On today’s journey to the Prague Castle, I had the opportunity to witness engineering marvels that have stood the test of time since 880 A.D. While certain buildings may have been reduced to foundations, others stand mighty as architectural feats that I will never forget. What sticks out most in my mind from this trip are the statues that adorn the gates to the castle. While I expected figures of authority to decorate the gates, I was not expecting the violence and brutality of the statues on the border of the castle.
After trying to figure out what the statues represented, I tried to understand how they might relate to historical Czech values. At the time, I believed that the statues might represent the resilience of the Czech people throughout the different governing methodologies of fascism, communism, and eventually the ideal republic. Throughout the difficult times before the people had the opportunity to govern themselves, people made great sacrifices for the Czech Republic, which would be well represented by the statues that sit atop the gates. Through further research, I learned that my instincts were confirmed, but that there is a deeper meaning behind the statues in baroque architecture.
At the Prague Castle, the statues on the gates depict the triumph of order over chaos through the battle between the Olympians and Titans. With one olympian holding a large club and the other holding a dagger, it shows how the symbolic overarching governing body of the olympians represent triumph over the olden, unpredictable titans. I believe that this is a perfect metaphor for the governance of the people by the people, and how it replaced tyrannical governments that disserviced the people. As a computer engineer with limited experience in architecture, I can confidently say that the Prague Castle is spectacular and adorned with significant detail all over it, and I will certainly be visiting it again.
Sources:
1. Prague Castle
2. Wrestling Titans
Swanson School of Engineering 