Charles Bridge, Prague > Reviews (9)

CHARLES BRIDGE

PRAGUE

When I booked to go to Prague for a short break I knew nothing at all about the city. The little visitors guide I bought told me that one of the must see' places I must visit on my holiday was 'Charles Bridge'
As it happens, our hotel in Malá Strana was quite close to the famous bridge and we crossed it every time that we went to the Old town.
This little book also told me that the bridge would be very crowded and that it was a known place that pickpockets were in abundance.
I don't know why, but when we were there (mid-week in October) the bridge was busy but never over busy.

So what is Charles Bridge?

Charles Bridge (Karlov Most) is to Prague is what the Eiffel Tower is to Paris, the Tower to London etc. It is possibly Prague's most famous landmark.

It is an impressive stone Gothic bridge that crosses the Vltava River and connects the Old Town and Malá Strana. For the first few centuries of its life the bridge was called the Stone Bridge (Kamenný most). The construction of the bridge began in 1357 and it was commissioned by the Czech king and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.
I doubt if there is any historic bridge, anywhere that we can be so pedantic about when its construction actually was - construction started at precisely 5:31 a.m. on July 9, 1357. The reason that this is known so precisely is that 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. The architect Petr Parler (whose other works include the St. Vitus Cathedral at the Prague Castle) was in charge of the construction of the bridge.. It is reputed that egg yolks were mixed into the mortar during construction, to strengthen the structure .

Charles Bridge is not the first bridge to stand where it does; the Judith Bridge, which was the first stone bridge over the river, was built in 1172 and collapsed in a flood in 1342.
Thankfully, Charles Bridge has survived many floods, most recently in August 2002 when the Czech Republic suffered the worst floods in the past 500 years - so the egg yolks must have done their job!!

The bridge certainly is a stunning sight, especially from the river at night; it is 516m meters long and almost10 m wide, and stands on 16 arches shielded by ice guards.
What makes the bridge so special are the statues that adorn it.
The bridge is decorated by 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style. These statues were originally put there in the 17th century. Now many of them are copies and the originals can be seen in the Lapidarium Museum
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 touched by millions of tourists over the years, so much so that it has been polished to a shine. Touching the statue is supposed to bring good luck and ensure your return to Prague - I'm still waiting for my return trip!

Just a few of the other statues that I can remember are statues of Saints. Wenceslas, Barbara, Margaret , Elizabeth, Francis of Assisi, John the Baptist and Vitus and Joseph.

Up to the 19th Century this was the only bridge across the Vltava, and so three towers fortify both ends. Both the Staromv on the Old Town end and the Malostranská on the Malá Strana end can be climbed for a view of Prague and the bridge from above for a small fee. The smaller tower on the Malá Strana side is a Romanesque 12th century building, and it is the remains of the old Judith Bridge and dates from the 12th Century, the taller tower it dates from 1464. Staromv, the taller tower on the Old Town side, is an elaborately decorated gothic building dates from 1380.
The bridge is now a pedestrian zone (although both tram and car traffic were allowed there in the past)

I was amazed at just how much time we actually managed to spend just visiting a bridge!! Apart from the beautiful architecture there is so much to see. There is no fee to pay to visit the bridge, but you MUST take money with you, as there are so many wonderful things to buy.
You can stand and watch artists painting watercolours and cartoons (and buy them if you wish); there are some really beautiful pieces of homemade jewellery and lots lots more.
There are musicians to listen to, and artists, musicians and souvenir vendors line both sides of the bridge all year-round. I picked up some lovely little watercolours very cheaply.

But in my opinion, by far the best place to see the bridge is from the river, we had both a day and a night river cruise - the bridge by night is incredible, and as you pass you can hear the jazz music that is played there most nights.
The eastward view from the Charles Bridge, approaching Mala Strana definitely qualifies as the single most beautiful cityscape I've ever seen in my life.

Charles Bridge is an interesting and beautiful bridge that oozes culture and history. Any visit to Prague MUST include a visit to the momentous structure.

Summary: Give old John a rub from me