John of Nepomuk was a humble and very devout priest. He served as the confessor to Queen Sophia. The queen entrusted him with her deepest secrets during confession. John faithfully guarded them. Not even under the greatest pressure would he ever reveal a single word from her confessions.

King Wenceslas IV, however, was a violent and jealous man. He wanted to know what his wife told him during confession. He therefore ordered John to reveal the contents of the confession. The priest firmly and bravely refused. The confessional secret was absolutely inviolable to him. No threat could break him.

The king raged with fury. He had John arrested and thrown into a dungeon. Soldiers cruelly tortured him. They burned him with torches and broke his bones. But even under inhuman torture, John did not speak. He refused to betray the queen’s trust. His silence drove the king to madness.

One dark night, the king gave the order for execution. Soldiers tied the priest with ropes and dragged him to Charles Bridge. Without mercy, they threw him over the stone railing into the icy Vltava. John sank in the black waves and drowned. According to legend, a circle of five shining stars appeared on the surface of the river at that moment. They were said to be angels who came to protect his faithful soul.

Fishermen pulled the body of John of Nepomuk from the river several days later. They buried him in St. Vitus Cathedral. A bronze statue stands today at the place of his fall from the bridge. Tourists touch it en masse for good luck. The five stars around his head became his famous symbol. John of Nepomuk remains the patron of all confessors and the protector of secrets to this day.