Why go
Follow the distance between Nové Město, Old Town and the castle to see the scale of Charles IV's plans. The bridge tied the banks together, while the cathedral made the castle a religious as well as a royal centre. The route still structures a visit today.
The full story
Charles IV ruled Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire in the fourteenth century. Under him Prague expanded from its older towns into a larger capital. He laid out Nové Město beside Staré Město, creating streets and open spaces that still feel different from the older lanes. After the Judith Bridge was lost to a flood, work began on the crossing now called Charles Bridge. It joined the eastern bank to Malá Strana and the route up to Prague Castle. At the castle, work on the Gothic St Vitus Cathedral began in the same era that Prague became an archbishopric. Charles also founded a university in the city. These projects were not isolated monuments: they strengthened routes between the towns and gave the capital new civic, religious and scholarly centres. For a visitor, the contrast between New Town's plan, the bridge and the cathedral is the clearest way to understand that ambition.