John of Nepomuk (Czech: Jan Nepomucký) 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.
The figure of Saint John of Nepomuk in Inzing, Tirol, Austria
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During the time of King Wenceslas IV, St. John heard confession from his queen and was privy to every detail of her life. When Wenceslas prodded the saint for information on his wife, St. John refused, and was brutally tortured. After his death, he was cast from a bridge in Prague into the Vlatava River. After a horrible drought one year later, allegedly caused by the wrath of God for the saint's death, St. John was discovered and buried in an extravagant tomb in St. Vitus. St. 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 figure of Saint John of Nepomuk in Inzing, Tirol, Austria
The modern figure of Saint John of Nepomuk by the Inn river, Telfs, Tirol, Austria. Sculptor Prof. Heinrich Tilly.
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The figure of Saint John of Nepomuk is often encountered in Central Europe, including the Czech Republic, Italy, Germany, Austria /particularly in Tyrol/, 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.
Source: Internet, i.a. www.traditioninaction.org
Source: Internet, i.a. www.traditioninaction.org