St. John of Nepomuk at Znojmo Castle / Sv. Jan Nepomucký na Znojemském hradu (South Moravia)
N 48° 51.322 E 016° 02.574
33U E 576500 N 5411902
Depicted beautiful Baroque limestone statue of Catholic Czech patron saint, St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký), you can find in the entrance courtyard of the Znojmo castle.
Waymark Code: WME3E9
Location: Jihomoravský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/29/2012
Views: 56
Depicted beautiful Baroque limestone statue of Catholic Czech patron saint, St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký), you can find in the entrance courtyard of the Znojmo castle.
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.