Instant Cities: Prague

Prague › Places and landmarks

Old Town Bridge Tower

Staroměstská mostecká věž

The Gothic gate tower at the Old Town end of the Charles Bridge, one of the finest in Europe.

See it in 3D Watch the tour

Photo: Ank Kumar, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Peter Parler built the tower in the 14th century as a triumphal gateway for the king on the way to his coronation. Its front carries statues of Charles IV, his son Wenceslas IV and St Vitus.

From the top you see the bridge stretching across the river towards the Lesser Town and the castle on the hill. Visit it in 3D ›

More in Prague

Old Town SquareThe great square of the Old Town, with the Týn church, the astronomical clock and the Jan Hus memorial. Astronomical clockMade in 1410: every hour the twelve apostles pass its little windows while Death rings his bell. Týn ChurchThe Gothic church with two spiky 80-metre towers, behind the houses on the Old Town Square. Charles BridgeThe stone bridge of 1357 across the Vltava, lined with thirty statues of saints. KlementinumThe vast Jesuit college beside the bridge, with a Baroque library hall and an astronomical tower. JosefovPrague’s Jewish Quarter, with old synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. Old-New SynagogueBuilt around 1270, the oldest synagogue in Europe still in use. RudolfinumThe neo-Renaissance concert hall on the Vltava, home of the Czech Philharmonic. Powder TowerA Gothic gate tower of 1475 at the start of the Royal Route, once used to store gunpowder. Prague CastleThe castle on the hill across the river, the largest ancient castle complex in the world; beyond this map. TramsThe red and cream trams that rattle along the river and across the bridges. Czech beerCzechs drink more beer per person than anyone; the pilsner was born in Bohemia.