Page 94 - DK Eyewitness Travel Guides - The World's Must-See Places

92 EUROPE Charles Bridge, Prague

Prague's most familiar monument, connecting the city's Old
T own with the Little Quarter, w as t he city's only crossing over
the Vltava River until 17 41. It is 1 ,706ft (520 m) long and built
P OLAND
O CHARLES BR~GE, of sandstone blocks. Now pedestrianized, at one time it could
PRAGUE V take four carriages abreast. Today, due to w ear and tear, many
CZECH REPUBLIC of its statues are copies. The Gothic Old T own Bridge Tower
(Gothic Style, see p.54) is one of the finest buildings of its kind.

SLOVAKIA
LITTLE QUARTER SIDE

THE BRIDGE'S SCULPTORS A St. Adalbert 1709
The sculptor Matthias Braun (1 684-1738), little Quarter ---1----. Adalbert, Bishop of Prague,
who was born near lnnsbruck and learned Bridge Tower founded the Church of St
Lawrence on P etrin Hill,
his craft in Austria and Italy, came to Prague
Prague, in 991. He is known
in 1710. His first work, the statue of St. to the Czechs as Vojt~ch.
luitgard, was produced when he was only
26. Other sculptors were Johann Brokoff
St. John de
( 16 52 -1718), of German origin, and his
Matha, St. Felix
sons Michael and Ferdinand. The latter de Valois and the
Blessed Ivan, 1714
produced some of Charles Bridge's most Judith Bridge 1
dynamic ftgures, such as St Adalbert and Tower , 115&
St. Francis Xavier, whch shows the Jesut
misstonary supported by three Moorish and
two Asian converts.

EMULAnNG ROME
Charles Bridge was named after Charles I V,
crowned H oly Roman Emperor in 1355,
who wanted the bridge to echo the ancient
Rome of the Caesars. However, it was not
until the late 17th century that statues St. Wenceslas, Christ between S t Vitus,
tnsptred by Roman sculpture were placed on 1&5& St Cosrras and 1714
St Damian, 1709
the brtdge The statues mainly depict satnts, A VITAL INGREDIENT
tndudtng St. Vitus, the bridge's patron
Large quantities of egg white were needed to
saint. Cherubs, dice, and a centurion's
strengthen the mortar used in building the
gauntlet form part of the statue of The bridge and Emperor Charles IV asked everyone
Madonna and St. Bernard. Nearby, the with chickens to supply eggs for this purpose.
Dominicans are shown with the Madonna Legend has it that one village misunderstood and
and their emblem, a dog (The Madonna, sent wagon loads of useless hard-boiled eggs.
StJohn the Baptist S t Cyril and
St. Dominic, and St. Thomas) 1 &57 S t Methodius,
193&
THE LIFE OF ST. JOHN NEPOMUK
OLD TOWN SIDE
The cult of St John Nepomuk, ....tao was
canontzed tn 1729, was promoted by the
JeSlits to nval the revered Czech martyr
Jan Hus, I.M"'Iose reformist preaching earned
him a huge following in the early 15th
century. Jan Nepomucl::y, vicar-general of
the Archdiocese of Prague, was arrested in
1393 by Wenceslas IV, along with others
who had displeased the king over the
electton of an abbot. John died under
torture and his body was bound and thrown
off Charles Bndge. He is commemorated
by a statue (St. Jom Nepom!I) and a
St. Francis Borgia, St Christopher, 1&57 St. Francis
bronze relief depcting him being thro'M"'
1710 xavier, 1711
off the bndge. St. John Nepomuk is a
popular figure and statues modeled on
this one can be seen in countries throughout
Central Europe, especially on bridges.