''Calvary'' ( cs, Sousoší Kalvárie) is an outdoor sculpture, installed on the third pillar of the north side of the

Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( cs, Karlův most ) is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.; The ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czech Republic.

History

View of the City of Prague MET 64FF PRAGAr1

The first cross was standing on the Charles bridge since the 14th century, documented by chronicles of the Roman emperor Charles IV and in 1606 by

Aegidius Sadeler Aegidius Sadeler or Aegidius Sadeler II (1570–1629) was a Flemish engraver who was principally active at the Prague court of Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his successors. Life Sadeler was born in Antwerp in the Sadeler family of print deale ...

's Prospect od Prague. The main statue of the Jesus on the cross was cast in bronze by Hans Hillger in Dresden after the model made by sculptor Wolf Ernst Brohn in

1628 Events January–March * January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 A.H.) The reign of Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than two months after the November 7 dea ...

, in an early baroque style. The statue was set on the Charles bridge only in 1657. Calvary hill was made of stone by the sculptor Johann Georg Heermann in

1707 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – John V is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarv ...

. Both side statues of Virgin Mary and Saint John were added by

Emanuel Max Emanuel Max, after 1876: Ritter von Wachstein (19 October 1810, JanovToman Prokop, ''Nový slovník československých výtvarných umělců'' (New Dictionary of Czechoslovak Artists), Vol.2, Rudolf Ryšavý, Prague (1950) – 22 FebruaryMilo� ...

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first stea ...

. The sculpture features a

crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

surrounded by the

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

words קדוש קדוש קדוש יהוה צבאות ("kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Adonai Tzva’ot" ; English: holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts) from the Kedushah prayer. In 1696, a Jewish communal leader named Elias Backoffen was forced to pay for the inscription after being accused of blasphemy. The aleph in the word "Tzva’ot" is backwards, as the letter was removed by the Nazis during the occupation of Czechoslovakia, and later mistakenly placed after the war. The vav in the word "Adonai" has gone missing. In 2009, explanatory plaques were added in English, Czech and Hebrew after the Mayor of Prague was petitioned by a group of North American rabbis.

References

External links

* Antisemitism in Czechoslovakia Antisemitism in the Czech Republic Christian sculptures Monuments and memorials in Prague Sculptures depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus Sculptures of men in the Czech Republic Statues on the Charles Bridge {{CzechRepublic-sculpture-stub