Czech Republic

Prague

Charles Bridge is Prague's most iconic landmark, a 516-metre stone bridge lined with 30 Baroque statues connecting the Old Town to the Lesser Town (Mala Strana) across the Vltava River.

Construction began on July 9, 1357, on the orders of King Charles IV. The timing was no accident. Charles, who believed in numerology and astrology, chose the exact moment: 5:31 AM. Written out, the date and time form a palindrome: 1-3-5-7-9-7-5-3-1. He believed this would give the bridge supernatural strength. The bridge was designed by Peter Parler and completed around 1402.

For nearly 500 years, it was the only way to cross the Vltava in Prague. The bridge's 16 sandstone arches have survived floods (including major ones in 1784 and 1890), wars, and centuries of foot traffic. It served as the main connection between Prague Castle and the Old Town until 1841.

The 30 statues and statuaries were mostly added around 1700. The most famous is the statue of St John of Nepomuk, who was thrown from the bridge in 1393 on the orders of King Wenceslas IV. Touching the bronze plaque at the base of his statue is said to bring good luck and ensure your return to Prague.

The bridge is free to cross and accessible 24 hours a day. The Old Town Bridge Tower offers stunning views for a small fee. For the best experience, visit at sunrise or after 10pm, when the crowds thin out.

On a Questo quest through Prague, Charles Bridge is a stop where superstition, art, and engineering meet in one of Europe's most beautiful crossings.

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Old Town Square is the historic heart of Prague, a sprawling medieval marketplace that has been the centre of the city's public life since the 11th century.

The square is surrounded by architectural treasures: the twin Gothic towers of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn, the Baroque St Nicholas Church, the pastel-coloured merchant houses, and the Old Town Hall with its world-famous Astronomical Clock.

The Astronomical Clock (Orloj) was installed in 1410, making it one of the oldest working astronomical clocks in the world. Every hour, from 9am to 11pm, a procession of mechanical apostles appears in two windows above the clock face, while a skeleton representing Death pulls a rope and turns an hourglass. The clock shows three types of time (Central European, Old Bohemian, and Babylonian) and tracks the positions of the sun and moon.

At the centre of the square stands the Jan Hus Monument, erected in 1915 on the 500th anniversary of the death of the Czech religious reformer who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1415. Hus's ideas anticipated the Protestant Reformation by a century.

In June 1621, 27 Czech Protestant leaders were executed in the square after the Battle of White Mountain, one of the darkest moments in Czech history. The event is commemorated by 27 crosses embedded in the pavement near the Old Town Hall.

The square is free to visit and accessible 24 hours a day. If you're on a Questo quest through Prague, the Astronomical Clock might just give you the clue you need, if you know where to look.

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