Charles’s Stone Bridge ****************************************************************************************** * ****************************************************************************************** By Jan Royt (edited) One of the most important buildings of Charles’s era was the stone bridge across the Vltav connecting the Lesser Town with the Old Town. It was called Stone Bridge or Prague Bridge; officially renamed to Charles Bridge. Charles was driven to build the bridge by the necess both banks of the river after the 1342 flood that destroyed the old Judith Bridge; the tem bridge didn’t meet the requirements and prestige of the metropolis. At that time, the only Bohemia were built in Písek and Roudnice nad Labem. The building commenced in 1357, and fi reign of Charles’s successor Wenceslas IV in 1402. The historians say the most probable date of foundation is June 15, the day of the Czech p This hypothesis is supported by the depiction on the front side of the Old Town Bridge Tow Vitus is standing on the bridge, which means that the bridge is put under his protection. interesting, though somewhat speculative theory of the astronomer Zdeněk Horský (1929–1988 bridge was founded on July 9, 1357, at 5:31 AM, as the sun was in a favorite conjunction w author also points out that this day and time give the full sequence of odd numbers: 1–3–5 As for the project designer of the bridge, most art historians agree on Peter Parler, yet alternative theory it was Prague citizen Otto (Otlin). The bridge is approximately 516 m long, 9.5 m wide, and the height over the Vltava surface consists of 16 arches with pillars built on oak poles and millstones; rumor has it that th mixed with eggs and wine. The construction was very expensive, so there was toll for cross until 1816. In the Middle Ages and later, the bridge witnessed many important events. In 1 procession with Charles’s body crossed the unfinished construction; in 1393, John of Pomuk of the Archbishop, was thrown from the bridge to Vltava River (in the baroque era, he was John of Nepomuk). The first cross on the bridge dates back to Charles’s times; in the late Crucifixion sculpture was built, as well as the statue of Bruncvik (Roland) at the Lesser mark the limits of the Old Town legal system. The dominant building of the Old Town side of the bridge is the huge, beautifully adorned, Old Town Bridge Tower, built by Peter Parler and his workshop in 1370s and 80s on the firs The bridge is built of stone blocks and finished with the roof, now covered in slate, orig sheet steel. The passage in the tower is vaulted by the original ray-like vault of the Par by the open royal crown in the center. In the beginning, the eastern and western side of t also decorated with sculptures, but the western part was heavily damaged in 1648, during t of the Old Town, as stated in the inscription on the stone plate. On the other hand, the decorations on the western side (resembling a triumphal gate) have Just above the passage, there are crests of lands ruled by Charles IV. In the broken Gothi is Charles IV on the right side (which is, from the heraldic point of view, more important Wenceslas IV, King of Bohemia, on the left. Between them, we see two bridge arches, and St it. A heraldic plate with the St. Wenceslas eagle is placed in the point of the arch. The contains sculptures of Czech patrons: St. Prokopius (or St. Adalbert) and St. Sigismund, w under their feet. The destroyed western part probably contained the standing statue of Vir in the sunrays, with St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert. The lower part of the eastern face is numerous small symbolic sculptures (e.g. a lion fighting an eagle). Special attention shou symbols of Wenceslas IV – wreath with a kingfisher, also adorning the king’s manuscripts. paintings on the vault ceiling in the passage, heavily repainted, were probably also made Wenceslas IV. They depicted the figures of female barbers, corresponding, just like the ki symbolism of Wenceslas’s court. The entrance to the bridge from the other bank – the Lesser Town – was guarded by two more higher, one lower. The latter, called also Judith Tower, had previously been part of the o Bridge. It was a Romanesque three-floor building made of argillite masonry, from the secon century. In the end of the 16th century, in was rebuilt in the Renaissance style, and the preserved thus far. The second bridge tower – the higher one – was built later in 1464, in the King George of Poděbrady, in the place where the second Romanesque tower had been. The Gothic tower had started already in the early 15th century, but the turbulent Hussite time on hold. The design of the tower copies the Old Town counterpart, but it lacks good sculpt and well-thought symbolism. The alcoves were probably designed for the statues of Czech ru builders of the bridge. Both towers are connected by a Gothic gate, probably built during the reign of Charles’s s IV. The gate consists of two broken arches and parallel arcades. The top edge of the gate battlement, with a passage facing the bridge, connecting both towers. The battlement displ imperial eagle, Bohemian lion and Oberlausitz, with crests of the Old Town and the Lesser the past, the gate could be sealed by heavy oak door and iron bars. Bibliography: DVOŘÁK, František. Po Karlově mostě: 20 zastavení s Františkem Dvořákem. Praha: NLN, 2003. CHADRABA, Rudolf. Karlův most. Praha: Odeon, 1974. ROYT, Jan. Praha Karla IV. Praha: Karolinum, 2016. ŠEFCŮ, Ondřej a kol. Karlův most. Praha: Ottovo nakl., 2010.