Statue of Emperor Joseph II. in Hostinné

The Statue of Emperor Joseph II in Hostinné stands in a small park in front of the town's grammar school, just off the main square of this modest town in the Trutnov district, Hradec Králové region. It is one of many monuments raised to the Habsburg ruler across former Sudeten towns around the turn of the 20th century, and its turbulent story — removal, exile, and return — makes it more than just a piece of stone.

Who commissioned the statue?

The initiative to erect the monument came from a local notary, František Josef Auer. The work was carried out by the Vienna-trained academic sculptor Georg (Jiří) Leisek (1869–1936), whose signature "LEJSEK" is still visible on the pedestal. The figure was carved from Carrara marble, the fine Italian stone typically reserved for representative monuments of that era.

When was the statue unveiled, and why in Hostinné?

The formal unveiling took place on 24 June 1906. The choice of Hostinné was no accident: the town wanted to honor Emperor Joseph II, who is recorded as having visited it four times during his reign. The monument also carried a broader meaning, recalling the Enlightenment-era reforms associated with his rule across the Habsburg monarchy.

What happened to the statue after Austria-Hungary collapsed?

The statue's fate mirrors the region's turbulent 20th-century politics. As early as 1921, shortly after the founding of independent Czechoslovakia, the monument was first boxed in with a wooden casing and then removed from public view as a symbol of the now-defunct empire. Unlike many comparable statues in the region that were melted down or destroyed outright, the figure of Joseph II survived — it was moved away to Fořt, a village nearby, and set up within the grounds of the local chateau park, staying out of public view there for decades.

When did the statue return to its original spot?

The statue was not reinstated until 1999, a decade after the Velvet Revolution, when it returned to its original location in the park by the grammar school in Hostinné. Its return formed part of a wider process of rediscovering and preserving the multicultural heritage of the Czech borderlands, including traces of the region's former German-speaking population. Since 2000, the monument has been listed as a protected cultural heritage site.

Where exactly is the statue located?

The statue stands at an elevation of roughly 354 metres above sea level, in a small park next to the grammar school building, a short walk from Hostinné's central square, within the Trutnov district of the Hradec Králové region.

Frequently asked questions

Who made the statue of Emperor Joseph II in Hostinné? It was created by the Vienna academic sculptor Georg (Jiří) Leisek, whose signature "LEJSEK" appears on the pedestal, using Carrara marble.

Why was the statue removed from Hostinné? In 1921, following the collapse of Austria-Hungary, the monument was taken down as a symbol of the defunct empire and moved to the chateau park in nearby Fořt, where it stayed for several decades.

When did the statue return to its original location? It was returned to the park in front of the grammar school in Hostinné in 1999, and has been a protected cultural monument since 2000.

How many times did Joseph II visit Hostinné? According to local tradition, the emperor visited the town four times, which was one of the reasons the monument was erected there.