Statue of Francis Borgia

The Statue of Francis Borgia stands on the stone parapet of the terrace in front of the former Jesuit College in Kutná Hora, on Barborská Street, right next to St. Barbara's Cathedral — one of the town's UNESCO-listed landmarks. The statue belongs to a set of thirteen Baroque sculptural groups of saints lined up along the terrace wall, and it depicts Borgia in his role as commissioner general of the Jesuit order in Spain and a promoter of missionary work in South America. Ornamental obelisks flank the composition on both sides.

Who was Francis Borgia?

Francis Borgia (1510–1572) was a Spanish nobleman who entered the Jesuit order after the death of his wife and eventually became its third Superior General. Jesuit iconography typically shows him in connection with organizing the order in Spain and championing missionary expansion in South America — exactly the theme captured in the Kutná Hora statue.

Who carved it, and when?

The entire terrace ensemble of thirteen sculptural groups in front of the Jesuit College was commissioned by the town of Kutná Hora and created between 1707 and 1716. Eleven of the thirteen groups are attributed to the sculptor František Baugut (1668–1725), a local artist active in the Kutná Hora region at the turn of the 18th century. The statue of Francis Borgia belongs to this body of work.

What material is the statue made of?

The figure was carved from local shell limestone (bioclastic limestone), a material typical of stonework in the region during this period. Like the rest of the terrace ensemble, the statue has been exposed to weather for more than three centuries, which has previously required conservation work across the entire series.

Why is this spot worth a stop?

Barborská Street, leading from Kutná Hora's historic centre toward St. Barbara's Cathedral, is one of the most photographed stretches of the town. The thirteen sculptural groups along the terrace wall form a single coherent composition — walking the route, visitors pass one saint after another, each tied to the Jesuit order or Czech history, before reaching the cathedral itself, which is inscribed together with the historic centre of Kutná Hora on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The statue of Francis Borgia, with its distinctive flanking obelisks, is one of the more easily recognisable figures along this walk.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the statue located? On the terrace in front of the former Jesuit College on Barborská Street in Kutná Hora, immediately next to St. Barbara's Cathedral.

Who carved the statue of Francis Borgia? The whole terrace ensemble of thirteen groups was made between 1707 and 1716, and most of them — this statue very likely included — are the work of František Baugut.

What is the statue made of? Local shell limestone, a stone typical of Kutná Hora's Baroque-era masonry.

Is this the same statue as the Francis Borgia figure on Prague's Charles Bridge? No. This is a separate, independent sculpture made specifically for Kutná Hora — it should not be confused with the more famous statue of the same saint by Ferdinand Brokoff on Charles Bridge in Prague.

Should visitors see the whole row of statues, or just this one? The statues on the terrace were designed as a single, coherent ensemble, so it's worth walking the full stretch along the wall rather than stopping at just one figure, to appreciate the scale and composition of the whole group.