The statue of
St. John of Nepomuk
Pál
Deutscher, András Pram - who knows these names? There are only few, even
among Tata's inhabitants, who do. Let us mention another name: Antal Schweiger.
That rings a bell: they were sculptors then!
It is not true! They came to Tata together in 1768 to reopen the majolica
factory, founded by József Esterházy, which was closed for six years. So
they were ceramists from Holics. However, somebody notices that Schweiger
had other talents apart from forming statuettes for glasscases. Somebody
realized that although even in the smallest village there was a statue
of St. John of Nepomuk next to its bridge, in Tata, in the town of waters
there was none. In the end, as a result of the above facts, one of Tata's
most beautiful sculptures was born. Since then, the statue has been in
natural harmony with its neighbourhood.
Much later, somebody, being disturbed by the sculpture, "heaved it into
the river" just as that bishop of Prague was shoved into water. Still,
St. John of Nepomuk is again in his place now.
Sculptures have their own fates, too.