Altar of Saint John of Nepomuk

The Altar of St. John of Nepomuk, located in the second chapel to the right of the main altar, mirrors the architecture of the Altar of St. Anne on the opposite side of the church. In 1710, the altar of the Holy Martyrs was removed, and a new marble altar was erected in honor of the increasingly popular Prague martyr, although he had not yet been canonized. The initiative came from Anton pl. Raab, a regional secretary, whose widow later fulfilled his wish upon Nepomuk’s beatification in 1721, commissioning an altarpiece in Venice. Jesuits later attempted to sell or did sell the altar to the Jesuit residence in Slavonska Požega. A new altar, modeled after the one of St. Anne, was erected in 1738, without sculptures.

In 1751, an agreement was made with Francesco Robba for the completion of the altar, but the work was not finished until 1764 by sculptor Franc Rottman. The altar features marble statues by Robba: the angels on the volutes and the figures of St. Florian and St. Roch, protectors against fire, floods, and plague. Rottman carved the three angels with scrolls bearing inscriptions about St. John Nepomuk: “Martyr of Silence,” “Protector of Fame.” The attic holds a painting by Valentin Metzinger depicting the Jesuit martyrs in Nagasaki (1597). The central painting, Mary with St. John of Nepomuk, was created in Venice in 1721, likely by a painter from Letterini’s workshop.

Beneath the main image lies a glass reliquary with the remains of St. Felix, brought from the Roman catacombs in 1858 and permanently placed on the altar in 1859. The richly decorated Baroque altar features thirteen larger and smaller sculptures, angel heads, garlands of pomegranates, and an ornate mensa. One angel, holding a palm branch and placing a finger on his lips, symbolizes Nepomuk’s martyrdom and unwavering secrecy in confession. St. John of Nepomuk, venerated on May 16, became the second patron of the Jesuit Order in 1730.