Prince Bruncvik

NEAR the south end of the Charles Bridge, ie on the Lesser Town side, is a statue erected in 1884.

It depicts the legendary Prince Bruncvik, who is famed for setting off on an adventure with a magical sword

At one point, so the story goes, he helped a lion defeat a dragon, resulting in the former becoming the prince's faithful companion.

The lion can be seen at the statue's feet

The interesting thing to me is the prince's armour, which seems a mix of medieval and renaissance, but that may say more about the state of my knowledge than about the accuracy of the depiction.

Powder Power

WORK on Prague's imposing Powder Gate began in 1475, and was intended as a grand entrance to the Old Town rather than a practical defensive structure.

Gunpowder made tall fortifications largely redundant, but they still looked good

Originally called New Tower, it was modelled after the 14th century Old Town Bridge Tower.

The building was used to store gunpower in the 1600s, hence its modern name of Powder Gate or Powder Tower.

It was badly damaged in 1757, during Frederick the Great's attempt to capture Prague after conquering Saxony to open the Seven Years War, but was quickly repaired, and received its most recent major restoration last year.

Signing Off

A FINAL set of shouse signs from Prague Old Town.

This stone carving of an elephant dates back to the 1300s, and was placed on an inn - now a hotel - as a symbol of wealth and prestige

The House At The Black Bear - now the Beer Restaurant - was built in 1428 in a merchants' courtyard that had its own high walls and moat to separate it from the rest of the old town

Peacocks are another symbol of wealth, although the building on which this iron peacock spreads its feathers has seen better times, and is now partly a Duck Boutique - a shop selling rubber ducks in various colours and sizes

Hotel Metamorphis was converted from a historic building known as The Blue House, and the sign above the entrance may have had a special religious meaning for a previous owner as the image and wording refer to the seven golden lampstands of Revelation, which symbolised seven early Christian churches, and the woman is probably the Wife of the Lamb, ie the church symbolised as Jesus's bride

Signing On

 MORE signs from Prague Old Town, and the stories behind them.

These bears were originally gilded, and may have referred to the building's use as a tannery (Czech leather makers often used bear skins rather cattle hide), although it was later occupied by an alchemist with connections to Habsburg royalty (bears were an early symbol of alchemy)

No one seems to know the significance of the blue horse - it may have just been a way of identifying the building in days before house numbers became common

The Golden Jug underground hostelry dates back to medieval times, but the name of the next-door Golden Kettle Irish bar is presumably more modern 

These three ducks may indicate the building was also used as a restaurant, but probably was just a house sign symbolising family and nurturing

Signs Of The Times

WALKING around Prague Old Town I have had a lot of fun looking at the district's many house signs from the days of mass illiteracy, and trying to guess what they signify.

This looks as if it should be on a winebar or tavern, but was placed on a housefront in the late 1700s by owners who wanted to highlight the biblical story of Joshua and Caleb bringing a huge bunch of grapes from the Promised Land 

I guessed this golden animal represented a lion, and indeed the house - now a pub-restaurant - previously had a lion as its emblem, but this was changed in 1713 to what is apparently a tiger

Snakes and their venom were associated with Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, and this one indicates the building was once a pharmacy

This mermaid is a long way from the sea, but has had plenty of time to contemplate her fate, having been installed in 1439 for reasons no longer known

Lesser Prague

OPPOSITE Prague Old Town on the opposite bank of the Vltava is the Lesser Town, which in modern times has become the embassy district.

Access to the Charles Bridge is through an arched gateway guarded by the Lesser Town Bridge Tower, built in the second half of the 15th century and modelled on the Old Town Bridge Tower.

The Lesser Town Bridge Tower was built partly in response to the district being the site of fierce fighting between Hussites and the castle garrison in 1419

Towering Defence

ACCESS to Prague Old Town from the Charles Bridge is protected by the Old Town Bridge Tower, sometimes called the Charles Tower in reference to Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (1316-78).

It became customary for kings of Bohemia to pass through the tower's arch as part of their coronation procession.

Old Town Bridge Tower ... still impressive

The tower's role in repulsing Swedish attacks in 1648 is commemorated in a Latin inscription: SISTE VIATOR, SED LUBENS, AC VOLENS UBI SISTERE DEBUIT, SED COACTUS GOTHORUM, AC VANDALORUM FUROR

Roughly translated: "Stop, traveller, willingly; here unwillingly were stopped the Goths and their vandalistic fury."

Impressive Bridge

AM visiting Prague for 11 nights, during which time I have walked to and crossed the famous Charles Bridge every possible day.

The bridge is packed with tourists most of the day, so it pays to get there early if you want to study its features undisturbed.

Charles Bridge ... beautiful in early morning sunshine

Construction began in 1357 to replace the 12th century Judith Bridge damaged by a major flood in 1342.

It took almost 50 years to fully complete the project, and almost another 300 years were to pass before the bridge's iconic statues were added.

What many visitors do not realise is that all the statues now on the bridge are copies, the originals having been moved under cover in the Czech National Museum and nearby Vyšehrad fort.

Nevertheless most of the replicas on the bridge are very darkened with age, although they clean up nicely, as can be seen with the statue nearest the camera in the above photo.

The bridge was the scene of desperate fighting in 1648 when Swedish troops tried to capture Prague Old Town in one of the last actions of the 30 Years War.

Those could almost be Swedes looming out of the fog - photo taken from where the Czech defenders made their successful last stand

Charles Bridge kept its unique military and economic importance until 1841, when Prague gained its second bridge across the Vltava.