Hello to all of you, Hive friends! 👋🏻
Today I will take you on a trip to Prague with me. More precisely to Charles Bridge 🌁 and Prague Castle 🏰 , especially since they are part of UNESCO's heritage!
Hope that you'll like it!
Welcome to Prague
Charles Bridge
When visiting Prague you can't miss Charles Bridge. This work of art dates back to 1357 to 1402, when Charles IV, King of Bohemia and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, ordered the bridge to be built.
And here is my first photo in Prague. Waiting for the tram to take us to the centre 🚈
Today, the Charles Bridge is an entirely pedestrian 🚶🏻 bridge and is the main symbol of majestic Prague.
With its length of nearly 520 meters and a width of 10 meters, today thousands of tourists pass through it every day. The main goal for the construction of the bridge is to create a connection between Prague Castle and the Old Town.
It is built over the Vltava River, which crosses the whole of Prague.
Prague Castle
River Vltava 🦦
It was originally called the Prague or Stone Bridge, later becoming Charles Bridge.
My personal opinion is that it does not matter when you visit this landmark. Whether it will be early in the morning or late in the evening, it does not matter, she wears and shows her beauty at any time of the day.
The beginning and end of the bridge are marked by two towers in Gothic style. You can visit each of them, and climbing the stairs to their highest level, a view appears in front of you that you would hardly see elsewhere.
First gothic tower
The second tower
Crossing the bridge, you will be very impressed by the street musicians and artists, in front of whom every day an audience gathers holding their breath waiting to see what talents they will present.
Someone want’s a portrait? 😀
Here is a little girl playing with a marionette
Dozens of statues and saints are placed along the entire length of the bridge on both sides, including that of St. Cyril and Methodius. Each of them is made in Baroque style, extremely modern for that time. They are just over 30 in number and were installed on the bridge several centuries after its opening.
Locals even say, "You haven't visited Prague if you haven't crossed Charles Bridge at least once!"
Since the first day we turned our attention to visiting the center of Prague and Charles Bridge, we decided that Prague Castle would stay for the next day. 🔜😊
Late in the evening we took a walk on Charles Bridge.
Isn’t it beautiful?
As stated in all the guides, the view unfolding before us cannot be described in words. High at the top, Prague Castle stands out clearly, showing its reflection in the waters of the Vltava River.
Looking for more information about the bridge, I found a site that listed some interesting legends:
1) The legend of St. Jan Nepomuk
The most sensational legend is associated with the statue of St. Jan Nepomuk. It is said that King Wenceslaus IV severely punished St. Jan Nepomuk, cutting off his tongue and killing him. His remains were thrown from Charles Bridge. To everyone's surprise, the moment the wreckage touched the water, five stars shone in the river. This is the reason why the saint is depicted with 5 stars above his head. An even more interesting fact is that the statue of St. Jan Nepomuk is located at the place where the body was thrown. Another legend says that if someone touches the cross of the saint - fate will smile on him and bring him 10 years of luck.
The legend of the buried sword
This legend says that an indestructible sword, similar to Escalibur, was buried in Charles Bridge, which will have a great influence on the Czech Republic in a difficult period for it.
Water spirits in the Vltava river
Another legend says that under Charles Bridge, in the blue waters of the Vltava River, live water spirits, which closed the people thrown from the bridge into cages.
Prague Castle 🏰
The second landmark I will show you in this blog is Prague Castle. It is a symbol of the country and is a majestic fortress, of which only a certain part is accessible to tourists.
The reason for this is that it is also used as the residence of the current president of the Czech Republic.
Prague Castle is located on the left bank of the Vltava River in the center of the most famous mountain in the Czech capital - Petrin Hill. This fortress can be defined as a large complex of buildings, including fortifications, temples and other buildings built around St. George's Square. Since
St Vitus Cathedral
1992, Prague Castle has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
St George’s Basilica
The main architectural height and feature of Prague Castle is St. Vitus Cathedral. Today, the castle is the residence of the President of the Czech Republic, and in the distant past, kings and even Roman emperors lived here.
The cathedral from inside 😍
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the fortress is considered the largest presidential residence in the world in terms of area, as well as the largest fortification structure.
Thank you for your attention! :)
