The famous sculptor, Albín Polášek, first revealed his statue on the mountaintop in 1931. Due to harsh weather conditions, the original statue was replaced in 1998 with a replica, which was gifted to the region by the Radegast brewery so that all visitors may enjoy one of the region’s most famous symbols in all it’s beauty.

Man Carving His Own Destiny

The world renowned sculptor, Albín Polášek, was born in Frenštát pod Radhoštěm in 1879. When he was 22 years old, he left for the United States, and in 1907, he captivated the art world with his statue dubbed “Man Carving His Own Destiny.” Thanks to the success of this piece, he was able to travel, and gather inspiration from all over Europe. Polášek loved returning to his home region and it also served as the main inspiration behind the statue of the god Radegast.

There Are Two Radegasts

The figure of a large man with a massive lion head, prominent helmet, and bull horns holding a cornucopia. This is the form Albín Polášek gave the god Radegast. The statue was first revealed to the public on July 5th, 1931. Polášek made two original Radegast statues, however, the first of which was later transferred to the town hall of Frenštát pod Radhoštěm and the second remained in Prague, where it can still be found today at the local ZOO.

The Replica Was a Necessity

Due to harsh weather conditions, which were damaging the statue over time, a replica Radegast was created in 1996-1998. This granite replica was made by the sculptor Miroslav Machala and the stonemasons Jan Sobek and Miroslav Zubíček. The new statue now also includes information about its authors, the creation of the original and the myth of the god Radegast. The creation of the replica was funded by the Radegast brewery.

The Radegast brewery has been making beer since 1970 and on December 3rd 2020, it celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first beer batch. The Nošovice based brewery is a part of the Technotrasa (Technotrail) project, which includes all of the most important monuments of the Moravian-Silesian Region. Over the last 20 years, through their “Radegast for the people” program, the brewery has dedicated around 40 million czk to projects helping with the sustainable development of the Beskydy mountains, environmental protection vof water sources, and the development of local traditions. Radegast is currently a very popular beer brand not only in North Moravia, but in the entire country. Therefore Radegast, his statue in Pustevny and his entire story are still growing in popularity thanks to the Radegast brewery.

How Did The Radegast Brewery Get Its Name?

The Radegast statue was incredibly well known and popular in the 60s. So much so that people wanted to name a newly created brewery in Nošovice after it,  and eventually they went through with it. The name of the Radegast brewery and brand was decided by a contest open to the public in March of 1969. The brewery received around 3 500 submissions. Other ideas included names such as Beskyd, Nošovjan, Ogar, Jantar or Pinoš. However, in the end, the name referencing  Slavic mythology and its god of hospitality, abundance and harvest won the contest. The Name Radegast appeared a total of 44 times in the contest, therefore, the  winner of the  1,000 czk prize money was decided through a lottery.