Czech it out: the highlight of Prague

Just one of the stunning city views. Picture: Escape Source: Supplied

Sunrise over the Charles Bridge. Picture: Escape Source: Supplied

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SOME bridges are entirely forgettable. They serve only to take you from one side to the other. Others are magnificent to look at from a distance and create the perfect postcard backdrop, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge or San Francisco's Golden Gate.

But the Charles Bridge in Prague is a most spectacular joy. No cars, trucks or buses are allowed. The only traffic is people. Walking is the only way to truly experience this 516m-long adventure.

Until you stroll along Charles Bridge, you cannot be said to have really visited Prague. It's a walk that can take 10 minutes if you rush or last several hours.

If the Czech capital is not blanketed in one of its unpredictable hazy starts to the day, the bridge at dawn offers one of the best views of one of Europe's most interesting cities. It is also the quietest time to explore the bridge and its 30 famous religious statues. By mid-morning it becomes a bustling menagerie of street performers, sketch artists, hawkers and souvenir-sellers, each bringing to life and hoping to make a living from this community of the bridge.

It is not just the spectacular views of Prague Castle, the Vltava River or the centuries-old red rooftops of Prague, but the bridge itself that commands attention. It was built by the Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV at a time when bridges did not have a good track record of longevity. It replaced the Judith Bridge built in 1172 that collapsed in 1342, and it has literally stood the test of time against war and the weather. When Prague faced its worse flooding in 500 years in 2002, the bridge was unmoved.

Perhaps the secret is embedded in the mortar that holds the stones together. The builders are said to have mixed in egg yolks, milk and wine. Or maybe the answer can be found in the numbers. Charles IV chose the precise moment for construction to begin at 5.31am on July 9, 1357. Written down as the year, day, month and time, it creates a rising and falling sequence of odd numbers like this: 1357-9-7-531.

Unlike many European capitals, Prague did not suffer as badly from the bombs of World War I and World War II that destroyed other famous attractions. However, the Charles Bridge statues, mostly of baroque style and added to the bridge in the early 1700s, are replicas. The time-beaten and damaged originals are in museums.

Whether you try to beat the crowds and visit at dawn, seek to capture a romantic sunset or make your visit to the bridge at high noon, one of the most popular spots for tourists is the statue of St John of Nepomuk with a distinctive five-star halo around his head. Historians and scholars are at odds about his story but the tour guides have a clear version about this martyr.

St John was a priest during the reign of King Wenceslas IV, the son of Charles IV. The Queen confessed a great secret to him. The suspicious King believed she was having an affair and tortured the priest, who refused to betray the seal of confession. He was executed by being thrown from the bridge into the Vltava River below. As he hit the water, five stars reflected upon him from the sky.

A plaque on his statue has become shiny from all the tourists giving it a rub, for to do so is said to mean they will one day return to Prague. Yet the statue is not at the spot where St John was thrown to his death. It is marked by a brass plaque about 50m farther along the bridge and touching this while doing a delicate balancing act of placing one foot on the ground and both hands on the plaque is said to make a wish come true within a year and a day.

Charles Bridge links Prague's Old Town to the Lesser Quarter. There is no charge to cross it, although you will have to pay if you wish to climb either of the towers at each end.

Prague is a more compact city than Paris, London or Rome and an easy way to see it is on foot. There is a surprise around every corner the unexpected delight of a beautiful cobbled courtyard framed by ornate architecture.

From Charles Bridge, it is a 15-minute walk up stone steps to Prague Castle which, according to Guinness World Records, is the largest ancient castle in the world. It is not one building but dozens, including a cathedral, museums, palaces, royal gardens and the state rooms of the Czech president.

Closer to the bridge is the Old Town Square, where the place to be on the hour is gathered around the Astronomical Clock mounted on the side of the Town Hall. The intricate dial of the clock shows the position of the sun, the moon and the sky, the zodiac, and features the walk of the Apostles every hour when the skeleton of death sounds the bell.