Statue of Saint Florian in Vágsellye

Florian, who was celebrated on May 4 in the old calendar, was a Roman military officer in Noricum, in present-day Austria. He suffered martyrdom for his Christian faith during the reign of Diocletian. According to legend, when Florian learned that 40 (!) Christians had been captured in Laureacum (Lorch) on the Enns, he himself confessed his faith. Judge Aquilinus had him flogged and sentenced him to be thrown into the river from the Enns bridge with a millstone around his neck. An eagle guarded his body until he was buried. (The “eagle”, the insignia of the Roman legions, may have been a military judge Aquilinus himself, since his name also means “like an eagle”.) ; As a result, Florian’s veneration has flourished primarily in Austria and the surrounding countries since the late Middle Ages. He was placed at the guard post of St. Agatha and was called upon to help against fire and flood. According to legend, he saved a burning house from being burned to ashes as a child. He is also depicted wearing a Roman officer's uniform and using a bucket of water to put out the fire of a small house or town. As might be expected, he became the patron saint of those who worked with fire (firefighters, brewers, potters, bakers, chimney sweeps), but due to the frequent fires, from the Baroque era onwards a statue of him was placed in a niche on the facade of every wealthy citizen's house. Folk customs on his name day are also related to fire. In some villages, no fires were lit, no bread was baked, and blacksmiths did not work, while in others, a new fire was lit on this day, in the ancient way: for example, by rubbing two pieces of wood together. ; The creator of the statue of Saint Florian located in front of the Roman Catholic church in Vágsellye is unknown, it was probably made in the 19th century and was restored in 1997. For monument protection reasons, the original was moved to the castle and a copy was placed in front of the church.