It stands near the Church of St. Barbara in Stary Zdrój. It is the oldest stone statue of the saint in the Wałbrzych area. It was founded in 1751 by Franz Joseph Mutius, chancellor of Philipp Gotthard Schaffgotsche, Bishop of Wrocław from 1747 to 1795.
Mutius bought the Altwasser estate (today's Stary Zdrój) and founded a spa there. He also earned income from his mining activities and numerous properties. The pedestal of the monument he founded bears a Latin inscription which translates as: "This monument was erected to St. John of Nepomuk, special protector of honor, out of the sincere piety of Joseph, owner of the estates in Stary Zdrój." The inscription contained a chronostich - the capital letters formed the date 1751. Originally, the statue stood on a bridge over the Pełcznica River, near the Mutius chateau. After the flood of 1883, which destroyed the wooden bridge, the statue was placed near a new bridge built of stone and steel. When a more modern reinforced concrete bridge was built in 1938, the mayor of Walbrzych decided not to place the statue of the saint on it. However, Günther Grundmann, a monument official of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, and Paul Redlich, the city architect, disagreed and asked the parish priest of the Catholic Church of St. Barbara to remove the statue. The parish moved it at its own expense to the place where it stands today. Its author is unknown; we only know that it is a replica of the famous statue from Charles Bridge in Prague. St. John of Nepomuk stands on a pedestal, his feet resting on a shield, holding a palm in his left hand and a cross in his right. The pedestal has a niche for candles. The statue is currently in need of restoration and the inscription on it is illegible.
St. John of Nepomuk is a very popular saint in Lower Silesia. More than 500 depictions of him have been counted in the region, which is related to the Counter-Reformation. It was then that the cult of this saint was born.
Mutius bought the Altwasser estate (today's Stary Zdrój) and founded a spa there. He also earned income from his mining activities and numerous properties. The pedestal of the monument he founded bears a Latin inscription which translates as: "This monument was erected to St. John of Nepomuk, special protector of honor, out of the sincere piety of Joseph, owner of the estates in Stary Zdrój." The inscription contained a chronostich - the capital letters formed the date 1751. Originally, the statue stood on a bridge over the Pełcznica River, near the Mutius chateau. After the flood of 1883, which destroyed the wooden bridge, the statue was placed near a new bridge built of stone and steel. When a more modern reinforced concrete bridge was built in 1938, the mayor of Walbrzych decided not to place the statue of the saint on it. However, Günther Grundmann, a monument official of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship, and Paul Redlich, the city architect, disagreed and asked the parish priest of the Catholic Church of St. Barbara to remove the statue. The parish moved it at its own expense to the place where it stands today. Its author is unknown; we only know that it is a replica of the famous statue from Charles Bridge in Prague. St. John of Nepomuk stands on a pedestal, his feet resting on a shield, holding a palm in his left hand and a cross in his right. The pedestal has a niche for candles. The statue is currently in need of restoration and the inscription on it is illegible.
St. John of Nepomuk is a very popular saint in Lower Silesia. More than 500 depictions of him have been counted in the region, which is related to the Counter-Reformation. It was then that the cult of this saint was born.
