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Saint Jean Népomucène

Saint 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)

Hitter tailleurs de pierre
2010

Description

Sandstone statue in a small park along the Thur river near the bridge. Special characteristic is a lizard at the saint's side.

Annotation

A statue of Saint John of Nepomuk is mentioned in Cernay in 1802 at the Place Saint-Jean near the old Thur bridge built in 1736. It was renovated in 1804. When the Thur change its bed to the south, the Pont Neuf was built in 1896. The statue retained its old place and was renovated in the same year. After 1946, it moved to the plot at the corner of Rue de la Paix and the Rue du Vieil Armand. In 1997, Dr. Jean Sutter, President of the local Historical Society, proposed the restoration of the statue and and place it again on the bridge over the Thur.

Finally, was decided to make a copy of the statue while the original was placed as a precaution in the garden of the Musée de la Porte de Thann. The new statue was unveiled on 12 July 2010.

Statues of Saint John of Nepomuk

The figure of Saint John of Nepomuk 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:
a priestly dress
the palm of martyrs
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
with the bible.

There are several sites listing statues of Saint John of Nepomuk:

Saxa Loquuntur, Svatý Jan Nepomucký: Svatojánské sochy v českých a moravských krajských mĕstech, in Czech
Nepomuki, in Polish.
Treffpunkt Schoener-Reisen, Sankt Nepomuk, der Brückenheilige , in German.
Gerhard Eichinger, Nepomuk Sammlung [➝ Geschichte(n) ➝ Nepomuk Sammlung], in German.
Wedigo von Wedel, www.brueckenheilige.de, in German.

Sculptor

Hitter tailleurs de pierre, Wittelsheim (Website).

Sources & Information

Ville de Cernay, Le retour de St Jean Népomucène.

Locatie (N 47°48'17" - E 7°10'29") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: fral074; Photograph: 15 April 2012
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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