Jan Hus monument

The Jan Hus Memorial on Old Town Square in Prague is an outstanding example of monumental Czech Art Nouveau sculpture. The work of the artist Ladislav Šaloun was unveiled in 1915, on the 500th anniversary of the reformer's burning at the stake in Constance. The initiative for the monument grew out of a political scandal in the Bohemian Diet in 1889, when the Catholic nobility's rejection of a commemorative plaque for Hus led to fierce protests. In the years that followed, Hus's image shifted from that of a Christian martyr to that of a folk hero and a symbol of Czech independence. After several competitions and lengthy debates over the location, which eventually settled on Old Town Square, Šaloun received the commission. The formal dedication ceremony had to be canceled because of World War I, but the monument has stood ever since as a protected National Cultural Monument in the heart of the city.

The bronze monument rises from a massive, elliptical granite base. At its center is the dominant figure of Jan Hus, who rises above the remains of a funeral pyre and gazes toward Týn Church, the former main church of the Hussites. The surrounding groups of figures carry strong symbolic meaning. Facing the church stand victorious warriors with a shield and a chalice, while on the opposite side, toward the Old Town Hall, a group of humiliated people recalls the expulsion of Protestants after the defeat at the Battle of White Mountain. On the back of the monument, a family with a nursing mother embodies the hope for a spiritual rebirth of the nation.

At the base of the monument, you can read several engraved inscriptions that were added only after the founding of Czechoslovakia. These quotations come from Jan Hus himself, as well as from John Amos Comenius and a Hussite chorale, and they emphasize themes such as truth, love, and national steadfastness. The monument underwent extensive restoration between 2007 and 2009 and, together with the Marian Column, which was rebuilt in 2020, shapes the look of Old Town Square today.