Radhošť () is a mountain in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It has an elevation of and belongs to the

Moravian-Silesian Beskids The Moravian-Silesian Beskids (Czech: , ) is a mountain range in the Czech Republic with a small part reaching to Slovakia. It lies on the historical division between Moravia and Silesia, hence the name. It is part of the Western Beskids within ...

mountain range. It is located in

Dolní Bečva Dolní Bečva is a municipality and village in Vsetín District in the Zlín Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 1,900 inhabitants. Geography Dolní Bečva is located about northeast of Vsetín and south of Ostrava. It lies on the border ...

and

Trojanovice Trojanovice is a municipality and village in Nový Jičín District in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 2,800 inhabitants. Geography Trojanovice is located about southeast of Nový Jičín and south of Ostrava. It ...

municipalities in the

Zlín Zlín (in 1949–1989 Gottwaldov; ; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 75,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Zlín Region and it lies on the Dřevnice River. It is known as an industrial centre. The development of the modern city ...

and Moravian-Silesian regions, whose border runs along the ridge of the mountain.

Buildings and monuments

A chapel built in 1898 and a sculpture of

Saints Cyril and Methodius Cyril (; born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (; born Michael, 815–885) were brothers, Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are ...

are located on the summit to glorify their evangelization of Slavic people. The mountain is a popular destination for religious pilgrimages. Referred to as the place of Slavic god Radegast, Radhošť was the host of sacred ceremonies to rejoice the god during the time of Slavic antiquity. The name Radhošť is in fact a Czech version of the name of Radegast. There is a Sierra trail to mountain

Pustevny Pustevny (1018 metres above sea level) is a mountain saddle in the Moravian-Silesian Beskids mountain range of the Czech Republic, not far from Radhošť, in the municipality of Prostřední Bečva. It was named after the Czech word for a hermit. H ...

with the sculpture of god Radegast on the way.

Symbolism of sculpture

The sculpture of Saints Cyril and Methodius was created by Czech-American sculptor

Albin Polasek Albin Polasek (; February 14, 1879 – May 19, 1965) was a Austria-Hungarian–born American sculptor and educator. A practicing artist, he also headed the sculpture department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He created more th ...

, head of the sculpture department of the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

at the time. The three-meter statue stands before a chapel earlier dedicated to the pagan god, Radegast. The broken idols at the feet of the saints stands for the work these 9th century missionaries did in overthrowing idolatry. They brought the Christian faith to Bohemia, Moravia, and Slovakia – later united as

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. In addition to the idols, there is a triple cross, which also known as the Slavic Cross, a variation of the

Orthodox cross The Russian Orthodox Cross (or just the Orthodox Cross by some Russian Orthodox traditions) is a variation of the Christian cross since the 16th century in Russia, although it bears some similarity to a cross with a bottom crossbeam slanted the ...

. The final major symbol is the book that Saint Cyril (on the right) is holding. Saint Cyril is credited with creating the eponymous

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic languages, Slavic, Turkic languages, Turkic, Mongolic languages, Mongolic, Uralic languages, Uralic, C ...

Early Cyrillic alphabet The Early Cyrillic alphabet, also called classical Cyrillic or paleo-Cyrillic, is an alphabetic writing system that was developed in Medieval Bulgaria in the Preslav Literary School during the late 9th century. It is used to write the Chur ...

. A similar statue exists at the Cathedral of Saint Paul, National Shrine of the Apostle Paul in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, United States. This statue of commissioned by Archbishiop

Austin Dowling Daniel Austin Dowling (April 6, 1868 – November 29, 1930) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as the second archbishop of what was then the Archdiocese of Saint Paul in Minnesota from 1919 until his death. Dowling s ...

in 1926 as a shrine for the Slavic immigrants in Saint Paul. This statue at Radhošť served as a suitable model for the one in Saint Paul.

Nature

The northern slopes are protected as a national nature reserve.

External links

Radhošť as place of pilgrimages, photos
(in Czech)
Radhošť on Czech-mountains.eu
Mountains and hills of the Czech Republic Nový Jičín District Moravian Wallachia {{MoraviaSilesia-geo-stub