St. Vitus on Charles Bridge / Sv. Vít na Karlove moste (Prague) - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Depicted statue of St. Vitus (Sv. Vít) is one of 31 historic sandstone statues (...or groups) decorating famous Gothic Charles Bridge (Karluv most) in Prague' centre.

What makes Charles Bridge a top tourist attraction is the open air sculptural gallery which adorns it. It was created much later than the actual bridge construction, mostly in 1706-1714 in the expectation of the canonisation of John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký). Despite the partial changes the gallery has undergone since its creation, it is still a great reflection of the history of the Czech lands - there are 31 statues and groups of statues in all on the bridge today with approximately 100 figures, among them also prime works of the great men of central European sculpture Matthias B. Braun and Ferdinand M. Brokoff. Since 1965 the precious originals of the statues have been gradually replaced by replicas. In extent and quality this bridge gallery has no equal in Europe.

Statue of St. Vitus is the 14th one on the right looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower. The sandstone statue is work of Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff (1714) and donated by Matthias Adalbert Macht of Lowenmacht, a dean of the Chapter of Vyšehrad. St. Vitus is portrayed as a Roman soldier with a medieval ducal hat. He is standing on a rock with caves out of which peaceful-looking lions come out. The medieval hat symbolizes the relationship between the saint and medieval Bohemia – it was the relic of St. Vitus for which Prince Wenceslas founded a church at the Prague Castle. Emperor Charles IV acquired some more relics of the saint and placed them in the same church.

St. Vitus, according to Christian legend, was a Christian saint from Sicily. He died as a martyr during the persecution of Christians by co-ruling Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian in 303. Vitus is counted as one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers of medieval Roman Catholicism. Saint Vitus' Day is celebrated on 15 June. In places where the Julian Calendar is used, this date coincides, in the 20th and 21st centuries, with 28 June on the Gregorian Calendar. In the late Middle Ages, people in Germany and countries such as Latvia celebrated the feast of Vitus by dancing before his statue. This dancing became popular and the name "Saint Vitus Dance" was given to the neurological disorder Sydenham's chorea. It also led to Vitus being considered the patron saint of dancers and of entertainers in general.

Vitus is considered the patron saint of actors, comedians, dancers, and epileptics. He is also said to protect against lightning strikes, animal attacks and oversleeping. St. Vitus became one of the patrons and protectors of the Czech Lands. [wiki]