Charles Bridge

Prague · Czechia · Bridge

Fishermen found the drowned priest because five lights burned around his head in the water. The five stars are still on the bridge's darkest statue.

From the parapet of Charles Bridge the canon John of Nepomuk was thrown into the Vltava on a March night in 1393, bound and silenced after he had, the legend says, refused to reveal what Queen Zofie confided to him in confession. The body should have vanished in the current, but fishermen found it downstream because five small lights shone like stars around the head on the water. Those five flames became his sign; his statue on the bridge still wears a halo of five stars, and a plaque in the railing marks the spot where he fell. Tradition holds that whoever lays a hand on the relief and keeps their wish silent will return to Prague. At night people say less loudly that the lights can still be seen over the water.

FAQ

Where is Charles Bridge located?

Charles Bridge is in Prag, Czechia.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: A.Savin / FAL — Wikimedia Commons