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Šv. Jonas Nepomukas

Saint John of Nepomuk

Nepomuk c. 1345 - Praha 1393
Beichtvater der Königin von Böhmen; Schutzpatron der Brücken
confessor of the queen of Bohemia; patron saint of bridges
(Wikipedia)
Stanisław Horno-Popławski
1935

Trakai /  Šv. Jonas Nepomukas   Trakai /  Šv. Jonas Nepomukas

Description

Polychrome stone statue of St. John of Nepomuk in a small chapel on top of a round column. The column is 14 m high, 3.24 m wide and consists of three parts: a four-side granite pillar on which a column of stuccoed brick stands. This supports a tiny square "chapel" with a four-slope pyramid tiled roof. Above the rooftop stands a metal "saulute" or little sun.

Annotation

From the Trakai Historical National Park website:

The statue was built in what used to be the middle of them market square and is mentioned in records for the first time in 1622. The present appearance was created in the mid-nineteenth century when a statue of St John Nepomuk was placed on the column. The statue was torn down after the 1863 Uprising and in its place the arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania surmounted by the Russian eagle coat of arms was hung at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The column was destroyed during World War One and in 1935 it was rebuilt by the mayor of Trakai, Colonel Zajączkowski. This statue of St John Nepomuk was designed by the Vilnius sculptor Stanisław Horno-Poplawski and a metal cross was fixed atop the roof. That autumn the column was consecrated by the parish priest Henryk Hlebowicz who was beatified in Warsaw as a martyr on June 13 1999. Around 1960 the statue of St John was removed from its housing and tossed into the lake by the Soviet authorities. Later the statue was found by the Trakai Museum and taken into its holdings in 1961. In 1969 Mikulionis designed the restoration of the column and a wooden horseman took the place of St John Nepomuk. As Lithuanian independence was being restored the Stanisław Horno-Poplawski statue was restored in 1990 in the P. Gudynas Restoration Centre and returned to the column.

Sankt Johannes von Nepomuk / Saint John of Nepomuk

Als Beichtvater der Königin von Böhmen weigerte er sich, die Geheimnisse der Beichte preiszugeben. Auf Geheiß von König Wenzel von Böhmen wurde er von der Karlsbrücke in Prag gestürzt und ertrank. Johannes von Nepomuk ist der Schutzpatron der Brücken.
Seine Figur ist in Mittel- und Osteuropa, darunter in der Tschechischen Republik, Italien, Deutschland, Polen und Litauen, häufig anzutreffen. Er wird meist mit einem Heiligenschein aus fünf Sternen dargestellt, der an die Sterne erinnert, die in der Nacht seiner Ermordung über der Moldau schwebten; es heißt auch, dass die fünf Sterne die fünf Buchstaben des lateinischen Wortes „tacet“ symbolisieren sollen, was „schweigen“ bedeutet.
Weitere Attribute sind eine Priesterrobe, die Palmzweige der Märtyrer und ein großes Kruzifix, auf das er meist blickt.
Als zusätzliche Figuren sind oft ein oder mehrere kleine Engel zu sehen, die jeweils durch einen Finger auf den Lippen, mit einem Kruzifix und mit der Bibel auf das Schweigen hinweisen.

As confessor of the queen of Bohemia he 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.
His figure is often encountered in Central and Eastern 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, also is said that the five stars are supposed to symbolize the five letters of Latin word "tacet", which means "silent".
Other attributes are a priestly dress, the palm of martyrs and a large crucifix, to which he is usually looking.
As additional figures there are often one of more little angels, respectively indicating silence by a finger over the lips, with a crucifix and with the bible.

Es gibt mehrere Websites, auf denen Statuen des Heiligen Johannes von Nepomuk aufgeführt sind:
There are several sites listing statues of Saint John of Nepomuk:

Artist

Sources & Information

Tags

Location (N 54°38'40" - E 24°56'8") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: lt072; Photograph: 14 July 2013
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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