St. John of Nepomuk Statue, Bratislava, Slovakia Poster

"St. John of Nepomuk Statue, Bratislava, Slovakia" by Catherine Sherman. A statue of St. John of Nepomuk stands on the bridge at the entry of Michael's Gate to Old Town Bratislava, Slovakia, flanked by an ornate black iron railing and lampposts Behind the statue, a row of quaint buildings in with pitched roofs in Old Town adds to the scene’s charm. Michael's Gate is an entrance gate dating to the city's 1300s fortifications. St. John of Nepomuk was a saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic) who was drowned in the Vltava River in Prague, Czech Republic, at the command of King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia. He was one of the patron saints of the Czechs who was murdered during the bitter conflict of church and state that plagued Bohemia in the latter 14th century. He is a patron saint of bridges. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning. There is a statue to St. John of Nepomuk on the Charles Bridge over the Vltava River in Prague.