The withered arm of a thief in the Church of St James the Greater (Kostel Sv Jakuba Vetsiho) in the heart of Prague’s Old Town, Czech Republic.
The mummified limb hangs from a meat hook near the entrance.
According to local legend, a thief crept into the church and tried to steal jewels from a statue of the Virgin Mary.
When he touched the precious stones, the statue reached out, grabbed his arm, and held him until he was discovered by parishioners.
The locals couldn’t free the thief from the statue’s grasp, so they were forced to amputate his arm.
As soon as the limb was severed, the statue dropped the arm and returned to her normal pose.
The arm was hung from a meat hook as a warning to other would-be thieves, and has been there ever since.
