Another Vandal Has Desecrated the Charles Bridge

Another vandal has desecrated the Charles Bridge. He can face up to three years in prison.

The Charles Bridge in Prague has very little tolerance for vandals. Someone spray painted the medieval monument again recently–the fresh work appeared on a pillar about 20 meters from the abandoned city police office.

The inscription, which the currently unknown perpetrator created on the bridge, is roughly two meters long. “If caught, he faces a prison sentence of up to three years,” police officer Violeta Siřišťová said.

It is not the first time this has happened. Although the bridge is guarded by cameras, attacks by vandals happen relatively frequently. In July 2019, one of the pillars was vandalized by German tourists.

One of them was sentenced to a year’s probation, a fine of one hundred thousand crowns, and banishment for five years. Two years later, a seventeen-year-old boy and a girl a year younger scribbled blue on the railing and plinth of a statue.

Unfortunately, there are more cases of destruction of Prague’s monuments. The last time this year in July was a group of young people scribbling on the wall at the so-called Fisherman’s House in Kampa.

“They caused quite a lot of damage because they destroyed many square meters,” Miloslav Černý (52), who runs the Antigraffiti program for Praha 1, told Blesk at the time.

As tourism season is getting busier, authorities must remain vigilant against vandalism of Prague’s historic landmarks.