Statue of Franz II in Bedřich Smetana Park

The Statue of Franz II in Bedřich Smetana Park stands in the heart of the municipal gardens of Františkovy Lázně, a bronze equestrian monument facing the Sadová café. It shows the emperor in the historic coronation robes of the Bohemian kings, a fitting tribute in a town that carries his name.

Why is there a copy of a Prague statue here?

The monument visitors see today is not the nineteenth-century original but a recast of it. That earlier statue stood on Smetana Embankment in Prague until 1918, when the fall of the Habsburg monarchy and the birth of Czechoslovakia led to the removal of imperial monuments from public spaces; the original piece was transferred to the collections of the National Museum in Prague. A cast of the same sculpture was ceremonially unveiled in Františkovy Lázně on 7 June 2002, produced by master founder Pavel Horák working with sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

Who was the emperor honoured here?

The town's very name, Františkovy Lázně, translates as "Franz's Baths" — a direct reference to this ruler. Known as Franz II as the last Holy Roman Emperor and as Franz I as the first Emperor of Austria, he is remembered locally above all as the patron and founder of the spa, which grew under his reign around the area's mineral springs. Placing an equestrian likeness of him at the centre of the park underlined the resort's standing as a spa town under imperial favour.

What does the monument look like?

The composition follows the classic equestrian format: the emperor sits upright on horseback, dressed in a coronation mantle styled after the regalia of the Bohemian kings rather than in Austrian court dress, a detail that stresses his role as a Czech monarch. The bronze surface gives the statue the dark, weathered tone typical of monuments from the turn of the twentieth century, even though this particular cast dates only from 2002.

What stood here before?

Before the Prague-derived statue took its place, the same pedestal carried a different likeness of Franz I, the work of the Munich sculptor Schwanthaler. After 1989, as public spaces across Czechoslovakia were being reassessed following the political changes, that earlier statue was relocated to the Isabella Promenade (Isabelina promenáda) in Františkovy Lázně, clearing the site for the monument that stands there now.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly does the statue stand? In Bedřich Smetana Park, part of the municipal gardens of Františkovy Lázně, in front of the Sadová café.

When was the current statue unveiled? On 7 June 2002.

Who made the monument? Master founder Pavel Horák cast it in collaboration with sculptor Olbram Zoubek.

Is this the original nineteenth-century sculpture? No — it is a cast of the statue that stood on Smetana Embankment in Prague until 1918, after which the original went to the National Museum.

Why is the town named after this emperor? Franz is regarded as the founder and patron of the spa, which is why the town is called Františkovy Lázně, "Franz's Baths."

What occupied this spot before the current statue? An earlier statue of Franz I by the sculptor Schwanthaler, moved to the Isabella Promenade after 1989.