History and nearby

The tower at the western end of the bridge is actually created by two towers of different appearance, origin, and size. Smaller tower was built in the Roman style and it was part of the first Prague stone bridge – Judith’s Bridge from the first half of the 12th century, but it is older. It was first mentioned only in 1249. The second, higher tower was being built together with the Charles Bridge in 1357 based on the Old Town Bridge Tower on the other bank of the river. However, it was finished only one hundred years later during the reign of George of Poděbrady. There were no statues planned at that time. Both towers are connected by a gate with crenellation that comes from the beginning of the 15th century. It is decorated by the signs of the lands of Wenceslas IV. Towers and the gate were part of the city fortification. Unlike the tower on the other bank, the Lesser Town Bridge was not damaged too much during the Thirty Year’s War since the Swedish army gained it without greater resistance.

One of the Prague’s baroque gems is St.Nicolas Church in Lesser Town Square. This important baroque building with a cupola and bell tower has a richly decorated interior. When Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited Prague, he played the pipe organ in this church.
It was built by Jesuits after they had obtained emperor’s approval to tear down an old church that used to stand in that location. Its project was designed by architect Christoph Dientzenhofer who also supervised its construction in the period of 1703-1711. Finishing it took longer than expected due to financial problems, plague in 1713, and war events from 1741-1744. After his father’s deaths, his son Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer took over the construction of the church. He created the cupola and part of the tower with the gallery. After his death, the tower had to be completed by Dientzenhofer’s son-in-law architect Anselmo Lurago. He created the upper bell tower in the rococo style. It is as high as the church cupola – 74 meters.
The church and the tower always had different owners. The church belonged to Jesuits, the tower to Lesser Town as a compensation for the bell tower that had been torn down before construction of the church. That is why the tower has its own entrance with the sign of Lesser Town above it as well as its own house number – 556.
A watcher used to live in the tower and it was his responsibility to observe whether there is a fire in the town. During the communist regime, secret police used watchman’s room in the tower as their secret observatory. They could easily monitor entrances and gardens of western embassies from this spot.
Bell tower was used for its original purpose until 1891. The tower has been managed as town property by Prague Information Service since 1992. It was opened for public and there is an exhibition about Prague choirs that had been put together by in cooperation with the National Museum.

Together with other three baroque gardens (Vratislavská, Schönbornská and Lobkowická) Vrtbovská garden lies on the slope of Petřín Hill. It is considered to be the most beautiful baroque garden.
It was designed by František Maxmilián Kaňka who first redesigned the house and the garden for Jan Josef, Count of Vrtba. Unlike the garden that preserved its baroque character, the palace has undergone significant adjustments. Statues in Vrtbovská garden were created by
Matyáš Bernard Braun and frescos by Václav Vavřinec Reiner. Inner decorations in sala terrena were preserved in a great shape. Fresco on the ceiling was created by Václav Vavřinec Reiner and it depicts Venus and Adonis.

This baroque church was built in 1611 – 1612 and is famous for its Spanish wax statue of “Bambino di Praga”.

Small romantic island Kampa on the Vltava River offers a look at the part of the city with beautiful houses and old history. This artificial island is separated from Lesser Side by a man-made mill race called Čertovka. Houses on Čertovka banks are called Prague’s Venice.