Zprávy památkové péče 2015, 75(3):227-235

Columns demolished and re-built. Iconoclasm as an imaginary but eternal rival of heritage preservation

Vratislav Nejedlý

The article uses the example of the destruction !of the Marian Column to address the history of iconoclasm as a latent component of cultural identity within the framework of the Czech lands. It first briefly recalls the Christian roots of iconoclasm, after which it focuses on domestic sources of the iconoclastic tradition related to pre-Hussite thinking and later to the actual Hussite movement (although ironically not with the teachings of Hus himself). It continues by recalling iconoclastic events associated with the conflict between Protestants and Catholics in the 17th and 18th centuries. The article also commemorates lesser known iconoclastic events that did not avoid Bohemia in the 18th and 19th centuries. The demolition of the Marian Column in this context does not appear as a singular event, but as a culmination of a long-term cultural tradition which also did not mean its end - the interwar period and post-war periods, as well as that after 1989, each have their own iconoclastic episode. It makes the point that iconoclasm is a phenomenon that can not simply be condemned as a manifestation of barbarism, but is a far more complex phenomenon closely related to the current social ideas and needs and which, in this sense, creates an interesting counterbalance to fields such as conservation and restoration.

Keywords: Marian Column on the Old Town Square, iconoclasm, Jan Hus, demolished monuments

Published: September 1, 2015  Show citation