Statue of John of Nepomuk near Školní lávka in Karlovy Vary, Religious statue in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.
The Baroque sandstone statue of John of Nepomuk stands 1.9 m tall on the left bank of the Teplá River by Školní lávka, on a plain prismatic pedestal 1.05 m high with no inscription or relief. The saint is bareheaded in canon's robes, rochet and almuce, right hand raised, face turned to the sky, a removed biretta in his left hand and five stars on an iron frame around his head.
Countess Marie Markéta Valdštejnová, née Černínová, donated the statue to the spa town; sources date its making to 1728 or the first third of the 18th century, and its author is unknown. It first stood in the centre of Jánský Bridge by the Vřídelní Colonnade, was moved in 1844 for the bridge's rebuilding near František Bridge, and in 1902 was set on its present pedestal by the new post office. It was restored in 2019.
The statue was donated to the spa town by Countess Marie Markéta Valdštejnová, née Černínová. Its five stars on an iron frame around the head refer to the legend of John of Nepomuk, who was said to have stars hovering over his body in the Vltava. The figure holds a removed biret in his left hand.
The statue stands on the left bank of the Teplá River on the Osvobození embankment, right by the Školní lávka footbridge. It faces the viewer frontally on its pedestal, so the raised right hand and the five stars on the iron frame around the head are best seen from directly in front. The pedestal carries no inscription or relief.
John of Nepomuk is one of the most frequently depicted saints across Central Europe, and this statue is one of hundreds of similar memorials built since the 18th century. The baroque sculptural tradition made him the favored subject for public devotion during that era.
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