THE STATUE OF RADEGAST

Sculptor Albín Polášek (*14.2.1879, +19.5.1965) made the statue of the pagan God Radegast for Pohorská jednota Radhošť (Mountain Club Radhošť). It was moved to its pedestal twice. During the first journey,in 1930, the lorry with the statue got stuck in an abrupt turn at Pustevny and six pairs of draught horses from Trojanovice had to pull it to its destination. After the statue had been positi-oned on the pedestal, heavy rain accompanied by a storm broke out. The lightning killed one of the soldiers holding honour guard. The statue was made from artificial stone which did not withstand harsh weather. The Regional Institute of Art Care in Ostrava then decided that a copy should be installed on Mount Radhošť instead of the valuable original. Jan Sobek from Leskovec, a monumental mason, and sculptor Jaroslav Machala from Vsetín, who supervised the work, felt highly honoured by the commission to carve the copy from natural granite. Hence the second journey of the seven-ton statue up the mountain to over one thousand metres above the sea level, which took place in July 1998. The statue stands eight metres from the edge of the village on the land of Dolni Be’ava. The original of the Radegast statue can be seen in the lobby of the Town Hall in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm.