Charles Bridge - one of the main sights of Prague - Mala connects the country with the old place. The first bridge , which stood on this spot (and generally the first stone bridge in Central Europe ), was named in honor of his wife Yuditinym laid his Vladislav I.Once in 1342 he demolished the ice movement , the townspeople used the temporary wooden ferry , until July 9, 1357 in 5 hours 31 minutes , Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV laid the first stone is not the basis for the new bridge.Date, except that was carefully timed by astrologers, and yet was a palindrome , the same is read and from the beginning and the end of 1357 - 9 - 7 - 5 - 31. At the command of Charles IV commissioned the construction of a 27- year-old architect Peter Parler , the outstanding works which have largely determined the glorious beauty of Prague.At the beginning of the XV century. construction is over. The bridge was built of sandstone and had a length of 520 m. , width 10 m. and was refreshed at 16 piers. According to legend, in order to design a stronger, add eggs, milk and wine.Products were brought from across the country , though some towns people sometimes mistakenly sent the emperor boiled eggs instead of raw, but instead of milk - cheese or cottage cheese.
Charles Bridge has always been one of the centers of public urban life. Here was the royal road , and horse fairs were organized tournaments, imposed sentences.In 1393 on the orders of Wenceslas IV Prague archbishop Jan Nepomuk was sentenced to death and dumped into the river from the bridge. By the saints , he was listed as the Catholic Church only in 1729Legend has it that the king refused to open the Nepomuk seal of confession by his wife, but most likely he simply opposed the confiscation of church property to the royal treasury .
Charles Bridge, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. The special charm gives it a contrast Mezhuyev raznostilevym sculptural decoration of Gothic and the foundation .For two centuries it was created 30 statues and group compositions. The oldest bronze statue of St. John of Nepomuk was cast in Nuremberg on the model of Mátyás Rauhmyullerom J. Brokofa in 1683 part of the bronze figure of St. overwritten to shine , because it is believed that if you make a wish and you touch the statue to his hand, then it will come true .The most valuable from an artistic image of the holy see Luitgardy (1710) , created by Mátyás B. Brown.
Among the stone embankment on the right side of the bridge, if you look closely for a long time , the differences mysterious bearded face . It was moved here from another Yuditinogo bridge.When the water came up to him a beard, it meant that soon after the old place can be moved only by boat. The bridge is often suffered from floods. The largest , Centennial Water September 4, 1890 , claimed the two pillars , three flights and two statues of Brokoffa . Then killed dozens of people . During the floods 1940. and 1954destruction was not.
Bridge permanently dammed up by crowds of tourists and their maintenance personnel: during the day - the artists and souvenir sellers , in the evening they come to replace musicians.
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