Charles Bridge is Prague’s oldest surviving bridge, commissioned by Charles IV in 1357 to replace the flood-damaged Judith Bridge, and completed in 1402. Legend holds that construction began at the numerically symbolic moment of 5:31 AM on July 9, 1357 — a date and time that reads as an unbroken palindrome of odd numbers. The bridge kept the simple name “Stone Bridge” until it was renamed in honor of Charles IV in 1870.
Thirty Baroque statues of saints, added between 1683 and 1928, line the bridge’s balustrades; the most famous, a statue of St. John of Nepomuk, has a bronze plaque polished bright by centuries of visitors touching it for luck. At either end, Gothic towers guard the crossing — the Old Town Bridge Tower, built in 1370, rewards the climb of 138 steps with sweeping views over the Vltava River, Prague Castle, and the rooftops of the Old Town.
Charles Bridge is free and open around the clock, but it’s busiest from mid-morning to mid-afternoon; arrive before sunrise or after 10 PM for a quieter walk across one of Europe’s most photographed bridges.