Charles Bridge & Malá Strana (Lesser Town)

Start: Old Town Bridge Tower (Staromestská mostecká vez).

Finish: Church of St. Nicholas (Kostel sv. Mikuláse).

Time: About 3 to 4 hours.

Best Times: Early morning or around sunset, when crowds are thinner and the shadows most mysterious.

Worst Time: Mid-afternoon, when the bridge is packed.

Dating from the 14th century, Charles Bridge is Prague's most celebrated structure. As the primary link between Staré Mesto and the castle, it has always figured prominently in the city's commercial and military history. For most of its 600 years, the 510m-long (1,673-ft.) span has been a pedestrian promenade, as it is today.

The first sculpture, St. John of Nepomuk, was placed upon the bridge in 1683. It was such a hit that the church commissioned another 21 statues, which were created between 1698 and 1713. Since then the number has increased to 30. The locations of each statue are shown on the accompanying map.

As you stand in the shadow of the tower on the Old Town side of the bridge, first turn to your right, where you'll find an 1848 statue in tribute to Charles IV, who commissioned the bridge's construction between Prague's oldest quarters. Now walk toward the bridge entrance straight ahead, but first look up at the:

1. Old Town Bridge Tower (Staromestská mostecká vez)

This richly ornate 1357 design was made for Charles IV by Peter Parlér, the architect who drafted the Gothic plans for St. Vitus Cathedral. The original east side of the tower remains pristine, with coats of arms of the Bohemian king and Holy Roman Empire. Shields also depict each territory under the auspices of the Bohemian crown at that time.

Above the east-side arch, seated to the right of the standing statue of St. Vitus, is Charles himself, and on the left is a statue of his ill-fated son, Wenceslas IV (Václav IV), who lost the crown of the empire.

The tower's western side was severely damaged in a battle against invading Swedish troops in 1357. During the Thirty Years' War, the heads of 12 anti-Habsburg Protestants were hung for public viewing from iron baskets on the tower.

The observation platform inside the tower has been reopened.

As you pass through the archway, the first statue on the right is of the:

2. Madonna

She is attending to a kneeling St. Bernard, flanked by cherubs. Like most of the statues on the bridge, this is a copy; the originals were removed to protect them from weather-related deterioration.

With your back to the Madonna statue, directly across the bridge is a statue of:

3. St. Ives

He is the patron saint of lawyers and is depicted as promising to help a person who petitioned him. Justice, with a sword on his right, is also portrayed. If you see his outstretched hand holding a glass of beer, you'll know that Prague's law students have just completed their finals.

Cross back again and continue to do so after you view each statue.

4. St. Dominic & St. Thomas Aquinas

These two figures are shown rece...

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