Medieval stone arch bridge across the River Vltava in Prague, Czech Republic
You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Czech. (July 2017)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Czech Wikipedia article at [[:cs:Karlův most]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|cs|Karlův most}} to thetalk page.
Charles Bridge (Czech:Karlův most[ˈkarluːfˈmost]ⓘ) is amedieval stonearch bridge that crosses theVltava river inPrague,Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of KingCharles IV, and finished in the early 15th century.[2] The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been severely damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge (Kamenný most) or Prague Bridge (Pražský most), but has been referred to as "Charles Bridge" since 1870.[2]
As the only means of crossing the river Vltava until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection betweenPrague Castle and the city'sOld Town and adjacent areas. This land connection made Prague important as a trade route between Eastern and Western Europe.
The bridge is 516 metres (1,693 ft) long and nearly 10 metres (33 ft) wide. Following the example of theStone Bridge inRegensburg, it was built as a bow bridge with 16 arches shielded by ice guards.[2] It is protected by threebridge towers, two on theLesser Quarter side (including theMalá Strana Bridge Tower) and one on theOld Town side, theOld Town Bridge Tower. The bridge is decorated by a continuous alley of 30statues and statuaries, most of thembaroque-style, originally erected around 1700, but now all have been replaced by replicas.
The bridge is currently undergoing a twenty-year process of structural inspections, restoration, and repairs. The process started in late 2019, and is expected to cost 45–60 millionCZK (US$1.9–2.6 million).[3][4]
Throughout its history, Charles Bridge has suffered several disasters and witnessed many historic events. Czech legend has it that construction began on Charles Bridge at 5:31am on 9 July 1357 with the first stone being laid by Charles IV himself. This exact time was very important to the Holy Roman Emperor because he was a strong believer in numerology and felt that this specific time, which formed apalindrome (1357 9/7 5:31), was a numerical bridge, and would imbue Charles Bridge with additional strength.[5] The bridge was completed 45 years later in 1402.[6] Aflood in 1432 damaged three pillars. In 1496 the third arch (counting from the Old Town side) broke down after one of the pillars lowered, being undermined by the water (repairs were finished in 1503). A year after theBattle of White Mountain, when the 27 leaders of the anti-Habsburg revolt were executed on 21 June 1621, theOld Town Bridge Tower served as a deterrent display of the severed heads of the victims to stop Czechs from further resistance. During the end of theThirty Years' War in 1648, theSwedes occupied the west bank of the Vltava, and as they tried to advance into the Old Town the heaviest fighting took place right on the bridge. During the fighting, they severely damaged one side of the Old Town bridge tower (the side facing the river) and the remnants of almost all gothic decorations had to be removed from it afterward. During the late 17th century and early 18th century the bridge gained its typical appearance when an alley of baroque statues was installed on the pillars. During a great flood in 1784, five pillars were severely damaged and, although the arches did not break down, the traffic on the bridge had to be greatly restricted for some time.
The original stairway toKampa Island was replaced by a new one in 1844. The next year, another great flood threatened the bridge, but the bridge escaped major damage. In 1848, during therevolutionary days, the bridge escaped unharmed from the cannonade, but some of the statues were damaged. In 1866, pseudo-gothic gas lights were erected on the balustrade; they were later replaced with electric lighting. In the 1870s, the first regular public-transport (omnibus) line went over the bridge (officially called "Charles Bridge" after 1870) later replaced by a horse tram.[2] The bridge towers underwent a thorough reconstruction between 1874 and 1883.
On 2–5 September 1890, another disastrous flood struck Prague and severely damaged Charles Bridge. Thousands of rafts, logs and other floating materials that escaped from places upstream gradually formed a huge barrier leaning against the bridge. Three arches were torn down by the great pressure and two pillars collapsed from being undermined by the water, while others were partly damaged. With the fifth pillar, two statues –St. Ignatius of Loyola andSt. Xavier, both byFerdinand Brokoff – also fell into the river. The former statue was replaced by a statuary ofSaints Cyril and Methodius byKarel Dvořák; the latter was replaced by a replica of the original. Repair works lasted for two years (the bridge was reopened on 19 November 1892) and cost 665,000crowns.
Charles Bridge as viewed fromPetřínská rozhledna – lookout towerView towards the Prague Castle with Charles Bridge
In the beginning of the 20th century, Charles Bridge saw a steep rise of heavy traffic. The last day of the horse line on the bridge was 15 May 1905, when it was replaced with an electric tram and later, in 1908, with buses. At the end ofWorld War II, a barricade was built in the Old Town bridge tower gateway. A capital repair of the bridge took place between 1965 and 1978, based on a collaboration among various scientific and cultural institutes. The stability of the pillars was reassured, all broken stone blocks were replaced, and the asphalt top was removed. All vehicular traffic has been excluded from Charles Bridge since then, making it accessible by pedestrians only. The repair cost 50 million crowns.
During the 1990s, some people started criticizing the previous reconstruction of the bridge and proposing further work. As of the beginning of the new millennium, most of the experts appeared to agree that the previous reconstruction had not been flawless but disputed the need for further interference with the bridge. However, after the disastrousfloods of 2002 (which themselves caused only minor harm to the bridge), support for an overall bridge reconstruction grew. It was decided that repair and stabilization of the two pillars (numbers 8 and 9) on the Malá Strana side of the bridge would be done. These are the only river pillars that were not repaired after the 1890 floods. The reconstruction was a gradual process that closed off parts of the bridge without closing the span entirely.
Performed from 2008 to 2010, the work included bolstering the pillars and building a new hydroisolation system protecting the bridge. It also encompassed a re-pavimentation of the bridge's pavement and the replacement of many of the stones in the bridge walls, a matter which was controversial due to a heavy-handed approach adopted by the restoration team, which had no previous experience in restoration of cultural heritage monuments. The result has been criticised by conservation professionals all over Europe (see photos on external links), as dozens of new replacement stones do not match the historical ones they are next to, the amount of replaced stones is considered excessive, some stones have been inappropriately positioned, original stones have been chipped and joining materials employed are considered not appropriate for the structure.[7][8] In 2010UNESCO'sWorld Heritage Committee adopted a decision stating that "the restoration of Charles Bridge was carried out without adequate conservation advice on materials and techniques".[9]
The avenue of 30 mostly Baroque statues and statuaries situated on the balustrade forms a unique connection of artistic styles with the underlying Gothic bridge. Most sculptures were erected between 1683 and 1714.[2] They depict varioussaints andpatron saints venerated at that time. The most prominent Bohemian sculptors of the time took part in decorating the bridge, such asMatthias Braun,Jan Brokoff, and his sonsMichael Joseph andFerdinand Maxmilian.
Beginning in 1965, all of the statues have been systematically replaced by replicas, and the originals have been exhibited in theLapidarium of theNational Museum.
%2c_Vltava_River%2c_Prague%2c_2015.jpg)
