Statue of Saint Wendel in Gúta

The statue of Saint Wendel of Gúta currently stands in the Saint Rosalia Park, right next to the entrance. Today's Saint Rosalia Park was the city's old Catholic cemetery, but after the flood of 1965, the people of Gúta were no longer buried here. The cemetery was liquidated sometime in the 1980s, and a park was created in its place. The statue originally stood at the beginning of today's Iskola Street, on the former market square. Endre Kürti writes in his series of articles presenting the city's memories that the statue of Saint Wendel was removed from its original location during the construction of the city's heating pipeline, and was moved to its current location when the park was created (Kürti 2004, 1). ; The creator of the statue depicts Saint Wendel in shepherd's clothing, with a cloak around his neck, a bag slung over his left shoulder, and a hat slipped over his back. A calf lies at his feet. The saint also had a shepherd's staff, which he embraced with both arms, and the lower end of which was supported by his right boot and the upper part by the left side of his chest. The shepherd's staff can still be seen in a photograph by József Liszka from 1988 (Liszka 2000, 91). In 1998, the statue was vandalized, the staff disappeared, and the calf's head was broken off. The following news was published about the vandalism in the Hungarian-language regional weekly Dunatáj: ; It survived World War I and World War II, but last week it was defaced by vandals... In memory of the cattle plague of 1835, the city of Gúta had the sandstone statue depicting Saint Wendel and his lamb erected, which was renovated a few years ago. Unknown perpetrators have now broken off the lamb's head, disfiguring one of the most valuable pieces of the city's few monuments. ; (Dunataj 1998/32, 2) ; The area where the statue is located, which is surrounded by a black-painted wrought iron fence in the shape of a hexagon, has been concreted. On the upper part of the openable gate of the fence, an inscription cut out of iron can be read: SZ. VENDEL. ; Statue details: ; The pedestal is made of concrete, stepped. ; Dimensions of 1st step: 135 cm x 95 cm x 13 cm ; Dimensions of 2nd step: 98cm x 78 cm x 9 cm ; The pedestal consists of two parts, the lower part is made of orange-colored natural stone, while the upper part, like the statue itself, is made of white limestone. ; Dimensions of the lower part of the pedestal: 71 cm x 54 cm x 33 cm ; The dimensions of the upper part of the plinth are: 57 cm x 45 cm x 150 cm; In the upper part of the plinth there is a 39 cm x 55 cm large inscription field surrounded by a frame, in which the following inscription is written in brown, engraved letters: ; Your Honor ; Saint Vendelinus ; This Stone Tomb ; Gutta Field City ; Audience ; For Your Honor ; Built in 1835 in Esztbelt ; Márha Veszély Idein, ; Believe in Him ; With the Lord God. ; ; Height of the statue: 150 cm ; The statue is protected from the rain by a black-painted, arched, scalloped-edged tin roof. ; Orientation of the statue: north–west ; No foundation was created for the small monument. The previously mentioned Foundation Certificate issued on June 29, 1910, describes that next to the statue of Saint Wendel, as well as the statue of the Holy Trinity, there is a lockable stone box in which believers usually place their donations. “The sums collected in these boxes will constitute the working capital from which the said statues are to be kept in good condition” (GPH, Foundation Certificate, 3987/1910).