Marian Column

On Ferenciek Square, which opens from the main square of the medieval Old Town of Bratislava, directly in front of the main entrance to the church built for the Lutherans and later taken over by the Jesuits, there is a Baroque-style, stone-carved Mary column. ; On the surfaces of the square-shaped pedestal framed by a simple cornice, inscriptions and high-quality, stone-carved relief scenes can be seen/read. The relief on which two winged angel figures lift a decorative so-called scepter (holy censer) is particularly beautifully designed. A slender, tall, cylindrical stone column rises from the pedestal, on whose composite capital stands a smaller-than-life stone statue of the Virgin Mary. Mary, depicted wearing a crown on her head and in a long cloak, holds the baby Jesus with her right hand. ; The column was erected by Emperor Leopold I and King of Hungary out of gratitude, in honor of Mary, in 1675, for the joy of having succeeded in eliminating the conspiracy of the Hungarian nobility against him, the so-called Wesselényi conspiracy. Incidentally, the reprisals against the "caught" (in reality, mostly those who surrendered themselves) plotters also had a Bratislava connection, since in 1671 - next to Levski - a court hearing the cases of criminals was also operating here. Ferenc Bónis, who was sentenced to forfeiture of his life and property, was executed in this city - on the same day as Zrínyi and Frangepán. ; With its date of 1675, this is the oldest Mary column in Bratislava. There is also another historical landmark connected to the column. On June 25, 1741, the daughter of Leopold I, the newly crowned Maria Theresa, passed by this place with the coronation procession and bowed her knee in gratitude to her Patron. ; In his work entitled Streets and Squares of the City of Bratislava by Tivadar Ortvay, we read this about the column: "The marble column standing in front of the church, surrounded by trees and 4 gas lamps and a simple iron lattice, with the Virgin Mary on it, was erected by Emperor Leopold I in honor of the Immaculate Conception. Its foundation stone was laid on April 25, 1675, and it was consecrated on December 7 of that year, the eve of the Immaculate Conception. On the occasion of the new proclamation of the aforementioned article of faith, the column was beautifully restored."