Joseph II (Holy Roman Emperor) - Hostinné, Czech Republic - Statues of Historic Figures on Waymarking.com

In 1906, a monument with a statue of Emperor Joseph II was erected in Hostinné in the park in front of the gymnasium. It was created at the instigation of the local notary František Josef Auer from the funds of the town of Hostinné and with the help of donations from the town's citizens. The monument was sculpted by academic sculptor Jirí Lejsek from Vienna. Carrara marble was used as a material for the statue. The monument was to commemorate the merits and visits of Emperor Joseph II in Hostinné.
The first visit on 1 July 1766 was related to a military inspection trip through western Bohemia, Saxony and Lusatia to northern and northeastern Bohemia.
The second visit on 13 October 1771 took place during a visit to the foothills of the Krkonoše Mountains during the famine.
The Emperor's third visit to our region was related to the military conflict between Austria and Prussia in 1778 over the Bavarian inheritance, when he stayed in Hostinné on 18 August and 9 September 1778.
The monument stood in its place until 1921, when it was removed by the now defunct Habsburg monarchy. The statue was placed in a nearby village Fort, from where it was returned to Hostinné in 1999.

Joseph II
Born: Mart 13,1741 (Vienna, Austria) - Died: February 20,1790(Vienna, Austria)
Reigned from August 18, 1765 - February 20, 1790 (24 years, 186 days)

Holy Roman emperor was eldest son of the empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I. He became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire upon the death of his father in 1765, and King of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia and Slavonia upon the death of his mother in 1780. After his death on 20 February 1790, he was succeeded by his brother Leopold II (1747-1792).
Joseph II was a uniquely progressive Hapsburg ruler. His emphatic reform ideas harmonized with the Enlightenment philosophers, whose (esp. Voltaire's) dedicated student he was (see Emancipation). Friedrich II of Prussia and Czarina Catherine of Russia had provided patterns for Joseph's policies designed to induce settlers to come to his lands. Joseph's imperial objectives included attempts to redress long and complicated grievances in law and law court procedures. These efforts, incidentally, brought up the local privileges as regards the Mennonite position on the oath. Refreshingly sound views were aired.
The death of Maria Theresa in 1780 made Joseph the uncontested ruler. Eager to apply reason and enlightenment to the power of state he issued on 13 October 1781, a Toleranz-Patent (Patent of Tolerance) granting freedom to the Greek Orthodox and Protestant confessions. Parallel to Catherine's 1763 Manifesto inviting German farmers to Russia, he issued on 17 September 1781, the "Kolonisten-Patent" opening his eastern provinces to immigrants. This law attracted a number of Palatinate Mennonite families into Galicia. The decree of acceptance (Annahmedekret) for the Palatine group was handed down on 29 March 1784. Alsatian Amish followed from Montbeliard. The 1781 events mark a memorable chapter of Joseph's reforms. They reveal him as a just benefactor to Mennonites and other Protestants. His toleration patent brought relief to them and provided an escape avenue far less troublesome than the passage to the New World.

Cited from (visit link)

URL of the statue: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
You must have visited the site in person, not online.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.