Charles Bridge

Charles Bridge is a medieval stone arch bridge across the Vltava River in Prague, begun in 1357 under King Charles IV to replace an earlier bridge destroyed by flooding, and completed in the early fifteenth century to a design credited to court architect Peter Parler. Built of Bohemian sandstone across sixteen arches, it was for centuries the only crossing of the river and a stop on the Bohemian royal coronation route, and it is now lined with three gate towers and rows of Baroque era statues, most of the originals now held in museums and replaced on the bridge by copies.