El Charles bridge is a true protagonist of the city of Prague. In 2004, during some underwater control routines, sandstone statues were discovered.
These were sculptures that were washed away in floods in 1784. This sculptural group was replaced by the statue of Saint Ludmila, by the Czech sculptor Bernard Mathias Braun.
El Charles bridge, first bridge of Prague, known as Judith's Bridge, it was built in 1170 and in 1342 it was washed away; Construction began again in 1357 by order of King Carlos IV and was completed in 1402.
It was designed by the German architect Peter Parler, the same as many cathedrals in Europe and the St. Vitus Church in Prague. Also called Puente de Piedra, it was named after Carlos in 1870. It is 516 m long and 9,5 m wide and has been pedestrianized since 1974.
In fact, Charles Bridge is a true open-air art gallery, inspired by the Los Angeles Bridge in Rome, and defies with baroque statues the prohibition of Gothic architecture giving the whole a unique character.
For example, we will see a Saint John Nepomuk, a Pietà and a Saint Wenceslaus; others are from the mid-XNUMXth century and many are reproductions of the originals, made in the XNUMXth century.
Currently you can see 30 statues and sculpture groups, works by well-known and lesser-known artists. A bronze by Jan Brokoff that evokes scenes from the Holy Confession is striking; According to legend, Saint John Nepomuceno was the confessor of the Queen of Bohemia and was thrown into the water when he refused to break the secret of confession. It is a crucifix with an inscription in Hebrew on the cross, which is quite rare.
A legend of the bridge says that if someone puts their finger on the bronze plates of the statue of Saint John Nepomuk and the cross carved on the bridge railing marking the place from where the saint was thrown into the Vltava river, all your wishes, even the most secret ones, will come true.
Photos: easypedia