Charles Bridge
Czech legend holds that Charles IV chose his construction start time — 5:31am on 9 July 1357 — because the digits form a palindrome he believed would imbue the bridge with additional strength.
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Built between 1357 and 1402 to replace a flood-ruined predecessor, this 516-metre stone arch bridge was Prague's only Vltava crossing until 1841. It linked Prague Castle to the Old Town and carried the trade route between Eastern and Western Europe — and every Bohemian king's coronation procession passed over it.
What to look for
- 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style — all now replicas of originals placed around 1700
- Three bridge towers: the Old Town Bridge Tower at one end, two towers on the Lesser Quarter side at the other
- 16 arches each fitted with ice guards, following the design of the Stone Bridge in Regensburg
A 20-year structural restoration started in late 2019 — expect scaffolding along sections of the 516-metre span.
Charles Bridge is one of 36 sights worth the detour in Prague, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Prague pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Prague
- Prague CastleThe Guinness-record largest ancient castle on Earth — and the Czech president still works inside it.
- St. Vitus CathedralOne theory holds that the founding duke may have chosen St. Vitus partly because his name echoes a Slavic sun god — making conversion easier for a populace already devoted to the solar deity Svantevit. Christian and pagan communities shared this hilltop until at least the 11th century.
- Dancing HouseTwo interlocked towers shaped like mid-dance partners, built on a Vltava riverfront plot that sat bombed-out and derelict for decades.
- Prague Astronomical ClockEvery hour, a skeleton marks the time — on a clock mechanism that has been running since 1410.
- National Museum in PragueThe building that closes off Wenceslas Square has anchored Czech protests, rallies, and public life since 1891.
- Wenceslas SquareWhere horse traders once haggled, Czechs have gathered for revolutions and rallies — and still do, in the country's busiest pedestrian square.