Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge was originally built by King Charles IV's favourite architect and builder, Peter Parler. Most of the statues along the route are copies, as most of the originals were damaged by floods and various catastrophes over the centuries. A short 5 minute walk and we reached the GRAND Charles Bridge which is a pedestrian-only route linking the Old Town (on the opposite end of the bridge) with Mala Strana side, where our hotel was located.

The above photo is taken from the Old Town end looking towards the Mala Strana side, with a piece of the Prague Castle & Cathedral in the top ride-hand corner and nicely captures a typical busy day of tourists & locals taking a leisurely stroll. There are 75 AMAZING statues in total, and one of the most interesting, as well as the oldest, is the statue of Saint John of Nepomuk (above). The Saint was a court priest of King Wenceslas IV and legend says he was killed by request of the king, because he refused to tell the king about the queen's confession - he was thrown to his death in chains from this bridge. Also, a funny, lighter bit of info: touching this statue is supposed to bring good luck and ensure a return visit soon. I picked this picture because I was really drawn by the expressions of agony on their faces and these statues are found inside a sculpture, behind bars to depict a prison - a small part of a sculpture called the St. John of Matha, St. Felix of Valois, and St. Ivan which was commissioned for the Trinitarian order, which rescued Christians from Turkish captivity.

Above is the statue in its entirety (the part behind the bars is above) where there is a dog and Turk guarding the imprisoned Christians. After receiving money for their freedom, St. John is standing on the summit of the rock with St. Ivan seated on the left, and St. Felix is loosening the bonds of the prisoners. Above is St. Anne, The Virgin Mary’s mother, holding baby Jesus as the child embraces the globe - a statue from 1707. I especially love this photo because of the soft fluffy clouds in the background and will let the picture speak for itself.
I cannot remember the story behind this statue (shame on me) but I love their faces against the backdrop of gentle blue-white cottony clouds, giving the statues a special feeling.
St. Augustine holding a burning heart and according to my guide book, is a 1874 copy of a 1708 work. It was difficult for me to pick only a few pictures of all these incredible status but I hope to have given you a taste of the character-filled Charles Bridge statues.