Following repeated floods, a monument in honour of St. John Nepomuk (1350-1393) was erected in 1739 in Sterzing / Vipiteno. He is venerated as the protector of waters and bridges and is invoked when there is danger of flood. According to the legend, St. John Nepomuk, who came from the Bohemian town of Pomuk, refused to reveal the confessional secrets of the Bohemian queen. The king ordered him to be drowned in the Moldavian river. For this reason he is venerated as the protector of waters and bridges and is invoked when there is danger of flood.