Statue of Emperor Joseph II.

The Statue of Emperor Joseph II stands in Josefov, the fortress district of the town of Jaroměř in the northeast of the Czech Republic, right next to the former Jaroměř Gate and the entrance to the fortress's underground casemates. It's a modest monument, but one whose story is tightly bound up with the very existence of the place where it stands.

Who was Joseph II, and why does he have a statue here?

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and co-ruler of the Habsburg monarchy in the late 18th century, is best remembered as a reformer: he abolished serfdom, introduced religious tolerance, and modernized state administration across the empire. For Jaroměř, though, his significance is much more concrete. In 1780 he ordered the construction of a fortress meant to guard the eastern approaches to Bohemia against a possible Prussian attack. The new stronghold was named Josefov in his honor and eventually grew into a separate district of Jaroměř, today known chiefly for its extensive network of casemates and underground passages open to visitors.

Where did this particular statue come from?

The story behind the current monument is more tangled than it first appears. The original cast-iron statue of Joseph II was made for the village of Vojkovice near Brno, where local residents unveiled and consecrated it in August 1884 during a ceremony held in front of the village school. Decades later, during the communist era, monuments to Habsburg rulers were widely removed or destroyed across Czechoslovakia. After the political changes of 1989, the cast-iron figure from Vojkovice eventually made its way to Josefov, where it was ceremonially unveiled again on 7 July 1991, right by the old fortress gate. That, however, wasn't the end of the matter: the people of Vojkovice reclaimed their original statue, a dispute over ownership dragged on for several years, and the cast-iron original was eventually returned to Moravia, to the place it had originally been made for. What remains in Jaroměř today is a bronze copy of that statue.

Where exactly is the statue located?

The statue stands in Josefov on Riegerovo náměstí (Rieger Square), right next to the entrance to the fortress's underground casemates and the remains of the former Jaroměř Gate. It functions as a natural landmark for anyone visiting the underground fortifications — the walk from the statue to the entrance of the casemate tour takes only a minute or two, so many visitors come across it almost by accident while looking for the way into the tunnels.

Why is it worth a stop?

The monument itself isn't large or ornate, but its back story — a cast-iron figure shuttled between Moravia and Bohemia, torn down and reinstated as political winds shifted — captures something of the broader fate of Habsburg-era monuments in Czech lands during the 20th century. It also serves as a practical reference point for planning a visit to Josefov: the fortifications, casemates, and underground corridors around the square rank among the best-preserved structures of their kind in the country and form the main draw of this part of Jaroměř.

Frequently asked questions

Is this the original 19th-century statue? No. The original cast-iron statue from 1884 was returned, after an ownership dispute, to Vojkovice near Brno, where it had first stood. The figure in Josefov today is a bronze copy.

Why is the fortress called Josefov? It was named after Emperor Joseph II, on whose orders the fortress was founded in 1780 as part of the defenses of eastern Bohemia.

What else is near the statue? The entrance to the fortress's underground casemates and the remains of the former Jaroměř Gate, both on Riegerovo náměstí.

When was the current statue unveiled in Josefov? On 7 July 1991, although the statue itself was originally made and first erected in Vojkovice in 1884.