Statues St. Barbara, St. Margaret and St. Elizabeth

Look for the tall sandstone sculpture featuring three women, with the central figure raised on a pedestal holding a golden chalice and a small carved tower resting at her feet. This is the statue of Saints Barbara, Margaret, and Elizabeth. It was commissioned in seventeen oh seven by an Imperial Councillor who was suffering from a terminal illness. He knew his time was up, so he paid for a permanent visual prayer to save his soul. The central figure, Saint Barbara, was the patroness of a happy death. If you look at your screen you can see a close up of the golden chalice she holds, symbolizing the final sacrament. The other two saints, Margaret stepping on a dragon and Elizabeth offering bread, were named after his wife and mother.

The inscription on the base credits the famous master sculptor Jan Brokoff. But that is not exactly the whole truth. The true genius behind this carving was actually his nineteen-year-old son, Ferdinand Brokoff. This was the teenager's debut on the bridge. Instead of his father's rigid, old-fashioned style, young Ferdinand introduced a breathtaking new realism. Take a look at your app again to focus on the beggar at Saint Elizabeth's feet. Ferdinand carved human dignity and suffering into the stone with a mastery of deep, fluid clothing folds that instantly made his name.

That nineteen-year-old's work proved remarkably tough. Carved from fine-grained sandstone, this monument held its ground when revolutions brought cannon fire to the bridge in eighteen forty-eight, and it stood firm against the catastrophic floods of eighteen ninety. Aside from a major restoration in eighteen fifty-two, it has survived largely intact for over three centuries, stubbornly protecting a doomed man's final wish from both the elements and the chaos of human history.

Since the bridge is open twenty-four hours a day, this stone vigil never actually stops. Now, let us cross back to the north side for another of Jäckel's works, as we step right next door to the statues of the Madonna, Saint Dominic, and Thomas Aquinas.