Old Town Bridge Tower

The Gothic gateway to Charles Bridge on the Old Town side, often called one of the most beautiful medieval towers in Europe.

It was designed by Peter Parler, the architect of St. Vitus Cathedral, and completed towards the end of the fourteenth century as part of Charles IV's new stone bridge. Its eastern façade is a carved statement of power: seated figures of Charles IV and his son Wenceslas IV flank St. Vitus, above the coats of arms of the lands they ruled, with Saints Adalbert and Sigismund higher up.

The tower was also a fortification. In 1648, at the end of the Thirty Years' War, students and townspeople held it against Swedish troops trying to cross from Malá Strana, and the western side facing the bridge lost its decoration in the fighting. After the execution of Protestant leaders on Old Town Square in 1621, the heads of several of them were displayed on the tower for years as a warning.

A narrow staircase leads to a gallery with one of the finest views in Prague: along the whole length of Charles Bridge, across the river to Malá Strana and up to Prague Castle. Climb it early or at dusk, and combine it with a walk across Charles Bridge.