Location
Austria, Styria, Ehrenhausen
Mur Bridge (Murbrücke)
Artwork
St Nicolas and St John of Nepomuk, Mur Bridge in Ehrenhausen
Type
Sculpture
Critical History
A first covered wooden bridge across the river Mur with stone gates on both ends was erected from 1733 to 1738 under Princess Maria Charlotte of Eggenberg, née Sternberg.1 Today a modern concrete bridge crosses the river.2 Two sandstone figures beside the road on the riverside, St Nicholas and St John of Nepomuk, were probably comissioned later, around 1755. The alliance coat of arms "Eggenberg-Leslie" is still visible on both pedestals. In 1754 Princess Maria Charlotte of Eggenberg died, her daughter Maria Theresia and her husband Carl Cajetan Count Leslie became the new owners of Ehrenhausen. Horst Schweigert attributed the figures to Philipp Jakob Straub due to stylistic reasons and dated them in 1755/60.3
Construction / Execution
The original position of the sandstone figures is not known, but most likely they were situated on both sides of the road leading towards the ramp of the bridge - more or less as they are today. Peter Stauder notes that they had to be moved over just a few centimeters when the ramp of the bridge was modified in 2006.4 Under the baroque sandstone piedestals is a concrete base. Measurements: St John of Nepomuk, height 186 cm, width 116 cm, depth 67 cm; St Nicolas, height: 215 cm; pedestals: height 118 cm, 115 x 110 cm.
Components
- Sculpture
- Author: Philipp Jakob Straub (Wiesensteig 1706 – Graz 1774)
- Completed: ca. 1755 – ca. 1760
- Patron(s): Maria Theresia Josepha of Eggenberg, noble; Cajetan Count Leslie , noble
- Technique(s): stone carving
- Material(s): sandstone
Comment
Due to the heavy traffic and their exposed position both stone figures are in bad condition and highly weathered; several parts are missing.
Images
- St John of Nepomuk, at the Mur Bridge, Ehrenhausen (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
- St Nicolas, at the Mur Bridge, Ehrenhausen (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
- St Nicolas, at the Mur Bridge, Ehrenhausen, backside of the statue (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
- Alliance coat of arms Eggenberg-Leslie on the pedestal beneath St John of Nepomuk (photo by Julia Strobl, 2018)
Catalogue entry prepared by Julia Strobl
Recommended citation: Julia Strobl, St Nicolas and St John of Nepomuk, Mur Bridge in Ehrenhausen, in: TrArS – Tracing the Art of the Straub Family, 2018, (accessed 14/11/2025) URL
