Statues and Sculptures/9

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Marian columns are religious monuments usually depicting Virgin Mary on the top, and were often built in thanksgiving for the ending of a plague, as a gesture of public faith. This type of column flourished in the Catholic countries of Europe, especially in the 17th and 18th centuries.

This column is the Holy Trinity Statue in Trinity Square on the Buda bank of the Danube in Budapest. The column commemorates the people of Buda who died from two outbreaks of the Black Plague.

The Black Plague swept across Europe in 1691. Since people believed that erecting a column would keep away the plague, the foundation stone was laid in 1700.

Even though the first pillar was ready by 1706, in 1709 the plague returned to Budapest.  Therefore a new, larger plague pillar was planned to keep the plague away at any cost. Residents believed the Holy Trinity Statue did its job, as the plague never returned to Budapest after 1709.

The statue was made by the architect Ceresola Vereio and stone carver Bernát Ferretti.