Photo: Alpbachtal Tourismus

Bildstock Hl. Johannes Nepomuk

Radfeld, Tyrol

John of Nepomuk was a Bohemian priest and martyr who was thrown from Charles Bridge into the Vltava River in Prague in 1393 and drowned. Drowning was the usual death penalty for clergy in the Middle Ages. According to legend, the body of the man floating in the water was surrounded by five flames or "brightly shining miraculous signs," which is why John of Nepomuk is often depicted with five stars around his head. According to another legend, the Vltava dried up, and the body of the deceased could thus be found. In the summer of 1953, the time-honored wooden bridge from Rattenberg to Kramsach was dismantled and replaced by a new reinforced concrete bridge. The then mayor Johann Kiener ensured that Saint Nepomuk received a worthy place on the bridge. For this purpose, a beautiful niche of Hagauer marble was built on the bridge ramp. Unfortunately, foolish pranks often damaged the ancient statue, so in 1994, during the bridge renovation, a new Nepomuk statue had to be erected and in 1996, a protective wrought-iron grate had to be installed. The Innbrücke was newly built at this location between 1845 and 1852, after the old wooden Innbrücke stood further up at the "Inntor". Master builder Michael Schweinester erected a wooden construction of magnificent engineering. The two bridge piers and bridgeheads were built from Kramsach marble blocks by the proven master builder Johann Wolf from Brixlegg. This bridge was consecrated in 1852. For this, the road had to be built in an arc past the monastery (today school grounds) to the bridge. A life-size statue of Saint Nepomuk, who was very popular as a bridge saint, already stood at the monastery grounds.