Sousoší Sv. Jana Nepomuckého / St. John of Nepomuk sculptural group - Svatý Kopecek u Olomouce (Central Moravia) - Baroque Architecture on Waymarking.com

The depicted Baroque sculptural group of St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký) is located in the close proximity of Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Svatý Kopecek u Olomouce.

The above life-size (240 cm tall) saint's statue, made of Maletín sandstone, stands on a central column of tiered candlestick-shaped pedestal with three side arms. On side arms are putti statues. The large, almost 550 cm high sculptural group, is surrounded by a hexagonal sandstone balustrade with chains, which is work of sculptor Jan Sturmer (ca 1724) was renovated in 1898 and 2013.

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]