Charles Bridge
Prague · CZ
Why visit: 14th-century stone bridge lined with thirty Baroque saints and the city's best sunrise view.
14th-century stone bridge lined with baroque saints.
On the map
Karlův most, 110 00 Praha 1
A 14th-century stone bridge with 30 saints
Charles Bridge was commissioned by Emperor Charles IV in 1357 and replaced the older Judith Bridge (washed away in a 1342 flood). Construction took 45 years. According to legend the foundation stone was laid at 5:31 on 9 July 1357 — a numerological palindrome (1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1). The 30 Baroque statues lining the parapets were added between 1683 and 1714; only the St John of Nepomuk statue (1683) is original, the rest are 20th-century replicas (originals in the Lapidarium).
Touch the saint and the bronze plaque
Halfway across, John of Nepomuk's statue marks the spot where King Wenceslas IV had the priest thrown into the Vltava in 1393. The bronze relief at the statue's base shows the act in detail; touching the dog on the relief (or the figure of the falling priest on the next plaque over) is said to bring good luck and a return to Prague. The polish from millions of fingers is visible. The whole bridge is 519 m long and 9.5 m wide.
When to walk it
The bridge is most crowded 11:00–17:00 with tour groups, buskers and souvenir easels. For the postcard photo, come at 06:00–07:00 (sunrise over the Old Town tower) or after 22:00 when the gaslight lamps glow and the Castle is floodlit above. The two bridge towers can be climbed (190 CZK each); the Old Town tower offers the iconic east-facing view, the Lesser Town tower the better photo back across to Old Town.
