The Lesser Town Bridge Tower Malostranské mostecké vÃâºÃ
¾e is situated at one end of Charles Bridge and forms part of an ancient gate to the Lesser Town.
The tower was built under the rule of King George of Podebrady in the second half of the 15th century to replace an earlier Romanesque tower. The model for its construction was the Old Town Bridge Tower sited at the other end of Charles Bridge, which was constructed earlier.The Lesser Town Bridge Tower is 43.5m high and is a rare surviving example in Prague of the post-Hussite Gothic style. Charles Bridge is the oldest bridge still standing over the Vltava river in Prague and the second oldest bridge in the Czech Republic. Charles IV had it built in 1357, after the previous bridge ââ¬ÅJudith Bridgeââ¬Â had been destroyed by floods in 1342. The construction of the bridge was led by Peter Parler ââ¬ÅPetr ParléÃ
â¢Ã¢â¬Â in Czech, the famous German-Czech architect, and it took almost half a century to finish it It was completed in 1402. The bridge, formerly known as ââ¬ÅStoneââ¬Â or ââ¬ÅPragueââ¬Â, has only been called ââ¬ÅCharles Bridgeââ¬Â since 1870. And until 1841 it was the only bridge over the Vltava river in Prague.
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