• Virgin Mary Statue 2

Virgin Mary Statue

Images

ID:
878
Place
Lviv
Date:
1904-1914
Technique:
Photograph (printed on paper)
Size of the resource:
17х11 cm
Creator
Unknown
Collection
Ihor Kotlobulatov
Copyright
Ihor Kotlobulatov
Publisher
Unknown
Description

A view of the Virgin Mary statue from the side of the Mickiewicz monument. Beginning in 1862 the white marble statue, sculpted in 1859 by the Munich-based artist Johannes Nepomuk Hautmann, was the centerpiece of the Mariacka Sq. The statue was moved to its present location in 1904, to free the space in the centre of the square for a memorial to Adam Mickiewicz. The city authorities announced a contest to find the best architectural and artistic solution for the sculpture's new location and surroundings. The contest was won by the Lviv-based architect Michał Łużecki. He elaborated a project of a well with a fountain (a traditional motif for city squares), placing the statue of Virgin Mary on a high postament in the center of the well. The statue was removed shortly after the Second World War, and relocated first to the Boims Chapel, and then to the Bernardine Church, as the presence of a religious statue in downtown Lviv was at odds with the principles of Soviet authorities. Following a project by architect Anatolii Konsulov, the Lviv sculptor Yevhen Dzyndra constructed the statue of a chalice held by tritones, mythological creatures representing water, where the Virgin Mary statue had stood. In 1997 a copy of the original statue was again returned to the location. The original statue remains in the Church of St. Andrew the First-Called Apostle (former Bernardine Church). 

Tags:
Statue of the Virgin Mary, Mariacka Sq., city greenery, people, pavement
Category:
Monuments
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