Statue of Radegast in Prague Zoo

The Radegast statue in Prague Zoo is an unusual survivor of an interwar plan to build a gallery of Slavic pagan gods somewhere in the Czech landscape. Hidden for decades and rediscovered almost by accident, the stone figure now stands in Prague Zoo in Troja, right next to the wolf enclosure.

Who made the statue?

The sculptor behind the figure was Albín Polášek (1879–1965), born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm, a town at the foot of the mountain most closely associated with the cult of the Slavic god Radegast. Polášek emigrated to the United States in 1901 and built an academic career there, eventually becoming a professor at the Art Institute of Chicago. Despite living abroad, he wanted to give his homeland a set of sculptures honoring figures central to Czech identity, including the pagan god Radegast.

Why does an identical statue stand on a mountain in the Beskids?

Polášek prepared the models for the statue in Prague in 1930. The casting technique he used — artificial stone reinforced with an iron frame — produced two identical statues in one go, each weighing 1.5 tonnes. One was installed on the summit of Radhošť in the Beskid Mountains, unveiled in July 1931 alongside statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius. The mountain climate, however, proved too harsh for artificial stone, so in 1998 the original was replaced with a faithful copy carved from more weather-resistant granite, and the original piece was moved to the town hall in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm.

How did the second statue end up in a zoo?

The fate of the second casting is less documented. It stayed in Prague and spent years forgotten on the grounds of the former Mašek foundry — likely hidden there during the Second World War to keep it away from the German occupying authorities, and then simply never retrieved. It was only rediscovered sometime in the 1950s or 1960s, buried under earth and fallen leaves. Since the statue depicts a pagan deity tied to nature and wild landscapes, the authorities decided it fit the zoo's theme better than anywhere else in the city, and in 1961 it was moved to Prague Zoo.

What does the statue look like, and where in the zoo is it?

The figure combines a male body with a lion's face and a helmet crowned with ox horns. Radegast holds a cornucopia in his right hand and an axe in his left — a mix of human and animal traits meant to underline the wild, primeval character of the Slavic deity. The statue stands near the zoo's north entrance, right beside the wolf enclosure, a neighborhood that only reinforces the statue's untamed, forest-god atmosphere.

Has the statue ever been restored?

Yes. Between 2014 and 2015 it underwent conservation work, during which a missing detail was added back: a bird that had originally perched on the cornucopia in Radegast's hand before disappearing over the decades.

Frequently asked questions

Who was Radegast? Radegast is a deity from old Slavic beliefs, associated above all with Mount Radhošť in the Beskids, and often described as a patron of hospitality and travelers.

Who created the statue in Prague Zoo? It was sculpted by Albín Polášek, a Czech-born sculptor who worked mainly in the United States and also created the original statue on the summit of Radhošť.

Why is the statue located in a zoo rather than somewhere else in Prague? After years lying forgotten on the site of an old foundry, it was moved to the zoo in 1961 because a pagan nature god was judged to fit the zoo's setting thematically.

Where exactly in the zoo can visitors find it? It stands near the north entrance, right next to the wolf enclosure.