Sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi

The sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi, flanked by two angels, was installed in 1855 to fill the vacant space after a Baroque sculpture of the same subject. The old sculpture was made by Franz Preiss in 1708 upon commission by Václav Vojtěch, Count of Sternberg. Currently it’s located at the Church of St. Joseph on the Republic Square. The new sculpture was made by sculptor Emanuel Max upon commission by Count František Libštejnský of Kolowrat.

The founder of the Franciscan Order is depicted in his simple monastic clothes – robes with a cincture bearing three knots. There are visible stigmata on his hands and hip – traces of a mystical experience through which Francis relived the suffering of Christ dying on the Cross.

The sculpture was commissioned as a token of gratitude for the miraculous survival of Emperor Franz Joseph I during the assassination attempt in 1853. This is also commemorated by an inscription in the center of the three-part Neo-Baroque pedestal, flanked on the sides by a bilingual quotation from Psalm 90:11.