Portál Pražana
Interesting sculptures on Charles Square
Prague City Gallery manages several dozen public sculptures. Some of them can be found in Charles Square (Karlovo náměstí) in the city centre. Some of the most famous among them are the statue of the scientist, doctor, scholar and biologist Jan Evangelista Purkyně, the statue of the writer Eliška Krásnohorská and the statue of the writer Karolina Světlá.
Jan Evangelista Purkyně
The statue of the most important Czech naturalist, physiologist, anatomist, biologist, poet, philosopher, patriot and national awakener, in short, the Czech genius Jan Evangelista Purkyně, can be found in the southern part of the square. The sculptors of this important work from 1961 are Oskar Kozák and Vladimír Strunc.
The rectangular base made of polished granite bears the inscription ‘JAN EV. PURKYNĚ 1787 – 1869’. The life-size bronze statue depicts the scientist seated in period clothing.
Two writers
The bronze bust of Karolína Světlá by the sculptor Gustav Zoula and architect Josef Fanta stands in the middle of the square, in front of the church of St. Ignatius. The statue, which was unveiled in the year 1910, portrays the writer at a mature age. The bust stands on a stone plinth, which is placed on a stone pedestal.
Czech writer and representative of the May School (‘Májovci’) Karolina Světlá lived in the Stone Table House (‘dům U Kamenného stolu’) near the square. She is considered the founder of the Czech rural novel and was a friend of the writer, poet and translator Eliška Krásnohorská, whose sculpture can be found in the western part of Charles Square.
The statue of Eliška Krásnohorská is carved from a single block of white Romanian marble and was made in the sculptor Karel Vobišová- Žáková’s studio. It was unveiled in 1937.
For further information, please visit: http://en.ghmp.cz/.
Due to the current situation related to the development of the COVID-19 pandemic, all accompanying and educational programmes are cancelled from the 26th of September until further notice. The exhibitions remain open without change.