Statue of Bruncvik

---

Statue of Bruncvik by Ludvík Šimek, 1886
Seen from the Karlův most (Charles Bridge)
Prague, September 2017

“The sandstone statue was created by Ludvík Šimek in 1886 and donated by the city of Prague. Contrary to other statues and statuaries, the statue of Bruncvík is on the top of the bridge pillar (behind the statuary of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Prokop) so it is easy to see from a boat on the Vltava River. It portrays a knight with a helmet, a drawn golden sword in his right hand, the emblem of the Prague Old Town on his side and his faithful lion by his feet. Below the pseudo-Gothic pedestal, there are 11 tablets with signs, the meaning of which is not clear (they are perhaps the signs of those who helped to build the bridge). The statue is a liberal restoration of fragments of the original statue of a knight from the 15th (probably made by Matěj Rejsek sometime during 1445–1506) that most likely symbolized the right of the Prague Old Town to the bridge (similar statues of Knight Roland used to also be on other old bridges and edifices, in our country e.g. on the city hall in Litoměřice and Pilsen). The statue was badly damaged by a Swedish cannon ball in 1648. Its torso and original pedestal are now in the Lapidarium of the National Museum.” (Statue of Bruncvik, Royal Route website)