Madonna with Saint Bernhard, Religious statue on Charles Bridge, Czech Republic

Madonna with Saint Bernard is a Baroque sculptural group on the north side of Charles Bridge in Prague, carved by Matěj Václav Jäckel and installed in 1708. The Virgin Mary holds the Christ Child while Saint Bernard kneels before them in monastic robes, with a dog at his feet.

Sculptor Matěj Václav Jäckel created this work in 1708 as a Baroque monument for a Cistercian abbot. It stands on the north side of the Charles Bridge, where it was installed as part of the bridge's sculptural decoration in the early 18th century.

The base carries Latin inscriptions of a dialogue between Mary and Bernard, answered with AVE MARIA and SALVE BERNARDE. The Cistercian abbot who commissioned the 1708 work belonged to the order Bernard founded at Clairvaux, which explains the saint's presence beside the Virgin.

The sculpture group stands on the north side of the Charles Bridge, on the pedestrian-only span between the Old Town and Lesser Town. It faces the Vltava, so daylight reaches it from the river side; the figures are best examined from the bridge walkway itself, where the base inscriptions are at eye level.

The sandstone base carries Latin inscriptions staging a dialogue between Mary and Bernard, answered with AVE MARIA and SALVE BERNARDE. Matěj Václav Jäckel carved the group in 1708 for a Cistercian abbot, which explains why the order's founder kneels beside the Virgin.