Statue of Saints Norbert of Xanten, Wenceslas and Sigismund
Public Art: Statue of Saints Norbert of Xanten, Wenceslas and Sigismund
Sculptor: © Josef Calanza Max (January 16th, 1804 – June 18th, 1855)
Description: The sandstone group feature statues of Saint Norbert of Xanten (Middle), Saint Wenceslas (left) and Saint Sigismund (right). Saint Wenceslas, the patron of Bohemia is holding a flag.
Date Unveiled: The statue was unveiled in 1853 under the patronage of the art-loving abbot of Strahov Monastery, Dr Jeronym Zeidler.
Inscription:
In memory of St. Norbert, a holy patriarch and canon of the Order of Premonstratensians and a patron of the Kingdom of Bohemia, in the year 1853, placed for the third time, with the statues of the venerable kings St. Wenceslas and St. Sigismund, under auspices of Jeroným Zeidler, abbot of Strahov.
St. Wenceslas, martyr, prince and patron of Bohemia. The grace and consolation of the land.
St. Sigismund, martyr, king of Burgundy, patron of Bohemia and eternal warrior of the Kingdom of Christ.
Location: The group can be found on Charles Bridge, Prague, Czech Republic.
Trivia: This is the third statue to be erected at this location. The first was created in 1708 by the Brokof workshop. It featured St. Norbert and Beatified Adrian and James. It met its end untimely end thanks to the Prussians. In 1765 a second attempt was made, this time a statuary of St. Norbert with Angels by sculptor Ignác František Platzer was erected. The whereabouts today is unknown.
Since 1965 all the statues on Charles Bridge have systematically been replaced with replicas. The originals now reside in Prague’s National Museum.
In 1848 during the revolutionary days, the bridge came under attack and some of the statues were damaged by cannon fire.
Saint Norbert is one of the Patron Saints of Czech and the protector of expectant mothers and advocate for childless marriages.
Charles Bridge Background: The gothic Charles Bridge, which crosses the Vitava river, began construction in 1357 under the reign of King Charles IV and was completed at the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the Judith Bridge that had been damaged beyond repair during a flood in 1342. It was originally named the Stone or Prague bridge but became known as the Charles Bridge around 1870. Until 1841 it was the only connection between Prague Castle and Prague’s Old Town.
The bridge is decorated with 30 Baroque statues of saints and patron saints. The statues were erected on the bridge pillars between 1683 and 1714 and were all created by prominent Bohemian sculptors of the time.
During the devastating September flood of 1890, the Charles bridge was badly damaged. The fifth pillar holding up the statues of St Ignatius of Loyola and St Xavier was partly damaged resulting in the statues tumbling into the river. St Ignatius was replaced with a statue of St Cyril and Methodius by sculptor Karel Dvorak between 1928-1939 and the Xavier statue was replaced by a replica by Cenek Vosmik in 1913.