It was the last town crier’s tower built in Prague and was also used to raise an alarm amongst the population in case of fire. However, the tower belonged to the Lesser Town municipality and not to the church, as is evidenced by the Lesser Town emblem installed above the entrance. The structure, which served as both a bell tower as well as a town crier’s tower, was built in 1755 by the famous architect Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer, who also prepared the designs for the church. The tower located next to the well-known Church of St Nicholas with its large green copper dome offers yet another view of the picturesque red roofs of the magical Lesser Town. An older smaller tower of Romanesque origin and dating to about 1170 is separated from the main tower by a fortified gateway. The taller tower was built after 1464 on the site of an earlier Romanesque structure and its design is based on the architecture of the Old Town Bridge Tower, however the originally planned sculpture decorations were never added. Although the view from this location is entirely different, it is just as impressive. There are actually two Lesser Town Bridge Towers, which stand on the opposite side of the river. The view from the tower, taking in the Castle District, the famous gallery of statues lining the Charles Bridge and the adjacent part of Old Town, is unforgettable. A spiral staircase with 136 stairs leads from the gateway entrance up to the tower. The area above the gateway leading from Old Town is adorned with the emblems of the countries over which Charles IV ruled. All of these sculptures are outstanding examples of late 14th century stonework. One level higher you will find statues of St Adalbert and St Sigismund.

Vitus, who is the patron of the bridge, flanked by statues of the seated Charles IV and Wenceslas IV. At the level of the first floor you can admire a statue of the standing St. The façade of the Old Town Bridge Tower is decorated with rare Gothic figural and architectural elements. Then, in 1648, the tower was damaged during the Swedish siege of Prague. In 1621 the heads of some of the Czech lords convicted and executed for their involvement in the uprising against Habsburg rule were displayed at this location to serve as a warning to others. This gem of Gothic architecture took almost a quarter of a century to build and required the labour of one hundred stonemasons. It is the work of the court artisan Peter Parler, who was also the architect for the Charles Bridge. Completed before 1380 as part of the fortifications of the Charles Bridge, it is considered to be the most beautiful Gothic gate in Europe and the most impressive example of Gothic civil engineering style in the world. The Old Town Bridge Tower is the gateway to the famous Charles Bridge from the east side of the Vltava. Choose from our list or, better still, extend your stay in Prague and explore them all, as each offers a different – but always unforgettable – view of the most impressive parts of the city. The most valuable and beautiful towers have been made accessible to the public. The total number of towers in all of Prague, not counting the turrets found on some burgher houses and villas, has been estimated at about a thousand. Recently a few enthusiastic experts and Prague aficionados tried to do exactly this – from an aerial view they counted 120 important towers just in the central part of the city, which they also photographed, documented in detail and measured. It is possible to count the total number of towers in Prague only from a great height. Many towers were equipped with bells ringing out the time of day, some served as a customs house at the entrance to the town, and yet others were used for storage. For example, trumpets and signals visible at a great distance were used to notify citizens of a fire and its location as conflagrations were very common in towns in the past. Quite often they were used by the town criers to make announcements. They were a part of the fortifications and used as guard towers that were locked for the night. The towers, which were not a part of the individual churches and thus owned by the church were, for the most part, the property of the town or municipality. However, there is another way to experience Prague’s unique beauty and the soul of the city – to look down from these towers and admire the unusual bird’s-eye view of the historical squares, red tiled roofs, and the Vltava River with its many bridges and long waterfront.

Old town bridge tower