The Old Town Bridge Tower is situated on the first pillar of Charles Bridge. It is ranked among the most beautiful Gothic towers in Europe It is a work of the time of Charles IV – King of Bohemia and the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. The tower was constructed not only as a fortification, but it also represented a sort of prestigious triumphal arch. That is to say that Charles IV fixed the route of his successors’ coronation parades so that they traversed the new Gothic bridge. This bridge was founded in 1357 replacing the former Romanesque bridge destroyed by the flood in 1342.
For the laying of the cornerstone, Charles IV chose a symbolic date represented by an ascending and descending sequence of odd numbers: 1. 3. 5. 7. 9. 7. 5. 3. 1. – it means that the bridge was founded in 1357, ninth day of the seventh month (9 July) in 5 o’clock and 31 minutes. The decoration of the eastern face of the tower (in the direction of Knzovnicke square) has also a symbolic meaning; the decoration on the opposite side was destroyed by the Swedes at the end of the thirty years’ war in 1648 (a commemorative plaque).
During the centuries, the interiors of the town were subjected to many alterations. Their present appearance is a result of the reconstruction performed by Josef Mocker in the 19th century. The neo-Gothic beams in the first and second floor date back to that time. In the upper floor, this ceiling is completed with signs of the Czech Crown Lands and Prague boroughs. The tower gallery is accessible by 138 stairs.
The height of the tower is 47 meters above the terrain of the bridge and 57 meters above the Vltava water level. The corner spires are situated in the height of 64 meters. From the tower gallery, there is a beautiful view of the Prague Castle across Vltava River; from the opposite side, the top view of Knzovnicke square and the panorama of the Old Town of Prague.