St. John of Nepomuk / Sv. Jan Nepomucký - Benešov (Central Bohemia)
N 49° 47.076 E 014° 41.631
33U E 477961 N 5514726
Depicted unusually by putti decorated Baroque statuary with St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký) is located at southern wall of Church of St. Nicholas (Kostel Sv. Mikuláše) in town Benešov.
Waymark Code: WMMN3A
Location: Středočeský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 10/13/2014
Views: 30
Depicted unusually by putti decorated Baroque statuary with St. John of Nepomuk (Sv. Jan Nepomucký) is located at southern wall of Church of St. Nicholas (Kostel Sv. Mikuláše) in town Benešov. The sandstone statue of saint, work of Martin Jelínek Senior of Kosmonosy from the 1st half of the 18th century, stands on massive granite prismatic pedestal.
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]