sv. Anna

The Statue of St. Anne stands in Lanžhot, a small Moravian village in the southern Břeclav district, next to the parish church dedicated to the Elevation of the Holy Cross. It is a modest but telling piece of folk devotion, the kind found across many villages of the Podluží and Moravian Slovácko regions — a stone figure placed where it would be visible from the heart of the village, right beside the church, so that residents and passers-by alike could stop before it.

Who funded the statue, and when?

The statue was commissioned in 1916 by Anežka Kyclová, a "výměnkářka" from Lanžhot house number 99 — a term describing a woman who had handed over her farmstead to the next generation in exchange for lifelong upkeep. This is recorded in the inscription carved into the pedestal: "Svatá Anno, oroduj za nás, abychom hodni učiněni byli zaslíbení Kristových. Ke cti a chvále Boží věnovala Anežka Kyclová, výměnkářka v Lanžhotě č. 99. Léta Páně 1916" ("Holy Anne, pray for us, that we may be made worthy of Christ's promises. Dedicated to the honor and glory of God by Anežka Kyclová, výměnkářka in Lanžhot no. 99. In the year of our Lord 1916"). The inscription combines a prayer to the saint with a clear record of both the donor and the year — 1916, in the middle of the First World War, which helps explain the devotional urgency behind the gift.

Why St. Anne specifically?

The choice of patron saint was not arbitrary. Villagers in Lanžhot held a strong belief that if St. Anne's feast day went uncelebrated, storms would break out and devastate the surrounding countryside. St. Anne, mother of Mary and grandmother of Christ, was regarded locally as a protector against violent weather — a matter of real practical concern in the agricultural Podluží region, where livelihoods depended directly on the harvest. The statue was therefore meant to serve not only a devotional purpose but a protective one: a standing reminder to keep the saint's feast day, warding off the danger her neglect was believed to invite.

What does the statue depict?

Statues of St. Anne in this region typically follow the "Anna Samotřetí" iconography, showing her as an elderly woman teaching the young Virgin Mary to read — an image that casts Anne as a teacher of faith, passing knowledge down across generations. The theme fits neatly with the circumstances of the commission: an elderly woman handing her farmstead to her successors chose to fund a monument to a saint who, in the same gesture captured in stone, hands faith and learning down to her own descendant.

The statue's place in the village

Lanžhot sits at the meeting point of Moravia, Slovakia and Austria, in a region known for its living folk traditions — costumes, customs and roadside devotion. Alongside the statue of St. Anne, the village holds other religious monuments: wayside crosses, small chapels, and a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, all evidence of a once-thriving custom of private donors marking the landscape with signs of faith. Placing the statue beside the church, at the village's center, was typical of such commissions — meant to be seen and visited as part of everyday life, on the way to and from services.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly does the statue of St. Anne stand? Next to the parish church in the center of Lanžhot, in a spot easily reached by residents and visitors alike.

Who funded the monument, and when? Anežka Kyclová, a "výměnkářka" from Lanžhot house no. 99, in 1916 — both her name and the year appear in the inscription on the pedestal.

Why was St. Anne chosen as the statue's subject? Local belief held that neglecting her feast day would bring storms that ruined the harvest, so the statue served as a standing reminder to honor her properly.

Are there other similar monuments in Lanžhot? Yes — the village also has a statue of St. John of Nepomuk along with several wayside crosses and small chapels, typical of the folk piety of the Podluží region.