The Statue of Charity was installed in front of the surgical pavilion of the Jičín hospital complex (VP512) just before the ceremonial opening of the complex in June 1930. However, the design was created by Antonín Mára (1877–1946), a professor at the State Industrial School of Sculpture and Stonework in Hořice, as early as 1911. The history of the statue's creation reflects the socio-political influences of various periods, which also affected its final appearance.
The four-part sculpture was placed on a pedestal in the shape of an irregular hexagonal prism, designed by Hořice professor, architect, and conservator Emil Dufek (1877–1957). Both parts were crafted from sandstone by Jaroslav Jedlička, a master stonemason from Vojice, in the workshops of the Hořice school. The allegorical scene, symbolizing love for a suffering neighbor, is dominated by a female figure bowing her head toward a reclining old man while holding a young girl standing at her side with her other hand. The clear symbolism aligns with the fact that the sculpture was commissioned in 1909 by the District Committee of Jičín for two newly constructed buildings—an orphanage (1898) and an almshouse (1908)—located at the beginning of today's Bolzanova Street.
The Neo-Renaissance single-story orphanage building was designed by Bedřich Peka, while the plans for the almshouse, with its prominent gabled façade, were prepared by architect Ferdinand Brož. Following the destruction of the city hospital in Nové Město in 1908, the almshouse temporarily housed the hospital. The proposals for these buildings, later extensively renovated, emerged in connection with Emperor Franz Joseph's jubilee. According to František Kaska, author of The History of Jičín's Statues, this influence is reflected in Antonín Mára's design for the Statue of Charity. The central female figure, dressed in a royal cloak, was intended to resemble Empress Elisabeth with noble features and her characteristic crown-like hairstyle.
For unknown reasons, the realization of the statue, initially planned for a corner of the almshouse garden, was delayed. Subsequently, World War I interrupted the process, leaving the statue unfinished in the Hořice sculpture school's premises. It was not until 1924, after the first phase of the then District General Public Hospital's construction, that discussions about placing the statue in the new hospital complex resumed. Despite the city council advocating for the original location, a commission comprising city representatives, the district administrative commission, and experts, including architect Čeněk Musil and sculptor Karel Stuchlík, decided on the hospital park as its site.
The statue was completed in 1926 but based on a modified model. The old man's staff was removed, and notable changes were made to the female figure, whose head was entirely replaced. Furthermore, her right-hand gesture, which once actively offered assistance to the old man, is now absent.
The statue, positioned along the axis of the surgical pavilion's façade and the hospital complex's entrance, had to be relocated closer to the entrance in 2024 due to the construction of a connecting corridor for a new pavilion.
(GA)