Calvary Statue

On your right, you will see a dark stone monument where the tallest figure stands with one hand raised in blessing, towering over smaller figures on a rocky base.

This spot holds a ghost story of sorts. For nearly one hundred and eighty years, a magnificent Baroque statue of Saint Ignatius of Loyola stood exactly where you are looking. But on the fourth of September, eighteen ninety, during that same Great Flood, the Vltava River turned into a battering ram. After relentless rain, heavy logging rafts and debris surged downstream, forming a massive, deadly barrier against the arches of the bridge. The immense pressure eventually snapped three arches and two pillars, sending Saint Ignatius crashing into the dark torrent below, along with several unfortunate souls who were standing right where you are now.

Take a look at the fifth image in your app to see a striking artistic rendition of what eventually took its place.

For decades, this pedestal sat empty, a painful reminder of what was lost. It was not until nineteen twenty-eight that a newly independent Czechoslovak Republic decided to fill the void. Instead of replacing the Jesuit saint, they chose figures deeply rooted in their own national identity, the ninth-century Slavic missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The sculptor, Karel Dvořák, spent ten agonizing years perfecting this piece. You can see his highly structured, modern style in the towering Saint Methodius offering a blessing, while Saint Cyril holds a newly translated Bible and a small model of a rotunda, a round stone church representing the earliest Christian sanctuary in the Czech lands. The figures reaching up from the bottom represent Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia, receiving the gift of faith.

It took a tragic loss to clear the way, but this monument stands as a lasting testament to destruction and rebirth. Since the bridge is open twenty-four hours a day, these figures keep a constant, quiet watch over the water. Let us leave the bridge behind and head toward the museum of a musical legend, making our way to the statue of Bedřich Smetana.