It was one of the symbols of the town. Flood destroyed the St. John of Nepomuk Bridge in Ladek-Zdrój

Last Sunday, Lądek-Zdrój, a picturesque spa town in the Kłodzko Basin, experienced catastrophic flooding. The wave that crossed the Biała Lądecka River wreaked havoc on the town, destroying infrastructure and many buildings, including the 16th-century St John Nepomucen Bridge, one of the town’s symbols. The flood inundated numerous streets, leaving behind huge losses and shaking the local community.

All bridges in the town, including the historic St John’s Bridge, were damaged or completely torn down. The historic structure, erected in 1565, was not only a transport point, but also one of the most valuable monuments of Lądek-Zdrój and the entire region. Legend has it that chicken eggs were used as a binder in its construction, which was supposed to make the structure extremely solid. Although it survived the 1997 flood, this year’s natural disaster was too powerful – the bridge was severely damaged and parts of it were literally washed away by water. The historic statue of the crossing’s patron saint, St John of Nepomuk, was also gone.

St John of Nepomuk Bridge before destruction. Photo Jacek Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons

The cataclysm began on Saturday, when water from the Biała Lądecka river started to flood the streets. However, the greatest damage was caused by a flood wave that reached the town around midday on Sunday. The dam in Stronie Śląskie, located above, burst, releasing huge masses of water that hit Lądek-Zdrój.

St John of Nepomuk Bridge in 2013 (the statue was undergoing maintenance at the time) and today. Photo Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL, via Wikimedia Commons and Magdalena Ryfa

The view after the floods is horrifying. The streets are covered with mud, sludge and gravel, and among them lie household appliances carried away by the water, fragments of trees and fences. Near the river, the situation is even worse – whole trees have been uprooted and carried away by the current, and some houses have cracked or partially collapsed. The historic listed restaurant was particularly affected.

The bridge in 2013 (the statue was under maintenance at the time) and after the flood. Photo Halicki, CC BY-SA 3.0 EN, via Wikimedia Commons and Magdalena Ryfa

In terms of architecture, the St John’s Bridge was a unique structure built of broken stone. It has been modernised several times over the centuries, but has retained its original 16th century form. In 1709, the inhabitants of Lądek placed a statue of St John of Nepomuk, the patron saint of bridges and protection against floods. This monument, made of stone, bears a Latin inscription which stated: “In eternal honour of St. John Nepomucen, sumptuously erected by the townspeople”. The statue, which probably came from the sculptor’s workshop of Michal Klahr the Elder and is a copy of the statue from the Charles Bridge in Prague, has been lost.

The flood that hit Lądek-Zdrój left a huge amount of destruction in its wake. For a town that has been known as a spa for centuries, this is a tragic loss, both culturally, materially and in terms of tourism.

Source: wiadomosci.wp.pl, powiat.klodzko.pl

See also: Curiosities | Architecture in Poland | Monument | History | Sculpture