joseph, and
St. John the Baptist, who was preparing his coming â€" who are accompanied by
St. Lawrence and
St. Jerome, saints to whom the chapel in the Olomouc town hall was dedicated. Three reliefs represent the
Three theological virtues Faith, Hope, and Love.
Below them, the second stage is dedicated to
Moravian saints
St. Cyril and
St. Methodius (
Czech Metoděj), who came to
Great Moravia to spread Christianity in 863 (
St. Methodius became Moravian Archbishop),
St. Blaise, in whose name one of the main Olomouc churches is consecrated, and patrons of neighbouring
Bohemia St. Adalbert of Prague (
Czech Vojtěch) and
St. John of Nepomuk (
Czech Jan Nepomucký), whose cult was very strong here as well.
In the lowest stage one can see the figures of an
Austrian patron
St. Maurice and a
Bohemian patron
St. Wenceslas (
Czech Václav), in whose names two important Olomouc churches were consecrated, another Austrian patron
St. Florian, who was also viewed as a protector against various disasters, especially fire,
St. John of Capistrano (
Czech Jan Kapistránský), who used to preach in Olomouc,
St. Anthony of Padua, a member of the
Franciscan Order, which owned an important monastery in Olomouc, and
St. Aloysius Gonzaga, a patron of students. His sculpture showed that Olomouc was very proud of
its university.
Reliefs of all twelve
apostles are placed among these sculptures.
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Statue of Saint John Sarkander on the Holy Trinity Column |
The last missing in this list of saints is
St. John Sarkander (
Czech Jan Sarkander), whose statue (holding a
lily as a symbol of purity) is on the second stage. John Sarkander was a priest who was
tortured to death in Olomouc prison in the beginning of the
Thirty Years' War, because he, as the legend says, refused to break the
seal of confession. Decision to place him here was very extraordinary and violated the tradition, since Sarkander had not been
canonized and not even
beatified in that time yet, which could have resulted in problems with the
Holy See. However, his cult of a
martyr was so strong here that the craftsmen decided to take the risk. Sarkander was beatified in
1859 and canonized in
2005 on the occasion of the visit of
Pope John Paul II in Olomouc.
The column also houses a small chapel inside with reliefs depicting
Cain's offering from his crop,
Abel's offering of firstlings of his flock,
Noah's first burnt offering after the Flood,
Abraham's offering of
Isaac and of a lamb, and
Jesus' death. The cities of
Jerusalem and Olomouc can be seen in the background of the last mentioned relief.
books in
Czech language:
* Perůtka, Marek (ed.) (2001).
Sloup Nejsvětějšà Trojice v Olomouci. Olomouc: Statutárnà město Olomouc.
(includes English summary)* Los, Petr & Brabcová, Jitka (2002).
Svatà na sloupu Nejsvětějšà Trojice v Olomouci. Olomouc: Danal. ISBN 80-85-973-94-4
* Tichák, Milan (2002).
PÅ™ÃbÄ›hy olomouckých pomnÃků. Olomouc: Burian a Tichák, s. r. o.
*
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Holy Trinity Column*
Holy Trinity Column - history and regeneration*
Holy Trinity Column - Olomouc official website*
Holy Trinity Column - touristic information
