In Prague, the medieval Charles Bridge spans the Vltava River and was the only means of crossing the river for nearly 500 years. This statue marks the spot where St. John of Nepomucene, the patron saint of Prague, was thrown from this bridge and drowned after being tortured for refusing to divulge the secrets of the Queen's confessions. He is depicted with a halo of stars to represent the legend that stars appeared when he touched the water.
Some years after visiting Prague, the Wanderer stopped to photograph a lovely old fieldstone church not too far from her home in northern Michigan. Imagine her surprise when she read the historic plaque and found that this was the Saint John of Nepomucene Catholic Church, founded by Czech immigrants from Prague in 1885. The historical marker notes that the church was built in 1890 as a frame structure and the beautiful fieldstone cladding was added in 1926. The immigrants named their surrounding community Praga, in honor of their hometown.
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