Charles Bridge Charles Bridge Charles Bridge ( ) is a historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century. The bridge replaced the old Judith Bridge built 1158–1172 that had been badly damaged by a flood in 1342. This new bridge was originally called Stone Bridge ("Kamenný most") or Prague Bridge ("Pražský most") but has been "Charles Bridge" since 1870. As the only means of crossing the river Vltava (Moldau) until 1841, Charles Bridge was the most important connection
City Island Bridge supports, although the corrosion had since been fixed by that time. The bridge, which had been inspected in July 1999, had been deemed capable of carrying up to . The city leaders gave four options for the bridge's future: one entailed renovating the existing span, while the other three were for new spans. The new spans included a conventional causeway-style bridge with four piers; an arch bridge with large foundations on either side of the water; and a cable-stayed bridge with a tower either high. To replace the deteriorating bridge, the city originally intended to build the cable-stayed bridge, with