Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina

The statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina is the National Cultural Monument of Slovakia. Divina is a village and municipality in Žilina District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia. In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1325. The Statue of St. John of Nepomuk is registered in the Central List of the Slovak Memorial Fund under the number 1334/2.[1] It is a sandstone sculpture from 1796 standing on a stone base. The statue has a good artistic elaboration of the saint's face and drapery. The saint does not have a traditional biretta on his head. The statue is a remembrance of the last male descendant of the aristocratic Szunyogh family – John Nepomuk Szunyogh, who is credited with the construction of the Divina church and rectory. In Slovakia, there are only few preserved architectural and artistic monuments that belonged to the count branch of the Szunyog family of Budatín. In 1588, the branch was promoted to barons, later counts. The last male descendant was John Nepomuk Szunyogh, who died in 1798, leaving only one daughter Josephine. St. John of Nepomuk was his personal patron, to whom he had a special reverence.[2]

Location of Žilina District in the Zilina Region
Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina
Socha sv. Jána Nepomuckého v Divine
German: Statue des hl. Johannes von Nepomuk in Divina, Bulgarian: Статуя на св. Ян Непомуцки в Дивина
The statue in June 2017
ArtistUnknown
Year1796
TypeSculpture
MediumSandstone
MovementLate baroque
SubjectSaint John of Nepomuk
Dimensions150 cm (59 in)
ConditionRenovation: 1822, 1995, 2017
LocationDivina, Slovakia
OwnerParish of Divina, Roman Catholic Diocese of Žilina

St. John of Nepomuk

St. John of Nepomuk, Czech saint, died as a martyr. His tortured body was bound and thrown in the Vltava river. St. John of Nepomuk is one of the most frequently illustrated saints in the territory of the former Habsburg monarchy and there are monuments (mostly statues) of him in almost every village in Slovak and Czechia. His statues and other monuments are all over the world. The fact that we can find St. John of Nepomuk also in less expected locations only confirms his universal respect. St. John is the patron of confessors, priests, sailors, rafters, millers and protector from drowning or tongue diseases. He is co-patron of the Czech Republic and Bavaria. Many churches and chapels have been consecrated to him in Central and Western Europe. St. John of Nepomuk churches and chapels can be found in Germany, Czechia, Poland, Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Serbia, Lithuania and Hungary.[2] His is also worshipped in Spain. Since 16 May 1758, St. John of Nepomuk has been the patron saint of the Spanish Marine Forces (Infantería de Marina).[3] Outside Europe, there churches and chapels consecrated to him especially in Costa Rica, Colombia, Paraguay, Argentina, Philippines and the USA.[2] Also names of many municipalities in Latin America were given in respect of him.[4][5][6]

History

Interesting information about the statue was found in the recently discovered Canonical visitation of Divina from 1828: "On the territory of the parish, there is also on stone statue of St. John Nepomuk, which used to be located at the entrance to the Divina village near the stream along the road in 1796. It was built by the count John Szunyogh. After the fatal massive flood in 1822 that wrecked the entire village from the ground, the statue was swept away. It was found head-less. Later, thanks to the willingness of the count Stephen Csáky, the current patron of the church, it was repaired and placed in front of the rectory on the brick column."[7]

Another characteristic
  • Century: 18th
  • Founder: Count John Nepomuk Szunyogh (1796)[7]
  • Innovator: Count Stephen Csáky (after 1822)

International project of restoration

The project of restoration of St. John of Nepomuk statue was initiated by architect Marek Sobola and was started in 2016, was completed in June 2017. Partners, who were addressed to cooperate have either some connection to St. John of Nepomuk or to Slovakia.

Auspices
  •  Germany: The project was carried out under auspices of the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Slovakia.[8]

Project patrons

Project donors
  • Page from the Canonical Visitation from 1828 mentioning the statue of St. John of Nepomuk
  • Statue before starting the restoration
  • The statue - overall view

Blessing ceremony

The statue was uncovered on its new stand on Friday 2 June 2017 by Joachim Bleicker, the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Slovakia together with Emil Molko, Mayor of Divina and Marek Sobola, author of the project. Subsequently, it was blessed by Mons. Tomáš Galis, Bishop of Žilina. It happened more than 190 years since it was restored after being damaged by a flood. Besides the Bishop, Ambassador of Germany and the Head of the Bishop Office, the ceremony was attended also by invited partners. The uncovering and blessing of the statue were followed by a vernissage presenting all partners of the monument restoration on panels.[9]

Book

On the occasion of the statue uncovering and blessing, a book was published, titled The story of St. John, Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina (in Slovak: Príbeh svätojánsky, Socha svätého Jána Nepomuckého v Divine), written by Marek Sobola and collective of other authors.[2] The book, besides the biography of St. John of Nepomuk, presents similar monument in the surroundings of Divina. The book comes with a summary in German, English, Bulgarian and Khmer languages and, at the vernissage, it was ceremonially promoted by Divina soil scatted over it.[14]

Postal products

The Slovak Post issued official postal products on this occasion – stamp, envelopes and stamp coupons.[15][16]

Award

On November 29, 2018 a solemn announcement of results of the 13th edition of the Phoenix – National Cultural Monument of the Year 2017 competition was held, where four objects were awarded. The Minister of Culture of the Slovak Republic, Ľubica Laššáková handed over the bronze statue of the Phoenix to the owners of these reconstructed Monuments. The Ministry also awarded four Honorable recognitions alongside the main prize. Exceptional realization of the restoration project of the Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in the village of Divina has gained one of these four recognitions.[17][18]

References
  1. "Pamiatkový objekt - podrobnosti". www.pamiatky.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  2. Sobola, Marek (2017). Príbeh svätojánsky, Socha sv. Jána Nepomuckého v Divine / The Story of St. John, Statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Divina / ដំណើររឿងរបស់ St. John, រូបចម្លាក់ St. John Nepomuk នៅក្រុង Divina / Die Johannisgeschichte, Die Staute des hl. Johannes Nepomuk in Divina / Историята на св. Ян, Статуята на св. Ян Непомуцки в Дивина. Žilina: Servare et Manere, o. z. & Kysucké múzeum v Čadci. ISBN 978-80-972614-3-6.
  3. Fuerza de Infantería de Marina. "Patronazgo del Cuerpo de Infantería de Marina". www.armada.mde.es. Archived from the original on 2016-05-30.
  4. http://www.iprc.org.co, Equipo de Internet para la Rendición de Cuentas -. "Sitio web del municipio San Juan Nepomuceno en Bolívar". www.sanjuannepomuceno-bolivar.gov.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  5. "Město San Juan Nepomuceno". www.paraguay.cz. Archived from the original on 2015-05-22. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  6. "San Juan Nepomuceno (Paraguay) - Heraldry of the World". www.ngw.nl. Archived from the original on 2017-09-01. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  7. Vurum, Joseph (1828). Canonica visitatio, Nagy Divina (in Latin). Nitra: The Diocese of Nitra, manuscript. p. 14.
  8. "V Divine zachránili sochu s neobyčajným príbehom | Žilinský večerník". www.zilinskyvecernik.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  9. www.tkkbs.sk. "Biskup Galis požehnal obnovenú sochu sv. Jána Nepomuckého v Divine". www.tkkbs.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  10. TK KBS (June 11, 2017). "Požehnali obnovenú sochu sv. Jána Nepomuckého" (PDF). Katolícke Noviny. 23: 2. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 21, 2017.
  11. "Večerník súčasťou národnej kultúrnej pamiatky | Žilinský večerník". www.zilinskyvecernik.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  12. "V malej dedine v srdci Európy postavili most komunikácie a priateľstva - Žilinská diecéza - Rímskokatolícka cirkeva". www.dcza.sk (in Slovak). Archived from the original on 2017-08-03. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  13. "Žilinský filatelisti účastníci medzinárodného projektu obnovy sochy | Zväz slovenských filatelistov". www.slovenskafilatelia.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-24. Retrieved 2017-08-24.
  14. "Katalog der Deutschen Nationalbibliothek". portal.dnb.de (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-07-18.
  15. a.s., Slovesnká pošta. "POFIS - Katalóg - Produkty - Tlačový list známky s personalizovaným kupónom - Ján Nepomucký". www.pofis.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  16. a.s., Slovesnká pošta. "POFIS - Katalóg - Produkty - Požehnanie sochy sv. Jána Nepomuckého v Divine". www.pofis.sk. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 2017-06-19.
  17. Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. "Poznáme najlepšie obnovené pamiatky na Slovensku za rok 2017". www.culture.gov.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2018-12-09.
  18. Sobola, Marek. "The 2017 best reconstructed Monuments in Slovakia are known" (in Slovak and English). Retrieved 2018-12-09.
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