Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The new bridge was completed in 1390, and took Charles' name only in the 19th
century - before that it was known simply as Kamenný most (Stone Bridge). Despite
occasional flood damage, it withstood wheeled traffic for 500-odd years - thanks, le-
gend says, to eggs mixed into the mortar (though recent investigations have disproved
this myth) - until it was made pedestrian-only after WWII.
The Bridge Towers
Perched at the eastern end of Charles Bridge, the elegant late-14th-century
Old Town
adult/child 75/55Kč; 10am-11pm Apr-Sep, to 10pm Mar & Oct, to 8pm Nov-Feb; 17, 18)
was built not only as a fortification but also as a triumphal arch marking the entrance
to the Old Town. Like the bridge itself, it was designed by Peter Parler and incorpor-
ates many symbolic elements. Here, at the end of the Thirty Years' War, an invading
Swedish army was finally repulsed by a band of students and Jewish ghetto residents.
On the 1st floor there's a small exhibition and a video explaining the astronomical
and astrological symbolism of Charles Bridge and the bridge tower, while the 2nd
floor has a rather dull exhibit about Charles IV. The main justification for paying the
admission fee, however, is the amazing view from the top of the tower.
There are actually two towers at the Malá Strana end of Charles Bridge. The lower
one was originally part of the long-gone 12th-century Judith Bridge, while the taller
one was built in the mid-15th century in imitation of the Staré Město tower. The taller
10am-6pm Apr-Nov)
is open to the public and houses an exhibit on alchemists during the
reign of Rudlof II, though like its Staré Město counterpart, the main attraction is the
view from the top.
The Statues
The first monument erected on Charles Bridge was the crucifix near the eastern end,
in 1657. The first statue - the Jesuits' 1683 tribute to St John of Nepomuk - inspired
other Catholic orders, and over the next 30 years a score more went up, like ecclesi-
astical billboards. New ones were added in the mid-19th century, and one (plus re-
placements for some lost to floods) in the 20th. As most of the statues were carved
from soft sandstone, several weathered originals have been replaced with copies.
Some originals are housed in the Casements at Vyšehrad; others are in the Lapidárium
in Holešovice.
