Travel-World Photography
Die Karl Brucke or the Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the early 15th century. Charles Bridge is Prague's most famous landmark and connects the Old Town with Malá Strana.
The bridge is 516 m long and nearly 10 m wide. It is built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards. It is protected by three bridge towers. This is really good engineering work, considering the time it wass built. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30 statues and statuaries, most of them baroque-style, originally erected around 1700, but now all have been replaced by replicas.
As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the city's Old Town and adjacent areas. This land connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe. Now however, there are 8 bridges only in the city proper crossing the river.
