Statues - Hither & Thither

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Lüdinghausen
(Stadt Lüdinghausen)
Kr. Coesfeld
Nordrhein-Westfalen

Klosterstraße
(Steverbrücke)

Sankt Johannes von Nepomuk

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)

Willy Heitbaum
1984

Lüdinghausen / Sankt Johannes von Nepomuk

Description

Stone statue of St. John of Nepomuk without his usual attributes.

Inscription(s)

St. Ioh. Nepomuk

with a fish.

Signed: W 83

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

Willy Heitbaum, German sculptor from Lüdinghausen.

Sources & Information

Georg Inkmann, 'St. Johannes Nepomuk: ein böhmischer Heiliger in Lüdinghausen'. Jahrbuch 1989 Kreis Coesfeld, p. 78-83.

Locatie (N 51°46'28" - E 7°26'39") (Satellite view: Google Maps)

Item Code: denw235; Photograph: 12 October 2012 / updated: 16 December 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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