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For all Its antiquity Charles Bridge is far from being the first structure to bridge the River Vltava, and the name by which we know it these days first appeared only in 1870, when its name was changed from Stone Bridge to Charles Bridge. The fact is that as far back as the 10th century Prague had a bridge, perhaps situated where Manes Bridge stands today. Historical sources refer to a wooden bridge, which most likely withstood the incursions of flooding for more than two hundred years.
In the second half of the 12th century this wooden structure was replaced by a stone bridge. This bridge was built during the reign of Vladislav I, probably between 1158 and 1172, and named the Judith Bridge after the king’s wife, who gained special recognition for the bridge.
This bridge was situated very close to todays Charles Bridge on a traject which proved the most suitable for many centuries, it was the longest and most advanced bridge to be found in central Europe at that time. Remnants of Judith Bridge can be found on both banks of the Vltava, the foundations of several pillars are submerged in the river, and of the bridge’s fortification the smaller Bridge Tower remains to this day in the Lesser Quarter. With the aid of several repairs the bridge weathered floods and ice for almost two centuries.
In February 1342 it was subjected to such a battering that restoration become out of the question, it took years before Prague acquired a replacement bridge after emergency adaptations.
If Judith Bridge had been on a par with European bridge architecture, then the new Gothic bridge, built on the orders of Charles IV. Holy Roman Emperor and long of Bohemia, surpassed all constructions up until that time in respect of its prodi-giousness and loftiness. Charles himself laid the foundation stone of the bridge in Summer of 1357. He provided not only the financing but above all the eminent architect, Petr Parter. The latter made use of the remains of the Judith Bridge debouchment on the bank of the Lesser Quarter, and led a roadway over high, light arches to the new debouchment, by which he completed the structure on the Old Town bank, capping It with the magnif icent Bridge Tower. The course of Charles Bridge deviated somewhat from the stream, which gave the bridge a peculiar curvature. From the 15th century the bridge was embellished along its carriage-way. Much is spoken of the Suffering of our Lord, damaged in 1419. There was also a column with a Hon, a statue of Justice, and in the middle of the bridge an equestrian statue featuring Jiri of Podebrad.
After 1500 a statue of Brunette appeared which later succumbed to the elements and was replaced In 1884 In a new form. All the ornamentation Is witness to the fact that the bridge was not simply a road, but an artery of Prague life. Not only armies marched across it and coronation processions passed over it, but also trade took place, justice was administered, tournaments held, and barricades built on the bridge, In 1648 the Swedes attacked and destroyed part of the Gothic decorations with their cannon.
Carlo Lurago, one of the Italian builders, brought the early baroque to Prague in the form of repairs made to the bridge. This was a period of renewed fame for the Prague Stone Bridge. It was at this time that it acquired the characteristic appearance by which we recognize It to this day. as well as such popularity that It was recorded and celebrated in engravings as one of the wonders of Europe. Up until then its carriageway had been decorated only arbitrarily, but during the entire period of the Baroque the entire bridge was systematically embellished with statuary and sculptures placed on each pillar.
In 1683 a monument was built on the central pillar to Jan Nepomucky, dose to the place from which he had allegedly been hurled three centuries previously. as a counterpart to Nepomucky, the new saint of the Czech Baroque. In 1700 a monument to the oldest of the country’s patriots. St Wencelas, was built. Gradually the Stone Bridge of Prague became a gallery of Czech Baroque statuary.
During the 18th century repair work carried out rarely included the statues. This was because doubts began to be voiced regarding the artistic value of the deteriorating sculptures. In 1772 the Prague aesthetician. Professor Ehemant, gave the Baroque sculptures an overall favorable rating, but in the 19th century they were not so fortunate, especially when the sculptor Josef Max inspected the damage done during the revolutionary tumult of 1848. He declared that the ornamentation had arisen during a period of the greatest decline in art and that most of the sculptures were not worth repairing. For this reason in 1853 the damaged statues were replaced by new ones, mostly by Josef Max and his brother Emanuel. However, cold, neo-Gothic eclecticism did not coalesce with the Gothic architecture of the bridge. Later copies of groups of statues from the time of the Baroque again appeared on the bridge. The collection of statues was concluded in 1938 when the bridge acquired a new, third group of statues of the Slovak missionaries Cyril and Metodej, created by the sculptor Karel Dvorak.
The stone masonry of Charles Bridge was restored a long time ago during all the repair work which flooding, ice and war had made necessary. At present plans are being drawn up for new restoration work.