Prague wants to repair Charles Bridge, looking for a quarry with suitable stone

Prague - The Prague City Hall will have a project for the repair of Charles Bridge prepared this year. The city is also looking for a quarry from which to obtain stone suitable for repairs. This was stated to journalists today by the Mayor's deputy Adam Scheinherr (Prague Ours). It is still unclear how much the work will cost and when it will begin. The bridge is in poor condition, for example, the 14th arch, which is above the Kampa.

According to Scheinherr, the city is currently searching for suitable stone to replace the irreparably damaged stone parts of the bridge. The destroyed stones will be removed from the surface and replaced with new ones. Those that can be reused will be repaired and returned to their place. The exact timeline for the work or the cost of the reconstruction will come from the project documentation. The surface of the bridge is made up of approximately 66,000 blocks.

At the 14th arch of the bridge on the Lesser Town, the joints are crumbling, and there is a risk of the stones cracking. The area has been cordoned off for a long time. The poor condition of the arch moves Charles Bridge into a worse category in the classification of the Technical Road Administration than it would belong to if it were in good condition. On a scale from one to seven, where seven is a state of emergency, it is currently classified as sixth. In the past, the city had the deck and railings of the bridge repaired.

The construction of the bridge was initiated on July 9, 1357, at the behest of Charles IV, by the stonemason Master Otlín, who had gained experience from building an older stone bridge in Roudnice nad Labem. The founder of Charles Bridge was not Peter Parler, as is commonly believed; he took over the construction only after Otlín's death. The Stone Bridge, now Charles Bridge, was established at the site of the demolished Judith Bridge.

Prague will begin repairs on the Libeň Bridge this year. First, it will reconstruct parts that do not have an immediate impact on traffic on the bridge. This will include parts for pedestrians, side walls, or public lighting poles.