Charles Bridge Museum

The aim of the exhibition is to present the cultural-historical context of the foundation, development, and present-day state of this exceptional construction.

The idea of a permanent exhibition related to the Charles Bridge came with its 650th anniversary. The history of the Charles Bridge can be seen in one place, in several rooms of the original Křižovnický hospital and the Holy Spirit (St. Francis) church on the Křižovnické square near the Charles Bridge.
The museum offers illustrative models such as the model of Prague from around the year 1000 with marked ford crossings over Vltava, which then represented fundamental communication connections. The most important is a model of the Charles Bridge together with the Judita Bridge. These two bridges co-existed from 1357 until 1406.

Also important is a model of the Rank foot bridge from 1832 by the builder Michael Rank; this bridge was never built, but represented a unique patented wooden bridge structure system. The exhibition also includes original handcraft tools and reconstructions of historic building machines. Another exposition, unique in Europe, is a building works presenting cranes and tools from the Gothic era, which is the core of the heritage of the Charles Bridge foundation. The exhibition also shows photographs connected with the founder of the bridge – Charles IV. Last but not least, there are statues from the Old Town Bridge Tower. These are castings from moulds made in the 19th century with preserved surface modeling, before it was damaged by polluted air.

The exposition is commplimented with projection on two plasma screens.

The museum includes a book café and a museum shop offering goods related to the history and symbolism of the Charles Bridge and its surroundings, Charles IV, the history of Prague and Czech art.

Open
January - April 10:00 - 18:00
May - October 10:00 - 20:00
November - December 10:00 - 18:00