Statue of St. Joseph
The statue of St. Joseph with Baby Jesus in his arms was ordered by Hrádek’s pastor Joseph Tobias Schöpfer on his way to Zittau in 1761 – the priest who was responsible for the extensive Baroque reconstruction and decoration of the Hrádek’s Church of St. Bartholomew. All the premises on this side of Žitavská ulice (Žitavská Street) – leading from present-day Nádražní ulice (Nádražní Street) in the direction to the state border – used to belong to the Hrádek’s Catholic parish.
The bottom part of the plinth is in the shape of a three-leaf clover which symbolizes the Holy Trinity. A German text is inside of a cartouche which is situated in the upper cylindrical part of the plinth saying: ‘Sanct Joseph´s Rechtschaffenheit uns ein Vorbild, Mth. I.19‘, in English: ‘Righteousness of St. Joseph shall be an example for us, Mt. I.19’
St. Joseph is the patron saint of carpenters, builders and workers.
The statue was restored for the first time in 1837 by Franz Josef Lang, later in 1868 by Josef Hittel and in 1924 by Ignaz Daum – by local deans or pastors. These restorations are mentioned on the sandstone plinth. Last restoration was done by a restorer Radomil Šolc in 2009 provided by the town Hrádek nad Nisou. It used to stand in the shadows of five lindens and it was protected by wooden fence.
According to the legend, a chest with a treasure is hidden somewhere nearby the statue. It is said that in the anticipation of the last battle, French soldiers hid it here. All the soldiers died and no one has ever found the chest.