Meet Kabourek, a grumpy old water goblin guarding an old mill on the Devil’s Stream in Prague!

Every day, in Prague, a variety of tourists cross iconic Karlův most, Charles Bridge, and flock towards the John Lennon Wall in the Malá Strana district, making their way across the island of Kampa.
If you take that route, chances are you’ll be passing over the Čertovka, or the Devil’s Stream, a quaint little canal that gives the area the nickname Little Venice.
As you cross a small bridge over the stream, you’ll see a post-medieval water mill called Velkoprevorsky Mlyn (the Grand Priory Mill) on the other side.
At first glance, it’s simply a nice, quaint sight…including the strange figure sitting on the wooden platform beside it, a googly-eyed, green-skinned goblin smoking a pipe!
This wooden carved goblin sits precariously on a tree stump at the end of the dock guarding the waterwheel of the mill.
If you look closely you will also notice a flame on the top of his head, what he uses to see underwater.

His origin is rooted in Czech folklore as well as the local legends of Prague.
In Czech folklore, vodník is a water goblin similar to the vodyanoy of Slavic mythology, in short, a green frog-like creature covered with algae, oftentimes dressed in flamboyant fashion.
Some are good-natured, some are mischievous tricksters, while some are more malicious and may drown humans who wander near their territories.
According to the legend the Czech water sprite is a river-dwelling amphibious creature who, although has some human features and traits, has gills, webbed fingers, algae coloured skin and hair. Their face is usually unshaven and they have a long tangled beard.
They like to linger by the river on a tree stump or rock smoking a pipe.
Interestingly, a vodnik must always have his coat tail wet or he will die, and in fact, many pubs leave a bucket of water for the vodniks to stand in while they drink a beer.
Not by chance, the water sprite loves alcohol, especially beer and like nothing better than frequenting the riverside Prague’s old pubs.
Whoever has the misfortune of becoming a victim of a vodnik will have their soul stored in a porcelain jar and put on display underwater like a trophy. The more souls the higher the status of a vodnik.
Either way, in Prague, it is said that a total of forty vodníci dwell in the Vltava River, nine of whom call the Čertovka home, because of all the mills that used to be here. Mr Pivoda, for example, resides near the rock of Vysehrad, Mr Purkrabek near kampa Island, Mr Pakit lives in the fountains at Prague Castle, and also our Kabourek, as the water goblin of the Grand Priory Mill is known, is one of them.
In the past, he would help local fishermen find their day’s catch and keep their boats from danger, receiving tobacco in return.

Suddenly appeared in 2010, the statue of Kabourek was created by local sculptor Josef Nalepa, inspired by his loathing of the Love Lock Wall in Mala Strana that has obscured the view of the water mill and scarred the landscape of old Prague.
His creation is as a grumpy old goblin, who, like his creator, hates the silly tourists’ tradition of leaving love locks in Malá Strana, and would not hesitate to pull insolent lovers directly into the Devil’s Stream.

Images from web – Google Research