King Wenceslas has a number of apartments and hotels near Charles Bridge and would suggest that any apartment in Prague Old Town or a hotel in Prague Mala Strana (Lesser Town) would be a great location for exploring Charles Bridge.

Charles Bridge (Karlův most in Czech) is one of the most visited sites in Prague. A historical stone Gothic Bridge, construction began on it in 1357 under the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. It crosses over the Vltava River and was, historically, the main connection between Prague’s Old Town and Prague Castle. Charles Bridge is one of the most visited sites in Prague.  A historical stone Gothic bridge, construction began in 1357 under the reign of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV.  It crosses over the Vltava River and was, historically, the main connection between Prague’s Old Town and Prague Castle.

Construction of the Charles Bridge was completed in the early 1400s and was originally known as the Stone Bridge (Czech: Kamenný most).  It has only been called the Charles Bridge since about 1870. The head architect of the Charles Bridge was Petr Parléř, who also designed the St. Vitus Cathedral located nearby.
Prague was in need of a new bridge after an older bridge, Judith Bridge (Czech: Juditin most), was destroyed in a severe flood in 1342.  Built from Bohemian sandstone, there are rumors that egg yolk was used in order to strengthen the mortar that held the bridge together, thus making it stronger.

Like its predecessor, the Judith Bridge, the Charles Bridge was plagued by numerous deadly floods.  Major floods damaged the bridge in 1432, 1496, 1784, 1845, 1890 and 2002. The Charles Bridge also witnessed many of Prague’s wars.  In 1621, after the Battle of White Mountain, 27 anti-governmental revolutionaries were executed and their heads were displayed to discourage further revolutionary activities.  In 1648, towards the end of the Thirty Years’ War, Swedish forces invaded Prague and a battle took place which greatly damaged one of the bridge’s tower.

In 1866, lights were installed on the bridge, and in the 1870s the first city buses crossed over the Charles Bridge.  May 15th, 1905 marked the end of horse and carriage transportation over the bridge, as an electric tram took its place.  In 1908 buses were once again installed. The bridge survived World War II relatively unharmed and major renovations were carried out to restore the bridge between 1965 and 1978 at a cost of 50 million crowns.  The great flood of 2002 caused minor damage to the bridge’s foundation.  Currently the bridge is undergoing repairs to strengthen its foundation, which should finish in 2010.

Today when you visit the Charles Bridge, you will notice about 30 lovely statues.  The original statues, built in Baroque style, were built between 1683 and 1714 by famous Bohemian (Czech) artists and depict saints and patron saints popular at different times in Prague’s long history.  Some of these great statues were damaged during the Revolution of 1848, and two statues were further damaged when they fell into the river in the great flood of 1890.

If you want to see the original statues, go and visit the National Museum, because all the statues on the bridge are replicas.