Among the bridge's thirty statues, this one is special: it is the oldest, the only one in bronze and the most touched. It was installed in 1683, cast in Nuremberg by Wolfgang Hieronymus Herold from a model by Jan Brokoff based on a sketch by Matthias Rauchmiller.

1What is known

John of Nepomuk was vicar general to the Archbishop of Prague, Jan of Jenštejn, who was locked in a power struggle with King Wenceslas IV over control of the Church. In March 1393, the king had several of the archbishop's clerics arrested and tortured. John died and his body was thrown into the Vltava from this bridge. That much the documents tell us.

2What is told

Decades later another version appeared: the king supposedly killed him for refusing to reveal what the queen had said in confession. According to tradition, five stars appeared above the water where he sank, which is why the statue wears five stars. He was canonised in 1729 and became the patron saint of bridges and of the seal of confession.

A curious detail: the statue was put up in 1683 to mark three hundred years since his death, because at the time it was believed he had died in 1383.

Today people say that touching the relief brings luck and guarantees a return to Prague. A few metres away, on the parapet, a small bronze cross with five stars marks, according to tradition, the exact spot of the fall.

3What to look for

  • The left relief, the queen at confession; the right one, the saint falling into the river.
  • The golden patches polished by millions of hands.
  • The cross with five stars on the parapet, a few metres from the statue.

Documented

John of Nepomuk died in March 1393 after being tortured on Wenceslas IV's orders and was thrown into the Vltava; the bronze statue was installed in 1683.

Oral tradition

The queen's confession as the reason for his death, the five stars over the river and the luck of touching the relief are traditions.

Sources and credits

Prague City Tourism (prague.eu), «Karlův most – sochy a sousoší»; Prague City Museum; Vít Vlnas, «Jan Nepomucký, česká legenda» (1993).

Photos:

  • Bronze statue of St John of Nepomuk with a halo of five stars on Charles Bridge: Uoaei1, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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