Bridge Towers, Prague

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Old Town Bridge Tower is 47 m high and is located on the left side of Charles bridge (close to the Old Town Square). Foundations of the gothic tower were laid with the foundations of Charles bridge. It supposed to be a defence tower. King Charles IV. cared about this tower a lot and let make a great symbols of czech land. There is a lion looking down from the tower, always 15.6. (name day of St. Vitus) the shadow of the head of the lion falls on the illustration of eagle - symbols of Czech and Moravian land, which means that they belong to each other.
After finishing the building, the tower got a magical formula to protect it: Signa te, signa, temere me tangis et angis. (if you read it backwards, it is the same).
The tower went throught a lot of important events like Thirty years war or Prague defenestration, when the heads of killed aldermen were showed up on the tower for a year.

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Charles Bridge have 3 towers - the first one at the entry from the old town side is considered to be one of the most impressive gothic-style building in the world - I didn't know that until today and I was not even paying attention to the details. The next time, I will -- that is when I have lots of time to stare at one object for a longer period.

The two other towers are located on the "Lesser Town" -- that side going to the castle.

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This structure is actually double. The lower tower is called Judith tower and is remain from the older bridge than Charles Bridge. On Romanesque remains newer Tower, called “Lesser Town Bridge Tower” was constructed in 1464. So, structure consists of two towers – bigger and newer, and smaller- older. Again, the same as with other tower and bridge, it was designed by Peter Parler.

Lesser town bridge tower houses exhibition of Charles Bridge history.

If to mention Peter Parler, he was German architect (1330(?) – 1399), famous for designing such monuments as Charles Bridge with towers, Saint Vitus Cathedral, Church of Our Lady in Nuremberg, Kolin’s Cathedral. He was designer of Prague new town, was buried in St. Vitus Cathedral.

Old town bridge tower is said to be the most beautiful bridge towers in Europe, 64 meters tall, richly decorated by sculptures, statues (eg., Saint Vitus, King Charles IV, King Wenceslas, Saint Adalbert and so on). The architectural decision was made by the same architect who designed Charles Bridge – Peter Parler. Tower was built in 1370-1391 in late gothic style. Some parts of defensive tower were damage at war with Swedish in 1648.

Nowadays it is possible to go up the tower to see panorama of Old town from one side and Charles Bridge from another. It is interesting, how much people per day go through this bridge? :)

When you are on the Charles bridge which crosses the Vtlava river, look out for the bridge tower that allows tourists to enter (for a fee) this exquisite gothic-style building. Two of the bridges are on the Lesser Quarter and one is on the Old Town side…

I forgot which one I went up to. But it is nice because you do get a nice view of the bridge from above – you have magnificent overlook of the Baroque-style 30 statues and statuaries from the 1700’s.

…and when you see pictures of Charles Bridge again the future, you smile and remember you went up the tower… and did not jump...

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This magnificent 14th-century tower marks the entrance to the bridge on the right bank of the Vltava, where the quarter of the same name lies.

Take a look at the statues and sculptures that decorate it. There are coats of arms, heraldic emblems, figures of saints, sovereigns and patrons of Bohemia.

The tower was restored in the 19th century, when it also got its roof.

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The 2 towers mark the end of the bridge where it meets the quarter of the same name.

The lower tower, built in the late 12th century and reconstructed in the 16th century, formed part of the old Judith Bridge.

The higher tower, from the 2nd half of the 15th century, took the place of an old Romanesque tower.

The Old Town Bridge Tower is a beautiful example of Gothic architecture. It is 47 m high measuring from the bridge level and about 57 m from the river level. You can climb the tower for beautiful panoramic view of the Charles Bridge, the Castle and the Old Town (an adult ticket is 60 K if I remember correctly). Founded by Charles IV the Town was meant as a kind of triumphal arch to mark the coronation passage leading to the castle in Hradcany. As virtually everything in those days, the tower and the various little elements on it have a lot of symbolic meanings. If you're interested, you should see the film in the tower gallery which explains it all plus it gives you some interesting background information about the Medieval times in Prague (dubbing available from headphones in a few languages including English). The film is part of the ticket price you pay to enter the top of the tower and is shown in a room right behind the ticket office. The office is somewhere in the middle hight of the tower so it is still possible to climb the tower free up to a certain level for a nice view of Charles Bridge.