News

2009 Czech Heritage Society Grantee Profile: The Hostovic Cross

07/15/2009

No one knows the name of the man who was found frozen to death over a hundred years ago in Hostovice, a village just outside Ústí nad Labem. In memory of his tragedy, a cross was erected by local residents at the location where his body was found. But like many other cultural and historical monuments throughout Northern Bohemia which are now in danger of being lost, the Hostovic cross has inevitably fallen into decay as a result of postwar displacement. Still, this modest tribute remains today as the only surviving cultural monument in Hostovice following the demolition of the village chapel in the 1970s.

The Hostovic cross was originally erected as a cast iron crucifix on a stone pedestal, but amateur construction and decades of air pollution have left the monument with substantial damage since 1953. Damage to the monument includes a snapped and missing crucifix, a cracked and effaced torso, as well as a badly eroded stone pedestal.

As part of a joint effort with the local community to recover the region's attractions, the Středohoří Sobě Association received a grant of 40,000 CZK from the Czech Heritage Society to professionally dismantle, clean and restore the monument. This includes the installation of a crucifix appropriate in historical style, and the restoration of the monument's decorative and coloristic detail.

Though the story and the name of the tragic, frozen man of Hostovice may be lost to us, the residents of Hostovice are working to ensure that this cross in his memory can once again be restored as a tribute to his life.

The Hostovic Cross

The original crucifix is now missing from the monument

Details of erosion and damage to the stone surface