Statuary of St. Cyril and St. Methodius - the fifth one on the right looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower
the fifth one on the right looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower
The sandstone statuary was created by Karel Dvořák during 1929-35 and donated by the Ministry of Education and Culture that ordered the statue for the 10th anniversary of the creation of Czechoslovakia (it is the only statue on the bridge that was paid for by the government). It is the youngest statue on Charles Bridge (erected in 1938). It shows the Slavic apostles St. Cyril and St. Methodius spreading the Gospel and baptizing pagan Slavs and symbolizes their mission and the idea of Slavic unity. The sculptor succeeded in creating a modern statue that, at the same time, fits in with the surrounding Baroque statues. The statuary was erected at the place of the original statuary of St. Ignatius of Loyola created by Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokof in 1711 that fell into the river during a big flood in 1890; its fragments were put together and the statue is now in the Lapidarium of the National Museum.