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Alte Mainbrücke

Statuen auf der Alten Mainbrücke

Statues on the Old Main Bridge

 Gebr. Becker & Claude Curé
1720-30

Würzburg / Statuen auf der Alten Mainbrücke   Würzburg / Statuen auf der Alten Mainbrücke

Description

Twelve barocque statues of c. 4.5 m high are placed on the pier caps. Depticed are Charlemagme, his father Pippin, and ten saints. The first six statues (south side) were placed in the late 1720s after the death of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten (1729), the other six were placed c. 1730 by prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn. The design of the statues was made in 1725 by the court painter Clemens Lünenschloß. He designed 12 statues in 1725, only the six for the south side were sculpted by the brothers Becker. The new prince-bishop wanted other saints of the north side and the designs for St. Christopher, St. Aquilin and Bishop Arn are not made. The statues on the north side were sculpted by Claude Curé.

St. Totnan St. Totnan St. Kilian St. Kilian St. Mary St. Mary St. Colman St. Colman St. Burchard St. Burchard St. Bruno St. Bruno Pepin the Short Pepin the Short St. Frederick of Utrecht St. Frederick of Utrecht St. Joseph with Jesus St. Joseph with Jesus St. John of Nepomuk St. John of Nepomuk St. Charles Borromeo St. Charles Borromeo Charlemagne Charlemagne
(click on the photo or number for an enlargement in a separate window.)

1
S. TOTNAN
St. Totnan 		St. Totnan
(Ireland 6-- - Würzburg c. 689), one of the Irish Franconian apostles who was martyred along with Saint Colman and Saint Kilian (Wikipedia).

On the socle two times the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

7
PIPINUS
Click for larger photo in separate window 		Pippin der Jüngere - Pepin the Short
(714 - Saint-Denis 768), First King of the Franks (752-68) of the Carolingian dynasty, father of Charlemagne (Wikipedia).

On the socle two times the Schönborn family coat of arms.

2
S. KILIANUS
St. Kilian 		(Ireland c. 640 - Würzburg c. 689), Irish missionary bishop and the apostle of Franconia, where he began his labours towards the end of the 7th century (Wikipedia).

On the socle the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

8
S. FRIDERICUS
St. Frederick of Utrecht 		St. Friedrich von Utrecht
(Friesland c. 780 - 839), Bishop of Utrecht and martyr (Wikipedia).

On the socle the the coat of arms of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn - St. Frederick is one of the patron saints of the prince-bishop.

3
PAT. FRANCONIA
St. Mary 		St. Mary as patroness of Franconia.
St Mary stands on a dragon.

On the socle two times the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

9
S. JOSEPHUS
St. Joseph with Jesus 		St. Joseph mit Jesus - St. Joseph with Jesus
the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ (in distinction to God, his "heavenly father") (Wikipedia).

On the socle twice a shield with the monogram FC of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn.

4
S. COLONATUS
St. Colman 		St. Kolonat
(Ireland 6-- - Würzburg c. 689), companion of Kilian and Totnan, missionaries to Franconia, Germany (Wikipedia).

On the socle the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

10
S. JOH. V. NEPOMUK
St. John of Nepomuk 		St. Johannes von Nepomuk - St. 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)

On the socle the coat of arms of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn.

5
S. BURKARDUS
St. Burchard 		St. Burkard - St. Burchard of Würzburg
(England 6-- - Würzburg c. 750),
Bishop of Würzburg in 741-754 (Wikipedia).

On the socle two times the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

11
S. CAROLUS BORROMAEUS
St. Charles Borromeo 		St. Karl Borromäus - St. Charles Borromeo
(Italian: Carlo Borromeo) (1538 - 1584), cardinal, worked during the Counter-Reformation and was responsible for significant reforms in the Catholic Church (Wikipedia).

On the socle two times the Schönborn family coat of arms - St. Karl Borromäus is one of the patron saints of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn.

6
S. BRUNO
St. Bruno 		St. Bruno von Würzburg - St. Bruno of Würzburg
(c. 1005 - Persenbeug 1045), imperial chancellor of Italy from 1027 to 1034 for Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, to whom he was related, and from 1034 until his death prince-bishop of Würzburg (Wikipedia).

On the socle the coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten.

12
CAROLUS MAGNUS
Charlemagne 		Karl der Große - Charlemagne
(unknown place 742 - Aachen 814), King of the Franks (since 768) and Emperor (since 800) (Wikipedia).

On the socle the coat of arms of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn.

Coats of arms

Coat of arms of prince-bishop Christoph Franz von Hutten
I: Franconia
II and III: von Hutten
IV: Würzburg
In two variants:
- with a crown, twice on statues 1, 3 and 5.
- with three helmets, on statues 2, 4 and 6.

Of both one example:

Coat of arms of prince-bishop Friedrich Carl von Schönborn
on statues 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12, in various designs.
Statue 9 had twice a shield with the bishop's monogram.

statue 5
statue 4
statue 7
statue 9

Annotation

All statues are replaced by copies between 1852 and 1926.

Bridges with four or more statues

Mostly in Central Europe there are a number of bridges with several statues of saints. The presence of the saint statues on bridges can be explained by saying that "even strangers passing by could worship God in public through His saints, to the disgrace of heretics" (quote of the investors of the bridge at Náměšť nad Oslavou, source). A statue of the "bridge saint" Saint John of Nepomuk, is usually - but not always - included. In a few cases, bridges show secular statues (f.i., Hamburg). The overall prototype was Ponte d'Angeli, Rome.
Bridges with four or more statues are:
    30 statues
  1. Praha, Karlův most (Charles Bridge), (oldest 1683, most 18th century)
    20 statues
  2. Náměšť nad Oslavou
    12 statues
  3. Würzburg, Alte Mainbrücke, 1720-30
    8 statues
  4. Berlin, Schloßbrücke, 1847-57
  5. Žďár nad Sázavou
    6 statues
  6. Kłodzko, Most gotycki Św. Jana, 1655-1714
  7. Brtnice, Most pod zámkem, 1711-18
  8. Brtnice, Most na náměstí, early 18th century
  9. Lnáře
    4 statues
  10. Hamburg, Kornhausbrücke (statues of discoverers, two destroyed).
  11. Jaroměřice nad Rokytnou, 1714-16
  12. Písek
For bridges with two statues, see the catchword list "Bridge with statues".

Sculptors

Sources & Information

Tags

  • Bridge with statues
  • Bruno of Würzburg, St.
  • Burchard of Würzburg, St.
  • Charlemagne
  • Charles Borromeo, St.
  • Coat of arms
  • Colman, St.
  • Curé, Claude
  • Frederick of Utrecht, St.
  • John of Nepomuk, St.
  • Joseph, St.
  • Kilian, St.
  • Mary, St.
  • Monarch
  • Pippin the Short
  • Totnan, St.

    • Locatie (N 49°47'34" - E 9°55'33") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

    Item Code: deby167; Photograph: 27 September 2011
    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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