Sculptural group of Our Lady and St. Bernard on Charles Bridge / Sousoší Panny Marie a Sv. Bernarda na Karlove moste (Prague) - Baroque Architecture on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque sculptural group of Our Lady and St. Bernard (sousoší Panny Marie a Sv. Bernarda) is one of 31 historic 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.

Baroque sculptural group of Our Lady and St. Bernard is the first one on the right looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower. The sandstone sculptural group, work of Matej Václav Jäckel (1709), was donated by an abbot of the Cistercian Monastery in Osek Benedict Littwerig. In the middle of the sculptural group, there is Our Lady holding infant Jesus in her arms and a scepter. A kneeling St. Bernard, the founder of the Cistercian Order, is looking up to her on her right, an angel in front of him is holding an abbatial infula (a head cover). On the left, there are angels holding the symbols of Jesus Christ’s suffering (a cross, spikes, hammer and pliers), a rooster (that crowed three times when Apostle Peter denied Christ), a veraicon (a miraculous imprint of Christ’s face in Veronica’s scarf) and dice (with which soldiers played for Christ’s clothes). On the statuary, there are several Latin inscriptions: On Gabriel’s Ave, you, the Most Beautiful, answer So Become It! – Send your So Become It as we repeat Ave. – On Bernard’s Ave, you, the Most Beautiful, answer Salve! – Send your salve as we repeat Ave (in the middle of the pedestal) and If Gabriel wished to change his face, he would take the one from this statue. On Gabriel’s Ave, you, the best Father, will receive salve. On our Salve, please give us your Ave (on the right). On the right edge of the pedestal, there is a slab saying Donated by Father Benedict, an abbot of the Monastery in Osek, in 1709 A.D. in memory of Christ, Mary and St. Bernard. The original of the statuary is in Gorlice at Vyšehrad. This replica was sculpted by M. Vajchr, V. Hlavatý, J. and P. Vitvar, M. Tomšej, A. Viškovská-Altmanová, and J. Wolf in 1979.