St. John of Nepomuk / Sv. Jan Nepomucký - Decín (North Bohemia)
N 50° 46.506 E 014° 12.072
33U E 443678 N 5625119
Depicted Baroque statue of St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký) decorates the public space in front of the Museum building in town Decín.
Waymark Code: WM128MM
Location: Ústecký kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/30/2020
Views: 13
Depicted Baroque statue of St. John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký) decorates the public space in front of the Museum building in town Decín.
The iconographically traditionally conceived sandstone St. John of Nepomuk statue, a slightly larger-than-life size, dates back to 1738. Statue is probably work of Baroque sculptor J. Fischer.
John of Nepomuk (1345–1393) is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods.
The statue of St. John of Nepomuk is often encountered in Central Europe, including the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Poland and Lithuania. He is usually portrayed with a halo of five stars, commemorating the stars that hovered over the Vltava River on the night of his murder. Other attributes useful to identify his pictures are: a priestly dress, the palm of martyrs, carrying a cross, an angel indicating silence by a finger over the lips. A statue of Saint John of Nepomuk has often been erected on bridges in many countries, such as on the Ponte Milvio in Rome.
[excerpted from Wikipedia]