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Bruck an der Mur
Steiermark

Koloman-Wallisch-Platz

Marien- oder Pestsäule

Marian or Plague Column

 Josef Wolff & Ignaz Marxer
1710

Bruck an der Mur / Marien- oder Pestsäule   Bruck an der Mur / Marien- oder Pestsäule

Description

Column with a statue of St. Mary Immaculate, by Josef Wolff, flanked by six statues of saints, by Ignaz Marxer. On the central column is a coat of arms of Bruck with the year 1796, the date when the column was renovated and replaced.

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Florian
(d. c. 304), commander of the imperial army in the Roman province of Noricum, responsible for organizing firefighting brigades. Martyred because is did not want to sacrifice to Roman gods. He is usually depicted as a Roman officer pouring water from a pitcher over a fire (Wikipedia).

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Sebastian
(died c. 288), martyr, killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians (Wikipedia).

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Joseph, with Jesus
the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ (in distinction to God, his "heavenly father") (Wikipedia).

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Johannes von Nepomuk / St. John of Nepomuk
(Nepomuk c. 1345 - Praha 1393), confessor of the queen of Bohemia, refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. At the behest of King Wenceslaus of Bohemia he was thrown from the Charles Bridge in Prague and drowned. John of Nepomuk is patron saint of bridges (Wikipedia)

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Roch
(14th century), saint from Montpellier, he is specially invoked against the plague. (Wikipedia).

Bruck an der Mur - Marien- oder Pestäule
St. Antonius von Padua / St. Anthony of Padua
born Fernando Martins de Bulhões, (Lisbon c. 1195 - Padua 1231), priest and friar of the Franciscan Order, known for his preaching and expert knowledge of scripture (Wikipedia).

Inscription(s)

dankspruch

einst war die pest hier
eingedrungen,
von dieser hat uns gott befreit,
von feuerbrunst die stadt
umrungen,
die stadt hat wieder sich erneut

die brücke von der mur
verschlungen,
auch diese steht zur
dankbarkeit
liess bruck die säule hier erbauen
und als des dankes denkmal
weih'n

Word of Thank

Once the pest was here
penetrated
From this God has set us free,
of firebright the city
surrounds,
the city has renewed again.

The bridge of the Mur
was destroyed
Also stands this out of
gratitude
Bruck has built this column here
and as thank consecrated
this monument.

Marian, Holy Trinity and Plague Columns (Mariensäule, Dreifaltigkeitssäule, Pestsäule)

Marian and Holy Trinity columns are religious monuments with a statue of Saint Mary or a depiction of the Holy Trinity on top of a column. Around the base of the column are usually various saints. Marian columns were built to thank the Virgin Mary for intervention to quell the pestilence and other scourges. The first of those was erecrted in Vienna in 1667 (Mariensäule) and the second in 1679 also in Vienna at the Graben, the Pestsäule.
The purpose of the Holy Trinity columns was usually simply to celebrate the church and the faith, although the plague motif could play a role.
Erecting religious monuments in the form of a column surmounted by a figure or a Christian symbol was a gesture of public faith that flourished in the Catholic countries of Europe especially in the 17th and 18th centuries (Wikipedia)

Sculptors

Sources & Information

Tags

  • Florian, St.
  • John of Nepomuk, St.
  • Joseph with Jesus, St.
  • Marian Column
  • Marxer, Ignaz
  • Mary (Immaculate Conception), St.
  • Plague Column
  • Roch, St.
  • Sebastian, St.
  • Wolff, Josef

    • Locatie (N 47°24'34" - E 15°16'11") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

    Item Code: atst116; Photograph: 13 September 2016
    Of each statue we made photos from various angles and also detail photos of the various texts.
    If you want to use photos, please contact us via the contact form (in Dutch, English or German).
    © Website and photos: René & Peter van der Krogt

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