Prince Bruncvík / Kníže Bruncvík - Charles Bridge (Prague)
N 50° 05.198 E 014° 24.561
33U E 457746 N 5548429
Depicted life-size stone statue of prince Bruncvík (kníže Bruncvík), hero of one of the oldest and most popular Czech national legends, decorates pillar of Gothic Charles Bridge in Prague.
Waymark Code: WMNGQT
Location: Hlavní město Praha, Czechia
Date Posted: 03/14/2015
Views: 49
Depicted life-size stone statue of prince Bruncvík (kníže Bruncvík), hero of one of the oldest and most popular Czech national legends, decorates pillar of Gothic Charles Bridge in Prague.
Medieval Czech legends says that Prince Bruncvík, son of prince Zibrid, was an adventurous, passionate man, who left his young wife Neomenia in Prague and embarked on travels of the world. He can be perceived as the Slavic Odysseus or Sindibad, as his journey took him away from his home for almost a decade, while he crossed exotic lands and foreign oceans. His experiences are countless and amazing, anything from surviving raging storms and being shipwrecked to fighting monsters with his magic sword, side by side of a mighty lion, who later became his life long friend and companion. Eventually, Bruncvík returned home, filled with satisfaction, carrying unique, unbelievable memories. He won back the love of his wife, who was to marry another, believing him dead and lived happily until old age, with the lion, his friend, by his side. The legend states, that his magic sword disappeared after his death. It's believed, that it lays buried in the structure of the Charles Bridge. Once the Czech nation is in great need, land patron St. Wenceslaus will rise from the dead, draw Bruncvík's sword and summon the Knights of Blaník, to lead the Czechs to victory. This legend shows striking similarities with the famous tale of Excalibur.
Bruncvík's sandstone statue, work of sculptor Ludvík Šimek (1886), was donated by the city of Prague. Contrary to other statues and statuaries on Charles bridge, the statue of Bruncvík is on the top of the bridge pillar (behind the statuary of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Prokop). It portrays a knight with a helmet, a drawn golden sword in his right hand, the cota of arms of the Prague Old Town on his side and his faithful lion by his feet. Below the pseudo-Gothic pedestal, there are 11 tablets with signs, the meaning of which is not clear (they are perhaps the signs of those who helped to build the bridge). The statue is a liberal restoration of fragments of the original Gothic statue of a knight from the 15th century (probably work of Matej Rejsek) that most likely symbolized the right of the Prague Old Town to the bridge (similar statues of Knight Roland used to also be on other medieval bridges and edifices in Europe). The statue was badly damaged by a Swedish cannon bullet in 1648. Its torso and original pedestal are now in the Lapidarium of the National Museum.
More info in Czech and English.