St. John of Nepomuk / Sv. Jan Nepomucký - Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk - Prague Castle (Prague) - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque sandstone statue of St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký) decorates entrance portal of the chapel consecrated to the same saint and located in the Prague Castle complex.

Baroque Chapel of St. John of Nepomuk (Kaple Sv. Jana Nepomuckého) is a small religious structure which was added to the western front facade of the St. George Basilica (Basilika Sv. Jirí) in Prague Castle during years 1717–1722. The chaple' front facade is decorated by statues of St. John of Nepomuk with angels by anther master of Baroque art in Bohemia - Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff.

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]