Charles Bridge & Prague Castle

A medieval stone bridge over the Vltava lined with statues, overlooked by hilltop Prague Castle.

King Charles IV started it in 1357 after a flood damaged the earlier bridge, and it was finished in the early 15th century. For almost 500 years, until 1841, it was the only way to cross the river here, which helped make Prague an important trade city between eastern and western Europe. It was also part of the coronation route of the kings of Bohemia.

Numbers and legends

A Czech legend says the first stone was laid at 5:31 in the morning on 9 July 1357. Written as numbers, 1357 9/7 5:31, it reads the same forwards and backwards. Charles IV loved numerology and hoped this would give the bridge strength.

The bridge was completed 45 years later, in 1402. It was called the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge until 1870, when it officially became Charles Bridge.

Towers and statues

Three bridge towers guard the ends: two on the Lesser Quarter side and one on the Old Town side. A line of baroque statues was installed on the pillars in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, which gave the bridge its famous look.

Today's statues are copies, with the originals kept safe. In the 1620s the Old Town tower was used to display the heads of executed rebel leaders, and in 1648 Swedish troops fought on the bridge.

Floods and repairs

The bridge has survived many floods. In 1432 three pillars were damaged, and in 1890 a flood piled up rafts and logs against it, tearing down three arches and two pillars. Repairs took two years.

A big repair from 1965 to 1978 removed the asphalt and closed the bridge to vehicles forever. Since late 2019 it has been going through a twenty-year programme of inspections and repairs.

On the globe

The model shows the long stone bridge with its arches, towers and statues, and the castle on the hill. Look for the row of statues along the sides.