Saint Barbara (Svatá Barbora) - Kutná Hora, Czech Republic
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N 49° 56.922 E 015° 15.947
33U E 519068 N 5532960
Early Baroque statue of St Barbara from 1680 on Komesky Square (Komenskeho námestí) in Kutna Hora. / Patrne nejstarší barokní socha v Kutné Hore - socha sv. Barbory z roku 1680, patronky horníku, na Komenského námestí.
Waymark Code: WMDT8D
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 02/22/2012
Views: 82
EN
Probably probably eldest Baroque statue in Kutná Hora, a former medieval silver mining town to the east of Prague. Kutná Hora is now designated a world heritage site, protected by UNESCO. St Barbara is the patron saint of miners (among others), which was highly appropriate for a town whose wealth was based entirely upon its silver mines. The early Baroque statue was made in 1680 and installed in front of Jesuit College in other part of the town. Through the centuries the statue was moved on other places of the town. On December 4, 2010, just on her Feast Day, the statue was installed on small square of the town - "Komenského námestí". Saint Barbara is depicted here with her two typical attributes - a chalice and a palm branch. On a new granite pedestal from 2010 there is a Latin prayer "Sancta Barbara, Ora pro nobis". The pedestal of the original statue bears a sign "Sub tuo praesidio (Under your protection)" and date 1680.
St Barbara
Saint Barbara is virgin martyr of the early church. According to legend Barbara was the daughter of a rich pagan named Dioscorus. was carefully guarded by her father who kept her shut up in a tower in order to preserve her from the outside world. Having secretly become a Christian, she rejected an offer of marriage that she received through him. Before going on a journey, he commanded that a private bath-house be erected for her use near her dwelling, and during his absence Barbara had three windows put in it, as a symbol of the Holy Trinity, instead of the two originally intended. When her father returned, she acknowledged herself to be a Christian; upon this he drew his sword to kill her, but her prayers created an opening in the tower wall and she was miraculously transported to a mountain gorge, where two shepherds watched their flocks. Dioscorus, in pursuit of his daughter, was rebuffed by the first shepherd, but the second betrayed her and was turned to stone and his flock changed to locusts. Dragged before the prefect of the province, Martinianus, who had her cruelly tortured, Barbara held true to her faith. During the night, the dark prison was bathed in light and new miracles occurred. Every morning her wounds were healed. Torches that were to be used to burn her went out as soon as they came near her. Finally she was condemned to death by beheading. The father himself carried out the death-sentence, but in punishment for this he was struck by lightning on the way home and his body consumed. Barbara was buried by a Christian, Valentinus, and her tomb became the site of miracles.
Her historicity is open to doubt, but legendary accounts place her in the 3rd century. Her name can be traced to the 7th century, and veneration of her was common, especially in the East, from the 9th century. Because of doubts about the historicity of her legend, she was removed from the liturgical calendar of the Roman rite in 1969 in Pope Paul VI's. As one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, Barbara continues to be a popular saint in modern times, perhaps best known as the patron saint of artillerymen, military engineers, miners and others who work with explosives because of her old legend's association with lightning, and also of mathematicians.
Saint Barbara is depicted in art as standing by a tower with three windows, carrying a palm branch and a chalice, sometimes with cannons depicted by her side.
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CZ
Do historického centra Kutné Hory se po dvou stoletích vrátilo unikátní umelecké dílo, vzácná socha svaté Barbory, která je patronkou horníku. V Kutné Hore jí je zasvecen i svetoznámý chrám. Socha byla slavnostne požehnána príznacne v den svátku sv. Barbory 4.12.2010. Tato rane barokní socha je v soucasné dobe nejspíš nejstarším umeleckým dílem svého druhu, které lze v ulicích Kutné Hory videt. Svetlo sveta spatrila v roce 1680 a tehdy našla místo u zdejší Jezuitské koleje. Poté se dílo prohlášené za kulturní památku nekolikrát stehovalo a až ted po témer dvou stoletích se socha do centra Kutné Hory vrátila.
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