Charles IV is best known today for the Charles Bridge that unites Prague across the Vltava River.
Charles IV, king of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor, celebrates his 700th birthday on Saturday, May 14! He made Prague the cultural and political capital of Europe and the Beautiful Style that he championed made Prague the artistic center of Europe for nearly 100 years. There are several events in Prague to celebrate Charles’ 700th birthday!
Charles IV wanted his stone bridge, built in 1357, to be a masterpiece of occult workmanship to protect his beloved city of Prague.
He is best known today, however, for the magnificent stone Charles Bridge which he had built to span the Vltava River in 1357 to replace the original wooden Judith Bridge which had been washed away by a flood in 1342. In order to protect the city, Charles ordered massive amounts of magical reinforcements to be incorporated into the bridge as it served as the principal means of crossing the Vltava for several hundred miles in either direction and helped make Prague one of the most important business centers in central Europe.
Construction began on Charles Bridge at 5:31am on 9 July 1357 and Charles IV himself laid the first stone. This exact time was very important to the Holy Roman Emperor because he was a strong believer of numerology and this specific time, which formed a numerical bridge or palindrome (135797531), reinforced the bridge’s strength. He had eggs used in mixing the mortar, partly because their chemical composition made the mortar stronger and partly because eggs were so important in alchemy. Charles had a brief poem, each line a palindrome, inscribed on a watchtower on the Old Town side of the bridge in order to confuse any devils that might be lurking in the shadows and waiting to cross the bridge:
SIGNATESIGNATEMEREMETENGISETAUGIS
ROMATIBISUBITOMOTIBUSIBITAMOR
“Reveal yourself as a sign in the sky though in vain you reach for me,
your desire.
Rome, the motion of the stars suddenly brings you love.”
Prague has escaped the ravages of time and history nearly unscathed: no major fires or epidemics, no with hunts, no battles or bombings. The magic of the Charles Bridge seems to have worked!
Click here for events in Prague this year to mark the 700th birthday of Charles IV.