Johannes Nepomuk an der Liesingbachbrücke, Rothneusiedl

The Johannes-Nepomuk-Statue stands in Oberlaa, a district of Vienna’s tenth borough, Favoriten. It is a baroque statue of the Bohemian saint, carved in the mid-18th century. The figure once marked the entrance to the old Gasthof Unsinn on Himberger Straße. In 1920 it was moved to a small bridge over the Liesingbach. A later restoration in 1979 gave it a new pedestal and placed it beside the Kaistraße. Johannes Nepomuk is remembered for refusing to break the seal of confession. According to legend, King Wenceslas IV demanded that the priest reveal what his wife had confessed. The king had the priest thrown from the Charles Bridge into the Vltava on 20 March 1393. The real cause was a political quarrel between the bishop and the monarch. Canonised in 1729, Nepomuk became a popular protector of bridges across the Habsburg lands. Visitors find the statue beside a quiet urban stream, the Liesingbach. The bridge is small and unadorned, letting the stone figure take centre stage. The saint wears the traditional cassock and biretta, though his halo is missing. A modest pedestal supports the sculpture, and the corner of Kaistraße offers space to pause. The setting is residential, with little traffic, so the monument stands in calm surroundings.