Charles Bridge

Sandstone bridge stands on 16 pillars and is 520 m long and 10 m wide. The bridge was built on the remains of the Judith Bridge that was demolished by floods in 1342. The bridge was established by king Charles IV, built by Peter Parler, and the foundations stone was laid on 9th July 1357 at 5.31 pm ( we get a numeric line of odd numbers of 1 to 9 and back if these numbers are put into a pyramid). The legend says that eggs where added to the mortar. However the bridge was damaged by the floods few times, and in 1890 two arches were even pulled down.
Most of the 30 statues on the bridge date from the end of the 17th century and during the 19th century few Neo-gothic statues were added on the bridge. The best-known sculptors are father and son Brokoff or M.B. Braun.
On the left bank stands the Small Quarter Bridge gate made of two towers. The lower one used to be part of the fortification of the old Judith Bridge. Original Romanaise tower was rebuilt in Renaissance. The taller tower was built in 1464 during the reign of King Goerge of Podebrady. From the top is an interesting view over the Small Quarter and back along the Charles Bridge.
The old Town Bridge Tower on the right side of the river was built in 1380 also by Peter Parler. The south side of the tower has a rich decoration with the patrons of the Czech land starting with Charles IV, St. Vitus and St. Venceslas on the right. Below the statues are coat of arms of the lands that used to be under Czech kingdom during the reign of Charles IV. The west side was damaged in 1648 during the battle with the Swedes.

STAROMESTSKA RADNICE
Old Town Square Town Hall

• Even though the Old town was established at the beginning of 13th century it was not until the reign of King John of Luxembourg (1310 -1346) that Old Town was allowed to build its own town hall
  
• the King John of Luxemburg was father of Charles IV
  
• Gradually, over the centuries, the neighboring merchants' houses were incorporated into the building, so that now it stretches all the way across to the richly graffitied House at the Minute
• House at the Minute gained its name after a shop with a minute goods that used to be on the ground floor
• On May 8, 1945, on the final day of the Prague Uprising, the Nazis still held on to the Old Town Square, and in a last desperate act set fire to the town hall
• 27 white crosses set into the paving commemorates the Protestant leaders who were condemned to death on the orders of the Emperor Ferdinand II, following the Battle at Bila Hora in 1620
• Astronomical clock- today's most popular feature of Prague and town hall with Apostles shuffling past the two windows. The clock itself has been here since the beginning of the fifteen century, the working figures were added in 1490 by a Master Hanus
• Master Hanus as legend says was blinded by the town councilors, to make sure he could not repeat the job for anyone else
• You can visit the tower (also with access for the disabled) and enjoy the panoramic view across Prague' s spires

Church of Our Lady before Tyn

• On its today´s site stood a Romanesque church, already mentioned in 1135 and it formed a courtyard for foreign merchants, who settled in the Tyn
• the church is topped with four small spires as was customary during the time of high Gothic in the reign of Charles IV
• After the Battle at the White Mountain in 1623 the statue of King George of Podebrady and the Hussite Chalice had been replaced by Virgin Mary symbolizing a Catholic church and brought to an end one of the most significant periods for the church
• the famous astronomer, Tycho Brahe, who had been attending the court of the Emperor Rudolf II, was buried in the church in 1601