Crossing the Vltava on a Medieval Stone Bridge
You step onto the bridge at the Old Town Bridge Tower and the city opens up around you: Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral on the ridge ahead, the Vltava moving below, and a double line of thirty statues and statuaries looking on. Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge crossing the Vltava in Prague, Czech Republic, and it is one of the city's most beautiful structures. Construction began in 1357 under King Charles IV and finished in the early 15th century, replacing the old Judith Bridge, which had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. Until 1841 it was the only means of crossing the river, the most important connection between Prague Castle and the Old Town, and a link on the historic coronation route of the Bohemian kings. It has been known as Charles Bridge since 1870; before that it was called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge.
The Statues, the Towers and the View Back to the Castle
The defining experience is walking the bridge slowly, reading the balustrade as you go. A continuous alley of thirty statues and statuaries lines the bridge, most of them baroque-style and originally erected around 1700; all have since been replaced by replicas, with the originals held in the Lapidarium of the National Museum. Most sculptures were erected between 1683 and 1714 and depict saints and patron saints venerated at the time, carved by the most prominent Bohemian sculptors of the day, among them Matthias Braun and Jan Brokoff with his sons Michael Joseph and Ferdinand Maxmilian. Look for the statuaries of St. Luthgard, the Holy Crucifix and Calvary, and John of Nepomuk; the statue of the knight Bruncvík is well known too, though it was erected some 200 years later and does not belong to the main avenue.
- Watch the river from the parapet, with Prague Castle and St. Vitus Cathedral in view.
- Pass beneath three bridge towers: two on the Lesser Quarter side, including the Malá Strana Bridge Tower, and the Old Town Bridge Tower on the Old Town side.
- Visit the originals of the statues at the Lapidarium of the National Museum.
How to Make the Most of Your Crossing
Go early. During the day the bridge is a bustling place of trade and entertainment, as musicians busk and artists sell their paintings and jewellery; come at first light and you have the statues, the towers and the view to yourself. Allow time to stop rather than simply cross: the bridge is a place to linger, and the walk from one bank to the other is short enough to do twice in a day, once in each light. The bridge is pedestrian-only, and has been since vehicular traffic was excluded following the capital repair of 1965–1978. It is currently undergoing a twenty-year process of structural inspections, restoration and repairs that started in late 2019, so expect sections to be under work; visitors are asked to respect its condition. Keep an eye out for the security presence: the bridge is monitored by cameras and patrolled by guards and municipal police.
Old Town, Lesser Town and the River Around the Bridge
At the Old Town end you are in Prague's historic centre, full of monuments: the Astronomical Clock, the Gothic Týn Church, the mural-covered Storch building and the Jan Hus monument, with the Estate Theatre, where Mozart's Don Giovanni was first performed, nearby. At the Lesser Town end, beautiful streets lead up toward the Castle and to St. Nicholas Church, the most renowned of the area's churches. River cruises leave from the Vltava banks; if you want the smallest possible fare, use a public transportation ferry, and buy from a boat operator rather than from touts near the bridge. In October, the Signal Festival lights historic buildings with video-mappings and light-and-sound installations across the city centre.
Start with a morning crossing from the Old Town Bridge Tower, before the buskers arrive and while the statues still throw long shadows across the stone. Plan your route around the bridge — Old Town on one side, Lesser Town and the Castle on the other — and the rest of Prague arranges itself around that single walk.