Charles Bridge

The Charles Bridge was built in the late 14th century by Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor.  He was a king from Bohemia and his Czech name was Wenceslas (which apparently is the same name as Vaclave).  He was not, however, the Good King Wenceslas, who was made a saint.  Charles was greatly loved because, in a time of economic downturn, he funded massive public work projects.  The "Hunger Wall" (which you can see pictures of here and here) which was meant to provide defense on Petrin Hill (the hill where the mini-Eiffel tower sits and up which you can ride the funicular) was popularly thought to be useless as a defense and therefore built only for the purpose of providing work for the Czechs.  The Charles Bridge, on the other hand, was built because the old one had been washed out by floods and there was no other way across the Vlatava River.  Bridges across the river had had a difficult time as, when the ice would break up after hard winters, it would come down the river and smash the bridges to bits.

Although the bridge has been damaged several times since its construction it hasn't ever come down all the way and at least a few bits of it are original.  This is due to the fact that they used some new building techniques and installed ice guards all around the bridge to prevent giant ice floes from ramming into it.  The ice guards look like giant submerged arrow-heads pointing up-river.  I don't have any pictures of it because the only time I went out on the bridge was after dark but if you click here you will see the guards very clearly.

I walked over the bridge on Christmas Eve on my way back from the Christmas Eve festivities so my pictures turned out rather dark.  Also, it was freezing cold, with a cold, cold wind blowing off the river, so I could only get about one picture at a time before I would have to put the camera back in my pocket and try to warm it up with my cold, cold hands so that the little motor would warm up enough to focus.

To the right is the Old Town Bridge Tower which is on the east side of the bridge.  The west side of the bridge has two mismatched towers that are called the Lesser Town Bridge Towers.  If you go to this link, you will find a few pictures of the bridge and lots of information about the bridge on a website that is run by the artists who sell their art on the bridge markets.





On the left is a statue of Charles IV, née Wenceslas, which stands at the Charles Bridge.  On the right the statue of Saint/Good King Wenceslas which is at Wenceslas Square.  When I saw that Wenceslas was Charles IV's original name, I decided to look him up to see if he was the Good King Wenceslas, especially since the statutes of the two look kind of similar.  You know: big and stone.

The originial Good King Wenceslas, who is the most important patron saint of the Czech Republic, was a 10th century Bohemain Duke who ruled well and then was assassinated by his evil brother, Boleslav the Cruel (with a name like that, you've got to know there's gonna be trouble).  Since I was looking it up, I decided to find the Czech version of the Good King Wenceslas song.  The song dates back to the 12th century and appears almost entirely unrelated to the English song which, I must say, is a bit more catchy than the Czech original.  The reason that it wasn't played while I was in Prague is apparently because it is something of a nationalist song and is usually played in September, when they celebrate national independence.  Also, they may have played the song later on, after I left, as St. Stephen's Day (which is mentioned in the English version of the song) is celebrated on the 27th of December.  If you click here you can hear a choral version of the song which has pictures of different Wenceslas-related artifacts and monuments.  You will notice it is not the same as the English song, which dates from the 19th century.  The words of the song, according to Google Translate, are:

      Saint Wenceslas, Duke of the Czech lands, our prince,
      pray for us to God the Holy Spirit!
      Christ, eleison.

     You are the heir to the Czech lands, remember their race,
     do not let us,  her ​​future, perish, Saint Wenceslas!
     Christ, eleison.

     Your help we ask, have mercy upon us,
     Comfort the sad, banish all evil, Saint Wenceslas!
     Christ, eleison.

While I was looking for a good version of the song, I happened to run across a version sung by a girls group called Makabara.  They are like a blind, acapella, classical, Czech version of the Andrews Sisters.  They have those really, really tight harmonies that sound pretty incredible.  You can hear a Hallelujah madrigal by them here, which is in English.  They specialize in Czech folk music and spirituals but are now adding Hebrew folk songs to their repertoire as well.  If you go here you can hear them singing "Ose Shalom" which is also really pretty and manages to sound both very classical and very Jewish.  And, if you go here, you can hear their version of Svatý Václave (the Czech "Good King Wenceslas").

The Castle Quarter from the Charles Bridge at night.