The famous Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava River in Prague

The thirteenth century Charles Bridge is typically full of tourists and Czechs alike, particularly throughout the spring and summer months. Charles Bridge surely ranks because the most vital tourist attractions within the town and may be the primary item on your list of sights to examine. Early morning is that the best time to expertise a less crowded walk, though a romantic evening walk through the impressively lit streets of Prague by night is sweet too. Expect many memento stands additionally as an endless kind of street musicians taking part in their hearts out for you as you stroll across. However, aren't getting too frantic by the pleasures as a result of you may simply have your pockets picked

The famous Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava River in Prague. This 'solid-land' association created Prague vital as a trade route between east and west Europe. The bridge was originally referred to as the Stone Bridge or the Prague Bridge however has been the "Charles Bridge" since 1870.

King Charles IV's favorite architect and builder Peter Parler, originally engineered the present-day bridge. The initial plan was to create a purposeful construction for jousting tournaments, and for several years the sole decoration on the bridge was a straightforward crucifix, however later the will of the Catholics for ornamentation resulted in thirty statues being engineered (1600 to 1800 AD).

Today most of the statues are copies, because of harm caused by varied floods and catastrophes over the centuries. There are currently seventy five statues and maybe the foremost attention-grabbing, and oldest, is that of John Nepomuk (no. eight from the correct as you cross towards the castle). The Bridge, that is 516 meters long, contains sixteen pillars and three bridge towers. one in all the towers, the previous city Bridge Tower, is taken into account to be the foremost lovely bridge tower in Europe because of its wealthy sculptural decoration. Thirty sculptures that beautify the bridge date mainly from the baroque amount - from the eighteenth century. the foremost exceptional was one created by Matyas Braun and E. M. Brokoff.

John Nepomuk was a priest in Prague below Wenceslas IV. sadly for John Nepomuk, Wenceslas was a suspicious man. One fateful day, the priest received the confession of the attractive queen. However, Wenceslas was convinced she had told the priest a few suspected love affair, whereupon he demanded rather unsympathetically to understand what the Queen had revealed. The priest, being of pious blood, didn't break his commitment of confidentiality to the wonder in question and consequently was hauled over the bridge to drown within the Vltava. However, all wasn't lost for shortly a golden halo appeared over the spot within the Vltava where he disappeared as proof of his martyrdom, and hence these days there's a hoop of golden stars over his head on the statue. a number of meters in front of the particular statue, there's atiny low crucifix marking the spot where he was thrown from the bridge. bit the crucifix and your want can return true!