Bozí Muka and Vanitas

The Czech term "Bozí Muka" (pronounced Bozhee Mooka) literally means "God's Sufferings" or "God's Torments", and it's a very general term which refers to a monument - most often a cross, but it could also refer to a statue or small chapel - dedicated to God, Jesus or one of the saints. Often, they were set up by wealthy families in the name of a deceased relative, or as an offering of thanks after surviving some illness or disaster. Many crosses (and some statues) are adorned with several symbols, the most common being that of Vanitas - by which term I mean the image of a skull, with or without the "crossbones", representing mortality. Vanitas is intended to remind the observer that their time will come one day, and should be prepared.

Cemetery monuments, such as the central cross, also often had Vanitas, again, to remind the viewer to remember his own mortality.

Brandýs nad Orlící, entrance to the town	Brandýs nad Orlící	Ceská Trebová, road to Usti	Ceská Trebová

Dobruska, at the cemetery	Dobruska	Loucná nad Desnou, main street	Loucná nad Desnou

Neratov, cemetery cross	Neratov	Zamberk, at the church	Zamberk

Kutná Hora, near St. Barbora's Cathedral	Kutná Hora, King Death	Kutná Hora, another detail	Cervená Voda

Franclina	Franclina	Semanín	Semanín

(Other Wayside monuments)

The other types of Bozí Muka - small chapels, offeratories or altars - are quite common, and usually located next to a road outside of a town or village. Erecting Bozí Muka is a very old custom, but it's not necessarily confined to the past. The picture below marked "Bohumín", for example, shows a modern Bozí Muka being consecrated in the city of Bohumín in March of 2003. It was erected to commemorate a small chapel which had been demolished.

Another common feature of the Czech landscape is the Reconciliation Cross. In the event of some criminal act of one person against another - murder, for example - the family of the victim would often "settle out of court", by accepting a payment from the perpetrator or his family. As a symbol of this reconciliation between the parties, the perpetrator or his family would also erect a cross, perhaps at the scene of the crime, or by a road. These crosses usually bore certain markings which signified in a type of legal code, the nature of the criminal act and payment.

Nekor, wayside offeratory	Osoblaha, wayside offeratory	Vysoke Myto, reconciliation cross	Bohumín new Bozí Muka

Cemeteries

One of the most interesting cemeteries in the Czechlands is that at Zelená Hora in Zdár nad Sazavou. The cemetery encircles the pilgrimage Church of St. John Nepomuk. This church, begun in 1719, is a striking combination of Gothic and Baroque styles, and was already considered an architectural masterpiece at the time of its completion in 1722. Its ground plan forms a five pointed star, with an oval chapel at each point. The whole complex is surrounded by an octagonal loggia forming a wall. In 1994 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A more traditional layout can be found in the village of Semanín, near Ceská Trebová. At one time Semanín was a prosperous village under the control of the bishopric in nearby Litomysl, which explains the presence of such a large church in such a small village. The first written record of the Church of St. Bartholomew comes from the year 1350, but its present form, in Empire style, dates from the end of the 17th century. The picturesque wooden bell-tower was constructed at the beginning of the 17th century and also served as an alarm bell for the village.

Not far from Nové Mesto nad Metují is the village of Slavonov, with its log church, an excellent example of traditional folk architecture. This Church of John the Baptist was built in 1553, and replaced an earlier gothic church dating from 1350. The stone and wooden bell-tower, which also forms the gate into the cemetery, was built in 1555. Also unique is the log mortuary, built in the 18th century (below right).

I live in the town of Vysoké Mýto, in eastern Bohemia. Here there is a modern cemetery on the edge of town (established 1893), but before that, burials were done at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity, located just outside the old city wall. Left is a lithograph of the church with its cemetery gate made by Joseph Sembera around 1845. Below is the church as it appears today, with its neo-baroque façade. The picture on the left shows it from the same view as the lithograph. When the cemetery here was closed, the remains of the people were moved to the new cemetery, and the gate was replaced with a statue of St. John Nepomuk (centre & right).

Below are some scenes of the "new" cemetery in Vysoké Mýto.

A text written by someone else, and translated into English by me.

At first glance the answer seems quite simple, but if we try to look closer, it becomes more difficult. The forms of these sacral monuments are so varied, that even the best educated people sometimes falter whether to say that one object or another is a Bozí Muka or not.
So much more the casual wanderer is at a loss as to say whether a certain object could even be a wayside chapel or not. Worse still, is when he is searching for such an object (instructed by a map or guidebook) and enquires among the local populace. This can lead to some confusion, when he hears from one that the object in question is a devotional column, from a second, that it's a wayside chapel, and from a third perhaps, that it's a statue of "some saint". Just what exactly is to be found there?
As far as it may be unclear, whether to mark such an object even as a cottage or cabin, it is even more difficult with detailed sculptures, where the sculptor's imagination had a far freer scope. As well, regional customs and usage played an important role. The main point of course, is the reason for the construction and comissioning of these monuments. They take a multitude of forms: devotional columns, pestilence columns, wayside chapels, columns dedicated to Mary or other saints, statues of saints, crosses of iron or stone and crucifixes embedded in stone pedestals.
And because none of these terms are completely definite or completely suitable, other expressions begin to appear, such as "chapel column", "pillar chapel", and so on. There are even local idiomatic expressions such as "stop" or "station" ("zastavení") (for example, with the single-sided monuments in northern Bohemia) or "bows" (meaning the formal gesture of greeting a person of high rank) (monuments in the Policka region) - as this is how laypeople first became acquainted with such things.
We must take note at the beginning, that our article doesn't lay claim to the sanctioning or "officializing" of a definition of what is or must be a Bozí Muka. We can only explore the question, not put forth a conclusive solution. There are many variants of BM's and just their diverse terms of expression cause difficulties with classification. Most people consider a BM only a form with a columnar shank, either cylindrical or prismatic.
Now that we've run across the term shank, this would be a good point to look at the individual elements of a BM. The "traditional" type is frequently positioned upon a pedestal or base with one to three levels, sometimes even with steps. The first particular element of the whole monument is a plinth in the form of a polygon (4 or 8 sided) or cylinder; very rarely might one find a kneeling bench or small altar. Some monuments can also be found with a double plinth. The sides of prismatic plinths may be smooth or variously decorated (with frames, corrugations, diamond bossage, or reliefs).
The second element is a cover plate from a large block, often circular, with up to three levels. Next follows the shank with a lower heel and upper ring. The shank is a crucial structural element - its form will give the whole monument its basic character. It is a cylindrical or prismatic column (with 4,6 or 8 sides). A cylindrical column can again be regular and bare, or may narrow or widen in the middle (sometimes resembling something like a bowling pin), with fluting or even ornamental decorations. If the sculptor was endowed with artistic talent (and money, of course), he may have finished the column with some type of serpentine or coiled fluting - but this is rather exceptional. In perhaps a third of all cases, one may also meet with a shank which is prismatic, either simple or decorative. Its ornamentation again may be similar to that on the plinth. Often the edges of the shank are chamfered. The other element of a BM is the capital. It too, is quite simple, circular or square (tabular) consisting of up to 3 levels. Some capitals are also, however, highly detailed in their decoration: Ionian and Corinthian in the classical style, and even Tuscany (Roman-doric), with palm or acanthus leaves, or with volutes.
A characteristic type of BM is the so called "chapel extension" - or sometimes also called lantern, because of its appearance, when the sculpture is exposed to view on three sides (and sometimes on all four). If not, the openings are replaced by recesses, that is, shallow or deep "grills", where an icon or small statue was placed. In earlier times, lights were set in this space, which used to give the impression of a lantern. Sometimes this niche was replaced by a bare frame, or in its place was some small sculpture. At times the entire column was replaced by a statue of a saint.
These columns were provided with various types of hoods, sometimes resembling a real roof. Their covering materials also differed widely (tile, either ceramic or concrete, even fibreglass and tin). On this hood then - either placed directly or upon a small orb, or some type of natural object carved from stone, such as a pine cone - is an upright cross of stone or sometimes iron, with one or two transverse bars. From time to time, one may also find only a metal bar with a star.
This describes the "typical" structure of a columnar BM (cylindrical or prismatic). However, perhaps a third of the BMs one may find are made of brick. And here we come to a field where there may be - and are - differing opinions as to which objects are "obviously" BMs or "questionably". Let's try to bring a little order into this chapter of architectural monuments.
We mentioned above that the most important elements forming the character of a BM are the shank and chapel extension. But in cases where the construction material is brick, one cannot expect a slender, delicate and graceful form, but rather something wider and more massive, which is largely horizontal and flat. The shank (or more properly, the body of the whole construction) often merges into the chapel, or is separated from it by a ledge or cornice. The body of the construction has a large niche for the whole altar and above the cornice is a much smaller niche for a small cross, icon, or perhaps a small statuette. It was also common to have shallow recesses on two or sometimes three other sides (sometimes indicated only by a frame).
The majority of those who deal with such things stress that a BM should always have a regular ground plan (circle, square, or polygon), whereas a chapel is most often erected on a rectangular plan. Another criterion (apart from its large bulk) which can help us with classification is the niche open on one side - this niche was in the small chapel, 2 - 4 sided with BM's, however this isn't a construction regulation. And when a BM or chapel with a bell enters into the equation, it starts to look a bit chaotic to those who like to have everything tucked away into its proper pigeonhole. In most cases, this is an impossibility - and isn't exceptionally meaningful either. Whoever has a certain view and experience, will file away relevant sights alone into one category or another and for his own peace of mind can make a dividing line between wayside chapel, devotional column and BM.
And so we close the circle exactly where we started, as we had no real intention of - and indeed, no real possibility of - solving the question of definitely classifying BMs and other similar chapels. It isn't however so important which it is, but what it's like. Long may they be creations of grace.