Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge is a stone Gothic bridge that connects the Old Town and Malá Strana, is on the top of every Prague visitor's must-see list.

Charles Bridge (Karlův most)

Charles Bridge is a stone Gothic bridge that connects the Old Town and Malá Strana. It was actually called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) during the first several centuries. Its construction was commissioned by Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV and began in 1357. By a rare coincidence, we know the precise moment of laying the foundation stone of Charles Bridge, personally assisted by Charles IV: July 9, 1357, 5:31 AM. The palindromic number 135797531, carved out on the Old Town bridge tower, was chosen by the royal astrologists and numerologists as the best time for starting the bridge construction.

In charge of the construction was architect Petr Parléř whose other works include the St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle. It is said that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar to strengthen the construction of the bridge.

Charles Bridge is one of the many monuments that were built during Charles' reign but it is not the first bridge that ever connected the Prague banks of the Vltava. Another bridge used to stand in its place - the Judith Bridge, which was the first stone bridge over the river. It was built in 1172 and collapsed in a flood in 1342.
Unlike its predecessor, Charles Bridge has survived many floods, most recently in August 2002 when the country experienced the worst flood in the past 500 years - so the egg yolks must not have been such a bad idea.

However, after the disastrous floods of 2002 (which itself caused only minor harm to the bridge), it was decided to repair and stabilize two pillars (number 8 and 9) on the Malá Strana side of the Bridge. These are the only river pillars that have not been repaired after the 1890-floods. The floods intensified the voices of the supporters of an overall bridge reconstruction and, as of 2005, the current repair of the pillars is considered as the first phase of the reconstruction, which will concentrate especially on building a new hydroisolation system protecting the bridge.

The whole reconstruction will be done gradually without needing to close the bridge and is scheduled to finish in 2007.

The bridge is 516 meters long and nearly 10 m wide, resting on 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers, two of them on the Lesser Quarter side and the third one on the Old Town side. The Old Town bridge tower is often considered to be one of the most astonishing civil gothic-style buildings in the world. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, erected around 1700.

Statues began to be placed on either side of Charles Bridge in the 17th century. Now many of them are copies and the originals can be seen in the Lapidarium . The most popular statue is probably the one of St. John of Nepomuk, a Czech martyr saint who was executed during the reign of Wenceslas IV by being thrown into the Vltava from the bridge. The plaque on the statue has been polished to a shine by countless people having touched it over the centuries.

Touching the statue is supposed to bring good luck and ensure your return to Prague.

Charles Bridge is on the top of every Prague visitor's must-see list. It is also popular with Czech artists, musicians and souvenir vendors whose stands line both sides of the bridge year-round. A great time of day to come to the bridge is at sunset when one can enjoy a breathtaking view of the fully lit Prague Castle against the evening sky.

The bridge is now a pedestrian zone (although both tram and car traffic were allowed there in the past) and is almost constantly filled with people. If you want to have it all to yourself, get there very late at night or very early in the morning.