Sculptural group of St. Lutgardis on Charles Bridge / Sousoší Sv. Luitgardy na Karlove moste (Prague) - Statues of Religious Figures on Waymarking.com

Depicted Baroque sculptural group of St. Lutgardis (Sv. Luitgarda) is one of 31 historic statues (...or groups) decorating famous Gothic Charles Bridge (Karluv most) in Prague' centre.

What makes Charles Bridge a top tourist attraction is the open air sculptural gallery which adorns it. It was created much later than the actual bridge construction, mostly in 1706-1714 in the expectation of the canonisation of John of Nepomuk (Jan Nepomucký). Despite the partial changes the gallery has undergone since its creation, it is still a great reflection of the history of the Czech lands - there are 31 statues and groups of statues in all on the bridge today with approximately 100 figures, among them also prime works of the great men of central European sculpture Matthias B. Braun and Ferdinand M. Brokoff. Since 1965 the precious originals of the statues have been gradually replaced by replicas. In extent and quality this bridge gallery has no equal in Europe.

St. Lutgardis sculptural group is the 12th one on the left looking from the Old Town Bridge Tower. The sandstone sculptural group, work of Matthias Bernard Braun (1710), was donated by the abbot of Cistercian Abbey of Plasy Evžen Tyttl. It is a superb Baroque statuary, the best one on the bridge and the first known statue of Matthias B. Braun in Bohemia (he was only 26 years old when he made it). Braun was probably inspired by the painting of his friend, Petr Jan Brandl, or the Ecstasy of St. Theresa by Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini. The statuary depicts St. Lutgardis who, before her death, saw the crucified Jesus Christ who embraced her, pressed her lips against his wounds and exchanged his heart for hers. On the beautiful pedestal (Braun perhaps collaborated with František Maxmilián Kanka, 1796–1859, or Jan Blažej Santini-Eichel, 1677–1723), there is an oval slab with the Latin inscription St. Lutgardis from the Cistercian Order; on the right, there is the Latin inscription The vivified side gave a heart for another heart. From the Cistercian breviary for 15 June and on the left, there is the Latin inscription Embraced with the arm of the crucified Christ. At the back of the pedestal, there is the Latin inscription Erected by the Cistercian Abbey of Plasy in 1710 during the office of Evžen Tyttl, a probost of the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Ceská Lípa, in honor of St. Lutgardis. The original of the statuary is now in the Lapidarium of the National Museum; the copy on the bridge was made by B. Rak and J. Novák in 1995.

Saint Lutgardis of Aywières (1182 – 16 June 1246) was a Flemish saint. She was born in Tongres in Belgium (for which she is also called "Lutgardis of Tongres"), and entered into religious orders at the age of twelve. During her life various miracles were attributed to her, and she is known to have experienced religious ecstasies. She was blind the last eleven years of her life. Before she died, she saw the crucified Jesus pressing her lips against his wounds and exchanging his heart for hers. Her feast day is June 16.

[excerpted from Wikipedia]