Dec 07 2011
St. Wenceslas
The statue of St. Wenceslas
The statue of St. Wenceslas (Svaty Vaclav in Czech) stands at the southern end of Wenceslas Square in front of the National Museum. St. Wenceslas is the most important patron the national hero who was the king of Bohemia in the 10th century (907-929) as it says on the front of monument in Latin. He took the throne at the age of 18 and was loved for his generosity but hated by the pagan nobility for encouraging Christianity. He got name “Good King Wencelsas” but eventually was brutally murdered by his brother, the appropriately named Boleslav the Cruel. Later Vaclav was canonized as the patron saint of Bohemia and also remembered in the famous Christmas carol. Many legends and stories tell us about St. Wenceslaus. One of them says that when the Czech Republic is in its darkest times or in danger close to ruin, statue of King Wenceslaus in Wenceclaus Square will come to life, raise the army sleeping in Blaník – the mountain in Czech Republic, directs to the Charles Bridge over a stone that will reveal the legendary sword of Bruncvík. With this sword, King Wenceslaus will destroy all the enemies and save the Czech Republic by bringing peace and prosperity to the land. St. Wenceslas’s feast day is celebrated on September 28 and since the year 2000 it became a public holiday in the Czech Republic, celebrated as Czech Statehood Day. J.V. Myslbek constructed this sculpture on Wenceslas Square in 1912. The statue depicts Saint Wenceslas sitting on horse, and saint patrons St. Agnes, St. Ludmila, St. Adalbert and St. Prokop surround him. Behind this statue is a neo-Renaissance building - The National Museum.