Horváth M. Ferenc (szerk.): Vác The heart of the Danube Bend. A historical guide for residents and globetrotters (Vác, 2009)
Tartalom
SIGHTSEEING 193 Facing the bridge from the direction of the town, St Camillus is on the right, Barbara is across the way; St John of Nepomuk is in the middle; opposite him there are the apostles Peter and Paul, and on the Pest side are St Venant and St Jude Thaddeus. It is always interesting to find out about the decoration plans for a construction, the choice of figures and the iconographical background. These aspects have special importance in the Baroque age. Since St John of Nepomuk, the patron of the confessional secret was killed by having been thrown into a river; his representation on bridges and riversides therefore is quite frequent. However, his cult in Vác gained extra significance because Bishop Frigyes Mihály Althann, the uncle and predecessor of the bridge builder bishop, had been one of the proponents of the canonization of St John of Nepomuk, appointed by The Holy See in the 1720s. Alike the saint himself, the Althanns were of Czech origin and did a lot in order to popularize him. As to Camillus, he was the patron saint of healing, which can explain his presentation in an age of epidemics. It was common to beg for the protection of the chief apostles, Peter and Paul, elsewhere too. Barbara was the patron saint of agonizing people, while Thaddeus was considered to help people in hopeless situations. Venant, the young saint protecting travellers from falling into the depth, is presented as a Roman knight, which is quite rare. He was also invoked to protect hunters. In general he might have protected people from demise caused by their own vice. The inscriptions on the pedestals have disappeared due to the decay of the stone; they can only be read in archive documents. The floods of the Danube swell the Gombás Stream. The water level often reaches the bottom of the bridge. In 1775 there was an extraordinary flood, the statues stood in the icy water up to their chest and were severely damaged.The battle fought on 10 April 1849 caused some more damage. In 1948 the road was widened because of increased traffic, which resulted in some changes in the dimensions of the bridge. The statues were restored in the 1990s. There used to be a kind of superstition associated with the Bridge of the Stone Saints in the neighbouring villages. Passengers travelling on carts, who came to the market in Vác at dawn, could estimate the time of their arrival by the vague outline of the statues in the dark. Some people called them witches (think of fairy tales!) and frightened the children with them. They made the kids sleep, or at least close their eyes, by saying that they would have to kiss the witches' backside if they saw them. Obviously the children wanted to avoid this meeting so they kept silent. Memorial plaque on the Stone Bridge The Stone Bridge over the Gombás Stream
