Karlův most, Stone arch footbridge in Prague, Czech Republic
Charles Bridge is a stone arch bridge of light-coloured masonry blocks crossing the Vltava between Prague's Old Town and Malá Strana. It is 515.76 m long and 9.4 to 9.5 m wide, with 16 arches spanning 16.62 to 23.38 m, a continuous parapet, and three bends in its line. Three towers guard it, and 30 mostly Baroque statues stand on the parapet.
Construction began in 1357 under King Charles IV, replacing the Judith Bridge destroyed by a flood in 1342. The bridge was completed in 1402. A flood in 1432 damaged three pillars, and in 1496 the third arch collapsed after a pier was undermined by water; repairs finished in 1503.
The name honors Charles IV, who commissioned the crossing and whose rule made Prague the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Vendors sell crafts and street musicians play along the sides, while visitors touch the bronze relief of Saint John of Nepomuk in the belief it brings them back to the city.
The crossing is open exclusively to pedestrians at all hours, with fewer people found in early morning or late evening. The best views for photographs come from the northern riverbank or from the towers, which offer an elevated position above the rooftops.
The 5:31 a.m. foundation time on 9 July 1357 was proposed in 1979 by astronomer Zdeněk Horský, not by court astrologers. The palindrome 1357-9-7-5-31 relies on Arabic numerals and minute hands, neither used in 14th-century Prague, and chroniclers disagree on the year.
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