Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Hrabí

The statue of St. John of Nepomuk stands in the village of Hrabí, part of the municipality of Bílá Lhota in the Olomouc region, along the road running through this small Moravian settlement. It's a typical example of the small-scale sacred roadside monuments found across the Haná region and Moravia — a stone figure of the saint set on a plain pedestal, one of many such statues scattered through the countryside, each with its own individual details.

What does the statue look like?

The figure follows the classic, well-established iconography of the saint: he stands on clouds, left leg slightly bent and stepped forward, head tilted to the left. On his head he wears a gilded metal halo decorated with five stars — an attribute referring to the legend of five stars said to have appeared over the Vltava River at the spot where the saint drowned. In his hands he holds a cross bearing the corpus of Christ, a characteristic attribute of the martyr. The figure rests on a prism-shaped, rectangular pedestal, whose side surfaces are decorated with a relief garland of leaves and fruit tied with a ribbon — a decorative motif typical of folk sacred sculpture from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The back of the pedestal bears the inscription "L.P. 1913," which dates the monument's creation to 1913. The statue is listed in the Czech Heritage Catalogue as an element of local cultural heritage.

Who was St. John of Nepomuk?

John of Nepomuk (Jan z Pomuku, c. 1345–1393) was a Czech clergyman, vicar general of the Prague archdiocese, whom King Wenceslaus IV had drowned in the Vltava River. According to tradition, this happened because the priest refused to break the seal of confession regarding the queen. The saint became one of the most popular figures in Czech religious devotion, and his images — usually shown with a cross, a halo of stars, and canon's vestments — are scattered across Bohemia and Moravia: on bridges, town squares, roadsides, and at rural crossroads. He is venerated as the patron saint of confessors, bridges, and protection against floods and slander.

Roadside statues of this kind were typically commissioned by village residents or local benefactors as a votive offering, an expression of popular piety, or thanks for deliverance from misfortune such as fire, flood, or epidemic. The date 1913 places the creation of the Hrabí statue just before the First World War, a period when such local foundations were still a common practice in the Czech countryside.

Where exactly is it located?

Hrabí is a small settlement forming part of the municipality of Bílá Lhota, located in the Olomouc Region, in the historical area known as Haná. The statue stands within the village, close to the surrounding houses, which is a typical placement for such monuments — they were meant to be visible and accessible to residents in everyday life rather than tucked away out of sight.

Frequently asked questions

What year does the statue date from? The inscription on the pedestal indicates the year 1913.

What does the sculpture depict? St. John of Nepomuk standing on clouds, wearing a gilded halo of five stars and holding a cross with the corpus of Christ.

Where exactly does it stand? In the village of Hrabí, part of the municipality of Bílá Lhota in the Olomouc Region.

Is it a protected monument? Yes, it is listed in the Czech Heritage Catalogue as an element of local cultural heritage.

Why St. John of Nepomuk specifically? He is one of the most frequently depicted saints in Czech and Moravian roadside sculpture, venerated as patron of bridges, confessors, and protection from floods — which is why his statues can be found in nearly every larger village in the region.