God’s Name Adorns Czech Architecture

By Awake! correspondent in the Czech Republic

IN MANY parts of the world, the name Jehovah is associated exclusively with Jehovah’s Witnesses. You may be surprised to know that in the Czech Republic, decorations on a number of historic structures include the Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters (יהוה) that constitute the divine name, Jehovah.

Perhaps the best-known example of the Tetragrammaton is on the Charles Bridge, built in 1357 across the lovely Vltava River, near the Old Town of Prague. This bridge is lined on both sides with sculptures, one of which catches the eye of almost everyone who passes. It is a statue of Jesus Christ on a cross, encircled by gleaming gold Hebrew characters—including the Tetragrammaton—that read “Holy, holy, holy is Jehovah of armies.”

How did this expression, found in the Bible at Isaiah 6:3, come to be on this statue? An inscription on its base tells of a Jew who passed by one day in 1696 and supposedly spoke irreverently about the cross. Because of this, he was brought before the Royal Court of Appeal and was sentenced to pay a penalty. In payment he provided a gilded halo for the cross, with the above citation.

Nearby are the Old-New Synagogue and the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe. In this synagogue the cantor’s stand bears the Tetragrammaton in a silver frame. But it is not only in Jewish buildings that the Tetragrammaton is to be found. Southeast of Prague, on a rocky spur overlooking the Sázava River, stands the medieval castle of Český Šternberk. Over the altar of the castle chapel are four golden letters—the Tetragrammaton. The letters appear to float in the air, as they are suspended on wires. Behind them a light gleams—but not from a lamp! A skylight, which cannot be seen from inside, casts a rosy glow on the white altar, above which the Tetragrammaton hovers.

The Tetragrammaton also appears in frescoes in other Czech buildings. They give further testimony that in the past many here were familiar with the name of God. Today, in the Czech Republic and in over 200 other lands, Jehovah’s Witnesses rejoice to know the divine name and to teach others about it. (Isaiah 43:10-12) Moreover, the Bible book of Isaiah tells of the time when God’s name—as well as his qualities, purpose, and activities—will be “made known in all the earth.”—Isaiah 12:4, 5.