Construction of the Charles Bridge began in 1357 under King Charles IV, and legend says he laid the first stone at 5:31 a.m. on July 9. Peter Parler is named as designer in the infobox. The bridge replaced the Judith Bridge, built from 1158 to 1172 and badly damaged by a flood in 1342. It was finished in 1402, 45 years after work began.
It is a stone arch bridge of Bohemian sandstone with 16 arches and ice guards, about 1,693 feet (516 m) long and nearly 33 feet (10 m) wide. Its design follows the Stone Bridge in Regensburg. Three towers guard it, two on the Lesser Quarter side and one on the Old Town side.
The balustrade carries 30 statues, mostly Baroque and mostly erected between 1683 and 1714. Replicas have replaced them all since 1965. A flood in 1890 tore down three arches, and it reopened in 1892. It has been pedestrian-only since 1978.
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