IN the centre of Bregenz is a small chapel, standing in splendid isolation near Kornmarktplatz.
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| Chapel dedicated to Saint John of Nepomuk, Bohemia |
It was funded in 1757 by the theologian Franz Wilhelm Haas, who praised St John for saving him from drowning in Bodensee (Lake Constance), although the raftsman who pulled Haas from the water deserved a share of the credit.
John was sanctified after being tortured and drowned in the Vltava river, Prague, in 1393 on the orders of Bad King Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia for backing the wrong side in a papal schism (he was also rumoured to have learned in the confessional the identity of a lover of the queen).
Despite the manner of his death, John became recognised by Roman Catholics as a protector from drowning.
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| Inside the chapel |
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| Close-up of the baroque altar |
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