Charles Bridge

The oldest bridge in the Czech capital, the Charles Bridge, owes its name to Emperor Charles IV, who ordered its construction in 1357. Charles personally laid the foundation stone. The construction did not go smoothly and you can still see that: the Charles Bridge is a bit S-shaped, due to errors in the calculations. By the way, the bridge only got its current name in 1870, before that the name was simply 'Stone Bridge' (Kamenný most).

The bridge is over 500 meters long and almost 10 meters wide. On the Old Town side, the bridge is guarded by a beautiful Gothic tower. The thirty statues on either side of the bridge were added later, most of them dating from the 18th or 19th century. The oldest statue is that of the The Crucifix and Calvary (1667). It has golden Hebrew text ("Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord of Hosts"), for which the local Jewish leader had to pay when he was accused of blasphemy. Other statues include a statue of the local martyr Saint John of Nepomuk, who was thrown from the bridge into the Vlatva river. He collided with Wenceslaus IV.

The bridge is only accessible to pedestrians and there is a lot of activity all day, it is one of the popular sights in Prague. Artists try to sell their paintings and drawings, and in the evening it is the meeting place for young people. Furthermore, you will often see street artists performing here.