In earliest times the Vltava was crossed in the Prague area by a ford, and later by a
wooden bridge, which stood somewhere in the area of present-day Klárov. The first stone bridge across the river was for its time a very advanced Romanesque structure with hardly a parallel in Europe. King Vladislav I had it built between 1160-1172 and named it after his wife Judith. A flood in 1342 damaged the bridge 50 severely that it could not be repaired, 50 Emperor Charles IV, whom Czechs in gratitude cal led the Father of the Nation, had a new bridge built in its place. Originally it was cal led Prague Bridge or Stone Bridge, but since 1870 it has been called Charles Bridge. The work, conducted by the famous architect and sculptor Peter Parler, commenced in 1357 and was completed after Parler's death at the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge is 515m long and 9.5m wide, has 16 arches and is made of sandstone
blocks. Its fate has also been influenced by floods, perhaps most significantly in 1890, but damaged or tom down sections have always been successfully repaired.
The entrance to the bridge from the Old Town is guarded by the gate of the Old Town Bridge Tower, often cal led the most beautiful medieval tower in Europe. Besides its defence function it also had a symbolic purpose, confirmed by the rich sculpture decoration. On the side facing the square we see valuable Gothic statues of seated sovereigns Charles IV and Wenceslas IV, a sculpture of St. Vitus, the patron of the bridge, between them and on the second floor the figures of Czech patron saints, St. Vojtěch and St. Sikmund. Above the arch of the gate there are the emblems of Charles IV's lands and a motif of a kingfisher in a veil, the emblem of his son Václav. The other side of the tower used to boast similar decoration, but was destroyed by Swedish gunfire during the siege of the Old Town in 1648. The present-day shape of the roof dates from 1874 to 1878 when the building was renovated.
At the Lesser T own end of the bridge there is a gate situated between two towers of differing ages. The lower tower, cal led Judith Tower, was built at the beginning of the 12th century as part of the fortification of the leftbank settlement. Later it was joi ned to Judith Bridge and, after that was destroyed, to the Charles Bridge. While its care is Romanesque, the tower was modified in Renaissance style in 1591. The higher Lesser Town Bridge Tower was, in 1464, converted from
an older, perhaps also Romanesque building. Its design is a continuation of Parler's Old Town Bridge Tower. The gate arch between the towers dates from 1411. The bridge is one of the oldest and most significant structures of its kind in Europe.
Charles Bridge is renowned for its sculpture decoration, a unique gallery of stat
ues situated outdoors, on the upper part of the bridge's pillar columns. It consists of thirty statues and sculptures variously dating from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Among the most valuable are the works of the high Baroque period from the first quarter of the 18th century, created by first-c1ass artists of the time. The oldest statue is St. Johanes Nepomucensis (1683), sculptured by Heroldt according to a sketch by Mathey and a wood model by Jan Brokof. According to legend artificially created by the lesu its, the statue stands in the place where Vicar-general Jan of Pomuk was thrown into the river in a sack to be drowned on the order of King Wenceslas IV. Later the Vicar-general was associated with St. Johanes Nepomucensis. This incident is commemorated in a metal rel ief on the bridge balustrade. The sculpture the Vision of St. Luitgarda by Matyáš Bernard Braun (1710) and the statue of St. František Xaverský by Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokof (1711) are considered by experts to be the most valuable statues on the bridge. However Brokof's sculpture of St. Jan of Matha, Felix of Valois and St. Ivan is the most popular. The former pair were founders of the order of St. Trinity, which specialized in rescuing captive Christians from Turkish bondage. The figure of a Turk, guarding captives in a cave, in the lower part of the sculpture, earned the whole sculpture the name "Prague Turk". Other scu I ptors whose work appears on Charles Bridge include Matouš Wenceslas lackel, Jan Oldřich Mayer, Michal Jan Brokof, Jan Bedřich Kohl, brothers Josef and Emanuel Max and Karel Dvořák, who sculpted the the most recent addition, Konstantin and Metoděj, which was placed on the bridge in 1938. On the tenth pillar column from the left beneath Brokof's sculpture of St. Vincenc Ferrarský and St. Prokop, is a statue of the mythical Bruncvík, who allegedly brought a tame I ion back to Prague from one of his journeys. The lion then found its place in the Czech emblem. Only the pedestal has been left from the original late Gothic statue of Bruncvík of the late 16th century, which the Old Town councillors placed here as a sign of their right to the bridge and which was destroyed by the Swedes in 1648. A new statue by Ludvík Šimek was placed on the pedestal. Si nce 1965 all statues have gradually been replaced by copies.
The first stone bridge across the river was for its time a very advanced Romanesque structure with hardly a parallel in Europe. King Vladislav I had it built between 1160-1172 and named it after his wife Judith. A flood in 1342 damaged the bridge 50 severely that it could not be repaired, 50 Emperor Charles IV, whom Czechs in gratitude cal led the Father of the Nation, had a new bridge built in its place. Originally it was cal led Prague Bridge or Stone Bridge, but since 1870 it has been called Charles Bridge. The work, conducted by the famous architect and sculptor Peter Parler, commenced in 1357 and was completed after Parler's death at the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge is 515m long and 9.5m wide, has 16 arches and is made of sandstone
blocks. Its fate has also been influenced by floods, perhaps most significantly in 1890, but damaged or tom down sections have always been successfully repaired.
The entrance to the bridge from the Old Town is guarded by the gate of the Old Town Bridge Tower, often cal led the most beautiful medieval tower in Europe. Besides its defence function it also had a symbolic purpose, confirmed by the rich sculpture decoration. On the side facing the square we see valuable Gothic statues of seated sovereigns Charles IV and Wenceslas IV, a sculpture of St. Vitus, the patron of the bridge, between them and on the second floor the figures of Czech patron saints, St. Vojtěch and St. Sikmund. Above the arch of the gate there are the emblems of Charles IV's lands and a motif of a kingfisher in a veil, the emblem of his son Václav. The other side of the tower used to boast similar decoration, but was destroyed by Swedish gunfire during the siege of the Old Town in 1648. The present-day shape of the roof dates from 1874 to 1878 when the building was renovated.
At the Lesser T own end of the bridge there is a gate situated between two towers of differing ages. The lower tower, cal led Judith Tower, was built at the beginning of the 12th century as part of the fortification of the leftbank settlement. Later it was joi ned to Judith Bridge and, after that was destroyed, to the Charles Bridge. While its care is Romanesque, the tower was modified in Renaissance style in 1591. The higher Lesser Town Bridge Tower was, in 1464, converted from
an older, perhaps also Romanesque building. Its design is a continuation of Parler's Old Town Bridge Tower. The gate arch between the towers dates from 1411. The bridge is one of the oldest and most significant structures of its kind in Europe.
